2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17
Donna Giver Johnston

June 18, 2006

Some parts of the Bible are clear in their meaning and easy to understand. For example:

Then Samuel anointed David king in the presence of his brothers (1Sam. 16:13).

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you (John 15:12).

When you pray, say, "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. . ." (Luke 11:2).

Other parts of the Bible are not so clear. Paul’s Second letter to the Corinthians is not so easy to understand. In some parts, Paul seems to be showing his disappointment in the church for fighting among themselves, and causing unnecessary divisions. In other parts, Paul seems to be encouraging them not to lose heart. Throughout the centuries, people have read and interpreted and applied Paul’s letter to the church in many different ways.

Today’s reading is no exception. Paul wrote: So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation;

What is Paul saying here?

Some have understood this to mean Paul is calling for change. . .everything must change. . everything old must go. . . everything new must begin. . . change for the sake of change. Some read this and from it take permission to throw out everything old and begin anew.

Fred Craddock is a retired teacher of preaching and was voted one of the top ten preachers in the country. At 78 years old, he now travels around to churches and shares some of his wisdom with younger preachers. Last week, I had the privilege of hearing Fred Craddock speak. He shared this memorable story.

One Sunday, I visited a church I had not been before. I was looking forward to a traditional worship service and sermon. Boy was I surprised.

The preacher stood in the pulpit and began preaching with these words:

You remember your baptism—well, forget it!

You remember the stories of the Bible you learned in Sunday school—well, forget it!

You remember the old hymns you know by heart—forget them!

And the preacher went on and on, naming all of the things of the church that have nurtured my faith throughout my life and told me to forget them—forget them all!

After the service, I had a conversation with the preacher. I asked her what she was hoping to accomplish in the sermon. She said she was trying desperately to create a new Christian community, and the first step, as she understood it, was to throw out all the old and create something brand new.

Dr. Craddock, gently and wisely, gave her this advice: Everything I’ve ever known and believed and held precious and true I learned in the church. By telling me to forget all of it, you are, in essence, chopping down the family tree—the tree of faith, that has nurtured all of our faith. And in its place, you planted a petunia, which doesn’t provide enough shade for the whole family of God. Perhaps there’s another way.

Perhaps. But chopping down the old is tempting for all of us—especially if the old looks or thinks nothing like us. It becomes an either/or. Either right or wrong. In or out. Old or new.

Traditional or contemporary. Us or them. Either they go or I go. We each stand on our respective side, with ax in hand and ready to begin the chopping. We are good at this. The history of the church bears witness to this. It’s so easy to do. But, probably not what Paul had in mind.

Change for the sake of change is not what Paul is talking about. So, then what? I wonder.

Some have understood that Paul is trying to encourage the growth of a church he has planted in Corinth. He is not trying to uproot it. The change he is talking about is both keeping some old things and adding some new things, to help build unity, for the good of the community.

Change for the sake of community. . .in our church, we have done well with this, I think.

Both keeping the faith of our fathers and adding to this legacy of faithfulness.

Both keeping character builders and adding women to the group, now anyone is welcome.

Both keeping worship in the sanctuary and adding some worship opportunities in the Great Room.

Both keeping the old hymns and adding new music with a new beat.

Both keeping fellowship dinners for the congregation and adding community dinners for the poor, for all.

Both keeping our old space for what we do well and adding new space for new ministries.

Both celebrating where we’ve been and boldly stepping out in faith.

Change for the sake of community—both and. Traditional and contemporary. Old and new. Us and them. Together, the church. Keeping some things. Adding some things. Taking some things out. Putting some things in. Celebrating some things. Carefully changing some things. Change for the sake of the community of faith.

But, change is still change. And nobody likes change—at least not very much change. And change just for the sake of others doesn’t have lasting power—pretty soon we all start grumbling. "We’ve hired a female pastor; we’ve built a new addition; we’ve fed the poor; we’ve let those people in our church; we’ve even added some drums to worship—isn’t that enough change? We want to go back to what is familiar, comfortable, what we recognize as true, as the church we know and love."

Perhaps there’s another way.

Change only for the sake of community is not what Paul is talking about. So, then what? I wonder.

It seems clear to me that Paul is talking about change for the sake of Christ. That is, in Christ, God has already brought about the change. In Christ, there is already a new creation. In Christ, everything, everyone has become new.

This change is not about us doing, as much as seeing differently. We need to see one another, not from a human view—not as male or female, rich or poor, white or black, gay or straight, old or young, conservative or liberal, right or wrong—but as sisters and brothers in Christ.

Anyone in Christ is new! God has already made it so. The question is: Can you see it? Paul is calling us to re-train the eyes and mind and heart to see—everything has become new!

Change for the sake of Christ—that’s what Paul is talking about.

And that’s what the church is talking about.

Right now the Presbyterian Church (USA) is holding the General Assembly in Birmingham, Alabama. Commissioners are gathered together from all over the country, all over the church, all over the racial, economic, generational and theological spectrum. The questions that are put before the church are: What is God calling the church to be? Can we live together? And what will our life together look like? And as the answers come back to us, the conversation continues among us. As a Presbyterian church, as a community of faith, as people of God, as individual Christians, we will have to ask ourselves: What is God calling our church to be? Are we willing to change for the sake of Christ? And what will our life together look like?

During this season of discernment, the Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the church issued a report with this important statement:

There is much about the future of the church that is not clear. But, what is clear is this: change takes time. Changing attitudes and behaviors takes time. Changing the way we see others takes even more time. Changing for the sake of Christ—that is, allowing ourselves to be changed into Christ’s eyes and ears and hands and heart may a lifetime.

Paul knows that about the Corinthians and about us. But he knows how important it is in our becoming who God created us to be, who Christ calls us to be, who the Spirit empowers us to be. And so Paul talks about change. But, in so doing, he doesn’t chop down the family tree of faith; he prunes it, yes. But more importantly, he plants seeds—throughout his letter, he patiently and persistently plants seeds of change, hoping they will grow—over time—into a new creation—into the church we can all know and love and recognize as our own, and that Christ can claim as his own. Both tending to the family tree of faith and planting new seeds.

Perhaps this is the better way.

20^th century writer, teacher and preacher Elton Trueblood knows something about what Paul is talking about. He wrote, "A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit."

May God be glorified by our conversations.

May God be glorified by our cultivation.

May God be gloried by our change for Christ’s sake.

May God be glorified by the church now and forevermore. Amen.