Friends, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you; though my condition put you to the test, you did not scorn or despise me, but welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What has become of the goodwill you felt? For I testify that, had it been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? (Galatians 4: 12-16)

Paul's mission to the Galatians was probably an accident. Paul most often focused on centers of commerce and politics such as Antioch, Ephesus, and Corinth. The specific towns associated with the Church in Galatia were sufficiently obscure that their precise identities remain uncertain.

Paul was probably on his way to another place when he fell ill. Evidently the illness continued for some time. The illness - perhaps the thorn of flesh - was so troublesome as to have challenged the hospitality and care of the Galatians. Yet the outcome of this accident and illness reverberates nearly 2000 years later.

External events may delay our plans. Disease is an especially unwelcome cause of delay. But even disease and delay can be agents of grace. While Paul may not have perceived it while he was writing, we might easily perceive that his troubles with the Galatians have proven to be a source of grace for us.

Above is St. Paul in a detail from a painting by Albrecht Durer