I realize I am dating myself, but does anyone remember the Gong Show? It was a syndicated talent show on afternoon television and consisted of acts that would come on stage and have a few minutes to impress the judges and audience. If the act stank, the judges would wield a large mallet and bang a sizable gong behind them. This let the contestant know they stank and were to get off the stage pronto (but with cheap parting prizes, of course). There were some that really thought they were God’s gift and were ‘gonged’ much to their surprise. There were others that were so bad, that they were amusing at their own expense. In those cases, the judges would pretend they were going to bang the gong without ever doing it, conveying the jester-like approval, rather than talent. In other words, “Don’t quit the day job. But you are so hopeless, it makes us feel good to watch you exploit yourself.” I don’t think any big talent ever really came from that show that I know.
When reading 2 Corinthians, it hits me that the Gong Show wasn’t created by Chuck Barris in the 1970’s. Its how a large part of how society (including parts of the church) runs today and the way it ran back in 1st century Greece. “Either impress us or get off the stage.” The ‘super apostles’ Paul refers to later in the letter, have arrived in Corinth and have convinced a minority of folks in Corinth that Paul is a crazy renegade who does not speak for Christendom and they have arrived to clean up the mess. Ironically, it was the self confident super apostles who were creating a lot of the mess. Paul, who loved these people in Corinth, found himself an unwitting participant on the Gong Show, competing with pedigreed circuit hacks with self-promoted portfolios and recommendations, each one probably with his own shtick. Some impressed with self-proclaimed knowledge, adding to the finished work of Christ, so that even though Christ is talked about, it became works-based. Other impressed by accommodating everyone as a means to gain political points. If the Greeks were used to divorce, prostitutes, etc., create an atmosphere where they can continue the old ways in order to gain their approval. It could have even been the other way around….try to create an atmosphere of extreme competition so that only the very few enlightened and truly stoic could ever pass the test of obtaining entrance to the winner’s circle, well defined by those unable to enter. All of these things have a common thread: they were means to an end and the end was self serving. The natural results were disastrous and because Paul was led by the Spirit, he had to be the first to be gonged. But being impressed is like crack. Once you are impressed, you’re hooked and it takes more to impress and the desire feeds on itself. So, bring them on, gong them or applaud them, but keep them coming so we can be awed again and send them away, at the behest of the self-appointed judges who have ‘earned’ the gong mallets.
Enough parallels. You get the picture. There are two lessons here. The first is how broken we really are, despite our delusions to the contrary. The second is how powerful and impervious God really is, despite us. Paul’s words, inspired by God, reveal this and without dolling it up or keeping it PC. The true way to spiritual growth is through repentance, trust in God which then enables us to let go of ourselves, as we rest in Christ, so we can serve others in the way God leads us to serve. The natural inclination is the opposite and the key to real happiness is through self-justification, doing things only if there is cash value and, above all else, trust no one but you. This is not a ‘pagan’ problem, even though unbelievers are more than likely blind to this problem. This is a human problem and it is a problem even in the church. Turn on the television and watch the preaching ministries. How many letters can you add to the end of your name and why do you really do that? How many gold pieces of jewelry does it take to convince everyone you are super successful because you are super faithful and where are you really trying to go with that? How many five-syllable words and esoteric ideas does it take to impress the hairspray out of an audience, enough that you don’t have to work hard anymore…and for what? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop? Scratch the last question. I think you get the picture.
2 Corinthians 2:13-17
Paul starts out by telling these people how consumed he was with the impact his letter had on them. What effect did it have? Did the Gong Show replace the Church of Jesus Christ in Corinth or have the people come to their senses? He was in Troas and God opened a huge door for the ministry. But Titus wasn’t there and so Paul had no peace and had to leave for Macedonia to find Titus. No matter what was going on, Paul had to find resolution to this issue. Until he got the news, he was not going to be able to think of anything else. That’s because Paul knew, as we will come to at the end of this letter, that many times God purposefully gives no resolution. If He did, we might not see how much we depend on Him and how powerfully He actually works through that weakness in us. But that is in chapter 12.
Not only did Paul find Titus and received some resolution to the problems he addressed in his stinging letter to them, Paul also takes the opportunity to tell the Corinthians the diametrically opposite characterization of real ministry from resume-building ministries. God considers all who reach out to a hurting world to show Jesus as a sweet fragrance. The imagery doesn’t work that well in our time, but in their age, it was very colorful. When Rome would conquer Carthage, for example, they would come back to the city of Rome and there would be a homecoming procession with rose peddles, incense, dancing, crowds cheering….and in the procession, some taken in as slaves and other shackled and on their way to execution. If you were a conquered people in a Roman procession, the smell of roses and incense may remind you of either a spared life in servitude or your impending death. In either case, you were conquered…the only difference being if you were spared and grateful or doomed and contemptuous. Paul compares that with God’s ministry of the Gospel. Christ leads them and us triumphantly where ever they went and to those who will never accept Christ, the message they sent was one of death and to those who would accept Christ or have accepted Christ, the message was sweet. It was the same message rather than a peaceful one for those who thought it was sweet and a fire and brimstone one for those who smelled death. It was the receiver who differed, not the message. Regardless of which was the case, to God, we are the aroma of His only Son, to those who are not interested and to those who are.
Paul ends that illustration with “No one really has what it takes to do this work (CEV).” What does he mean? The Greek reads more like a rhetorical question…. “And who is competent for this?” The implied answer is “No one.” “Not so”, according to the super apostles, busy at discrediting and sabotaging Paul in Corinth. That takes the credit away from the celebrity and all the collateral that got them so far. If you worship the celebrity, Paul’s rhetorical question sounds like a sore loser or mad man, rather than truth. But it was and still is truth. This sort of thing has to be God leading rather than a simple man-made itinerary. Wherever Paul went, he always preached Christ alone. He first would go into the religious establishment. Some would accept and a great many others would threaten him, beat him or try to get him arrested. He would go on to the non-religious and give the same message, with much of the same results. It was the same message and whether it led to conversions or hostility, it was triumphal procession of Christ and sometimes it led to stripes, homelessness, beatings and imprisonment. Sometimes it led to free meals, welcoming as a guest, new friends and kindness. But in any case, the point wasn’t to gain points for Paul, but to be the messenger of His Kingdom. For a huckster or someone self-serving, I doubt these results smelled that sweet to them. For Paul and his companions, their motives were transparent for all, even in the face of adversity. You can tell the imposters from the real deal by transparency of motive and what is being promoted, regardless of how many words or how well the delivery.
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Speaking of resumes and recommendations…Paul makes this an issue because the hucksters made a big deal out of them and the Corinthians seemed to be easily impressed with them. Unlike the illustration of the triumphal procession, this illustration rings more familiar in our day then in Paul’s. These guys came in with touted pedigree and letters of recommendation, presumably from big wigs in Jerusalem, the Capital of Christendom before Rome and Constantinople. “Rabbi Annus Bar Jonah says of Brother Didymus Caesarius, ‘I have never met anyone raise the dead with such godliness nor prophecy with such purified gold or a greater man of God than anyone in my 750 years of infamously miraculous and astounding service at the Holy Temple.’”. But Paul never bothered with any of that crap. In fact, he could probably have outdone them all (more of that in chapter 11 and 12) but never did. The result was the usurping of any of Paul’s authority by those who impressed the congregation, leading to promotion of the usurpers, regardless of whether it meant taking them down dangerous doctrinal waters or sinful relationships with one another. Usually, one followed the other, but not always. You can be heretical in your disposition despite your position.
Paul says that the people who’ve accepted Christ and met to worship Him were all the resume and recommendation he needed. The fact Christ was moving in a formerly spiritually dead city through broken people, was the gratification Paul needed to rejoice, rather than celebrity. It was never about Paul’s celebrity but his relationship with each other in Christ. He loved them with a Godly love, pure and simple. Even when it seemed they were going the way of the Dodo Bird, Paul stressed and prayed and cried over them. I wonder if Brother Didymus ever got that concerned? Paul prayed they could see that.
Here’s the drive home for Paul…unlike those other guys, Paul tells them that any success was nothing he was capable of doing, but something God has done through Paul. I realize that sort of remark can become one of the most incredible masks for personal pride in the history of the church, but Paul meant it with all his heart. Paul was the chief of all sinners, an unimpressive guy who couldn’t speak well and depending on any one’s interpretation of Galatians, could have had a serious eye problem that made looking at him difficult at times. In short, Paul was not ashamed of the very things the super apostles would avoid like the plague. On the contrary, Paul embraced them, if anything, to show his honesty toward them and to God and for any success to more easily be seen as God’s rather than Paul’s. Paul stresses that God enabled him and others to ministry and the proof isn’t in letters of recommendation or reputation, but in real, tangible manifestations of people turning to God, celebrating life give them in Christ and sacrificing for each other. It was sometimes hard to see or hear, since the shiny people and squeaky wheels always grab the publicity, but if you look past the hype you can see it and it works in and around and through the hype, like a conspiracy, as the Spirit wills.
Paul teaches them and us that the real deal isn’t what the world looks for in the real deal and our idea of the real deal is for our own kicks and entertainment if our hearts aren’t turned to Him for all things. God gifted Paul with relief he was looking for. He found Titus and received Titus’ message that the majority of Corinthians turned their hearts back to God and asked for reconciliation with Paul, repenting of what had transpired. Paul was absolutely thrilled. Titus was probably busting at the seams to let Paul know.
Fact is, we don’t know bubkus about Brother Didymus Caeserius. But Paul we know two millennia since this letter was penned. We also know the Corinthians. They are us. That is the bottom line for any teaching in Scripture. This is a letter to you and me. It’s easy for me to take my eyes off of Him and on to my resume, recommendations or reputation. It’s also just as easy for me measure leaders in the church by their degrees, recommendations or slick oration. And those things have nothing to do with the Gospel or the Kingdom of God. They can be used to further the Kingdom, but without recognizing our inclinations and those of others, those things can also be worthless to the Kingdom, at the toss of a dime. But because of the triumphal procession in Christ that continues on to this day till He returns, all this may cause us to grieve of our sin, grieve and pray for the repentance of those who sinned against God and us. But remember, this is the procession that comes after the war, not the war. The war is over. The defeat was the first Easter morning and the procession will continue to our work is done. And that is our work, rather than what we thought it was, no matter if we are full time ministers or computer programmers. And since it is a procession rather than the war, we can work and rejoice, even if we worry at times. We don’t need to, but until He’s finished with us all, we will worry from time to time, like Paul did. We will also get off track like some of the Corinthians did. However, how can you look at Paul’s neurotic obsessions about all the mess in Corinth without also seeing his love for them in it all? How can you look at the mess the Corinthian church got itself into without also seeing what repentance from it all had done to further the cause more than had it never happened? You see how God was not kidding around when He said His ways are not our ways, nor our thoughts His thoughts.
When reading 2 Corinthians, it hits me that the Gong Show wasn’t created by Chuck Barris in the 1970’s. Its how a large part of how society (including parts of the church) runs today and the way it ran back in 1st century Greece. “Either impress us or get off the stage.” The ‘super apostles’ Paul refers to later in the letter, have arrived in Corinth and have convinced a minority of folks in Corinth that Paul is a crazy renegade who does not speak for Christendom and they have arrived to clean up the mess. Ironically, it was the self confident super apostles who were creating a lot of the mess. Paul, who loved these people in Corinth, found himself an unwitting participant on the Gong Show, competing with pedigreed circuit hacks with self-promoted portfolios and recommendations, each one probably with his own shtick. Some impressed with self-proclaimed knowledge, adding to the finished work of Christ, so that even though Christ is talked about, it became works-based. Other impressed by accommodating everyone as a means to gain political points. If the Greeks were used to divorce, prostitutes, etc., create an atmosphere where they can continue the old ways in order to gain their approval. It could have even been the other way around….try to create an atmosphere of extreme competition so that only the very few enlightened and truly stoic could ever pass the test of obtaining entrance to the winner’s circle, well defined by those unable to enter. All of these things have a common thread: they were means to an end and the end was self serving. The natural results were disastrous and because Paul was led by the Spirit, he had to be the first to be gonged. But being impressed is like crack. Once you are impressed, you’re hooked and it takes more to impress and the desire feeds on itself. So, bring them on, gong them or applaud them, but keep them coming so we can be awed again and send them away, at the behest of the self-appointed judges who have ‘earned’ the gong mallets.
Enough parallels. You get the picture. There are two lessons here. The first is how broken we really are, despite our delusions to the contrary. The second is how powerful and impervious God really is, despite us. Paul’s words, inspired by God, reveal this and without dolling it up or keeping it PC. The true way to spiritual growth is through repentance, trust in God which then enables us to let go of ourselves, as we rest in Christ, so we can serve others in the way God leads us to serve. The natural inclination is the opposite and the key to real happiness is through self-justification, doing things only if there is cash value and, above all else, trust no one but you. This is not a ‘pagan’ problem, even though unbelievers are more than likely blind to this problem. This is a human problem and it is a problem even in the church. Turn on the television and watch the preaching ministries. How many letters can you add to the end of your name and why do you really do that? How many gold pieces of jewelry does it take to convince everyone you are super successful because you are super faithful and where are you really trying to go with that? How many five-syllable words and esoteric ideas does it take to impress the hairspray out of an audience, enough that you don’t have to work hard anymore…and for what? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop? Scratch the last question. I think you get the picture.
2 Corinthians 2:13-17
Paul starts out by telling these people how consumed he was with the impact his letter had on them. What effect did it have? Did the Gong Show replace the Church of Jesus Christ in Corinth or have the people come to their senses? He was in Troas and God opened a huge door for the ministry. But Titus wasn’t there and so Paul had no peace and had to leave for Macedonia to find Titus. No matter what was going on, Paul had to find resolution to this issue. Until he got the news, he was not going to be able to think of anything else. That’s because Paul knew, as we will come to at the end of this letter, that many times God purposefully gives no resolution. If He did, we might not see how much we depend on Him and how powerfully He actually works through that weakness in us. But that is in chapter 12.
Not only did Paul find Titus and received some resolution to the problems he addressed in his stinging letter to them, Paul also takes the opportunity to tell the Corinthians the diametrically opposite characterization of real ministry from resume-building ministries. God considers all who reach out to a hurting world to show Jesus as a sweet fragrance. The imagery doesn’t work that well in our time, but in their age, it was very colorful. When Rome would conquer Carthage, for example, they would come back to the city of Rome and there would be a homecoming procession with rose peddles, incense, dancing, crowds cheering….and in the procession, some taken in as slaves and other shackled and on their way to execution. If you were a conquered people in a Roman procession, the smell of roses and incense may remind you of either a spared life in servitude or your impending death. In either case, you were conquered…the only difference being if you were spared and grateful or doomed and contemptuous. Paul compares that with God’s ministry of the Gospel. Christ leads them and us triumphantly where ever they went and to those who will never accept Christ, the message they sent was one of death and to those who would accept Christ or have accepted Christ, the message was sweet. It was the same message rather than a peaceful one for those who thought it was sweet and a fire and brimstone one for those who smelled death. It was the receiver who differed, not the message. Regardless of which was the case, to God, we are the aroma of His only Son, to those who are not interested and to those who are.
Paul ends that illustration with “No one really has what it takes to do this work (CEV).” What does he mean? The Greek reads more like a rhetorical question…. “And who is competent for this?” The implied answer is “No one.” “Not so”, according to the super apostles, busy at discrediting and sabotaging Paul in Corinth. That takes the credit away from the celebrity and all the collateral that got them so far. If you worship the celebrity, Paul’s rhetorical question sounds like a sore loser or mad man, rather than truth. But it was and still is truth. This sort of thing has to be God leading rather than a simple man-made itinerary. Wherever Paul went, he always preached Christ alone. He first would go into the religious establishment. Some would accept and a great many others would threaten him, beat him or try to get him arrested. He would go on to the non-religious and give the same message, with much of the same results. It was the same message and whether it led to conversions or hostility, it was triumphal procession of Christ and sometimes it led to stripes, homelessness, beatings and imprisonment. Sometimes it led to free meals, welcoming as a guest, new friends and kindness. But in any case, the point wasn’t to gain points for Paul, but to be the messenger of His Kingdom. For a huckster or someone self-serving, I doubt these results smelled that sweet to them. For Paul and his companions, their motives were transparent for all, even in the face of adversity. You can tell the imposters from the real deal by transparency of motive and what is being promoted, regardless of how many words or how well the delivery.
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Speaking of resumes and recommendations…Paul makes this an issue because the hucksters made a big deal out of them and the Corinthians seemed to be easily impressed with them. Unlike the illustration of the triumphal procession, this illustration rings more familiar in our day then in Paul’s. These guys came in with touted pedigree and letters of recommendation, presumably from big wigs in Jerusalem, the Capital of Christendom before Rome and Constantinople. “Rabbi Annus Bar Jonah says of Brother Didymus Caesarius, ‘I have never met anyone raise the dead with such godliness nor prophecy with such purified gold or a greater man of God than anyone in my 750 years of infamously miraculous and astounding service at the Holy Temple.’”. But Paul never bothered with any of that crap. In fact, he could probably have outdone them all (more of that in chapter 11 and 12) but never did. The result was the usurping of any of Paul’s authority by those who impressed the congregation, leading to promotion of the usurpers, regardless of whether it meant taking them down dangerous doctrinal waters or sinful relationships with one another. Usually, one followed the other, but not always. You can be heretical in your disposition despite your position.
Paul says that the people who’ve accepted Christ and met to worship Him were all the resume and recommendation he needed. The fact Christ was moving in a formerly spiritually dead city through broken people, was the gratification Paul needed to rejoice, rather than celebrity. It was never about Paul’s celebrity but his relationship with each other in Christ. He loved them with a Godly love, pure and simple. Even when it seemed they were going the way of the Dodo Bird, Paul stressed and prayed and cried over them. I wonder if Brother Didymus ever got that concerned? Paul prayed they could see that.
Here’s the drive home for Paul…unlike those other guys, Paul tells them that any success was nothing he was capable of doing, but something God has done through Paul. I realize that sort of remark can become one of the most incredible masks for personal pride in the history of the church, but Paul meant it with all his heart. Paul was the chief of all sinners, an unimpressive guy who couldn’t speak well and depending on any one’s interpretation of Galatians, could have had a serious eye problem that made looking at him difficult at times. In short, Paul was not ashamed of the very things the super apostles would avoid like the plague. On the contrary, Paul embraced them, if anything, to show his honesty toward them and to God and for any success to more easily be seen as God’s rather than Paul’s. Paul stresses that God enabled him and others to ministry and the proof isn’t in letters of recommendation or reputation, but in real, tangible manifestations of people turning to God, celebrating life give them in Christ and sacrificing for each other. It was sometimes hard to see or hear, since the shiny people and squeaky wheels always grab the publicity, but if you look past the hype you can see it and it works in and around and through the hype, like a conspiracy, as the Spirit wills.
Paul teaches them and us that the real deal isn’t what the world looks for in the real deal and our idea of the real deal is for our own kicks and entertainment if our hearts aren’t turned to Him for all things. God gifted Paul with relief he was looking for. He found Titus and received Titus’ message that the majority of Corinthians turned their hearts back to God and asked for reconciliation with Paul, repenting of what had transpired. Paul was absolutely thrilled. Titus was probably busting at the seams to let Paul know.
Fact is, we don’t know bubkus about Brother Didymus Caeserius. But Paul we know two millennia since this letter was penned. We also know the Corinthians. They are us. That is the bottom line for any teaching in Scripture. This is a letter to you and me. It’s easy for me to take my eyes off of Him and on to my resume, recommendations or reputation. It’s also just as easy for me measure leaders in the church by their degrees, recommendations or slick oration. And those things have nothing to do with the Gospel or the Kingdom of God. They can be used to further the Kingdom, but without recognizing our inclinations and those of others, those things can also be worthless to the Kingdom, at the toss of a dime. But because of the triumphal procession in Christ that continues on to this day till He returns, all this may cause us to grieve of our sin, grieve and pray for the repentance of those who sinned against God and us. But remember, this is the procession that comes after the war, not the war. The war is over. The defeat was the first Easter morning and the procession will continue to our work is done. And that is our work, rather than what we thought it was, no matter if we are full time ministers or computer programmers. And since it is a procession rather than the war, we can work and rejoice, even if we worry at times. We don’t need to, but until He’s finished with us all, we will worry from time to time, like Paul did. We will also get off track like some of the Corinthians did. However, how can you look at Paul’s neurotic obsessions about all the mess in Corinth without also seeing his love for them in it all? How can you look at the mess the Corinthian church got itself into without also seeing what repentance from it all had done to further the cause more than had it never happened? You see how God was not kidding around when He said His ways are not our ways, nor our thoughts His thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment