Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (Feb. 16, 2025)

Theme of the Day: God gives strength to those who trust in him.

Goal of the Message: That the hearers may rely on God, who allows thorns to come in our life when we proudly rely on ourselves, but who also provides His strength to overcome our weakness.

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“This is good. That is bad.” We often think life is that simple. We believe we can assess a situation accurately and determine if it is positive or negative. It’s hubris. As Jesus gathered followers, he taught them that his kingdom runs exactly opposite to the principles and priorities of the world. Therefore, much that we think is good is bad, and vice-versa.

If we want to accurately see the world, we need to have this epiphany. That which the world considers a blessing can often be a curse. Things like success and wealth and health can lead us away from our God, if we’re not careful. We become so enamored with those blessings that we forget about the Blesser. Conversely, there are hidden blessings in what we would normally consider curses. When we fail, when we suffer, and when things don’t go our way, it forces us to put our trust in God and for our souls to be satisfied in him.

St. Paul has a uniquely Christian view of life and hardship, one where he could “delight in weakness, in insults, in hardship,” etc. That is how God works. That which looks bad is for our good, Christ’s cross being the best example.

It is my prayer today that we all learn to rely on God, who allows thorns to come in our life when we proudly rely on ourselves, but who also gives strength to overcome our weakness.

The Foolishness of our Self-Sufficiency

Paul’s temptation to boast

Paul had received “surpassingly great revelations” from God (2 Cor 12:1-6) which could have made him feel superior to other Christians.

Paul also was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a scholar well-versed in Scripture, to whom Christ appeared in person, and whom God had called his special apostle to the Gentiles, giving him great authority.

Our own inclination to pride

Even faithful, long-time Christians may develop a false sense of self-confidence. We may be susceptible to pride, having the Achilles’ heels of apathy and complacency. There are Christians who feel they have it made, and, what is worse, that God’s will is that they always enjoy prosperity, good health, popularity, etc.

We, like Paul, desire to avoid tests. We may think that if we pray often enough and lead sanctified lives, God will not let us suffer.

But, God allows “thorns” to demonstrate to us the foolishness of our self-sufficiency.

Illustration: What are your thorns in the flesh? In the Questions and Answers column of The Lutheran Witness (March, 1990, p. 22), a certain G.W. from Michigan asked this question: “How does one reconcile St. Paul asking God to remove his “thorn in the flesh” with the parable Jesus told of the widow who came to the judge (Luke 18:1–6)?

I have a seemingly incurable chronic physical problem that seems like many “thorns.” Now, after appealing to God numerous times to heal this, should I quit praying and accept it?”

The answer was as follows: Your problem may seem incurable, but “with God, nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). He has the power to cure all our diseases. [and has promised to do so on the last day.] And Jesus told the parable in Luke 18 to encourage us not to lose heart in the face of this life’s struggles. So it certainly is in order to continue to pray for healing, trusting God’s promise that he hears our prayers and is able and willing to help us.

At the same time, though, we should not presume to tell God when and how he must help us. Our prayer should always be “Your will, be done,” recognizing that God always answers for our good, according to his gracious purpose for our lives. This is the lesson St Paul learned. Even more important than God answering Paul’s request with a yes was for Paul to learn to submit his will to God’s and know that his grace is sufficient even to enable him to accept his “thorn in the flesh.”

The joyful paradox of strength in weakness

The purpose of testing—or of the thorns in the flesh—is so that we might realize the joyful paradox of what is known as “the theology of the cross.” The mighty power of God to save is not found in overt displays of majesty, and glory, but hidden in a weak man dying on a cross. Christ humbled himself even to death on a cross to redeem us, and for that reason he has been highly exalted and given the name above all others. We need to rely on him, not ourselves. God’s answer to Paul’s cry for help was, “My grace is all you need; for my power is strongest when you are weak.”

The late Rev. Donald Deffner, in his wonderful book “Bound to Be Free”, had this to say:

No one likes to be “down in the pits,” but that’ s where we meet the One face to face, the One who went into the very pits of hell for us.

As Martin Luther said, “There is a certain despair of man’s own ability which must come about before man is prepared to receive the grace of Christ.”

When we are at the very bottom, often only then do we really see God’s purpose (and he may delay that insight for some time to come). Only then—when we are completely empty of ourselves—can God begin to work. “God has no use for cups half-full. He wants us completely empty—so he can fill us up with himself (from Bound To Be Free, by Donald L. Deffner [Morse Press, 1981] p. 73).

The blessings of testing—of thorns in the flesh.

Illustration: In a science laboratory a young student was examining a cocoon inside which a butterfly was straining to get free. In compassion he took a razor blade and gently cut open the cocoon walls so the beautiful captive could be released. But to his dismay, he did not see what he had envisioned—a creature with rainbow-hued wings ready to soar into the air. Rather he saw an ugly, helpless bug, neither able to walk nor to fly. The butterfly-to-be died. It had been freed too soon. It had not yet developed enough through struggle and growth to be ready for its first glorious flight.

When walls close in on you, when you struggle to be free and ask God to end your agony and release you, are you really ready? Do you question the value and need for testing? Doesn’t God in his infinite wisdom know what he is doing in your life? In Acts 14:22 Paul and Barnabas met with many believers reminding them that they must suffer many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. And the same is true for us.

Yet, God promises his sufficient grace. Through his Word and Sacraments he sustains our faith and supplies his strength to meet our daily trials. The means of grace may look ordinary and meager, but the joyful paradox is that God promises to bestow through them the forgiveness of sins, life, salvation, a peace that passes understanding, and everlasting life.

God gives the ability to delight in weakness.

We are comforted by knowing that our Lord shared our sufferings, and we rejoice as we follow in his footsteps.

Daily life brings constant reminders of some of our greatest weaknesses—impatience, greed, selfishness, thanklessness, and so on. All of these and more are characteristics of our sinful nature. The effects of this fallenness, too, weaken us, as our health is threatened, our loved ones dies, our marriages seem to be unraveling, and our bills and debts pile up faster than our financial resources. All of these are characteristics of the imperfect, sinful, and weak world in which we live. Over and against life’s weaknesses, which we embody, is the strength of our risen and victorious Lord and Savior, who has given to us the strength of his mercy, love, forgiveness, peace, and hope.

While some of the weaknesses we bear may never go away in this life, our true strength is found in the incarnation of him who is not only our Savior and God, but our brother and friend. Hebrews 4:15

Hebrews 4:15 NKJV

15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

And he does not merely sympathize with our weaknesses: he has overcome them. “Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord’ ” (1 Cor 1:31).

Our greatest weaknesses are God’s greatest strength. Paul writes in Rom 8:32, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” In other words, since the Lord has taken care of the greatest need we will ever have, which is salvation in him, he can then take care of all other needs as well. His grace is sufficient. His power is made perfect in our weakness.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayers of the Church

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. Heavenly Father, Your kingdom has been made manifest in the preaching and miracles of Jesus Christ. Gather together a great multitude from every Gentile nation and from Judea’s remnant, that many may know Wisdom come in our flesh. Lord, in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Grant, O Lord, that Your people may always hold fast to the Word that has been preached to them and not believe it in vain. Lord, in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

O Lord, preserve us from the ways of the wicked, and prosper us in Your paths. We commend to You all who bear office in our land and ask You to make them a blessing to those they serve. Grant to us every joy in the calling You have given to us, that we would render service to You in our works of love toward our neighbor. Remember those in need of honest labor and daily bread, and give them gainful employment according to Your good and gracious will. Lord, in Your mercy,

hear our prayer. 

Heavenly Father, we come before you acknowledging our own weakness and humbly ask for your grace to sustain us through the trials and struggles we face. Just as you provided for Paul, grant us the strength to embrace our 'thorn in the flesh,' knowing that your power is made perfect in weakness. Help us to find contentment not in our own abilities but in the sufficiency of your grace, so that when we are weak, we may truly be strong in Christ. May we not seek to remove our struggles, but instead, use them as opportunities to rely fully on your power and to boast in your strength working through us. Lord, in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Lord God, in the midst of our struggles and 'thorns in the flesh,' we come before You, seeking not relief from our weaknesses, but the strength to endure them for Your glory. Remind us that when we are weak, Your grace is sufficient, and Your power is made perfect in our vulnerability. Grant us the courage to embrace our limitations, knowing that through them, Your love and power can shine brightly in our life. May we find contentment in Christ, even in the midst of hardship, for it is in our weakness that Your true strength is revealed. Lord, in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Merciful God, hear our prayer for those who are troubled by any unclean spirit, memory or thought; for the sick; and for all who need Your healing especially those whom we name in our hearts and also those who are listed in our bulletin. Send forth Your power in the name of Jesus, that they would hear Your Word and be cured. Lord, in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Bless all who trust in You and come to eat the holy body and precious blood of Christ for the forgiveness of their sins in the blessed Sacrament. Lord, in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

O Lord, Your Son is risen from the dead and has promised that He is the firstfruits from among those who sleep. Preserve us in Christ Jesus with hope beyond this life. Comfort those who mourn with the certainty of Christ’s resurrection, especially Laurel Johnson and her family as they remember her sister Leta, and also the family of Curt Neft, and grant us to live in confident expectation of the resurrection of all flesh. Lord, in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Lord God, heavenly Father, plant us as trees by the stream of Christ, our Savior. Root us securely in His Word and wisdom. Do not let us turn from You, nor put our trust in man and this flesh, which fail. Preserve us from all anxiety, and take our fears away through right fear of You. Cause us, by Your Holy Spirit, to bear much fruit and, when affliction and persecution come, to stand firm and rejoice at the great reward that is laid up for those who trust in You; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Doctrinal Emphasis

One cannot talk about this text without talking about the “theology of the cross.” God’s love and glory can be known only from the cross of Christ. Christians often suffer, and those sufferings can cause them to question God’s love, mercy, and power. In fact, it often appears that either death and the devil are winning or that God hates us and desires to destroy us. The theology of the cross teaches us to look beyond appearances to divine reality, God loved us enough to die for us. It was in this moment of humiliation and defeat that God accomplished his greatest work—the redemption of all humankind. In like manner, those who are conformed to the image of Christ also suffer. It is through their weakness and suffering that God reveals his glory.