November 15, 2021 — 2 Corinthians 7:8-16

“Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance; for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves guiltless in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong, nor on account of the one who was wronged, but in order that your zeal for us might be made known to you before God. In this we find comfort.” 2 Cor. 7:9-13

Notice what Paul says here: that their sorrow in itself was not the cause of his rejoicing; but the nature of it, and the effect of it made him rejoice. Why? As we intuitively know, it is our sorrow for doing wrong that drives us to seek forgiveness in the first place. And the fact that we feel our wrongs can last a lifetime — but that can only lead to beating ourselves up over again and again. Feeling our sinfulness should last for a season; and seeking forgiveness and receiving absolution turns our sorrow into joy.

Two things to notice here: first, true repentance often is preceded by feeling really, truly awful about what we have done that deserves our repentance. The awful feeling is not repentance itself, but it is a good first step toward genuine repentance, and in some sense the cause that produces repentance. We, the offender, felt really awful, and we were swallowed up for a time in that sorrow; and the presence of the Holy Spirit is calling us to repentance. But this sorrow, this feeling really awful should move beyond just feeling really bad — for if it does not, then that is not repentance. The part of our feeling really, truly bad is akin to a broken and contrite heart the Psalmist speaks of: The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)

Second, when we repent, this immediately leads (or is supposed to) to a change of life and our actions. The Corinthians made it evident that their sorrow was true and Godly, which led them to repentance, because it caused them to put away the behavior/feeling/action, and so freed them to live in a closer relationship with G-d.

Most importantly, at least to this pastor, is that their repentance wrought zeal, a mixture of love and anger, a zeal for change and a new direction. They were truly penitent, and therefore clear of guilt before G-d, who would pardon and not punish them.

Let us Pray,

Lord Christ, every day we come to you with broken and contrite hearts. Help us to recognize your love, your forgiveness, and your mercy. Turn our true repentance into eternal love. Amen.

Pastor Dave

November 14, 2021 – Pentecost +25B

“As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” Mark 13:1-8

Mankind has built amazing structures, like the pyramids of Giza, and the Great Wall of China, thinking they would last forever. Some of them did, and still do exist. Most of them have been lost to the sands of time. Solomon’s Temple was one of those buildings the Israelites thought would last forever. Built sometime around 1000 BCE the original Temple stood for almost 400 years. The original purpose was to house the Ark of the Covenant—to give G-d a place to dwell on earth that was not a tent. King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed that Temple in 587/586 BCE and the people of Israel were carried off into exile to the land of Babylon. Some 70 years later, circa 516 BCE, construction on the Second Temple began. This Temple would stand for almost 600 years before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. Nothing lasts forever, especially if those things have been built by humans.

One of the most difficult things a pastor must do is stand with people when their lives, or their personal worlds, come crashing down around them. As their pastor, I am to represent the presence of G-d in their midst. And when it all comes crashing down, they look to me for answers and comfort—wanting to lash out at G-d, lash out at the world, even lash out at me. You see, we spend years building up Temples of faith around us, learning particular things, reading particular things, repeating particular things, even chanting and singing particular things—and we believe that the presence of the Holy Spirit is in the things we do, so that our worship, our faith, our good works bridge the relationship between us and G-d. And, there is a part of us that believes that if we are good Christians, we will not see our Temples of faith torn down. It is our human nature to look around us and to find security and a sense of comfort in what we have built around us, what we have accumulated, what we know to have lasted for as long as we can remember. This security, this sense of the familiar is what impresses in us that things will last forever. It is no wonder this thinking invades our faith lives as well. This is what Jesus is trying to impress upon the disciples in our Gospel text.

Look, somewhere inside of us, we all know that we are just one step, one fall, one car accident, one heart attack, one fire, one stray bullet away from complete destruction. What insulates us from wanting to hunker down and wait for the end is knowing that through the Holy Spirit, Christ has written, has carved on the lining of our hearts this phrase “I will forever wipe the slate clean of your sins”.  As such, we continue to live as the church, to be the people of G-d encouraging one another, loving one another, being disciples of Christ thankful for what Christ has already given us knowing also in the world we are “not yet” what G-d intends for each one of us—that what awaits you and me is so colossal we cannot even fathom how wonderful that will be.

Look, there is nothing you and I can do to prevent our lives from falling apart, to ensure our homes or even our church will not be knocked down by an earthquake or fire, to prevent our loved ones from dying tragic deaths, or to prevent this congregation one day ceasing to exist. What we can do is live in the love and the blessings that G-d has “already” given us—knowing that the Reign of G-d has “Not Yet” been fulfilled–but that we can continue to live out the Gospel as G-d’s imperfect people made perfect through Christ.

Pastor Dave