Embracing Weakness

²I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows.  ³And I know that such a person — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows —  ⁴was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.  ⁵On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses.  ⁶But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, ⁷even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.  ⁸Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me,  ⁹but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 

See also the other of today’s texts: Ezekiel 2:1-5 & Mark 6:1-13

“What is your greatest weakness?” This is the stereotypical job interview question even though everyone hates it. Of late I’ve heard it rephrased to sound a little more encouraging, something like, “What are your growth areas?” But most of us know that we’re supposed to answer with something that’s honest, but not too honest. Something that we can easily turn around into a positive or something we can demonstrate intentional development in. Or the classic answer, “My greatest strength is also my greatest weakness.” True though it may be that our greatest strength is sometimes our downfall, that’s a cop-out answer and we all smile and nod as if it’s somehow profound and demonstrative of a good job applicant. We do not admit, much less celebrate the ways in which we are weak and the ways in which we fail.

But today we celebrate weakness, which according to Paul, is the source of God’s power made manifest in us. Ezekiel is warned that he will fail. Paul names a personal struggle of some kind that God will not remove. The disciples are given instructions about what to do when they fail.  Today, even Jesus fails, weak in the presence of his closest family and hometown friends. Failure, it seems is inherent to the ministry that each of us is called to do. In every reading he good news of God’s transformative love falls on deaf ears and ruffles feathers and in some cases sends the prophet, disciple, or messiah on to the next town. Even the heroes of the faith demonstrate weakness.

One of the weaknesses we must confront is our inability to transform the bigger systems which perpetuate injustice. When we attempt to take action against racism, or action to slow and reverse climate change, or action against gun violence, so often we run up against a larger force that we alone and even sometimes we collectively cannot overcome. What I see too often in the conversation about these important issues are people who attempt to overcome this weakness with statements of certainty. “I know how to fix it. My way is right and yours is wrong and stupid.” Instead of conversation and dialogue that might be productive, we try to cover up our not knowing with bravado and certainty. This generally gets us nowhere. The people I most respect are the ones who admit they don’t know all the answers. Yet we’re conditioned to hide our weaknesses from one another.

But weakness is not an excuse for inaction. In all of our readings, God leads God’s people forward with their weakness to whatever is next. Ezekiel is told people will not heed his message and God sends him out anyway. Jesus fails in his hometown so he moves on to all the other towns that need to hear the message of the good news. The disciples are told they will encounter a lack of hospitality in some places and they are to keep going. Nowhere does it say that their lack of success indicates they should stop what they are doing. Our weakness and our failure is still an opportunity for God to act. Our weaknesses do not hold us back from doing God’s work. In fact, Paul says, our weakness itself is an opportunity for God’s power to be revealed.

I admit that I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to face all of the big problems that we have. Anyone who tells you they have the solution is probably lying. I don’t even have the solution to the questions we ask one another about the best way forward in ministry at Immanuel. We’re all learning as we go. But we do have the capacity to take action. Flawed action. Action that is impacted by our weakness. But action inspired by the spirit and placed in God’s hands.

Something I have to learn over and over again in my own spiritual journey is that God is not waiting at the end. God does not dwell only in the successful outcome or the perfect product. God dwells in the here and now. God’s holy place is in the uncertainty and the confusion of our lives. God dwells in our failures along the way. God dwells in the place where we have no answers, no clear path forward, no hint of success. And God is doing something bigger than we can imagine in the midst of it. God is using what we perceive to be our personal and collective failures to work something new and powerful in and through us. As God says to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

This is our calling as individuals and as a congregation: to admit that we are imperfect. To admit that we do not have all the answers to anything. To admit that we sometimes fail. To name the things that make us weak, so that their power might shine forth. AND our calling is to go out and boldly proclaim our experience of God’s love, perhaps even the ways we have seen God using our weakness to work something powerful in the world. To proclaim the message of the cross, that what looks like failure, even God’s failure, has the power to transform the world.

So…I invite you now to take a quiet moment to honestly name your greatest weakness. Not the one you would share at a job interview, but the thing that deep inside you know is your weak spot. You can write it down on the blue index card provided in your bulletin or simply name it quietly to yourself. No one will see what you write. No one is collecting the cards. This is a chance for you to name it for yourself. Take a moment to contemplate it, then we will close together with prayer…

Dearest Jesus, you have shown us today that it is okay to be weak. You have called us to ministries that are full of failure and you remind us that’s okay, too. We lift our weaknesses to you now. We do not ask you today to transform them. We do not ask that you take them away. Instead we give you thanks for them. We ask you that your power be made known to us and to the world through these weaknesses. Praise to you for loving us as we are and calling us to share your good news. Amen.

-Pastor Steven Wilco