Through the Gospel reading for the ascension, the Church has reminded its flock that God uses human weakness to make saints. St. Matthew writes of how, just before God ascended into heaven from a mountain in Galilee, the eleven apostles still harbored doubts in their minds: “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted” (28:17). What happens next shows how God uses human imperfection: “In the Gospel, right after we are told that the apostles doubted, it says that Jesus came and approached them. Far from being repelled by their doubt, the Lord steps in.” As this article from Ascension Press shows, Jesus works with the apostles – with their doubt – just as he can work with us.
In fact, Jesus gives them a mission: “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” (28:19). In this passage and others, the Gospels reveal that Christ gives the apostles the strength to do what otherwise would have seemed impossible. Today, that same strength remains available through the Church. God continues to shine through human weakness.
Strong in Christ
St. Paul lays out a powerful paradox of strength through weakness in his letter to the Corinthians. His words show that God delights in our weakness and uses it for great things. Here, St. Paul refers once again to his “thorn in the flesh,” and he describes both God’s response to his desire to have it removed and the reason why his weaknesses make him strong.
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
These words recall Jesus’ proclamation from the Gospel of Mark: “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). Because of their prideful blindness to their own need for healing, many in Jesus’ day rejected his call for repentance and healing. In a sense, through pride, they lost the opportunity to become well, for they, too, had the chance to become saints by offering their weakness to Jesus.
St. Peter on the Waves
The image of St. Peter walking on stormy waves reveals just how Christ works to make his followers stronger in their weakness. First, St. Peter sees Jesus walking on the water and makes the daring request “‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water’” (Matt 14:28). Jesus says, “Come” and seemingly without hesitation or fear, St. Peter obeys: “Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus”(Matt 14:29). Doubt and fear fill his mind as he looks around: “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid”(Matt 14:30). Without thinking about it, Peter cries to Jesus “Lord, save me!” Jesus catches and challenges him: “Immediately, Jesus reached out, caught hold of him, and said, ‘You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?’” (Matt 14:31). Several points from the scene seem worth exploring
First, this scene shows Christ both challenging His followers to overcome their weakness while working with it. Next, it also shows Peter responding to the challenge of faith and doing something he would have thought impossible. Then, when he cannot make it all the way to Christ, he has the humility, or really simple common sense, to cry out for help. Finally, by depicting the rescue of St. Peter, the scene drives home the loving and protective nature of God. Indeed, God helps those on the way to make it to Him. He will never abandon his flock.
Sin Must Not Make Us Despair
Truly, St. Paul depicted the plight of all Christians struggling against weakness in their spiritual race. Sin can make the road to God seem long and impossible, but, of course, no Christian walks this road alone. St. Josemaria wrote, “Experience of sin, then, should not make us doubt our mission. True, our sins can make it difficult to recognize Christ. That is why we must face up to our personal miseries and seek to purify ourselves.” After quoting the passage from Corinthians above, Escriva explains that God uses human weakness, “The power of God is made manifest in our weakness and it spurs us on to fight, to battle against our defects, although we know that we will never achieve total victory during our pilgrimage on earth.” How true this is! This life is a battle we fight with God and win in eternity.
Conclusion: Ask for the Holy Spirit
Our weakness allows God to shine brighter. It also can encourage humility and docility if recognized and offered to God. Human weakness and sin constantly reveal the absolute helplessness of the soul without God’s grace. After all, God wants to make saints out of weak human clay. He chose our poor, doubting humanity to do great things. Let’s not try to make ourselves strong, but, like St. Peter, let’s call to him in our weakness. Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to come to us, just as it came to the doubting apostles and made them courageous and faith-filled.
