2. Kor 12: 1-10
Dear Congregation
Some of you have probably already seen Michelangelo's statue of David in Florence, which is just over 5 metres high. It is one of the most famous works of Renaissance sculpture, and a symbol of human strength and beauty. David is here, the youth with the stone in the sling, fighting the Philistine, Goliath.
Strong, healthy, good-looking people are attractive, and we tend to think of them as competent, successful and leaders. But are they? Why are we so susceptible to this and emulate strength and beauty so much?
The sermon which will be read today is from Pastor Elisabeth Tobaben, of Moringen; the text taken from 2. Kor 12:1-10. We read from Chapter 11: 18 – 30
18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.
23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
At the centre of 2 Corinthians 11 and 12 is the confrontation between Paul and his opponents, by whom the apostle allows himself to be pushed into the dubious role of the boaster. His opponents presumably attacked him because he had renounced the provision and support of his congregation. According to their understanding, he could not be a fully-fledged apostle if he thought he had to continue to earn his own living - that makes sense; most probably tentmaking was not one of the most prestigious jobs.
12 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
In many editions of the Bible, this text is entitled "fool's speech". So, what is so foolish about this speech? And where is the deep truth, which actually always appears satirically in fool's speeches?
Surely, we would find anyone who stood up today and said: "I boast of my weakness" funny.
Paul too? People probably don't laugh at what Moses, Paul or Jesus said. It happens that everything they said is stylised into a kind of basic Christian value, an instruction for action or attitude for our lives. Clever people have tried to sift out a lot of dogmatic doctrines from Paul's life experiences. An extract that could sound something like this in our text: "As a Christian, you must boast about your own weakness, for only in this is God effective." How would that sound at a sickbed or for a grieving family? Paul's wisdom is not suitable for that! And that was certainly not Paul's intention. He is carefully recounting his very own biography. Looking back, Paul says, I would prefer to boast about my weakness. Why? There had been frequent disputes with the church in Corinth. Itinerant preachers have emerged who call themselves "angels of light" or "servants of righteousness". Above all, they accused Paul of not actually being a true apostle! The way he appeared in Corinth, they say, humble and insignificant, sickly and weak, is not how a true apostle behaves.
They, on the other hand, would have the real leadership qualities to lead the small congregation in the huge harbour city. They could speak of the things of faith with the necessary confidence and assertiveness. It would be best if he, Paul, did not show his face in Corinth again.
Doesn't that sound familiar? There are always people who think they can decide conflicts in their favour by disqualifying the other position or trying to outdo their opponent.
Paul at first seems to strike back with the same means: "I must be crazy," he says. "Why am I defending myself at all? Because what impresses you so much about the others, I have been able to offer already for a long time! After all, I am also a Hebrew, an Israelite, a son of Abraham, I have tried long enough to fulfil the law with all my might! And then I still have my conversion experience before Damascus to offer, I have become a servant of Jesus Christ. So, what more do you want? And then he lists the adventures he has experienced on his missionary journeys, shipwrecks, imprisonment, beatings, stoning, robberies and much more. I could put all that in the balance, says Paul, but I don't want to! Because my experience is that the church didn't always grow where I was so great and successful, but often precisely where I felt so infinitely weak, where I didn't feel at all that I had spoken particularly convincingly, where I felt sick and miserable.
There has been much speculation about what might have been wrong with Paul. Perhaps he suffered from epileptic seizures, perhaps he was plagued by depression, we don't know. And yet God worked through this man, who was sickly and vulnerable, probably also choleric and of a not entirely easy character. Paul knows his weakness; he does not cover it up or hide it but is just as astounded by it and discovers God in the midst of his weakness.
This letter is a text of hope for all of us. And even if it is only ever possible to feel God's strength in experiences of weakness in retrospect, one sentence can give us courage for the present, a sentence like: "Be content with my grace, for my strength is mighty in weakness.” I can take all of this from Paul's life story to inspire me to look at my own story and better understand some of the things I have experienced so far. It may be that I have felt God's power very clearly in moments of great weakness. It is possible that it is precisely when I can no longer achieve anything, when I have clearly reached my limits, that God sets something in motion.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen