And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12: 7-10
As we wrap up this unit on where we are and where we want to be in our faith, there is something critically important to understand about what happens when we try to grow in our faith—oftentimes, just as we make a spiritual breakthrough, a thorn is placed in our side by Satan, to throw us off. I have said, many times, to people who come to confession, especially those who come for the first time, and are so elated and renewed when it is over, that just outside the door of the church lurks Satan, who will inflict all kinds of temptation on us, to keep us from being elated about God and our own spiritual growth. This is a reality.
The thorn may come through temptation, it may come through another person tempting us, through our own thoughts, or through circumstances. I’ve known many devout people who have had debilitating illnesses, some of which caused them to die at a young age. I’ve often wondered why so many who are so faithful seem to suffer an inordinate amount, at least from my perspective.
I’ve written before about the story of the demons and the monastery. It seems that a monk in a monastery outside of a city asked his abbot for permission to go out into the city for the purpose of finding a demon. The abbot gave him leave so he went out into the big city, looking for demons. He went up and down the streets, and found none. Finally, he found one demon sleeping under a tree. He went back to the monastery and as he drew near, he saw hundreds of demons climbing over the gate to the monastery, and in and out of the windows of the monastery. He went to the abbot and said “I am confused. I went out into the busy city, all over the streets and found only one demon sleeping under a tree. When I came back to the monastery, where we are but a few faithful monks, the demons were all over the place.” The abbot answered him, “Son, in the big city, people are distracted by all of their worldly cares. These distractions have caused them to lose their focus on God. There is no work for the demons to do there, the people are already distracted. Here in the monastery, where we are trying to grow in our faith and worship God, the demons are all over the place, trying to distract us.”
And the same goes true for other aspects of life. I don’t think we will find demons in the strip clubs—those people have already fallen to temptation. We will find the devil alive and active in the homes of people who have solid marriages, we will find him trying to tempt honorable people, we will even find him in our churches. Wherever there are people he can tempt, that’s where he will be.
Two questions to ponder today—first, what is/are the thorn(s) in my side in my life? And how many of those thorns are because of the prompting of the devil? And second, are we (you and I) a thorn in anyone’s side, prohibiting anyone from growing in his/her faith?
In answering the first question, we not only need a genuine answer, but we need a plan of action, what to do about the things that distract us in our faith. They don’t just go away. In fact, they persist. Many times when I celebrate the Divine Liturgy, I am distracted and unfocused. You might be thinking “you, Father, are distracted?” And the answer is yes, my mind wanders at times, just like yours does. What is the cause of that? The devil. The last thing the devil wants is a joyful and focused celebration of the Divine Liturgy. So, what to do when we get distracted? Work hard to get refocused—focus on THE moment we are in, the words being said, and what they mean. So much of our services are filled with petitions that call us to remember in prayer the things being mentioned—peace in the world, for those who are sick, for our country, etc. Many of us get distracted and tempted by our phones or computers. The answer there is just refocus, and resolution, resolution that “I will not let myself be tempted in this moment.” I have listened off and on to a podcast for the past year, where a priest reads “The Bible in a Year.” Many mornings I have listened to him on the way in to work. The last couple of weeks, I have been distracted in the mornings—taking phone calls in the car, listening to music, even being alone with my own thoughts. This morning, I decided “I will listen today” and it felt good. I didn’t focus on all the day I hadn’t listened, but decided to listen TODAY. When you have a thorn in your side, a distraction, a temptation, decide that it will not beat you TODAY or even in the MOMENT you are in.
In answering the second question, we know that God can work through people for good. And the devil can also work through people, by causing them to be thorns in the sides of others. We are probably all guilty of this at some point. Ask yourself, honestly, if there might be anything you are doing to anyone to be a thorn in their side. And if the answer is yes, work hard to stop that, to change that, and if appropriate even apologize for that.
Having thorns in our sides will be a constant temptation provided by the devil. So will be also the temptation to be a thorn in the side of others. In addressing this idea of where we are where we want to be in our faith, the issue of the thorns will come up quickly.
Lord, thank You for the beauty You’ve created that surrounds me. Whether that beauty is other people, or the personal things of beauty You made specifically for me. Help me to see the good in others, and to resist the temptation to be a thorn in the side of anyone today. Help me also to identify the thorns in my life that tempt me to go away from You. Help me to focus on the beauty You have put in to me and into everyone else, and be less affected by the thorns that come my way, and the temptation for me to put thorns in the way of others. Amen.
Rose bushes have thorns, they also have beautiful flowers. We have the ability to focus on the beauty of the rose or the danger of thorns. We have the ability to be a rose for someone or to be their thorn. Let’s focus on the roses today, both in how we look at ourselves and how we behave towards others. This will go a long way in getting us from where we are to where we want to be in our faith.
