June 16, 2024
Becoming New
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17
Rev. Shannon Jordan
So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
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. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
I did a quick Google search on self-improvement…In 2022 the self-improvement market was estimated to be worth $38 Billion globally and $13 billion in the US. From career development to health and wellness to improved relationships, we all seem to recognize that we could do better. A quick scroll of social media and everyone has a suggestion for how we can do better. In our culture, being the “best” or whatever level of success the world decrees is our measuring tape causes us to strive harder for more and more. We all know on some level that where we are currently isn’t where we should end up. Our passage this morning gives insight into this God given desire to do and be more—but on God’s terms and according to God’s perspective, not ours.
The passage I read this morning is a letter from the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. Corinth was a bustling metropolis with deep divisions between classes, genders, free people and slaves. Society worked hard to keep people where they belonged. Paul is writing words of hope to a beleaguered people who wanted a different way of experiencing the world but were powerless to do so on their own. Paul is showing them a new perspective. A new way of engaging in life—they were to be new creations that would go into all levels and aspects of society and change it from the inside out.
There is a part in all of us that recognizes that we are made in the image of God—we are created for more. We have a God-given desire to give more, be more, to make a difference. The world will tell us that we can do it ourselves, but at the end of the day we know we can’t. Some of us try harder the next day. Others of us find ways to distract ourselves—with scrolling, shopping, binge watching the latest show, or falling into depression or bad habits.
God created us for more and God is the one who transforms us in Christ so that we no longer live for ourselves, but for Christ who died for us.
This past week I saw a video clip where a 66 year old man was given glasses to correct his color blindness. The man was overwhelmed by what he saw and experienced. He said several times that the grass was green. The grass was green. I don’t know who in the room is colorblind, but I have to admit, I take for granted that the grass is green. I take for granted that the leaves on the trees outside of our home right now are green. This seems like a good way to explain how becoming more like Christ, being transformed, gives us new lenses through which to look at our world.
We begin to see what God sees. We may see an annoying neighbor. God’ sees a beloved child of God whom we are called to love. We may see a failure in our lives and God sees a training course preparing us for something later. We may see an impossible task, but God sees an opportunity for us to learn to lean on God. We may see a long line in the store and God sees a chance for us to hear the story of the lonely person behind us in the line.
We gain these ways of seeing things anew through God’s transformation of our hearts—as we become new creations—as the old passes away and everything becomes new.
Time and time again in scripture we see God’s power at work giving us a new way to look at the world—a new lens.
We heard the story of David being chosen as the new King this morning. This is an incredibly powerful story on so many levels. It gives us an insight, a lens, through which to reflect on how God might choose a leader verses how we might. Verse 7 states picks up when Samuel is meeting Jesse’s sons and sees one of the older brothers—strong, handsome, experienced—
“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
God chose the youngest. The one who was smaller, less handsome, less accomplished. Hearing this story this morning, and taking time to meditate on it can help us see that God works differently than we tend to. God has a different way of assessing and seeing than we do. In line with the Corinthians passage, we can begin to see what walking by faith and not by sight may look like. While we can’t see the full picture, we know that God is working behind the scenes and can and does redeem our world.
As we let scripture wash over us, as we hear and read and study words with the power of Holy Spirit, we are transformed. We are changed just as surely as the colorblind man when he received his special glasses.
As we open ourselves to the transforming power of God, we become new creations, and experience the world differently. We see the world with God’s love and compassion—with grace and forgiveness and we learn to live for Christ and not ourselves.
One of the podcasts I listened to this week about this passage brought up a point I hadn’t noticed before. Verse 17 doesn’t actually have the indefinite article “a” in it. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
It isn’t about getting a new body. It is about the old becoming new. It isn’t about rewinding time, but moving forward to something new. Romans 12:2 says to not be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The Greek word there for transformed is metamorphoo…the basis for our word, metamorphosis. This is a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. It is a new creation.
You may be wondering how do we get that? How do we become a new creation in Christ? First it is God working in us. We can’t just decide to be new! But we can make ourselves more available to God’s transforming work in us.
There are three things that open the door for God to transform us—for God to work in us—transforming us into new creations.
Our practices, our relationships, and our experiences.
Let me explain.
First, our practices. What we do. To fully experience the joy of life lived within the will of God, fully experiencing God’s joy and peace and being able to use our gifts for God’s glory and to make a difference in our world, what we do matters. We need to make time in our daily lives to hear from God in scripture, prayer, reflection. Learning who God is as revealed in scripture. Spending time in prayer and reflection. Regular communal worship. Intentionally practicing loving our neighbors by putting their needs first and our desires second. Reflecting on what makes us angry or hurt or jealous or sad. These spiritual practices give space in busy lives for God to transform us.
Second, our relationships. The people we hang out with matter. Parents, we know this! Our kids pick up the habits and attitudes of their friends. We do too. This is one reason why family spiritual practices are so incredibly important! We tend to do what our people do. Finding ways as a family or a couple to have spiritual conversations—to explore the world through the lens of faith, is transformative. We also learn from being in community with others. We watch, we learn, we decide to do what they do, or decide to do something different. Our relationships are a key part of our becoming—so we have to ask ourselves if our current relationships are opening the door for God’s transformation, or for the world’s understanding of success. This is why our session has embraced our small group ministry or Koinonia groups—because spiritual friendships are one of the very most important things we can do to give God room to transform us.
Third, our experiences. For those of us who have lost a loved one, we have a special sensitivity to others who have lost someone. We know how God is there for us in our darkest times. For those of us who have lost jobs, we know how it feels. For those who have heard the stories of our downtown neighbors, God can use those conversations and experiences to transform our hearts—giving us a deeper love for the unhoused in our area. Mission trips like our upcoming boundary breaking trip to Guatemala are transforming experiences. They aren’t about what we do there as much as how we can be transformed by hearing the stories of others.
This past week, John forwarded me an article aimed at people experiencing a midlife crisis. He knows I am interested in aging well and I clicked on the article. Midlife is a time, similar to the teen years and toddler years, where our perspective changes. Our twenties and thirties are what are called the heroic journey and we are working hard, starting relationships, families, and careers. We know we can do it better than our parents. If we work hard enough at something, we can often accomplish it. Midlife is when we realize we really can’t do it all. We can’t control it all. We begin to understand the biggest house, smartest kids, or fastest cars are not going to make us happy. When we reach these goals we realize they are empty and we just want more. We realize more why our parents did what they did– It was an article about how to have purpose, a sense of belonging and accomplishment—how to find happiness in midlife. How to get out of the midlife slump.
Spartan Races. You know the ones—the races through mud and obstacle courses. The key to finding joy is apparently running through the mud and crawling under barbed wire because doing something really hard and pushing ourselves to keep learning and growing is what will bring us joy as we age.
While I don’t think that we will start doing Spartan Races anytime ever, the author is right that having something that gives us purpose and is a growing edge for us does give us a sense of joy and accomplishment. I firmly believe that our discipleship, if we really embrace becoming more like Christ in community for the world, we will find what we are looking for.
It can be hard to arrange our practices, relationships, and experiences so that God can change us from the inside out. So that the Holy Spirit can use us to make a difference in this world. When our becoming new changes our lenses and we see in the full spectrum of God’s kingdom.
God’s way of becoming new is a heart change where we are more kind, and loving, more generous, and more aware of those who are in the margins and then act on this heart change. When our becoming new means we care more about justice and fairness than our own preferences, that is a job well done. That is when we know we have become new—and the old has passed away.