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reading from the second letter of St
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paul to the Corinthians brothers is it
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necessary for me to boast it is not
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right but I will now speak of the
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visions and revelations of the Lord i
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know a man who was in Christ 14 years
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ago and was caught up to the third
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heaven whether he was caught up in the
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body or out of the body I do not know
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only God knows i know that this man
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whether in the body or out of the body I
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do not know only God knows was caught up
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to paradise and there he heard
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inexpressable words that no man can
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utter on behalf of that man I will boast
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but on my own behalf I will not boast
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except in my weaknesses but if I wanted
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to boast I would not be a fool for I
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would speak only the truth but I refrain
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from boasting so that no one may think
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of me more highly than what he sees in
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me or hears from me and so that I would
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not be exalted above measure by the
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surpassing greatness of the revelations
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a thorn was thrust into my flesh a
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messenger of Satan buffeting me so that
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I would not be exalted above measure
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three times I begged the Lord about this
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that it would take away from me but he
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said to me "My grace is sufficient for
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you for power is made perfect in
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weakness therefore I will boast all the
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more gladly about my weaknesses so that
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the power of Christ may rest upon me for
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this reason I delight in weaknesses in
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insults in hardships in persecutions in
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distresses for Christ's sake for when I
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am weak then I am strong." The word of
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the Lord thanks be to God
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proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
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Christ according to St matthew glory to
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you Lord at that time Jesus said to his
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disciples "No one can serve two masters
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either he will hate the one and love the
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other or he will be loyal to the one and
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despise the other you cannot serve God
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and money therefore I tell you do not
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worry about your life what you will eat
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or what you will drink nor about your
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body what you will wear is not life more
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than food and the body more than
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clothing look at the birds of the air
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they do not sow or reap or store away in
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barns and yet your father in heaven
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feeds them are you not more valuable
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than the birds who among you can prolong
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his life by worrying and why do you
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worry about clothing look at the liies
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of the field how they grow they neither
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toil nor spin but I tell you not even
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King Solomon in all his days glory was
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never dressed like one of these if God
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so clothe the grass of the field which
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today is alive and tomorrow is burned in
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the oven will he not much more clothe
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you oh you of little faith therefore do
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not worry saying "What shall we eat what
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shall we drink what shall we wear?" The
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pagans seek after these things your
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father in heaven knows that you need all
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these things but seek first the kingdom
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of God and his righteousness and all
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these things will be given to you as
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well therefore do not worry about
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tomorrow for tomorrow will have its own
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worries each day has enough trouble of
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its own the word of the Savior glory to
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dear brothers and sisters in Christ
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imagine a tightroppe walker walking on a
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tightroppe suspended at a great height
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his steps are cautious measured each
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movement calculated with precision he
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cannot look to the sides or down he must
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keep his eyes fixed on the destination a
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small distraction a moment of imbalance
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and everything can end in a fall this
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image offers us a window into
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understanding the spiritual tensions
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that today's readings present to us the
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delicate balance between greatness and
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fragility between heavenly revelations
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and earthly concerns in the first
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reading St paul invites us into an
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extraordinary and at the same time
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deeply personal experience
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he speaks of a man we know it is himself
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who was caught up to the third heaven
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who heard inexpressable words which it
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is not lawful for a man to utter what an
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incredible experience
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imagine for a moment being in the direct
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presence of God experiencing heavenly
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glory so intensely that even human words
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cannot describe it but here is the
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fascinating paradox paul does not boast
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about this extraordinary experience
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instead he chooses to boast in his
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weaknesses most gladly then will I
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rather boast about my weaknesses that
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the power of Christ may rest upon me
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what a revolutionary statement why does
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Paul make this seemingly contradictory
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choice because he understood something
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profound about the nature of the
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spiritual life he was given a thorn in
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the flesh an affliction that kept him
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humble that constantly reminded him of
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his dependence on God three times he
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prayed for this trial to be removed and
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three times God answered "My grace is
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sufficient for you for my power is made
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perfect in weakness." What a powerful
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lesson for us we live in a culture that
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exalts strength success independence we
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are taught to hide our weaknesses to
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project an image of competence and
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control but Paul shows us a different
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way he teaches us that it is precisely
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in our weakness that God's power is most
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clearly manifested think for a moment
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about your own life what are the thorns
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in the flesh that you carry perhaps they
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are physical limitations emotional
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struggles relational challenges or
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difficult circumstances that seem to
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have no solution paul invites us to see
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these thorns not as obstacles to our
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spiritual growth but as opportunities to
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experience God's sufficient grace when
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we acknowledge our limitations and
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depend completely on God we make room
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for his power to work through us in ways
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we never imagined possible it is like a
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cracked vase that instead of hiding its
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cracks allows light to shine through
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them creating a beautiful and unique
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pattern now let's turn our attention to
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the gospel where Jesus presents us with
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another fundamental tension of the
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Christian life the choice between
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serving God or serving riches no one can
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serve two masters jesus states
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categorically this is not a suggestion
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or a recommendation it is a statement of
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spiritual impossibility
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jesus uses the word mammon an Aramaic
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term that personifies riches as a rival
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deity he is telling us that money and
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material possessions are not neutral
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they exert an almost spiritual force in
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our lives competing for our loyalty and
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devotion but Jesus doesn't stop there he
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continues with a series of teachings
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about anxiety that touches us at the
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core of our human experience do not
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worry about your life what you will eat
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or what you will drink nor about your
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body what you will put on at first
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glance these words may seem unrealistic
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especially in times of economic hardship
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unemployment or uncertainty how can we
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not worry about basic necessities like
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food and clothing is Jesus asking us to
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absolutely not jesus is inviting us to a
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radically different perspective on life
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he uses examples from nature the birds
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of the air and the liies of the field to
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illustrate a profound truth about divine
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providence the birds do not plant or
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harvest but are fed by the heavenly
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father the liies do not labor or spin
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but are clothed with a beauty that
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surpasses the glory of Solomon the issue
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is not that we should stop working or
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planning the issue is where we place our
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ultimate trust do we place our trust in
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our own ability to control and provide
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or do we trust in the God who knows our
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needs before we even ask for them jesus
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ends with a phrase that should be
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written on our hearts seek first the
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kingdom of God and his righteousness and
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all these things will be given to you
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herein lies the key to resolving both
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Paul's paradox and Jesus dilemma of
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concern when we seek first the kingdom
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of God when we make our relationship
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with God our supreme priority everything
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else falls into place this does not mean
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that we will never face hardship or that
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all our material needs will
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automatically be met in the way we
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expect paul certainly faced many
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hardships in his missionary life but it
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does mean that when our identity and
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security are rooted in God we can face
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both abundance and scarcity with
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equinimity my dear brothers and sisters
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how do we apply these profound truths to
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our daily lives how do we live this
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delicate balance between acknowledging
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our weaknesses and trusting in God's
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providence first we need to embrace our
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limitations with the same courageous
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honesty that Paul did instead of hiding
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our struggles or pretending that we have
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it all together we can openly
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acknowledge our needs and
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this is not a sign of spiritual weakness
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it is the first step toward experiencing
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God's transforming power second we need
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to cultivate an eternal perspective when
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we are constantly focused only on
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immediate concerns bills to pay health
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problems difficult relationships we lose
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sight of the bigger picture of what God
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is doing in our lives and in the world
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like Paul who had a vision of the third
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heaven we need to regularly lift our
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eyes beyond our present circumstances
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third we must practice daily trust just
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as Jesus taught us to pray "Give us this
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day our daily bread." We need to develop
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the habit of casting our cares upon God
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each morning choosing to trust in his
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providence for the day ahead fourth we
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need to redefine our concept of strength
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and success in a world that measures
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worth by accomplishments and
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accumulations we are called to value
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things like dependence on God service to
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others integrity of character and
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spiritual growth finally we must seek
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first the kingdom of God not just as an
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individual spiritual practice but as a
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life orientation that influences all of
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our decisions this means constantly
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asking "How does this choice reflect
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kingdom values how does this decision
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contribute to God's justice and love in
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the world imagine what our lives would
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be like if we truly live these
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principles instead of being consumed by
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anxiety about the future we could live
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with deep peace knowing that we are in
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the hands of a loving God instead of
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hiding our weaknesses we could be
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transparent and vulnerable creating
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space for God's power to manifest
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through us instead of chasing material
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security or social status we could focus
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on building meaningful relationships and
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contributing to the transformation of
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the world around us instead of feeling
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overwhelmed by life's responsibilities
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we could experience the freedom that
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comes from knowing that we do not have
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to carry all of our burdens alone dear
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brothers and sisters today we are
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invited to take a step of faith a step
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of trusting in the sufficiency of God's
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grace a step of prioritizing the kingdom
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over our earthly concerns a step of
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recognizing that our weakness can be the
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portal through which God's power
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manifests itself like the tightroppe
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walker we cannot look to the side or
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down focusing on our fears and
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limitations we must keep our eyes fixed
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on Jesus the author and finisher of our
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faith trusting that he will sustain us
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every step of the way may the grace of
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our Lord Jesus Christ be sufficient for
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you may his strength be made perfect in
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your weakness and may you as you seek
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first the kingdom of God find that all
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other things peace purpose provision are
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added by his loving hand may the God of
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all grace who has called us to his
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eternal glory in Christ after we have
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suffered a little while perfect
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establish strengthen and settle us to
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him be the glory and the dominion
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forever and ever amen
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st michael the Archangel defend us in
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battle be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil may
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God rebuke him we humbly pray and do
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thou O prince of the heavenly host by
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the power of God cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
