Hang In There
2 Corinthians 6:1-13 (SV)
As co-workers of God we implore you not to let the gift of God’s favor go to waste. As scripture says:
At the right time I heard you;
on a day of deliverance I came to your aid.*
Look! The right time is now; see, today is the day of deliverance. We try to avoid offending anyone in any way so that no fault will be found with our work. In every way possible we present ourselves as God’s agents -- by great endurance, under heavy pressure, in anguish, and in distress, by beatings, imprisonments, riots, by hard work, sleepless nights, going hungry; by our sincerity, understanding, and long-suffering, by our kindness, with a spirit of integrity and genuine love, by speaking the truth and by God’s power armed both for offense and defense with weapons of justice, whether honored or dishonored, blamed or praised; labeled “deceivers” we are really truthful, “unknown” though really well known, “at death’s door” and look, “We’re alive!” Punished, but not put to death, in pain we’re always joyful; impoverished we enrich many, owning nothing we have everything.
Corinthians, we have been completely transparent with you. Our hearts are wide open to you. Your difficulties are not with us but with your own deeply felt predispositions. I appeal to you as my children: open up your hearts in response.
- Isaiah 49:8
Paul is having trouble with the folks in his church at Corinth, who seem to have rejected his teaching, his authority, him personally as friend and pastor, in favor of latecomers who discredited Paul and taught a false gospel. Here he writes defending his message, his authority, his honesty and integrity, and his lovingkindness. This part of the letter, our Second Reading for this coming Sunday, is plaintive, pleading sadly. Many scholars feel that with this letter Paul won the Corinthians back.
If that’s the historical setting, we still and nevertheless face the question of what-to-do with this bit of scripture, which is part of the lectionary series that has us reading through Second Corinthians this summer. My inclination is to leave it out as prayerbook rubrics allow, but there are reasons for including it, and so we shall. What then to do with it? Preach on it? Ignore it? Comment briefly in passing during the sermon? Procrastinate deciding that until walking down the aisle in procession Sunday morning?
In one kind of group Bible study, we would cover this passage as part of our historical-critical exploration of Paul, the genuine letters of Paul (this is one), his relationship with the church at Corinth, the letters he wrote to them, and 2 Corinthians specifically. We would have fun with our reading and discussion, and we would come away with good understanding, enlightened.
In another kind of group Bible study, a devotional approach, we would open the passage to God’s presence and perhaps come away with a sense of having received a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit or of being blessed spiritually, devotionally, helped, encouraged, comforted in some way. That probably needs to be the preacher’s purpose in the pulpit too.
What’s here for us? It's so situs im leben that it's hard to think outside Paul's anguish. We might try a different Bible translation, one that takes us out of Paul’s situation into our own day and age and personal lives. The Message (TM) frequently does that well and often can be helpful in claiming a passage as our own:
2 Corinthians 6: 1-13 (TM)
Staying at Our Post
1-10Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us,
I heard your call in the nick of time;
The day you needed me, I was there to help.
Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we're doing. Our work as God's servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing his power; when we're doing our best setting things right; when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
11-13Dear, dear Corinthians, I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn't fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!
Hang in there. Life is such a blessing, don’t waste a minute of it. Live it well. Always do the right thing. Be kind and generous and loving, a blessing to others. Even when life gets rough, really tough, hang in there. Hang in there right up to the last, the end, the very final moment. Life Is Good, and It’s A Beautiful Day.
Tom+