Glory be to thee, Jesus Christ. Glory be to thee.
This morning we heard two Gospels and two Epistle
readings. One was for the Sunday regular scriptural
reading and the second was for the dedicated
to commemorating the Holy Fathers of the Seventh
Ecumenical Council. This morning, my sermon is
based on the first epistle, which is taken from
part of the 11th chapter and the 12th chapter
of St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians. The
topic might have escaped you because it was so
filled with information about Paul. He spoke
of pain and he spoke of what he referred to as
a thorn in the flesh. It's not a pleasant subject.
However, it is something that we inevitably encounter
during our pilgrimage through life. Sometimes,
we forget that everything that comes to us is
from God. And sometimes we realize that the pain
and suffering which we inevitably have to endure
also comes from God. This is true. even for us
faithful Christians, even for those who have
confessed their sins. It's true also for the
saints, for as we know their history, they too
endured great suffering, pain, and rejection.
All scholars agree that St. Paul was unquestionably
the greatest Christian, the greatest influential
Christian that ever lived. He was a man of unparalleled
faith. A man of intelligence. And a great courage.
Yet, in that 12th chapter, Paul talks about what
he called a thorn in the flesh. It was a kind
of a serious physical illness. A chronic problem
that caused him discomfort. He asked God to remove
this thorn, whatever it was, we do not know.
He searched for a reason and wondered why God
gave him this ailment. But if you read that passage,
In the 11th and 12th chapter of the 2nd Corinthians,
you'll find that God gave him a thorn in the
flesh to remind him who he was and who God is.
It was a reminder for him and it is for us to
this very day. That we are mortals. That we are
subject to pain and suffering. We are individuals,
although created in the image of God, must continually
remind ourselves. That we are dependent upon
God. And when St. Paul gradually came to the
realization that this thorn was given to him,
he said something which was most unusual. He
said that God gave me this thorn that I might
not be conceited. And then he went on to say,
I will boast of my weakness that the power of
Christ may be upon me. You know, suffering in
and of itself has no value. It could lead to
despair and even tragedy. From a biblical point
of view, the purpose of pain is not to break
or destroy us, but to incline our hearts. And
bend our knees toward the cross. For the cross
is something to tell us. About our mortality.
About our weakness. About our fragility. Pain
directs us. To God. Instead of resorting to a
self -pity party and feeling hopeless and helpless,
Paul used his thorn, his weakness, his illness,
his ailment in a positive way as a stepping stone
to God's throne. He prayed, as we all do, for
strength. And when you read the whole chapter,
you read Paul's life. It reminds us of one of
those great heroes that are found in the 11th
chapter. Hebrews who through faith out of weakness
was made strong who through faith out of weakness
was made strong as I mentioned earlier suffering
is not without Because God himself, and this
is what goes against the very grain of our society.
God himself suffered. He entered into the person
of Jesus Christ who took on flesh, experienced
grief, rejection. loneliness and pain. Indeed,
God is a suffering God. The fact that he suffered
and died in such an excruciating way on the cross
reveals that the God of love, the God we call
our Father, is not indifferent to our suffering.
To say that we are helpless is to say that God
doesn't know our spiritual trials. And that's
nonsense. To say that we are helpless is to say
that God is powerless. And that is utter nonsense.
At every vigil, at every matins, there's a hymn.
And in this hymn we find these words. Through
the cross, joy has come into the world. It's
something that we can't grasp by reason. Because
reason fails us. It fails us because the intensity
of God's love for us is beyond description. God
is indeed a suffering God. On the cross, he cried
out, not in a despairing way. My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? Because those were
not his last words. His last words is, into thy
hands I commit my spirit, Lord. And we usually
hear in some of the scriptures, it's finished.
No, it's consummated. Out of sheer, inexplicable
love, God became one with us, identified with
us in every sense of the word, so that he too
suffered. Pascha is always the last word. To
every broken heart then, wracked by some illness,
know that the Lord is with you. He does not stand
by as an observer. But he shares your pain and
my pain. And like the righteous Job, the Old
Testament, when he went through all and was sitting
on a pile of ash, he said, when he tried me,
I came forth as gold. There was merit. There
was reason. There was value in that suffering.
Like Paul locked up in the dungeon, sitting on
death's road, to use contemporary language. Paul
said, I consider that the sufferings of the present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed. And it will be revealed.
Like Peter the Apostle, who also was waiting
his martyrdom, wrote, Rejoice to the extent that
you partake of Christ's suffering. That when
his glory shall be revealed. You should be glad.
Exceedingly glad. The gospel message does not
deliver us. From misfortunes. Rather it enables
us. As followers of Christ. Our Redeemer. We
find in this thorn that Paul spoke of not a curse
but ultimately a blessing. Sickness has a ministry.
Pain has a purpose. Suffering has a service.
If we will Look at it from this biblical perspective.
Not what society thinks. But what God has declared
through the Holy Scriptures. In the fifth chapter
of the book of Hebrews. We read this rather interesting
statement. That Christ learned. by the things
he suffered. He learned obedience by the things
he suffered. And the blind man in the ninth chapter
of St. John's Gospel was not... was not a man
of sin, but as Jesus said, that the works of
God should be revealed. That's interesting, isn't
it? That the works of God should be revealed
through you and through me and through our suffering,
through our pain, through our love, through our
life. Whatever the circumstances may be in your
life, Dear people, let me leave you with these
words of St. Paul. Hold on to them very deeply.
Because the time will come when we will need
to hear this. We know that God causes all things
to work together. for good who love him. Glory
be to Jesus Christ.