Homily at Diocesan Synod Eucharist

23rd June 2007.

 

Readings: 2 Cor 12:1-10/Mt 6: 24-10.

 

When I looked up the readings set for today’s eucharist, Paul’s thorn in the flesh, and Jesus telling us that each day has troubles enough of its own, I did think – not for the first time – that God has a sense of humour! After all, both readings might apply not just to my own personal predicament, wrestling with a serious illness, but also to a meeting of Diocesan Synod.

 

We’re not quite sure what form this ‘thorn in the flesh’ took. Some people think it might have been a form of epilepsy, others another ailment, others again suspect that it could have been a group in the church who really had it in for him. And three times, Paul asked to be rid of it, and each time the reply came back that God’s grace was sufficient. But look again at the passage: Paul juxtaposes the thorn in the flesh with some kind of ecstatic experience, that took him beyond himself. Again, we’re not sure what this was. What it amounts to, however, is a special experience and a wound. This suggests to us, in our own way, that to be a disciple of Christ means being both ‘wounded’ and weak, but also inspired by heaven itself.

 

Then we go on to the gospel, part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is not speaking from an ivory tower. He is telling us not to worry about tomorrow. I’ve certainly learnt to live each day as it comes, like the times in hospital when I’ve wondered what my temperature was going to be  – always crucial when dealing with infection – when the nurse came in at the delightful hour of 6.00 a.m.

 

Looking at this challenge more widely, we do appear to be a very anxious Church. We are often criticised in some of the national newspapers for being concerned about issues that the rest of society regards as not worth spending any time and energy on; and it really is up to us, if they really are that important, to argue the matter coolly and calmly. But over and above these areas of dispute (part of church history, whether we like it or not), we need time and again to be captivated by a vision of God, and his providence. That must be the starting-point, and no other. For it is the providence of God that goes ahead of us at every moment, in every breath we breathe, every word we speak, every deed we do,  every step that we take.

 

+ Kenneth Portsmouth: