“Don't Say Reconciliation, Live Reconciliation”  2010

Isaiah 43:15-21            2 Cor. 5:17-20

 

Isaiah 43:15-21 (New Revised Standard)

15 I amath in the mighty waters, 17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.

 

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (New Revised Standard)

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. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,  not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

Ever wish you could go back to some critical point in your life,

            knowing what you know now,

                        and have a chance to do or say something different,

                                    and thereby perhaps change the course of your life?

 

            … perhaps avoid someone who turned out to be a bad influence,

                  maybe dodge a situation that led to a destructive outcome,

                                    or amend an opportunity that somehow   slipped away.

 

   Sometimes, right after I say the wrong thing,

            when I’ve opened my mouth and really inserted my whole foot…

                                    …  I wish I could just yell, “Rewind”,

              and back up to my transgression, and say something different,

                        and instead of saying something hurtful, harsh or angry,

                          say something kinder, gentler, or more Christ-like.

 

Wouldn’t marriage be a lot easier, and possibly more harmonious,

            if you could just go back and "unsay" hurtful words,

                "undo", and somehow not be trapped by our past mistakes?

 

That is sort of the idea and hope of the Isaiah 43 passage we read, à

            spoken to encourage exiles forced into Babylonian captivity,

                  it recalls how God brought their ancestors out from Egypt.

 

Just as God provided the way to pass through the sea in the Exodus,

        so too God will provide a way through the wilderness for them.

 

Stop clinging to even a comfortable past or looking back longingly,

            or you will miss the Lord's radical new possibilities and hope;

                        just look and see the new that God is creating.                        vs. 18

            “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.

                        I am about the do a new thing.”

                             … so don’t accept that the way things are now,   as final!

 

The Bible uses this phrase “a new thing”, over 275 times,

      and its frequent use is a clue and an indicator of its importance

              and that it is a major theological concept, truth about God.

 

All through the stories of the Bible, “a new thing” has been about

            God repeatedly offering saving the people with a fresh start.

 

People disobey, turn aside from God and get themselves in a mess,

            and God comes back with hope and a chance for restoration.

The message is, our God of endless second chances isn't done yet,

            and that is what God is promising through the prophet Isaiah.

 

Remember I brought you through the wilderness to the Promised Land,

            but that’s nothing compared to what I have in mind to do now.

vs. 18 - 19

    “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.

            I am about the do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

                        I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

           

Stop looking back mournfully, and don't let mistakes define you

            as if the glory days have come and gone, and now it's all over.

                   Stop clinging to the past, but look ahead to this new thing.

Thus says the Lord, there is going to be this new thing -- a new Exodus:

            I’ll build a wilderness road for you between Babylon and Judea.

 

            I will care for you so abundantly in that desert wilderness,

                        so much life-giving water, that even the wild animals

                                    will have plenty to drink because of me…   vs. 19~20  

            I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.  The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.

 

God is doing something new & wonderful, this will be a saving thing,

            as once again God is providing for his people,   in abundance,

                 again gathering his beloved people together into community.

 

Paul is writing about a similar promise to the Corinthians. vs. 17

            “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:

                        everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

 

But its more complex than    now everything in life suddenly fixed;

            and for some, this can be disillusioning and confusing

                     because in many ways God's presence, this a new thing,

                              doesn't suddenly or necessarily change our situation.   

 

When I used to take our church youth group on weekend retreats,

  there would be wonderful & inspiring experiences & conversations;

            and at the Saturday night worship service around a campfire,

                    several might commit their lives and future to the Lord…

     … making heartfelt promises about how they were going to change.

 

But then on Sunday they had to face the reality of going back home,

            and many of the problems back home were still there, waiting;

                        a bad report card was still a bad report card,

                                    parents, angry when they left, might still be upset…

 

… still had to face school on Monday, return back into their world,

            and some unable to live up to the ideals of a weekend retreat,

                        walked away hurt and disillusioned, there was no magic.

 

So too we may still be facing major surgery and health issues.

            We may still struggle looking for work, or paying the bills,

                        and a badly broken marriage may still end in divorce.

 

            We still live under the limitations of created existence.

                        We still live with the consequences of sin & bad choices;

                                    so in what sense is there,  "a new creation in Christ" ?

Or, in a more literal translation of the Greek,

            in what sense,   are we a new creature in Christ?

                        in what sense is the old passing away?

                                    in what sense has someone  really being created anew?

 

The Greek is very precise – "in Christ there is a new creature".

      Specifically, the action has already been completed, it's done.

 

Equally precise in the original Greek,

            "everything old is passing away; see, everything is becoming new!"

Literally describing a continuing process that's not yet completed

            it's not yet fully accomplished, but a process in process            

                 something developing that will continue on into the future.

 

Yes, we may still live in the same house, in the same community,

            we have the same friends and family,

                        same job and hobbies and life circumstances, yet somehow,

                                    everything new  is an ongoing process of changing; à

 everything is becoming new,  refers to a liberating hope proceeding,

     as this a new creation is still coming, there is something more,

               there is a new reality, as God's promises continue to unfurl.

 

In life the same things happen to both Christians & non-Christians.

            The promise is not that the things that happen in this life

                             are any different for Christians than for anyone else.

     The crucial difference is what we bring to our life-situations,

            our response to what happens to us, because of God's presence.

 

e.g. praying for an enemy or for a situation    may not change   them,

        but what will change is our attitude, perspective, our spirit…

… and as our attitude improves,  that may change the world around us.

 

I believe it is in this sense Paul said, “there is a new creation”.

            No doubt he had his own road to Damascus experience in mind;

                        for that was the decisive event

                                    that completely changed Paul’s life.

      For Paul, there was life before meeting Jesus Christ,

                        and then there was a different life  after meeting Christ.

 

When Jesus Christ became his Lord, he saw life in a whole new light,

            and it completely changed;  through Christ,  reconciled to God,

                 changing everything that he had ever understood about life.

 

God does the reconciling, and its impact continues to develop.

    And as this happens, Paul describes the consequences: vs. 18-19

            “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ,  and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.”  

 

The Greek word for reconciliation that Paul uses

             means to restore a previously severed relationship;

                        through Christ, God is not counting our sin against us…

… and as God has reconciled us to himself, giving us that 2^nd chance,

            we are becoming agents of that reconciliation out to the world.

 

Reconciliation   is a 'rewind' and 'do-over',

            its a work of God's grace whereby relationships are mended. 

And by this act of God,  we are being formed into a faith communityà

            of those who are being  reconciled to God, changed by grace.

                        So we are this "new creation" – "fresh start",

                             and at the same time, we are becoming "new creatures".

 

Being "in Christ" means

            that we are called to continue God's work of reconciliation

                                    among ourselves and we're out into the world.

                                    What God has done, is now entrusted to us to continue. 

And what God has done for us, we then owe to others,

            and so, to be reconciled with God, necessarily,

                        involves practicing reconciliation toward our neighbors.        

 

For Paul, once he knew the truth, the good news about Jesus Christ

            nothing else mattered or was as important as reconciliation…

                        … and Paul's ministry of reconciliation,  was lettingà

                                       the world know that God loves us and cares for us all.

            vs. 20             So we are ambassadors for Christ,

                                    since God is making his appeal through us.

 

Back in Washington DC,  I had a friend at the Jordanian embassy.

            and when I visited him at that Embassy,

                        he would always greet me, saying, “Welcome to Jordan”;

              for the embassy property was a tiny bit of his home country

                              -           though he was in Washington DC, it was a piece a Jordan.

 

The church is like an embassy,

            a tiny, local presence of the Kingdom of God in this world,

                 and the church exists, for the reconciliation of the world.

 

Beyond the responsibilities my friend was assigned at the embassy,

            every time he was in public or met someone, they looked at him,

                         to form their impressions of the nation and of Jordanians.

He could either reflect favorably or unfavorably on his country.

            So too,  the world looks at us,

                        the world look to us - to reveal - to reflect God's truth…

            …  and beyond just words of proclamation,

                        our very lives speak  and display  God’s truth and glory.

 

Our families, our friends, our neighbors and acquaintances

            all look toward us for Christian definition of,  'Christ-like'

                        to see  if  the love and power of God is real or not,

                               and to see if the promises of God can really be trusted…

 

à … for we are all entrusted with God's revealed power and truth;

               which Paul calls the  ministry and message of reconciliation.

 

We are all called by God to demonstrate a new quality of life,

   as new creation, new creatures - reconciled to God through Christ,

                        in the church, and through the church to the world,

                                    to live in a way consistent with who we are becoming…

 

            … a new quality of life, not hung up by our past,

                        not trapped by problems or situations in our present,

                              but trust and hope  in the sustaining grace-love of God…

 

…and this ministry of reconciliation isn't something

            just to talk about, this reconciliation   is something we live.

 

An example of this, one of my favorite reconciliation stories,

            is about an Episcopal church service in Richmond, Virginia.

It was in June, 1865, just two months after the end of the Civil War.

 

            "The scene unfolded on a Sunday in the sanctuary of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. As the rector was set to serve communion and the white worshipers were prepared to take their assumed rightful place of being served before the black worshipers, a strange action redirected the attention of the congregation from the expected to the unexpected.

 

A distinguished looking black man rose from the side galley and walked directly to the altar to receive the symbols of Christ's death and resurrection. It was one thing for the white south to endure defeat and poverty, or to accept the fact that slaves were now free; it was quite another for a black man to stride up to the front of the church as though an equal.

 

            While the black man knelt, the other worshippers seemed paralyzed. Then a white man—whose life had been radically reoriented from wealth to poverty, from a mansion in Arlington to homelessness in Richmond, from a generalship with the power to influence the fate of millions   to the surrender of his command at Appomattox—broke the deadlock by an act of worship equal to that of his black brother. Robert E. Lee rose from his pew, walked to the altar and knelt beside him to receive communion.

 

            Try to place yourself in that amazing moment of reconciliation

                  as the promise of Christ's presence, of power & possibility

                            a moment to resurrect a hopeful future from a dead past,

            … and how different our nation's history could have been,

                        had the symbol  of that event  been more widely understood.

 

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ,

            and has given us  the ministry of reconciliation.