2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
10 Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
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From The Imitation of Christ (Thomas A. Kempis, 13th Century):
"How extremely necessary to me, O Lord, Your grace is to begin any good deed, to carry it on and bring it to completion! For without grace I can do nothing, but with its strength I can do all things in You. O Grace truly heavenly, without which our merits are nothing and no gifts of nature are to be esteemed!
Before You, O Lord, no arts or riches, no beauty or strength, no wit or intelligence avail without grace. For the gifts of nature are common to good and bad alike, but the peculiar gift of Your elect is grace or love, and those who are signed with it are held worthy of everlasting life. So excellent is this grace that without it no gift of prophecy or of miracles, no meditation be it ever so exalted, can be considered anything. Not even faith or hope or other virtues are acceptable to You without charity and grace.
O most blessed grace, which makes the poor in spirit rich in virtues, which renders him who is rich in many good things humble of heart, come, descend upon me, fill me quickly with your consolation lest my soul faint with weariness and dryness of mind. "
Link: The Imitation of Christ. Scroll down to Chapter 55: http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/imitation/imb3c51-59.html#RTFToC293
Showing posts with label 2 Corinthians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2 Corinthians. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, July 6, 2009
Daily - 7/6/09
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (Sunday 2nd Reading)
7 ... Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
8 Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
10 Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
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It is when we give up our fears, our anxieties, our problems, and our failures that we grow closer to the Lord. We finally look up and realize that we really can't do it all on our own. In those moments we rely on the Lord heavily, maybe even exclusively. When that happens, we're getting close to the way God wants us to live.
Here's the cool thing: no issue is too small to give over to God. If anything is bothering us, we can just give it up to the Lord. It doesn't have to be tragic, or life threatening, or heart-wrenching, or anything of the sort. God wants us to call on Him in everything in our lives, not just in moments of crisis.
The Lord told Paul that His grace is sufficient. "Grace" means "gift" -- so God is telling us that his gifts are enough to get through whatever life throws at us. We don't need anything else. We might think we need more, but we don't.
It is when we are weak, that we are strong; and power is made perfect in weakness. These teachings are every bit as revolutionary today as when they were written in the first century. If you can get here in your spiritual life, you've got something going!
7 ... Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
8 Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
10 Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
----------
It is when we give up our fears, our anxieties, our problems, and our failures that we grow closer to the Lord. We finally look up and realize that we really can't do it all on our own. In those moments we rely on the Lord heavily, maybe even exclusively. When that happens, we're getting close to the way God wants us to live.
Here's the cool thing: no issue is too small to give over to God. If anything is bothering us, we can just give it up to the Lord. It doesn't have to be tragic, or life threatening, or heart-wrenching, or anything of the sort. God wants us to call on Him in everything in our lives, not just in moments of crisis.
The Lord told Paul that His grace is sufficient. "Grace" means "gift" -- so God is telling us that his gifts are enough to get through whatever life throws at us. We don't need anything else. We might think we need more, but we don't.
It is when we are weak, that we are strong; and power is made perfect in weakness. These teachings are every bit as revolutionary today as when they were written in the first century. If you can get here in your spiritual life, you've got something going!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Daily - 4/7/09
Isaiah 50:4-9a (Wednesday's First Reading)
4 The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear;
5 And I have not rebelled, have not turned back.
6 I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.
7 The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
8 He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me.
9 See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong?
------------------
This was also the first reading on Palm Sunday.
The Suffering Servant describes His relationship with God. He is fully aware of that his gifts come completely from God. His mission is one of teaching, healing, and humility. He knows he will face extreme challenges, and he does so without complaining, and without letting his pride control his actions. He relies on the Lord, and only the Lord, for help.
As v4 says, the Servant relies on God every morning to open his ear that He may hear. This is the model for us. If we are willing to give up control and rely on God completely, He will take care of us. How many of us ask God every day to open our ears that we may hear, and ask Him to give us a well-trained tongue so we can comfort the weary?
Here's the trick, though. We must come to God in humility. It is when we are weak, that we are strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). How many of us can even approach Christ's example of humility? Not many, but I do know this for certain: we are called to try. If we submit our pride to God, he will transform us over time. God makes all of this possible for us.
4 The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear;
5 And I have not rebelled, have not turned back.
6 I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.
7 The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
8 He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me.
9 See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong?
------------------
This was also the first reading on Palm Sunday.
The Suffering Servant describes His relationship with God. He is fully aware of that his gifts come completely from God. His mission is one of teaching, healing, and humility. He knows he will face extreme challenges, and he does so without complaining, and without letting his pride control his actions. He relies on the Lord, and only the Lord, for help.
As v4 says, the Servant relies on God every morning to open his ear that He may hear. This is the model for us. If we are willing to give up control and rely on God completely, He will take care of us. How many of us ask God every day to open our ears that we may hear, and ask Him to give us a well-trained tongue so we can comfort the weary?
Here's the trick, though. We must come to God in humility. It is when we are weak, that we are strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). How many of us can even approach Christ's example of humility? Not many, but I do know this for certain: we are called to try. If we submit our pride to God, he will transform us over time. God makes all of this possible for us.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Daily - 1/5/09
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the holy ones throughout Achaia:
2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement,
4 who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.
5 For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.
(Note: Some translations replace "encouragement" in the verses above with "comfort.")
From the earliest days of the Church, the apostles understood that going through trials gave them the strength and experience to help others. God comforts us through our afflictions and our times of need, and through that process we gain spiritual knowledge that we can use to helpothers.
I can testify to this. I've been recently blessed with the opportunity to help a couple of people who are going through significant trials. There is absolutely no way that I'd be able to help these people if I hadn't been through certain trials of my own that have taught me spiritual lessons. God encouraged me through those trials, so that I might be able to encourage these couple of people.
Verse 5 is so true - as Christ's suffereings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement overflow. We just need to remember to focus on him during times of suffering,
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the holy ones throughout Achaia:
2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement,
4 who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.
5 For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.
(Note: Some translations replace "encouragement" in the verses above with "comfort.")
From the earliest days of the Church, the apostles understood that going through trials gave them the strength and experience to help others. God comforts us through our afflictions and our times of need, and through that process we gain spiritual knowledge that we can use to helpothers.
I can testify to this. I've been recently blessed with the opportunity to help a couple of people who are going through significant trials. There is absolutely no way that I'd be able to help these people if I hadn't been through certain trials of my own that have taught me spiritual lessons. God encouraged me through those trials, so that I might be able to encourage these couple of people.
Verse 5 is so true - as Christ's suffereings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement overflow. We just need to remember to focus on him during times of suffering,
Friday, May 2, 2008
Daily - 5/2/08
Here’s a bit more on the duality of flesh and spirit. Paul is referring to ministers here primarily, but in my opinion the lesson still stands for all of us. We’re stuck with the earthen vessels for a while. But like it says in verse 16 – although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. That’s a comforting thought for me, especially as the true realities of aging are beginning to work in my earthly vessel. .
2 Corinthians 4:6-14
6 For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of (Jesus) Christ.
7 But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
11 For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed, therefore I spoke," we too believe and therefore speak,
14 knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence.
15 Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
16 Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
17 For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
18 as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:6-14
6 For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of (Jesus) Christ.
7 But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
11 For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed, therefore I spoke," we too believe and therefore speak,
14 knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence.
15 Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
16 Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
17 For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
18 as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Daily - 4/29/08
Sometimes you’ll see the life in the flesh referred to as “the world” by Jesus in the gospels, and Satan as the “prince of the world.” When we commit our lives to Christ, we die to the life of the flesh (ie, “the World”), and move to the life in the Spirit. Paul describes this process in his letters, but sometimes you have to move from one to another to see the whole picture:
2 Corinthians 5:17
14 For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died.
15 He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
16 Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer.
17 So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.
Galatians 2:19-20
19 For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ;
20 yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.
Romans 8:5-13
5 For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit.
6 The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace.
7 For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it;
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.
12 Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
This transition from life in the flesh to life in the Spirit is what happens when we make a commitment to Christ. In my experience, this isn’t something that happens according to a calendar. Although I had gone through the standard Catholic progression of sacraments, I didn’t make a commitment to Christ until I was 32 years old. The transition from life in the flesh to life in the spirit didn’t begin in earnest until then. It’s still going on, and it will continue until I die.
And quite frankly it has been difficult at times. Although the spirit of Christ lives in us, we still live in the world, and we’re also stuck with these mortal bodies that are sinful by nature. Paul himself mourned this struggle in Romans 7. More on that tomorrow.
2 Corinthians 5:17
14 For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died.
15 He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
16 Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer.
17 So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.
Galatians 2:19-20
19 For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ;
20 yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.
Romans 8:5-13
5 For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit.
6 The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace.
7 For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it;
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.
12 Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
This transition from life in the flesh to life in the Spirit is what happens when we make a commitment to Christ. In my experience, this isn’t something that happens according to a calendar. Although I had gone through the standard Catholic progression of sacraments, I didn’t make a commitment to Christ until I was 32 years old. The transition from life in the flesh to life in the spirit didn’t begin in earnest until then. It’s still going on, and it will continue until I die.
And quite frankly it has been difficult at times. Although the spirit of Christ lives in us, we still live in the world, and we’re also stuck with these mortal bodies that are sinful by nature. Paul himself mourned this struggle in Romans 7. More on that tomorrow.
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