OT XIV [B] Ez 2:2-5; II Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6

One day a horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer's neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg they let him off. Now was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

Fr. Antony De Mello tells this story to open our eyes to see that what we often think as bad, may not be so. What we often think of good may not be so either. When suffering comes in our life none of us thinks it is a good time for us.

In the second reading, Paul fervently prayed to have the unidentified cause of great suffering removed but was given instead the reassurance that God's grace would be sufficient for his every need. This strange

passage raises two questions. First, what was this thorn? No one really knows, but scholars have many theories. It may have been a physical ailment of some

kind; or a particular temptation, like lust or greed; or the discouragement he constantly felt from being rejected by his Jewish confreres; or it may also have been his fiery temperament, which always seemed to get him into trouble. Whatever it was, it was a continual source of pain and irritation to Paul.

The second question is: why didn't God take this thorn away? St Paul tells us that it continually reminded him of his human weakness, inspiring him to depend more fully on God's grace. This is what he means when he writes: "when I am weak, then I am strong." And this should be a comforting thought for us. It means that our thorns, whatever they may be, are not signs of God's anger or displeasure, but signs that He is teaching us, as he taught St Paul, true wisdom, the wisdom of humility and trust in God.

Paul understood that suffering, accepted as God’s gift, produces patience, sensitivity and compassion and a genuine appreciation of life's blessings.

The ancient Fathers of the Church used to call Jesus the doctor of the soul. That's a comparison that can help us understand this idea. Sometimes doctors and dentists have to cause temporary discomfort or pain in order to bring about long-term health.  The cut of a surgeon's knife hurts, but it leads to healing and strength in the long run. Sometimes the medicine that a doctor  prescribes tastes bitter and harsh. And yet, that same medicine will cure the sickness that is much more dangerous.

The thorn that St. Paul mentions in this Reading is like the surgeon's knife or the bitter medicine.

As painful as it is, he recognizes that God is permitting it for a reason; to cure him of his tendency to arrogance and self-absorption. Likewise, when God allows difficulties to plague us, he is not absent from them, but at work through them, like a good doctor with a sharp scalpel.

Someone once asked Abraham Lincoln why he wouldn't replace a cabinet member who constantly opposed him. Lincoln told the story about the farmer who was trying to plow with a very old and decrepit horse. Lincoln noticed on the flank of the animal a big thistle caught in the animal's hair. Lincoln started to pull it off and the farmer said, "Don't remove that thistle, Abe! If it wasn't for the sticker, this old horse wouldn't move an inch!" That means, treat your problems as challenges. People who are difficult to work with, problems that seem insurmountable - notice how they keep you digging inside yourself for greater strength. In the end, you accomplish great feats, not in spite of, but because of your problems.

Our “suffering has redemptive power.” Pope John Paul II’s encyclical writes, “It is suffering, more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human souls.  “Suffering is not in itself redemptive and transformative. When we suffer an adversity, first we have to examine ourselves to see if there is sin in our life. Suffering can come as a result of my sins. For instance, I get cancer as a result of my being a heavy smoker. This suffering is a result of my own doing. But I can make it also redemptive if I repent of my doing and cease smoking and join my offering to that of Christ.

John Paul wrote, “Christ has raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ” (SD 19).  Paul says: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His Body, that is, the Church” . We might ask the question, “what can possibly be lacking in Christ’s sufferings, Christ’s afflictions?” The answer is that all that is lacking is our part in them. When we think about our part in completing what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings, we can think it is very small, even miniscule compared to his. Yet, our sufferings are, as John Paul wrote, “a very special particle of the infinite treasure of the world’s Redemption” (SD 27). The truth is, even if a small part, it has meaning when it is joined to Christ. It can be fruitful. We can participate with Christ in redeeming the world.

Accepting our limitations and the thorns that God permits in our lives is not easy for us either. We need God's help, which is always available through prayer and the sacraments. And we also need to exercise the virtue of humility. There are three ways we can do that almost every day. First, by not insisting on getting our own way all the time. Second, by listening to others more than talking about ourselves. And third, by doing acts of kindness for others instead of constantly expecting them to do acts of kindness for us.

During this Mass Jesus will renew his commitment to us through the sacrifice of the Eucharist. When he does, let's renew our commitment to him, and ask him to help us accept the thorns he allows in our lives, so that we can also experience the full transforming power of his love.