The
reading
2
Corinthians 1:1-11
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will
of God, and Timothy our brother,
To
the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout
Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation,
who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those
who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are
consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so
also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your
consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your
consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings
that we are also suffering. Our hope for
you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you
share in our consolation.
We
do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we
experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we
despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of
death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the
dead. He who rescued us from so deadly a
peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will
rescue us again, as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many
will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers
of many
The
message
We
are now starting a series on Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, which
will take us through the next 6 Sundays. I wanted to start with some background and
context for this letter to help everyone get a sense of what was happening in
Corinth, how and why this letter was written and some of the main ideas and
themes Paul shares.
Paul
wrote letters for much the same reasons that we do today, to communicate, to
celebrate and acknowledge significant events, to share news, offer advice or
address bad situations and seek change. After founding the church at Corinth,
Paul writes to the community. Although this initial letter is now lost, there
is a reference to it and brief summary in 1 Corinthians chapter 5: 9. This
first letter addresses the need to avoid immoral people in the church.
After
this note has limited results, Paul writes 1 Corinthians. This communication is in response to reports
of struggles in the church and requests for help dealing with conflicts in the
community. Those conflicts included disagreements between leaders, inequality
in the church and theologically poor beliefs (like denying the resurrection of
the dead). Again, 1st
Corinthians has little impact. After the
letter, Paul sends Timothy to the community as his personal representative to
reform and correct the church.. Timothy’s visit also does very little to change
things. Upon his return, Timothy reports that a group of Jewish-Christian
teachers were in the community and undermining Paul’s authority and message. This
leads Paul to personally visit the church in Corinth. Again, this does very
little to change things. In fact, during his trip, Paul is deeply disturbed,
insulted and offended. In response, he writes a very severe letter called “the
Letter of tears” (which is lost). This
note convinces a good majority of the church of Paul’s positions. Paul’s joy and relief is short lived since he
has to write a very bitter letter once again attacking false teachers and false
beliefs. (A portion of this letter makes up 2 Corinthians chapters 10- 13)
In
the years after 1st Corinthians, Paul maintained a very tense,
frustrating, up and down type of relationship with them. He constantly writes
and tries to heal the divisions. Many of
the letters to Corinth are lost and Second Corinthians is a collection of parts
of those lost letters. (which explains
why it can be a difficult book to follow). A few themes do manage to unite 2
Corinthians including the relationship between affliction and consolation along
with issues of boasting and confidence.
As
we look at the overall record of communication between Paul and the church at
Corinth, it is rough. We get the sense that, at times, Paul has no idea what to
do with these people. He keeps trying different approaches and arguments. Some
are kind, a celebration and highlighting of the communities scattered moments
of accomplishment, endurance and commitment. Other arguments are blunt,
aggressive, condemning and angry. As Paul expresses his care, frustration and
disappointment, he always recognizes the community as loved by God. Of course, the churches in Corinth are not
so happy with Paul either. They are frustrated, annoyed and upset with him too,
viewing him as a know it all and as someone who talks to them like they are
children. In Corinth, there was a
cultural openness to all sorts of ideas and the tradition of combining or
including pieces of all different teachings was normal. The church probably
wondered “why don’t he just leave us alone, were growing, doing fine, and
teaching mostly, kind of, sort of what he taught us.
This
week’s opening verses focus on consolation or comfort after suffering. Paul
starts saying “Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all
consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to
console those who are in any affliction”. This was a typical Jewish
thanksgiving that emphases attributes of God (in this case God’s mercy and
promised consolation). This was an unusual way for Paul to start a letter. Generally Paul opens with a thanksgiving that
stresses and celebrates his relationship with the community (for instance Paul
opens the letter to the Phillipains I
thank my God every time I remember you,
constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of
you, because of your sharing in the
gospel from the first day until now.
Corinth
is different. Paul’s relationship with
them is adversarial, strained, difficult and uncertain. His authority amongst
them is often questioned. We get the sense that they just don’t like each
other. Instead of focusing on their
relationship, rift with personal issues and bad history, Paul focuses on God’s
relationship with everyone, God’s grace and encouragement to endure by the
promise of consolation. When Paul has no
idea what to say anymore, when all logical arguments failed, when angry rants
did not change minds, when kind words did not warm hearts, he points away from
his relationship with them and looks to God’s relationship with them., something
they all experience and share joy in. Paul also seeks to find common ground and
a new connection with them through his talk of suffering and enduring. Paul’s ministry is filled with arrests,
threats, close calls, accidents and disappointments. He fights through all those things, and keeps
going. The church members in Corinth also endured their share of suffering,
exclusion and conflict. Paul hopes this
shared experience will reconnect them and help heal the relationship.
Another
aspect of this discussion on affliction and consolation may be Paul telling the
Corinthians he is not going anywhere, that he will keep working with them,
caring and praying for them, trying to guide, and sharing God’s love with them,
regardless of how they react or respond. There is
a lesson for all of us in this background to Paul’s communications with the
churches in Corinth. Church is not about us liking each other. Obviously, we
all want to be part of a community where we like the people and they like us. Church
is beyond that, a place not really concerned with personalities, likes or
dislikes, This is a place where we see each other as children of God, where we
put aside those very real feelings and choose something better. A place where
we can endure together, hope together, serve together and bring each other
comfort. It is not always neat and easy
but it is our burden and our joy.
The
other lesson we can take from this introduction to 2 Corinthians is
endurance. We are in a community that
has endured. This is a place that was
dismissed and written off several years ago, told to pack it up and joyfully
say mission completed. We are still
here, worshipping, serving, helping and providing for more people than ever
before. It might look or feel like things are falling apart at the seams but we
have a strong combination of good people and God’s love and welcome. We will
continue to endure. Over the past week,
I had the opportunity to meet a few people in our community who have endured as
well. There is Lester, Deborah and the people of City Mission, a group out of
Newtown Reformed Church that runs tutoring and other programs at the Pan Am
shelter on Queens Boulevard and 79th st. (Please speak to me if you
want information about how we can help with the tutoring program). I happened
to be sitting with them at the Queens Impact Awards night. Myself and several other pastors tried to get
into the Pan Am shelter for various ministries and all failed to even get a
return call. I asked the people of City
Mission: “how did you get in”, and they said something like,” we just kept trying,
we kept calling, we went in and wouldn’t leave until we got something”. City
mission has been publically and privately yelled at, criticized and condemned
for their work throughout the process but just kept going. A lot of people don’t like them, but they just
kept going. They saw a need and responded in faith, they saw the people in the
shelter as loved by God and they kept saying and doing that, until it was
heard. As we begin this journey through Second
Corinthians, we are called to keep trying, to stay focused on sharing God’s
word in love and invited to trust things will happen.
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