The Power of Getting Caught

The Power of Getting Caught--February 13, 2017

"Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.' So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong." [2 Corinthians 12:7b-10]

Anyone who tries to sell you on the idea that Christianity can give you a recipe for being "strong," "successful," "great," or a "winner" in the world's eyes hasn't read very far into their Bibles.  Don't buy what they are selling.

Turns out, in fact, Jesus is teaching us how to be just the opposite--how to turn the world upside down precisely by being what the world calls "weak," "failure," "lowly," and "losers." 

All this month we are looking at the great divide between our old self's question, "How can I get what I want?" and the new, upside-down question that Jesus has given us: "How can we be open to God's Reign, and what God wants for all of us in this moment?"  In other words, Jesus is teaching us to pray like he did: "Not my will, O God, but yours, be done," and not to pray that with teeth gritted and sour faces, but daring to trust that God's vision is for something good for everyone, even if it isn't the pony or convertible I was wishing for.

And when we actually dare to start asking how God can best use us, it's funny how often the answer comes back as the opposite of what the powers of the day expect.  The powers of the day--the voices of influence and might chirping all around us--they only think in terms of how to look more powerful, how to come off appearing strong, how to market themselves as successful, and how to convince everybody (maybe even themselves) that they are winners. 

The powers of the day give advice like this: "Do whatever it takes to get what you want; winning is all that matters; don't show weakness; don't ever let anyone see you make a mistake, and therefore don't ever admit to making a bad choice, an unwise decision, or a foolish action.  Every situation is a contest and a competition, and if someone else does well, it is a loss for you, so don't ever settle for anything less than obliterating the other guy... and if you can't, find a way to make your failure look like a win."  Come on, now, you and I, we have heard all that tired old bluster before, haven't we?

And then over again all of that conventional wisdom there is the counter-cultural way of the followers of Jesus.  Paul the apostle learned it and lived it in his own life, when he found himself struggling with something and wanting to come out victorious over it.  You can tell Paul was still working out in his own life how God's upside-down way of doing things would look, because at first, he says, his prayer was for a "win."  Whatever this weakness was in his life that he calls a "thorn in the flesh" (some think it was a disease affecting his eyesight, others think it was a bout of depression, and yet others think it was another person), Paul's initial strategy was a lot like the wisdom of the powers of the day: he wanted to be stronger, so he could win out over against this thorn. 

But the living Jesus responds to him with a "No."  Not a "no" of punishment. Not to toughen Paul up.  Not any of that.  Instead, Jesus' response to Paul is that God's kind of power is actually at its best when we are done trying to impress, and when we are done striving to come off like winners.  God's power is most magnificent at the point of our embrace of weakness, our willingness to own our failures, our openness to give ourselves away (what the world calls "losing") in love.  This is not a trick.  This is not Step 1 of a multi-phase plan in which we will later on get to strive after power and influence and winning.  This is the whole strategy: we embrace our weakness rather than puffing ourselves up to make people think we are "winners."  This is the plan: we are done with needing to impress people at all in the first place.  And at that point, when we are no longer striving to make ourselves look like the hero, God can actually do something with us.

I am reminded of an anecdote about a troupe of trapeze artists that Henri Nouwen once related about that point of surrender.  Nouwen recounts:

[I was] sitting with Rodleigh, the leader of the troupe, in his caravan, talking about flying. He said, "As a flyer, I must have complete trust in my catcher, The public might think that I am the greatest star of the trapeze, but the real star is Joe, my catcher. He has to be there for me with split-second precision and grab me out of the air as I come to him in the long jump."

"How does it work?" I asked.

"The secret," Rodleigh said, "is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything: when I fly to Joe, I have simply to stretch out my arms and hands and wait for him to catch me and pull me safely over the apron behind the catchbar."

"You do nothing!" I said, surprised.

"Nothing," Rodleigh repeated. "A flyer must fly, and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him."

Nouwen then adds his own reflection that the whole life of faith is like that leap, and that the gospel is essentially the word from God that says: "Don't be afraid. Remember that you are the beloved child of God. He will be there when you make your long jump. Don't try to grab him; he will grab you. Just stretch out your arms and hands and trust, trust, trust."

That's what Paul learned, too, in his prayers over his thorn in the flesh.  Paul had spent so long, so much time, and so much energy, trying to get rid of the weakness so he could be the strong one, the doer, the accomplisher, the hero, again.  And finally, Jesus got through to him--Paul didn't need to do a thing, but simply let grace enfold him. That meant no more straining to come off as strong or smart--simply letting love catch him and hold him.

That is the key to the movement to which you and I belong.  We are a part of how God is turning the world upside down, but not like any other cause or party or platform on earth.  Not with the strategies of the powers of the day, not with bluster, and not with posturing to look strong. We will offer up only our weaknesses--and we will watch as God not only catches us midair, but changes the world through such acts of honest surrender.  There is power simply in getting caught.

What could you and I do today if we didn't have to spend any more effort trying to convince people around us we were stronger, more successful, or more victorious than we really are?

Lord Jesus, let your power be made perfect in our weakness.  Here we are, ready for you to catch us.