The Missing Piece

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: Ezek 2:2-5; Ps 123; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6 [Link]

Over the years, I’ve bought many things that came in kits. You know, you open the box and there are all kinds of plastic bags filled with parts… and of course, simple directions—if you have an engineering degree from MIT. Usually, they tell you to begin by taking an inventory: now make sure that you have 37 Phillips-head screws that are 1⅜-inches long…

I’m kind of an impatient person, so I would usually just dive in to the assembly process. One time, well into it—and into the night! —I found to my horror that an important piece was missing. I searched high and low. No luck. I bet you can relate to that sinking feeling.

I think this experience is kind of a metaphor for how lots of us approach life. Maybe you feel that life’s a struggle because somehow there’s an important piece missing.

What’s your missing piece? Maybe it’s an education you weren’t able to get. Maybe it’s the love or closeness in your marriage or some other relationship that you really want but it just never happened. Perhaps it’s some kind of physical or intellectual or emotional difficulty that forces you to limp through life while for other people, life seems smooth and easy. Or maybe it’s some other unfulfilled dream or tragic loss that you can’t seem to get past. Missing pieces are as different and unique as each of us is.

Paul tells us today about his own missing piece in his Letter to the Corinthians. He calls it a “thorn in the flesh.” We don’t really know what his exact problem was, but it must have been a real struggle for him, since he asked God three times to take it away. The Lord kept saying, “No… my grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

How unpleasant.

Or is it? Actually, this short passage is pretty amazing to reflect on. In a strange sort of way, Paul teaches us that we can be more whole, more complete, when we have a missing piece, because in our quest to fill the empty space in our life, we are driven to Jesus Christ.

What an amazing discovery, because even though God doesn’t always agree to restore our so-called missing pieces, he is always willing to use those gaps to bring about a lot of good.

I have a friend named Doug whose father died suddenly when he was very young. All his life, Doug searched for a way to fill the void his father’s death left. He went through a lot of really bad relationships to try to fill the loneliness. That didn’t work. Then he became one of those “driven” people who lived life in the fast lane. He worked like a demon, made a ton of money, bought everything he wanted at the moment, traveled a lot—but he quickly learned that no matter what he achieved or bought, the pain and emptiness in his soul remained.

One day, in a wonderful epiphany of faith, it dawned on Doug—like it did for St. Paul—that if he put Jesus at the center of his life, then he could make peace with the thorn in his flesh. Doug realized that a weakness he had no control over was prodding him right into the arms of Jesus, giving him a different kind of strength and delight.

Think for a minute about your own experience. How many times have you gotten the very thing you thought would satisfy your deepest hunger or dream? A new job or promotion or a fat raise… a new home or car or marriage or children… a dream relationship… getting your health back—only to discover that the pleasure these things gave was only temporary. Even great things can be terribly disappointing. You know why? Because only God can give us perfect fulfillment. That’s the idea behind heaven! We are created in his image, and only the presence of Jesus in our lives can ultimately fill the God-shaped hole in our soul. And if some missing piece in our life helps us discover this, what a blessing we have received!

What this means is that if God doesn’t give us our missing piece, he can still give us a new attitude of acceptance that can become a source of strength and joy. That’s how Paul can write that he can boast of his weaknesses, and delight in insults, hardships, persecutions and his other weaknesses. He says, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Is this man a nut case? Can you imagine saying, “Yippee! I’m weak! I’m sick! I’ve got problems! Isn’t it great?!”

No, Paul wasn’t entirely delusional. What happened is that he experienced a radical change in perception and attitude. He has new criteria to use to measure his worth. The only way we can explain his change in perspective is by realizing that he let God intervene.

Rather than continuing to gripe in his prayers about his thorn or his missing piece, now Paul is experiencing the power of God in ways he never imagined. Joy has replaced bitterness when he considers what he has or lacks in life. Only someone in this kind of relationship with Christ can make the astounding statement, “When I’m weak, I’m strong.”

Each and every one of us has our own challenge—our own thorn or missing piece. Beethoven, at the high point of his career, went totally deaf. He ran off to a monastery to pray for his hearing back, but God wouldn’t do it. Instead, the composer had a surprising insight. He began to hear new music in his mind. Writing furiously, he transferred silent sounds to musical notes of praise to God… music of power and joy. The result was his famous Ninth Symphony, which Beethoven himself conducted. He couldn’t hear the music, but he felt the vibrations with his feet. He couldn’t hear the applause either, but he turned around and saw it. Yes, God changed Beethoven’s attitude toward his missing piece, his lack of hearing... and it became a blessing to the world. Is deafness good? No, of course not. What’s good about a missing piece is what God can do with it.

What wonderful, wonderful news that the weaknesses in our life—whatever form they may take—can become our greatest strengths and sources of joy and delight if we’re willing to turn to Christ. Please don’t be afraid to trust him. Don’t be afraid to ask. Just put yourself into his hands.