| 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 "Brave New World" |
|
| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 17 June 2006 | |
|
Last Month, the Dallas Morning News told the story of a Dallas couple who wandered LOST for almost 3 days in a Southern California mountain wilderness. They survived after stumbling on to the supplies of a hiker who vanished over a year prior. The article reported the pair had attended a convention and were hiking with a group of attendees when they became separated from the others. Dressed only in light clothing and lacking any supplies, the two trudged through the cold mountains all day, spending the night in a cave. As temperatures fell, they kept moving to try to stay warm, unsure whether rescuers were looking for them or whether they should stay put or not. Fear set in. “We couldn’t walk our way out,’ said Mr. Day, a financial adviser. “We were stuck; and completely at the mercy of those coming to look for us.” Hungry, cold, scared, trapped in a gorge to steep to climb out of, I don’t know how long this couple wandered around that mountain wilderness before finding that backpack. But they did find it. Clothing, food, a radio, but more importantly, matches, a way to light a signal fire. And as the rescue helicopter descended, suddenly their world changed! The wilderness became a common table; stale crackers, holy bread. A stranger’s old flannel shirt, a baptismal robe, and mostly importantly, matches became a means of grace! Three days after their disappearance, rescuers found Brandon Day, and Gina Allen at a makeshift campsite in the San Jacinto Mountains. They also discovered the backpack of John Donovan, a 60 year old Virginia hiker who disappeared in the same area in early May of 2005. Authorities found paperwork in the backpack showing that it belonged to Mr. Donovan, a retired social worker.P.1 and 8a DMN May 10, 2006 I suspect if you tracked Gina and Brandon down today they’d tell you this experience has changed them. That they will never look at things the same: that the world seems so much bigger, its colors more vibrant, life more precious, relationships more satisfying. Their worldview forever changed and the three days they spent lost in a mountain wilderness, pivotal to their personal identities. This experience has transformed not only them, but their world. This, I think is what the Apostle Paul is trying to tell the church in Corinth, and by default, us, the church of today. Our scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 5:14-17. I invite to listen for the Gospel: 14For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! Prayer: Lord, come and fill our hearts with your peace, for you alone are, O Lord, are Holy. Come and fill our hearts with your peace, Alleluia, Amen. Verse 16, Though we once knew Christ “kata sarka” (from a human point of view), no longer! 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! Yes, I read that right! Not, “he or she is a new creation” but “there is a new creation.” That’s a more literal rendering of the Greek. Or in the words of the New English Bible translation, “If anyone is in Christ, there is a whole new world.” Biblical scholars draw a parallel to this verse with Romans 8:19-23, which talks about the whole of creation being subjected to purposelessness and decay because of the power of sin, leaving it groaning (like a woman in childbirth) toward its own redemption. P.93 Interpreters Bible Commentary XI. Paul is speaking from personal experience. He has had his Damascus road. Blinded, for three days, Acts 9 tells us, Paul lived in darkness, neither eating or drinking, unsure of what the future would hold or even if there was a future for him. Three days alone with his own thoughts. He sees the truth about himself; his failure, his anger, his sin; his self-righteous arrogance. He is faced with his brokenness and his unwillingness to deal with it. Just as Israel had wandered 40 years in the wilderness, blaming Pharaoh, Moses, God, anyone else but… until finally, they were forced to look within. Paul finally looks within. Only then is he ready. In his book, Recalling Our Own Stories, Ed Wimberly coins the phrase, “The Walking Wounded.” The image these words bring to my mind is of a soldier stumbling through a battle field, seriously wounded but shell shocked and disoriented….and thus unaware that he or she is a casualty. One of the requirements of a class for Doctorate is to write a autobiographical paper, a sharing of my family history beginning with my grandparents. If you’ll humor me, I’d like to read you a portion of it: I begin with my grandparents on my father’s side. Both have died within the last five years. Henry was a card playing, chain smoking, hard drinking, womanizing, self-professed agonistic (God love him). One particular memory I have is of an anniversary celebration where my grandfather got so drunk he started flirting with family members. When I told my dad that it was “freaking my sister and me out” and pleaded that he say something, I could tell it just about killed dad to do so. My Grandparents lived in a custom home on the edge of a private golf course in Whittier, California. Grandma Belle was the typical dutiful wife, who I would describe as a social drinker and smoker, who put up with grandpa’s indiscretions and instead poured her energy into her home, turning it into her own little castle. Grandma was so particular about her formal living room that the grandchildren were rarely ever allowed in it. I remember she had a rich cream-colored sofa that was professionally covered in think see-through vinyl. I still remember the day she finally decided to remove the plastic and actually allowed us to sit on it. Grandma also had a sharp tongue. I remember arriving to family gatherings and just five minutes into the event, my mom would run crying from the room. Looking back I guess my grandmother had a lot to be angry about. The story goes that she had once considered becoming a nun and had left both the call and her religion to marry my grandfather. In her later years she would soften and even admit to me a year before her death, that she was sorry for how she treated my mother. My grandfather lost a little of his edge but still retained that irreverent, gruffness that characterized his interaction with others. When the doctor told grandpa if he didn’t stop drinking it would kill him in year, Henry stopped for about a year but then resumed but at a reduced level. I guess he decided that he’d rather live a little shorter life and be happy then a long miserable life. It would be his smoking that eventually killed, spending the last few years of his life pulling a oxygen canister behind him everywhere he went. After retiring, my grandparents moved to an upscale retirement community complete with its own nine-hole golf course in Fallbrook, a community nestled in the hills outside San Diego. There they lived a similar but more confined life, they world pretty much limited to that community with occasional intrusions by family. When my grandmother started promising her prized possessions to family members we all knew she was getting ready to die. Finally my grandparents moved in with my aunt who became their full-time caregiver. This aging patriarch and matriarch of the Lee clan were the center point of all family gatherings and loved well despite all their flaws. Much of the dysfunction I see in my extended family members today I believe can be traced back to my grandparents. At the same time, some of the family’s most endearing qualities can also be attributed to Grandma Belle and Grandpa Henry. This is what I know. I loved my grandparents and they are part of my story, but they do not define who I am. I choose that myself. Despite all the good we do as a church, until we face our own brokenness and sin, we are still the WALKING WOUNDED. Admittedly, it will always be much easier to point out someone else’s issues then to deal with our own. Maybe its time to revisit our baptism. To take a hard look at ourselves in its reflective waters and remember who we are. . We have allowed some unresolved wound to have too much ‘say’ over our lives and we need Jesus to stir the baptismal waters. I’ve been to those waters many times. And I’ve heard the voice that says, “Its time to stop blaming others for your past. You are not defined by your past, and to continue to do so, denies the Gospel which says…” 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! Its time to face the wounded part of your story and deal with it. With the help of trusted loved ones, a counselor, the grace of God, a caring church community, we can rewrite that part of our story and in the words of Jesus, “Be born anew.” In the darkness, the apostle Paul hears a stranger’s voice…scales fall from his eyes and suddenly a whole new world opens up for him. He discovers a world brimming with life and hope and purpose. Paul discovers a new identity, his true identity. And in one incredibly transformative moment, he understands the meaning of the words, “You are born to make manifest the glory of God within.” Washed with the water of baptism, and fed a holy meal, his strength returns. And his world will never be the same again! In the June 5th edition of the Dallas Morning News, embedded on page 5 was a brief article titled “Hiker’s Remains Found.” It stated that rescue volunteers discovered Mr. Donovan’s remains in a remote gorge between Long and Tahquitz canyons about 4500 feet above the desert floor. The location was only 100 yards from where Mr. Donovan’s backpack was found 4 weeks earlier. Chris Hook, a longtime friend of Mr. Donovan was quoted to say, “In a way, John …saved their lives. His pack being there helped them to be found. That’s how John’s life went. Even in his death, he was helping people.” A cruel irony? I don’t think the Donovan’s family would call it that. Serendipitous, that’s a better word. The giving of life, from one to another. Jesus died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! In a moment I am going to invite you, as you are willing and able, to come forward to remember your baptism. This is not a rebaptism but a remembering of God’s action that took place when those words were spoken over you, “The Holy Spirit work within you that being born of water and the spirit you be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ". |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
