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On Behalf of Others
By Linda Rex
June 16, 2024, Proper 6 | After Pentecost—As part of my morning routine, I often read a chapter out of a book on theology or the Christian faith. My most recent book has been Hidden in Contradiction by Jeff McSwain, which I am rereading. In the chapter I read this morning, New and Old, Jeff talks about our New Testament passage for this Sunday, 2 Corinthians 5:6–10, 14–17.
Jeff shows how we often read the last portion of this passage, “the old things passed away; behold, new things have come”, and assume that this means that when we come to faith in Christ, we are made new, so we will never repeat the old ways we were caught up in before. This doesn’t wholly reflect the reality of our walk in Christ, for any of us who are honest with ourselves and others, and are truthful before God, know that our thought-life and daily walk very often do not fully measure up to the goodness and glory of God we were created to reflect.
Jeff’s point in this chapter is that because all persons died with Christ and rose with Christ, we are all caught up in the reality of the already-not-yet of God’s kingdom. By faith we walk in the new life which is ours, which is “hidden with Christ in God.” But in our broken flesh, we still find ourselves at times walking in old ways, those ways which Jesus crucified on the cross and buried with himself in the grave, those things we are dead to. Just as Jesus is now fully God and fully man, right now we live daily in that place where all that God created us to be and redeemed us to is true, but we are still having to experience and live in the false self, the “old man” as the apostle Paul calls it. We are growing up in Christ, maturing in our faith, becoming more and more who God created us to be, but we will never fully reflect the divine nature until Jesus returns in glory and we are changed. Then all God created us to be will be fully revealed.
This is the paradox which we find difficult to understand or live in. This may be why the apostle Paul said that he would rather be “absent from the body” and “at home with the Lord”. If you are like me, there are times when this life, and our tendency to drift towards the things of this passing temporal existence, grieve us, and we long to be freed. We want to be with Jesus forever, living in the glorious, joyful bliss of God’s heavenly kingdom here on earth. The good news is that even though we will continue to live in this broken existence for a time, not only is our future life with Christ certain, but we can begin to experience moments of God’s kingdom joy and peace even now in this life by the Spirit. We participate in God’s life and mission on this earth as part of our everyday existence, even when it seems that we cannot get it right and we find ourselves breaking faith with God and others.
What holds us together and keeps us moving forward in hope is the precious gift God has given to us in his Son and in his Spirit. It is God’s love which drives us on and compels us to not only live out his kingdom life in this world, but also to share it with others. God’s love for us is so profound, so great and wonderful, that we find we want to share this good news with others. We don’t want to keep it all to ourselves.
And that is truly the heart of God, as Father, Son, and Spirit. This triune God, who for all eternity, lives in other-centered, self-giving love, was willing to do something tremendous and unthinkably amazing on behalf of his creatures and his creation. Indeed, on behalf of all of us, for our sake, the Son of God set aside the privileges of divinity for a time to join us in our humanity, in order to bring us home into the inner fellowship of Father, Son, and Spirit. And in Christ, that is where we are all today.
Our hope is in Christ, in his finished work, in what he has done, is doing, and will do. God’s motive of other-centered, self-giving, sacrificial love is what motivates each of us to be other-centered, self-giving, and sacrificial. When you see this kind of love being expressed, God is the source of such love, whether the person knows or understands it, or not. As we see God’s love being expressed in these ways, we are called to bear witness to it—to testify to the beauty and wonder of God’s love. And, as we respond to the leading of the Spirit, we will find ourselves living and serving, on behalf of others. And by doing this, that we reflect the glory of God, and his Son, in the Spirit. We live in the truth of who we are as his beloved children. Praise his holy name!
Heavenly Triune God, thank for all you have done on our behalf. By your Spirit, enable us to live, not for ourselves, but for you, Lord Jesus—you who died and rose on our behalf. Grant us the grace to live our lives as you have, on behalf of others. In your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
“Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:6–10 (11–13) 14–17 NASB
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Rising With Christ
By Linda Rex
Ascension
I was reading an article this morning about the decline and mortal end of a famous actor who committed suicide. I remember the world being stunned by the news of his sudden death. He was, by all appearances, a warm and caring person who was trying to make the world a better place through the medium of film. He had been struggling in his career and personal life, yet this did not seem to warrant taking his life.
The unfortunate reality of show business is the inevitable fall which comes after the flight into stardom. Some actors and music artists spend their entire career trying to keep their place in the sun and doing whatever it takes to stay there. We see them having plastic surgery and following intense diet regimens, while looking for their next opportunity to ascend in their career.
The unfortunate reality is actors and music artists are dependent upon the approval of their audience, and human beings are unreliable when it comes to things such as music and film. Their tastes change, and the culture is always in flux. Hoping for continued success is a tenuous thread which may at any moment break.
What is it which drives the human heart to want this type of success? There must be an underlying yearning which causes people to tread this difficult, and in many ways, dangerous path.
King Solomon said, God “places eternity in our hearts.” Indeed, we each have a deep, internal yearning for paradise, which drives our efforts to create little heavens on earth. We find ourselves dissatisfied with the status quo—most probably because we were created for something so much more wonderful than this. There is a world we were meant for, created for even, and this broken, evil-filled world just doesn’t seem to be it.
Jesus took the path of a rising star, and in his final days was met with praise and acclaim as he entered Jerusalem that last Sunday. He had been followed by the crowds who loved his miracles, and to some extent, his preaching. Here was a man at the height of his “career.” Soon, if the crowd were to have their way, he would be crowned king of the Jews.
But crowds are fickle, and Jesus had many enemies. There are always those who do not want to share the spotlight, or who feel they are best able to run the show. Jesus encountered the worst in our human hearts as the tide turned against him and the crowd demanded his crucifixion.
The crucifixion of Jesus, however, was not the end of his story. The reality was, he was not who they thought he was. There was much more going on than was visible at first glance. Jesus was not just a rising star which fell from heaven. He was the Lord who created the stars, and moon, and sky. He sustained all things by the word of his power. He was God in human flesh.
His death was not the end, for he rose from the grave. And, after showing himself to those who would be witnesses to his glory, he ascended to his father in heaven. Stephen the martyr, saw a vision of Jesus standing next to his Father in heaven. He was alive, dwelling in inexpressible light, in Abba’s presence.
The great miracle which accompanied Jesus’ ascension was, he did not ascend to his Father’s throne alone. Because Jesus bore our collective humanity in his Person, his ascension meant all humanity ascended into the Father’s presence with him. The apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:1-4 NASB) The objective reality of our human existence is our real life is in Christ, in his hypostatic union as the God/man. We are, even now, at this moment, in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
What we believe about Jesus Christ is critical. Our participation in the heavenly realities is in Christ, so we do not experience the truth of our heavenly inclusion apart from faith in Christ. Do we believe the truth of our existence? We died with Christ. We rose with Christ. We share in his glory both now, and forever. We are in Christ. By faith, we participate in his perfect relationship with the Father in the Spirit and share the glories of eternity with him.
Our longing for bigger and better things is at its root a longing for life as it was meant to be. We were created for eternity, for the Garden of Eden, for more than the best our human life has to offer. We were meant for flowing streams of crystal clear water and stunning, star-filled night skies. We were created to dwell in harmony, unity, and peace. This is the root of our human longings and is what we really seek, if we are willing to admit it.
We have the promise in the Scriptures that one day Jesus will return in the same way in which he left. We can look forward to his return with joy and expectation, as we trust he is the Person who is our redemption, our salvation, and our deliverance. If Jesus indeed holds within his Person the truth of our human existence, that we were created for life with God forever, then his return means we will finally experience our true heaven on earth. And this is definitely better than anything we could create for ourselves, since it will never come to an end.
It is true: We were meant for so much more than this. Our promise of a future in the new heavens and new earth is the gift of the Spirit. Embracing the Spirit of life in Christ enables us to begin to live in the truth of our existence right now. At this very moment, we are able, in the Spirit, to participate in the inner relationship between the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. By faith, we can live, even now, in the truth of our existence as God’s adopted children. And God has done everything necessary to make sure we will shine as the stars forever and ever (Dan. 12:3).
Thank you, Abba, for your great heart of love and grace. Thank you for offering us true life in relationship with you and one another, in a glorious future we cannot even begin to imagine. Grant us the grace to seek our true life in you and not in the temporary, transient things of this world. Thank you for giving us your precious Spirit, and your beloved Son, in whose Name we pray. Amen.
“And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’” Acts 1:9-11 NASB
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