Day 62: Weakness and Grace at the End of 2 Corinthians

So we are drawing to the close of Paul's 2nd Letter to the Corinthians (though some people think it is actually portions of two different letters) and Paul is ratcheting up his rhetoric in the face of his competition:  the super-apostles.  Whether the problem is that those super-apostles are there, on the ground, or that the super-apostles just seems so, well, super, strong, without flaw, awe-inspiring, charismatic, inspiring -- or, perhaps, all of the above, I don't know.  But his reputation among the Corinthians suffers by comparison.  He doesn't speak as well as they do.  He doesn't cut as fine a swatch as they do.  He does not have the mega-churches or large crowds that they do.

So, what does Paul really have to brag about?

Plenty, as it turns out.

He can brag about the hardships and persecution that he has endured.  (and he does.)  He can brag about how much he loves them (and he does).  He can brag about his credentials as a good Jew (he does mention that).  He can brag about Jesus (this is always Paul's point:  if you are going to brag, brag about Jeus!).  And, he can brag about his weaknesses.

Which he does -- because, as Paul writes, when he is weak, God's grace shines even more brightly.

Oh, Paul backtracks a little; he talks about his own and others' visions and revelations, as if to say, "if that's what is important to you, I've had them too."  But then he goes on to say, "being caught up into the 7th heaven is not what is most important.  God's grace is what is most important."

So he talks about his "thorn in the flesh".  No one knows what it is.  A long time ago, I heard some say they thought it was a speech impediment, like a stutter.  More recently some interpreters have opined that Paul struggled with homosexual urges.  Both interpretations are interesting, but actually, we don't know what Paul's thorn in the flesh was.  All we know is that he heard God say that he would not remove the thorn, saying, "My strength is made perfect in weakness."

So, Paul boasts about his weakness.

When I think hard about this, it's about the most amazing thing.  Do I want to boast about my weaknesses?  Do I even want anyone to know what they are?  What does it mean to let God use the holes in our lives, and not just our successes?  What does it mean to boast in God's grace?  Really?  Seriously? 

Day 49: Bondage to Sin/Freedom in Christ

Perhaps chapter 7 of Romans confuses you somewhat.  I find the sentence structures convoluted, and it seems like (at times, anyway) that Paul is really struggling to say what he wants to say.  Then, for a moment, it becomes clear.  Then, it's a struggle again.

Since Paul is talking about the relationship between sin and the law, between our desire for God and our temptations to do evil, it's perhaps understandable that his language sounds like a struggle.  Because there's a struggle going on inside us:  the struggle to do good, and the knowledge that we have done evil, and our guilt before God.

Many people have assumed that what Paul is writing is a sort of confessional, that he is saying, "this is what it was like for me before I followed Jesus."  But actually, he is not writing about himself, but his "I" is meant to be EveryMan.  He is not telling his story; he is telling all our stories.  We are in bondage to sin, struggling to do the right thing but failing at every turn and in every way imaginable.  We are spiraling out of control.  What are we going to do?

The good news is:  "what are we going to do?" is not even the right question.  There is nothing for US to do.  The question is not "what are we going to do?" but "what is God going to do?"  And the answer is,

Thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through out Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 8 follows as one of the most soaring chapters in all of scripture.  The chapter begins:  Now there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  God has ended the struggle.  God does not condemn us.

By grace God's spirit dwells in us, and helps us to turn to God again and again.  By grace God's spirit dwells in us, and helps us through our suffering, helps us in our weakness, and proclaims to us, holds on to us, so that we know that God's love will never let go of us, no matter what happens to us.   Even death can't separate us from God's love.

This is such a long way from the struggle just one chapter ago, in chapter 7, but it is the movement of our lives, every day, and every time we confess our sin.  We move from our awareness of our bondage to experiencing the gift of freedom again.  That is the power of God in Christ.

Day 48: Abraham, Adam, Jesus -- Peace with God

In the next three chapters are three different models for us.  In Chapter 4 we meet Abraham, the father of Israel, the father of the circumcised, the one who originally heard God, and set out on a journey to a place he had never been before.  Paul makes the argument that Abraham is the father not just of Israel, not just of the circumcised, but of all who trust God's faithfulness.   Didn't God's call to Abraham (and Abraham's answer) precede his circumcision? Paul asks.  (Yes).  Well, then, it is not circumcision that makes the difference but it is faith in God.  It is trust in Christ's faithfulness, not whether we meet a particular legal requirement, that makes the difference.

Before we meet the next model (Adam), there is that wonderful portion of Romans 5 that shows us the consequences of trusting in Christ's faithfulness:  peace with God.  This peace transcends our circumstances, builds character, and gives meaning to our suffering, because God's love has overflowed into our hearts.

So, what about Adam?  Paul also lists Adam as a model -- a model not of obedience but of disobedience, not of trust but of distrust.  Adam and Eve were in the garden, with free gifts all around them, and instead of seeing the abundance of gifts, they focused on the one thing denied them.    Paul says -- we are like Adam -- and yet, God values us, loves us, and Jesus died for us.

Then, finally, is Jesus, the third model.  Unlike Adam, Jesus trusts God.  Jesus is faithful to God -- and to us.  Somehow because of this faithfulness, the cycle of sin is broken, and we are set free.  We don't have to obey God, out of fear or obligation.  But we get to hear God's voice, experience God's love and caring, and help our neighbor in ways that really help.

Paul is talking about, trying to explain big things, big concept:  Freedom and captivity, sin and faith and righteousness.  What do those words mean to you?  What does it mean to be free?  or, not free?

Day 22: Good News if You're Lost

May I say that the middle chapter of these three makes everything else in the other chapters in Luke worth it?  There are many difficult things in Luke, as there are in Matthew and Mark.  But the sheer grace of chapter 15 -- the images of the father with his arms wide open, the woman searching everywhere for her coin, the shepherd looking high and low for just one out of 100 sheep -- make every difficult saying worth it.

There's one catch though, you have to be lost.  If you are a wandering son, a coin gathering dust in a dark corner, a sheep out in the wilderness, Luke chapter 15 is good news.  If you are not lost, or you don't think you're lost, well, you might not understand what all of the fuss is about.

I notice reading these familiar stories again that the wandering son doesn't get to say his whole speech before his father interrupts him.  (The part about "treat me like one of your slaves..." the father does not let him say.)  I noticed that the woman who finds her lost coin goes out and has a party once she finds it.  Presumably, she spends all the money she worked so hard to track down.  huh.  What did you notice?

A few words about chapters 14 and 16.  Chapter 14 has some to do with table etiquette.  The first "parable" Jesus tells doesn't seem too much like a parable to me, actually.  It's just instructions about where to sit and who to invite.  The second parable is another version of the one we heard in Mark, about the landowner who has a party and discovers that his invited guests are no longer interested.  Then, Jesus changes the subject to "the cost of discipleship" -- Jesus warning potential disciples to count the cost before following him.  Considering where Jesus' path will lead, it's understandable that Jesus would warn people.  On the other hand, it's just the opposite of clever marketing. 

Chapter 16 has two parables with some disconnected warnings between them (it seems to me, anyway).  The parable of the dishonest manager has made commentators scratch their heads and do theological contortions for about 2,000 years.  The idea is that the manager is dishonest, but clever.   Jesus seems to think that disciples need to be creative and clever and that this is a part of faithfulness.  But, it makes us scratch our heads.  (and, I'm open to more suggestions on this parable).

The last parable is famous to some -- the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the poor man, and how Lazarus goes to heaven (the bosom of Abraham), but the rich man -- doesn't.  If you're Lazarus -- this is good news.  But if you are the rich man -- it's pretty sobering.  It's worth noting that the crowds that originally heard this parable would have been shocked when Jesus told them that the rich man was tormented in Hades.  They would have assumed the opposite.  Also, it's pretty unusual for the poor man to be the one who gets a name, and for the rich man to be anonymous.  Usually, it's the poor who are the bit players in history, and the rich who get the starring roles.

But, not in Luke's "orderly account." 

I'll admit, I gravitate to Luke's concern for and attention to the poor.  But then I also have to admit, that I am not one of the poor.  I may not be rich, but I'm not poor.  Does it make a different how I hear Luke's words?