2 Corinthians 13 - God with us even when...
NOTE: This is the final for our series on 2 Corinthians. Check out podcast for John’s song mentioned here…
A few days before we went into lockdown in March, our ministry team gathered to chat about how we might respond as a church. We prayed and we brainstormed together how we might keep connected to one another in this time.
The whole idea of being stuck at home on a lockdown was entirely foreign and uncharted territory for us.
We wondered how could we be community and worship together when we were stuck in our loungerooms? We delved into all kinds of technical solutions – Zoom, Facebook premiere, YouTube, email, and phone calls.
Yet at the heart of this was another question lurking. What resources spiritually are required for us to get through this challenge?
As I sat with this question, a piece of Scripture leaped off the page for me : “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
This Scripture from the opening passages of 2 Corinthians captured my imagination as we pondered what we needed from God as we found ourselves going into lockdown.
During lockdown not only did we need comfort food, comfort reading, comfort television, and comfortable sweatpants or onesies. We also needed the comfort that God can provide. We needed to experience the compassionate presence of God holding us in uncertainty and sustaining us in the face of loss and fear.
What was needed more than anything during lockdown was God’s presence. When we found ourselves not able to be in the presence of people we love, God’s presence was especially sweet and nurturing.
2 Corinthians 1 just captures this notion so well as it speaks of a God who comforts.
And so, as a team we found ourselves digging into 2 Corinthians as we entered lockdown.
It is a timely book in so many ways – it speaks of changes of plans, of suffering and struggle. It speaks of God’s compassion and his strength even in our weakness.
This letter has so much to teach us, and particularly this year.
Over the last 20 weeks we have explored the second letter of Corinthians together and today we finish. We started at the beginning of winter and now we find ourselves in the middle of spring. So, it’s been a while.
And so what I want to do this morning is to take the time to wrap up this series with a birds eye view, looking at the big picture and celebrating what God has done in our lives as we have let this book speak to us afresh.
OVERVIEW
So, first of all – I just want to do a whirlwind recap on some of the big themes of the book that we have explored. We explored these five big themes:
-God of Mercy
-Paul’s apostleship and the challenges of ministry
-Jesus at the Centre
-Weakness and strength, God working in the ordinary & even suffering.
-Reconciliation with God and each other
Last week I put the opportunity out there to provide some feedback and asked people to share some of their own learning from this series. I had some responses and I want to share some of these with you and then give us an opportunity for conversation…
Feedback from church on series:
“The theme that struck me most was Paul's humility. In terms of life application, a challenging learning was the importance of encountering hardship and difficulty rather than avoiding it. Also, the importance of how we respond to these challenges and the rewards they can bring.”
“This series has made me think of the words of Micah - what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
“Repeatedly it reminded me of the disharmony we have in our world these days in so many different ways and how important it is for us to all remember the lessons that have been taught in this series and how we can all in our own simple ways learn so much and try and make a difference to how we live our day to day lives. Acceptance of all points of views and to avoid disharmony despite many times being hurt by others is so important and forgiveness and humility also came through this series loud and clear.”
“I am more aware of the Holy Spirit in my life though it isn’t easy to keep Him in mind. Conscious of living more comfortably than so many, particularly now the virus has hit and the need to be generous.”
I’ve found it wonderful to read over these reflections and see what God has been doing. I want to give us the opportunity to share with each other this morning, so I want us to take a few minutes in 3s or 4s to chat with each other about what we have learned. I’ll give you a few questions to get the conversation started and we’ll take about 5 minutes to do this
INVITE CONGREGATION TO SHARE – QUESTIONS:
1) What are your key “aha” moments or “takeaways” from our series in 2 Corinthians?
2) What is something new that you have discovered about God in this letter?
3) What is something that has really challenged you?
THE FINAL WORD: 2 Corinthians 13:14
I think it is only appropriate that the final word belongs to Paul, and so I want to ground our series in his final words of blessing to the church at Corinth. Paul says:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
These words have famously become known as “the grace.” When I was a new Anglican, I discovered that this grace was a liturgy often used at the end of a meeting – and much to my horror it often involved holding hands. The holding of hands aside, these words have sunk deep into my heart as a beautiful expression of what it means to be in Christian community.
This blessing acknowledges God as Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It expresses how God’s love is expressed through the grace of Jesus Christ and experienced by the presence of the Holy Sprit with us.
This blessing truly affirms that all Christian community is grounded in relationship.
Recently, I was introduced to a book by Skye Jethani, called “With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God.”
In this refreshing and helpful book, Jethani looks at different postures or ways of relating to God…
SKYE JETHANI – POSTURES
Life From God – “People in this category want God’s blessings, but they are not particularly interested in God himself” (Divine Butler)
Life Over God – “The mystery and wonder of the world is lost as God is abandoned in favor of proven formulas and controllable outcomes.” (Divine Coach)
Life For God – “The most significant life … is the one expended accomplishing great things in God’s service”(Divine Employer)
Life Under God – “Sees God in simple cause-and-effect terms – we obey his commands and he blesses our lives, our families, our nation” (Divine Police Officer)
Life with God - Life with God is all about relationship. In Life with God, we do not seek to use God to achieve another goal. In life with God, God is the goal. God becomes our treasure and our desire. (Divine Community)
2 Corinthians 13 expresses in a beautiful way the picture of God with. In fact, the entire letter expresses the idea of God with. It is about God with Paul in the midst of suffering and hardship, God with the church at Corinth even when they got it wrong, God with in all the ups and downs of community as the Corinthians try and figure out not only how to live with God but also with each other.
God with – We need this more than ever in the time we find ourselves in…Particularly the idea of God with us in the ordinary and especially in the hard times as we look to a God who would love us even to the point of suffering on the cross…
Let me share a quote from Jethani…
“Fulfilling God’s desire to be with us is why Jesus went to the cross. He did not die merely to inaugurate a mission (LIFE FOR GOD) or to give us a second chance at life (LIFE FROM GOD). He did not endure the horrors of the cross just to demonstrate a principle of love for others to emulate (LIFE OVER GOD) or to appease divine wrath (LIFE UNDER GOD). While each of these may be rooted in truth and affirmed by Scripture, it is only when we grasp God’s unyielding desire to be with us that we begin to see the ultimate purpose of the cross. It is more than a vehicle to rescue us from death; it transports us into the arms of Life. The cross is how we acquire our treasure. It is how we find unity with God.”[1]
I think what Jethani is saying here reflects one of Paul’s big messages in 2 Corinthians.
Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians teaches that God is with us and reconciles relationship with us through the cross.
We have seen the beauty of this as we have explored this book.
Now as we finish, we are called to respond.
This morning we have shared with one another, and we are in for a treat as John Roxburgh will share his own personal reflections on 2 Corinthians. John has written a song which he will perform for us as we prepare for communion.
I want to take the opportunity to call each of us to craft our responses to this series. God has reminded us that he is with us, even in the hard stuff. What is the invitation for us as we let that truth soak into our lives?
[1] Jethani, Skye. With (p. 110). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.