”My heart isn’t in it any
more.”
When we feel that way, we’re in
good company. Twice in 2 Corinthians 4,
early and late in his reflections on the relationship of our humanity and the
good news of Jesus, Paul claimed: “We do not lose heart.” It’s as if he were trying to convince himself
while reassuring his friends. He must
have been tempted to lose heart, or it wouldn’t have been so much on his
mind.
good company. Twice in 2 Corinthians 4,
early and late in his reflections on the relationship of our humanity and the
good news of Jesus, Paul claimed: “We do not lose heart.” It’s as if he were trying to convince himself
while reassuring his friends. He must
have been tempted to lose heart, or it wouldn’t have been so much on his
mind.
In the valley of discouragement
and close to the edge of despair, what kept Paul from completely losing heart?
and close to the edge of despair, what kept Paul from completely losing heart?
He had learned that God responds
our brokenness and pain with mercy, to our failures and guilt with grace, and to
our loneliness and longing with love.
And, after years of falling down and getting up again—after seeing the
best and the worst in himself and his brothers and sisters among the followers
of Jesus—Paul had become a faithful realist
about both the power of God and the weakness of the God’s people. Such realism (which isn’t, by the way, the
same thing as cynicism) helped him to hold onto his heart.
our brokenness and pain with mercy, to our failures and guilt with grace, and to
our loneliness and longing with love.
And, after years of falling down and getting up again—after seeing the
best and the worst in himself and his brothers and sisters among the followers
of Jesus—Paul had become a faithful realist
about both the power of God and the weakness of the God’s people. Such realism (which isn’t, by the way, the
same thing as cynicism) helped him to hold onto his heart.
A group of fourth and fifth graders
had this Sunday School assignment: Attend
morning worship and write the pastor a letter about the experience. Margaret, a ten year old, sent this brief
note: “Dear Reverend, I like to go to church on Sunday because I don’t have any
choice.”
had this Sunday School assignment: Attend
morning worship and write the pastor a letter about the experience. Margaret, a ten year old, sent this brief
note: “Dear Reverend, I like to go to church on Sunday because I don’t have any
choice.”
Late in his ministry, after his
pastorates in Austin and Charlotte, Carlyle Marney said: “The church is
like Noah’s ark: the stench inside is almost unbearable. But the alternative is unthinkable” (in
James Fowler, Weaving the New Creation,
150).
pastorates in Austin and Charlotte, Carlyle Marney said: “The church is
like Noah’s ark: the stench inside is almost unbearable. But the alternative is unthinkable” (in
James Fowler, Weaving the New Creation,
150).
Devotion to the church often
keeps company with doubts about the church.
Young Margaret and old Marney—like Paul—were on to something important:
often, we like church because we have no other choice.
keeps company with doubts about the church.
Young Margaret and old Marney—like Paul—were on to something important:
often, we like church because we have no other choice.
Paul thought of himself and his
sisters and brothers in Christ as earthen vessels: “We have this treasure
in clay jars.” Paul thought of
Christian life and ministry in paradoxical terms. On the one hand, there was the treasure of
the gospel, what he called “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.” On
the other hand, there was this community of clay, men and women like Paul who
were wonderfully but woefully human. The
good news of God’s love is inestimably valuable, but the community through
which the gospel finds us is inescapably human.
sisters and brothers in Christ as earthen vessels: “We have this treasure
in clay jars.” Paul thought of
Christian life and ministry in paradoxical terms. On the one hand, there was the treasure of
the gospel, what he called “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.” On
the other hand, there was this community of clay, men and women like Paul who
were wonderfully but woefully human. The
good news of God’s love is inestimably valuable, but the community through
which the gospel finds us is inescapably human.
The image of an earthen vessel,
or clay jar, picks-up on the biblical witness that God fashioned us from the
dust of the ground. We are, according to
Genesis, in-spirited clay, heaven-shaped earth, and divinely-animated dirt.
or clay jar, picks-up on the biblical witness that God fashioned us from the
dust of the ground. We are, according to
Genesis, in-spirited clay, heaven-shaped earth, and divinely-animated dirt.
Anything made of clay is, at its
essence, fragile, susceptible to damage, and prone to brokenness.
essence, fragile, susceptible to damage, and prone to brokenness.
And, it’s important for us to
remember that the presence of treasure in a clay jar doesn’t make the clay jar
any less a clay jar. If we identify the
gospel too closely with the vessel, we can begin to expect the vessel to be the
gospel. We come to believe that the
community of clay will never disappoint or hurt us, because we think of the
community as God-like rather than as merely God’s instrument. We need to remember that the community of
clay remains fallen and fragile.
remember that the presence of treasure in a clay jar doesn’t make the clay jar
any less a clay jar. If we identify the
gospel too closely with the vessel, we can begin to expect the vessel to be the
gospel. We come to believe that the
community of clay will never disappoint or hurt us, because we think of the
community as God-like rather than as merely God’s instrument. We need to remember that the community of
clay remains fallen and fragile.
Still, the community of clay is
of great importance because it’s a vessel of the treasure. Paul strained his
vocabulary to find words sufficient to describe the treasure. He piled superlative on superlative:
“the gospel of the glory of Christ, the image of God”; “the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus
Christ.” Jesus is the treasure
because he is “the human face of God”
(a phrase from John A.T. Robinson).
of great importance because it’s a vessel of the treasure. Paul strained his
vocabulary to find words sufficient to describe the treasure. He piled superlative on superlative:
“the gospel of the glory of Christ, the image of God”; “the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus
Christ.” Jesus is the treasure
because he is “the human face of God”
(a phrase from John A.T. Robinson).
On the face of Jesus, we discover
that God is for us, not against us. We
see that God is powerful love, not disinterested power. On the face of Jesus we catch sight of God’s
mercy, a mercy both tender and strong, mighty and gentle.
that God is for us, not against us. We
see that God is powerful love, not disinterested power. On the face of Jesus we catch sight of God’s
mercy, a mercy both tender and strong, mighty and gentle.
Since the community of clay is a
vessel through which this treasure comes to us, our calling is to find signs of
the gospel in the messy and marvelous, running and stumbling, life of that
community.
vessel through which this treasure comes to us, our calling is to find signs of
the gospel in the messy and marvelous, running and stumbling, life of that
community.
Paul’s paradoxical realism about
the gospel and the church kept him from losing heart. It can keep us from discouragement as well. Years
ago, John Claypool observed that “dis-illusionment” was a stripping
away of illusions; and, therefore, ultimately healthy and life-giving.
the gospel and the church kept him from losing heart. It can keep us from discouragement as well. Years
ago, John Claypool observed that “dis-illusionment” was a stripping
away of illusions; and, therefore, ultimately healthy and life-giving.
A lot of our disillusionments
about church are experiences in which our illusions of human perfection and perfecitibilty
are stripped away. To expect perfection from ourselves or anyone else is to
live with an illusion that sets us up for discouragement.
about church are experiences in which our illusions of human perfection and perfecitibilty
are stripped away. To expect perfection from ourselves or anyone else is to
live with an illusion that sets us up for discouragement.
A young idealist once asked
Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, how she could tolerate
hypocrisy among the people who worked with her in ministry to the poor. She replied, “If we were going to forbid
hypocrites to work here with us, there’d be no one to do the work and no one to
do the forbidding! Each day we try to do
the best we can–for all our faults and imperfections” (in Robert Coles, The Call of Service. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1993: xxv).
Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, how she could tolerate
hypocrisy among the people who worked with her in ministry to the poor. She replied, “If we were going to forbid
hypocrites to work here with us, there’d be no one to do the work and no one to
do the forbidding! Each day we try to do
the best we can–for all our faults and imperfections” (in Robert Coles, The Call of Service. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1993: xxv).
Flawed, fragile, and fallible—the
church is all of those things.
It is also a place to discover the grace and glory of God.
church is all of those things.
It is also a place to discover the grace and glory of God.
Recent Comments