Our Ministry of Reconciliation
Mark 12:28-34; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
In high school, I had two or three girlfriends, but only one of them was what you might call a serious relationship. Her name was Shelly, and we dated for almost 3 years. We were in a performing group and were part of a larger circle of friends. One night, after we had watched a movie at Shelly’s house, she told me she wanted to talk with me. It turned out that there was another guy whom she was developing feelings for, and that, although she still loved me, she wanted to date the other guy. Ouch! Cue teen anguish! I was befuddled, crestfallen, hurt, destroyed, all at once. We talked a bit more that night, but I left realizing that my longest-lasting girlfriend relationship was over. Over the next few weeks, our circle of friends had difficulty getting together, since Shelly and I were no longer dating. So, eventually, they started getting together without me, which stunk. Ah, the days of high school...
After a bit of time, we pretty much built up a wall of separation. I didn’t want to see her with her new boyfriend, so I avoided most of our usual hangouts. I was hurt and angry and didn’t want to have anything to do with her. This was my attitude for about a year after we broke up.
Travel in time with me 20 years, to the year 2000. I received an email from an old friend who told me our old performing group, the “Minnesingers”, was having a 20-year reunion. I responded to the email and said I was coming. I was excited to see some old friends, sing some of our songs, and do a couple of old numbers with the gang. I was also happy to bring my wife with me, so she could get a sense of my life when I was in high school. It turned out that the table we sat at included Shelly. It was the first time I had seen her in decades. We looked at each other, smiled, and talked about our lives. Some of the old circle of friends were at the same table. Somehow, magically, in those first moments seeing one another once again, there was reconciliation, just like that. I guess the saying, “Time heals all wounds,” is true.
Reconciliation- that is to re-establish a relationship between two people, to settle a dispute, to make compatible or consistent ( New American Heritage Dictionary, 1980) isn’t very easy. Reconciliation with my old girlfriend took 20 years. To be willing to reconcile with another person takes courage, is risky, and may mean we recognize our part in a broken relationship. It is in some ways easier to avoid and ignore those broken relationships, to villainize the other, to pretend it doesn’t bother us that someone is upset or hurt, and move on with our lives. Then we start building walls of separation, and like so many around us, accept the world as it is- unreconciled, full of mistrust, anger, and broken relationships. I don’t think that is how God wants this world to be.
Which brings me to this morning’s passage from 2nd Corinthians. Paul tells us that through Christ’s sacrifice, we were reconciled to God- our relationship was restored- Creator to creation through Christ’s dying on the cross. According to Paul, this means that because of God’s sacrifice of Jesus, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation (Verse 18). It is expected of us by God that we minister to the world to reestablish relationships, settle disputes, and make the world a compatible and consistent place.
This is by no means an easy task. This was also difficult for Paul, particularly regarding the church in Corinth. Consider that this was Paul’s first congregation, perhaps most cherished, that he established. After he moved on in his mission to establish other churches, he wrote his first letter of instruction and guidance to this fledgling congregation, 1st Corinthians in 54 A.D. But the church was visited after his letter arrived by some of Paul’s opponents, who questioned his adequacy as an absentee leader for the church, who questioned his claim to be an original apostle, and who found fault with his way of life, working with his hands as a tentmaker, rather than living as other teachers and philosophers of the day did, from the patronage of those he taught. Furthermore, he had no letters of recommendation about his authority as a teacher (See 2 Corinthians 3:1). Due to these opponents' meddling, the relationship between Paul and the Corinthian church became broken.
Paul heard from others who had visited the congregation that his relationship with the Corinthian church was in trouble. He then revisited the church, and according to chapter 2:1-3, this had been a painful experience, creating an even deeper rift between him and many in the congregation. He followed this visit with another letter which we do not have, written "out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears...." (2:4), apparently delivered by Titus (2:13; 7:13‑15), who returned to reassure Paul that the church wanted to reconnect with Paul and were open to further instructions.
Our text for the day is part of Paul's letter following Titus's return. It occurs toward the end of a lengthy defense of Paul's apostleship, his way of life, and his understanding of the gospel (chaps. 2‑6). Much of this second letter is Paul’s attempt to reconcile the differences between the church and the church leaders. Let’s go through this passage, verse by verse.
In Verse 16, Paul responds to claims about his behavior and lifestyle. He has even been described as slightly mad ("beside himself," see v. 13). Paul claims that these criticisms are made from a wholly worldly point of view. At one time, he also judged persons and behaviors from the same point of view, but no longer. His reference to knowing Christ "from a human point of view" may be a response to claims from some of his opponents to have better credentials than Paul's because they had seen or known Jesus before his crucifixion. Paul’s point here is that he can know Christ even though he did not meet him in the flesh.
In Verse 17, Paul says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation". The Greek text is more like an exclamation: "If anyone [is] in Christ‑new creation!" He takes this understanding of regarding no one from a human point of view and tells the Corinthians that we now regard fellow kindred in faith as a new creation- Paul draws on the language of Isaiah (43:18‑19; 48:6; 65:17; 66:22) for his "new creation" metaphor. He views the gospel as a liberating force that has delivered him into a new reality.
In Verses 18‑19, Paul strongly emphasizes the knowledge of God as a reconciler. In this section, Paul crams five references to reconciliation within the space of three verses, a term much at home in the world of commerce, where it has to do with the exchange of money. People would pay off their debt or reconcile what they owed merchants regularly. Corinth was a thriving place of commerce, one of the trade hubs in the first century, so terms regarding commerce were well understood. Here, Paul claims this term spiritually, as God reconciled the world to himself through Christ- that our debt, what we owed God because of sin, was paid through Christ upon the cross. He makes it plain that in God's economy, reconciliation with the whole world has been effected through Christ. Moreover, Paul understands that he has been appointed as an agent of this reconciling work. Unspoken but very important is the need for the Corinthians to be reconciled with Paul.
In Verse 20, Paul uses the figure of the ambassador to refer to the proclamation of the gospel. It is a powerful metaphor because the ambassador acts on behalf of or in place of the appointing power. For example, an ambassador for the United States of America represents our nation on foreign soil and acts on behalf of and with full authority of our nation.
In Paul’s understanding, we Christians are ambassadors for Christ- we represent and act on behalf of Jesus with the authority of God. Paul tells the Corinthians and us today that God announces the gospel and appeals for reconciliation through human ambassadors like you and me.
Finally, in Verse 21, because we have been reconciled (made righteous)with God through Christ and his sacrifice, which was for our sake, that reconciliation with God must be demonstrated in reconciled relationships with all.
In 1985, many of you may remember I was called to help bring reconciliation between Russia and the United States, right at the zenith of the Cold War. In my 3 weeks in what many of us called the “Evil Empire”, I met so many different people, and in the back of my mind was this challenge, that I was an ambassador of my denomination, and was on a mission to reconcile. We met with Russian Orthodox priests, a group of Russian Baptist pastors, interacted with folks on the street (all the while being tailed by the KGB in trench coats with dark glasses and ear pieces- I kid you not), and met with government officials. We attended many Russian Orthodox and Baptist worship services. When we were introduced to these services, people would stare in amazement that there were “Christost Amerikanski” American Christians, for they had been told that we were a godless evil empire. Eyes were opened, and I gained several Russian acquaintances as the walls of mistrust and misinformation came down. A lot of reconciliation occurred on that trip.
Then, how do we reconcile with our kindred in Christ who seem to worship a nation and a leader above God? How do we begin a conversation? How do we love our neighbors on the other side of arguments as we love God and love ourselves?
The conversation begins from a faith perspective by seeing others, as Paul said “No longer from a human point of view.” Can we see the divine in others who are so antithetical to whatever our beliefs may be? I think the “yes” answer to that question used to be easier than it is now. We are so polarized and fed by the media. Our news feeds and headlines online become tailored to our viewpoints, demonizing those on the other side. The Christian church is split in ways that may be irreconcilable. Yet Paul’s calling and Jesus’ teachings are clear. We are called to remember that we have been reconciled, and therefore are to reconcile with others. I hope Marla’s presentation later this morning provides some tangible ways forward.
For now, I will offer the following possibilities to help bring reconciliation and hope you may find them valuable tools.
- Listen actively. Don’t think of your response to their point while they are still speaking. Try to repeat what you hear them say.
- Try to remain calm and see the other person as a reflection of God’s creation.
- Be aware of your own prejudices and biases, unless you are like me and don’t have any… All of us have deep-rooted ways of viewing the world, and some of them need examining. Becoming aware of our own biases can help us know ourselves better and be more open to listening to someone on the other side.
- See if you can find any common ground with each other. I am rereading a book I found helpful just after the election results of 2016, The Righteous Mind-Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, by Social Psychologist and college professor Jonathan Haidt. I am finding some good reminders about finding ways to build bridges rather than erect dividing walls. In addressing the religious and political divide, Haidt argues that we aren’t divided because some people are good and others are evil. Rather, our human minds were designed for groupish righteousness, and humans are deeply intuitive creatures whose gut feelings drive our reasoning. This basic truth makes it difficult to connect with those who live by other values or life experiences. Haidt concludes his book by writing, “So, the next time you find yourself seated by someone from a different set of core values, give it a try. Don’t just jump right in. Don’t bring up morality until you’ve found a few points of commonality or in some other way established a bit of trust. And when you do bring up issues of morality, start with some praise, or with a sincere expression of interest. We are all stuck here for a while, so let’s try to work it out.”
What does it mean to be, as Paul wrote, “entrusted with the message of reconciliation”? It means that we, as Christians, need to remember we are all stuck here for a while, and have a calling to try to work things out with others. God calls us to look for those walls of separation, those hostile barriers we erect, and bring them crashing down. It means that we are to be bearers of reconciliation in our homes, existing family structures, workplaces, the Christian Church, and beyond.
In closing, I’d like to lift up an amazing example of reconciliation I saw happen twice on the field of valor last week in Columbus, Georgia, during the NAIA Softball National Championship. Two teams fought hard for the national championship—Oklahoma City College and our SOU Raiders. What an incredible victory it was for the Raiders to win seven games in a row, including the last two over the 12-time national champs!! Those women were so impressive, and I am proud of two in particular, and you know who you are! Yet what impressed me even more was that after those two hard-fought games, the Oklahoma City College and SOU players got into a circle together, held hands, and stood together in silence. I asked Ayla about it, and she told me they were praying, giving thanks to God for being able to play the game, and honoring God in how they played. It exemplified courage, thanksgiving to God, and reconciliation after hard-fought competition. Perhaps we should instigate the prayer circle at family gatherings during the holidays and after all meetings of Congress?
Being reconciled to the world demands courage and overcoming our fears and biases. We have been entrusted with this message to share it with the world so that it might be reconciled. May we, therefore, be emboldened and empowered to share the hope of the gospel, be ambassadors for Christ, and tear down each wall of hostility or misunderstanding wherever we are through the love and power of Jesus Christ. Alleluia! Amen.
