If You Think You've Got It Tough, Check This Out
Another day arrives and this one's gonna be a bear. There's a mountain of work waiting for me at my desk. I need to break away to get to the hospital to visit a sick relative at some point right in the middle of it. I really need to carve out time for Mass, even though I'm feeling sluggish this morning - somewhat like I'm getting a cold or something. There's still a boatload of compliance filing stuff for my business I have to wade through...
Okay, so it's not like the Romans are asking me to swear to the gods or get thrown to lions, like what happened to the first Roman martyrs. And it's not like I'm in London in 1940 hearing a siren that tells me the German bombers are about to drop their load on my neighborhood. So what am I complaining about?
Still, for me a tough day looms. Call me a baby. But when I'm not feeling all that great and I know I've got to slog through the day, I complain. Sorry. I hope you're not like this ever. But on the outside chance that you ever do feel this way, I found something to shake us both up a bit - maybe even make us feel a bit better. It's in Corinthians 2, chapter 11.
St Paul is playfully "boasting" (at least I think he's being playful here) referring to all the suffering he's endured for Christ:
Hmm, I forgot how tough old St Paul was. But wait, there's more:
And, as if all that wasn't enough, the great man worries about the folks he has preached to, the people who have received the Truth through his constant efforts:
Sheesh. So much for my feeling under the gun today. In fact, I'm a bit embarrassed about feeling so pressed and put upon by what are nothing more than the obligations of my state of life: work, family responsibilities, etc.
On the other hand, the burden really isn't so bad now that St Paul reminded us about all he's been through. Plus, he went though all this not to make a buck or anything. He suffered all this for us - to preach the Truth about Jesus Christ everywhere he could, the result of which was the growth of the Holy Catholic Church, our Mother the Church. And he inspired generations of missionaries who followed his example in facing danger, even death, to do the same.
Well, so much for a tough day looming ahead. Really, it's a piece of cake.
Okay, so it's not like the Romans are asking me to swear to the gods or get thrown to lions, like what happened to the first Roman martyrs. And it's not like I'm in London in 1940 hearing a siren that tells me the German bombers are about to drop their load on my neighborhood. So what am I complaining about?
Still, for me a tough day looms. Call me a baby. But when I'm not feeling all that great and I know I've got to slog through the day, I complain. Sorry. I hope you're not like this ever. But on the outside chance that you ever do feel this way, I found something to shake us both up a bit - maybe even make us feel a bit better. It's in Corinthians 2, chapter 11.
St Paul is playfully "boasting" (at least I think he's being playful here) referring to all the suffering he's endured for Christ:
"I am talking like a madman - with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beating, ad often near death. Five time I have receive at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I have been beaten with rods; one I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; at night and a day I have been adrift at sea...
Hmm, I forgot how tough old St Paul was. But wait, there's more:
"...on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure."
And, as if all that wasn't enough, the great man worries about the folks he has preached to, the people who have received the Truth through his constant efforts:
"And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant."
Sheesh. So much for my feeling under the gun today. In fact, I'm a bit embarrassed about feeling so pressed and put upon by what are nothing more than the obligations of my state of life: work, family responsibilities, etc.
On the other hand, the burden really isn't so bad now that St Paul reminded us about all he's been through. Plus, he went though all this not to make a buck or anything. He suffered all this for us - to preach the Truth about Jesus Christ everywhere he could, the result of which was the growth of the Holy Catholic Church, our Mother the Church. And he inspired generations of missionaries who followed his example in facing danger, even death, to do the same.
Well, so much for a tough day looming ahead. Really, it's a piece of cake.
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