Let's pray.
Lord, we come to you hungry.
We come to you confessing our need to be nourished by your word.
We come realizing we haven't been in your word much this last week or month or year.
So we're grateful to be here together with all your people, to be nourished together.
So Lord, I ask that you would forgive the sins of the speaker this morning.
I ask that you would work through his weakness, that you, Lord, would shine, that we would see Jesus and Jesus alone.
And this we ask, Lord, in his name.
Amen.
So we made it.
We made it to the last chapter of 2 Corinthians.
It wasn't guaranteed that we'd finish this sermon series.
You know, we did a sermon series on the seven deadly sins once, and we only did six.
We also did a sermon series on every verse of Psalm 23 and only made it through verse 5.
The summer has a thing with our sermon series, but this one survived.
We're in chapter 13, and I'm really excited.
Before we begin, though, I'd like to take some time to reflect.
Let's take a moment of silence to meditate.
In the middle of this chapter of 13 of 2 Corinthians, in verse 5, you heard Caleb read,
Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you?
So I'd like you to think about that.
Ask yourself, or imagine Paul, the Apostle Paul, asking that of you, of the Church of the Advent.
Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you?
So take a moment to reflect on that.
Now reflect on this.
If Jesus is in you, how is that evident to those around you?
If Jesus is in you, how evident is that to those around you?
I'm going to come back to address that question and perhaps some of the answers that might be ringing around our minds.
In this final chapter of 2 Corinthians, we see the coming together of a couple different threads in this letter.
So before we look at this closing chapter, I'd like to do a review of the whole letter.
I'd like us to walk away with a good understanding of what Paul is saying in this letter to the Corinthians.
Now in Acts 18, we read how Paul founded the church in Corinth.
Now after Paul leaves, he gets word that everything in the church in Corinth has gone pear-shaped,
which prompts him to write, we believe, two letters,
the first of which is lost to us,
the second of which is the book of 1 Corinthians.
That letter isn't received well by some in the church,
and they reject Paul and his authority.
So then Paul returns to Corinth,
and later he would call this return to the city of Corinth and to the church there,
the painful visit.
And then he followed up that visit with another letter that's been lost to us.
Many but not all in the church respond well to that letter and to his visit.
And so Paul writes a fourth letter,
and that's the letter of 2 Corinthians.
He writes them that they were grieved into repenting.
He writes to affirm his love for them.
In this letter, we learn that one of the reasons that Paul was originally rejected by the church,
and why several still reject him,
is that he did not match their idea of greatness.
Paul was humble in appearance.
He was poor.
He made his living through manual labor.
He was not a very dynamic public speaker, interestingly.
And the Corinthians were more attracted to some speakers,
some Christian speakers that came later.
These speakers were wealthier, eloquent.
They were more charismatic than Paul.
And to the minds of the Corinthians,
surely this means that the power of God is in these speakers.
Well, Paul makes it very clear that status is not indicative of God's power.
Quite the opposite, Paul's job was not to be impressive,
but to point to the one who is, and that is King Jesus.
So in 2 Corinthians, Paul then several,
he spends several chapters unpacking the paradox of the cross.
Christ's glory and his kingship were on display as he suffered and was executed on the cross.
The cross provided salvation and revealed God's character
and provided the pattern for Christian living,
which too is paradoxical.
We live through dying.
He then challenges the Corinthian church on another matter.
Paul had been raising funds for the church in Jerusalem.
There was a famine there which had brought poverty to the Christians in Jerusalem.
But the church in Corinth had failed to save up enough to give to this offering.
So Paul cites this as another example of how the Corinthians were not getting the upside-down gospel.
Now, if the church understood that,
then surely they would give of their own wealth to help others in need.
Lastly, in 2 Corinthians, Paul defends himself.
Paul says,
You want a resume?
I'll give you a resume.
I'm a theological expert.
I'm a Pharisee, as a matter of fact.
I've met the risen Jesus.
I have actually been in his heavenly throne room.
Yet I don't brag about those things.
I boast in my weakness and my flaws.
Because when I am weak, then I am strong.
For Christ's power is made perfect in my weakness, in my humility, and in my poverty.
Paul tells the Corinthians that his own weakness and humility were demonstrations of his authority.
And so we come to chapter 13.
Paul has told them that he's coming for a third time.
He's warning them.
We read in chapter 12,
I fear that when I come again, I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier
and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.
And then we read in chapter 13, verse 3,
that there may still be some who resist his authority.
So some are being immoral.
Some are resisting his authority.
And so on this visit, he says he's not going to spare them.
He's talking about excommunication.
So I thought in looking at chapter 13,
that one of our goals like this morning
could be to walk away from here with an understanding of what excommunication is.
Because it's not something you hear from the pulpit very often, right?
But it's something that we actually do practice at Church of the Advent.
I think we should talk about it a bit
because some of us grew up in churches where that was practiced.
Some of us grew up in churches where it wasn't practiced.
And perhaps the word excommunication sounds like some kind of cultural relic from the medieval church.
Some of us didn't grow up in church at all.
And this is brand new to you.
And it sounds actually somewhat intolerant and even hateful.
So let's talk through it.
And then we're going to observe three things about excommunication
as Paul exercises it.
And then we're just going to wrap up our sermon series on 2 Corinthians.
Okay?
So let's first define excommunication.
And this sounds rather, I guess, scholastic.
I don't know.
Or heady.
But let's pray that God could use this in our lives and in our minds this morning.
One could say that excommunication is the final step of a process of discipline
undertaken to correct sin in the life of a church member,
ultimately resulting in the barring of a person from receiving communion.
It is not shunning.
Excommunication isn't canceling.
And the goal of excommunication is repentance and restoration of a person
to full fellowship with the church.
Now, the primary thing to note is that Jesus commanded us to practice this.
In chapter 18, he commanded his church to exercise discipline.
In Matthew chapter 18, which we heard Jeff read earlier,
he gives his 12 disciples, his church,
a series of steps to undertake should one sin against another.
So we're just going to walk through these steps, okay?
Okay, the first step, as we read in chapter 18, Adam, there we go.
The first step is to point out the offense to the offender, one-on-one.
This is why, for someone to approach me or Tommy, and this happens,
or another clergy, and they were to say,
hey, such and such person I've noticed is doing this thing or that thing,
and I think you should talk to them.
And our first response will always be,
well, have you approached them?
And a lot of the time we hear, no, no.
But this first step is important
because it's not the responsibility of the clergy
to monitor and check the behavior of everyone in the congregation, right?
It's the responsibility of the whole church
to encourage one another,
to rescue one another,
should someone fall into sin.
Now, the second step,
if the offender refuses to repent,
then the offended party is to approach the offender again,
this time with one or two witnesses.
It's interesting that both Jesus in Matthew 18
and Paul in 2 Corinthians 13,
quote Deuteronomy 19.15,
that a matter must be established
by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Both Jesus and Paul are invoking a courtroom principle
from ancient Israel.
Matters in the church,
if they are to be handled in love,
are to be handled with due process.
And they must be handled orderly and fairly.
Now, you may find,
if you are in this process
and you bring with yourself one or two witnesses,
that those witnesses are going to see things that you don't see.
And perhaps blame is to be shared,
or perhaps that other person isn't in the wrong after all,
and that you're being too critical.
But if the witnesses agree with you,
and if the offender is still not repenting,
then Jesus says the third step would be
to bring it to the church.
In our context,
it would mean bringing it before those who are in authority,
which would be the rector, Tommy,
the other clergy,
acting in concert with our parish council,
and if necessary,
with a parish response team
to investigate serious charges.
The job of the parish response team
is to take the personal judgment and biases of the clergy
out of the equation
to do a fair investigation
and to present the clergy
with a dispassionate assessment of the facts.
Now, the facts indicate
that there's still unrepentant sin,
and if the offender remains unrepentant,
Jesus says to let him be to you
as a Gentile and a tax collector.
In other words,
treat him or her as if they weren't a Christian.
That is, the person is to be barred from this table.
Now, were this to happen at Advent,
the person would certainly still be welcome
and even encouraged to come every Sunday
to sit under the teaching,
to participate in the prayers.
It also doesn't mean shunning.
That's not what we're talking about.
We're still called to love this person,
which would mean sharing meals,
spending time with them,
engaging in an honest conversation with them,
though that conversation would
and probably should look and sound a bit different
as before.
But being barred from the table
is a serious thing.
Just as baptism and communion
are visible signs to us
that we are in union with God
and members of God's family,
barring from the table
is also a visible sign
that we are outside of God's family
and the state of our souls
is in jeopardy.
Now, that might feel like
a lot of power to be wielded by the church.
Yes.
Yes, it is.
And Jesus commands this.
He goes on in chapter 18,
Now, many of you are familiar
with that last verse, right?
But most of us have heard it
taken out of context.
Jesus doesn't mean that
whenever you gather for, like,
a Bible study or a prayer group
with two or three or more,
then I'm going to suddenly appear
as if I hadn't been there before.
Jesus is equally there
as He was when you were alone.
What Jesus is saying here
is that when you as a church
make decisions in regard to discipline,
I have your back.
From my throne in heaven
and through the Holy Spirit
that I have sent to guide you,
I'm going to ratify your decisions
when you exercise church discipline
in obedience to God's Word.
This is the first of three things
that I'd like to observe
about Paul's discussion
of discipline in the church in Corinth.
is that the means of church discipline
is Christ's resurrection power.
So the means of discipline
is Christ's power.
This resurrection power
is on display in acts of discipline
and judgment.
It's this power that Paul anticipates
will be on display
when he visits the Corinthians.
He says,
you seek proof of my authority.
Well, I've already demonstrated it
with my own suffering,
but now I'm going to come with discipline,
which is the very exercise of authority
that Jesus gave to His church
and is evidence of the risen Jesus
acting in power among His people.
The second thing to observe
in 2 Corinthians 13
is the motive of church discipline,
which is love.
The means of discipline is God's power.
The motive of discipline is love.
Paul writes in chapter 2 of 2 Corinthians,
for I wrote to you out of much affliction
and anguish of heart
and with many tears,
not to cause you pain,
but to let you know the abundant love
that I have for you.
This love for individuals
and for the church
is what motivates Paul's discipline.
Now, the third thing to notice
about Paul's discipline
is the goal.
So the means is Christ's power.
The motive is love.
And the goal is restoration.
It's not ultimately punishment.
It's not the solidifying
of our insider status
by othering somebody else.
The goal is to win back
our brother or sister.
Jesus told us to engage
in the four steps of church discipline
to gain our brother.
James chapter 5 says,
My brothers,
if anyone among you
wanders from the truth
and someone were to bring him back,
let him know that
whoever brings back a sinner
from his wandering
will save his soul from death
and will cover a multitude of sins.
And it's why Paul concludes
his letter the way he does.
He has peace and restoration in mind
when he writes
at the end of the chapter.
And listen for like the rich tapestry
of deep connected relationships.
Finally, brothers, rejoice.
Aim for restoration.
Comfort one another.
Agree with one another.
Live in peace.
And the God of love and peace
will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the saints greet you.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
So that wraps up 2 Corinthians.
And I thought we could end
our study of the book
by meditating on its main theme,
which is the paradox
of power through weakness.
That paradox of power
through weakness
is demonstrated on the cross
as Christ is glorified
in his death and suffering.
His resurrection only happens
because he had to die first.
And those who follow Jesus
experience that resurrection power
only through dying.
Dying to our sins.
Dying to our preferences.
Dying to our comforts.
So let's go back
to the question I asked
at the beginning.
If Jesus is in you,
then how evident is that
to those around you?
And I have to confess
it was a trick question
because I kind of knew
what you were going to think
or most of us were going to think.
And it's the thing that I think.
When I think,
how is Jesus in me?
Is that evident to people around me?
I think of either the things
that I did.
Oh, see,
like my excellence
is somehow like pointing to Jesus,
right,
and his goodness.
Or,
I think of my failures.
Like,
ah,
people aren't seeing Jesus
because of my failures.
The way I've messed up.
So no,
Jesus is not on display in my life.
Both of those outcomes
show that I have a long way to go.
That we have a long way to go
to understanding grace.
To understanding the gospel.
If it's true for us,
as it was true for Paul,
that Christ's power
is made perfect in our weakness,
then why do we go
to such extraordinary lengths
to hide our weaknesses?
To put forward
the best possible image of ourselves?
To point to our resumes?
To cover up our flaws?
I really don't meet
any Christian
who says,
um,
I think the world needs more of me
and less of Jesus.
I mean,
like,
we often, like,
think and act that way.
But, like,
when really oppressed,
no one really says that.
That I've met.
So,
then,
when we try to be excellent,
because we think it's our excellence
that people,
that,
let me back up.
Most Christians I know will say,
yes,
I want the world to see less of me
and more of Christ.
And then,
because of that,
we try to be excellent.
Because we think
that excellence
points people to Jesus.
And we think our weaknesses
get in the way of that.
Now,
how do I know that?
It's because of the way
we talk about it.
Like,
the language we use.
We always say stuff like,
God worked in spite of me.
Or,
He worked in spite of this part of my life.
Or,
He worked despite this part of me.
As if my weaknesses
were something for God to overcome.
Right?
That they were some kind of obstacle
that God needed to break through.
That God had to
begrudgingly trudge
through the muck of my flaws.
And listen,
God's omnipotent.
The reason He works,
quote unquote,
in spite of my weaknesses
is because He loves it.
It's His jam.
He's not put off by our flaws.
Our flaws are actually arrows
in His quiver.
Let me put it this way.
And this is something I heard
Paul Tripp say earlier.
My weakness
is the playground
for God's grace.
My weakness
is the playground
for God's grace.
So that's so cool.
If our weaknesses
are the playground
for God's grace,
then why are we embarrassed
about them?
Why do we try to hide them?
Or try to minimize them?
I mean,
it's our weakness
and flaws
that we should be putting forward,
right?
If God delights
in displaying His power
through our weaknesses,
shouldn't they then be
indirectly a source
of our joy?
We should say,
God,
you're actually
drawn to this part of me,
and I would like the world
to know how this part of me
makes me need you,
reliant on you.
I'd like the world
to know that I believe
you're crazy about me,
despite,
or with,
all my flaws,
despite my besetting sins.
Now hear me,
this is not a technique.
I mean,
I read almost every day
it feels like
a blogger
who has a self-deprecating
sense of humor,
blah, blah, blah.
This is not that.
This is your flaws
being what serves
as a doorway
to a deeper connection
with God,
and as a result,
others' connection
with God,
because it's those flaws
that God was drawn to
in the first place.
Now how exactly
do you do that?
How do you
display your weaknesses?
I think that's something
that you,
with wisdom,
need to work out
as part of,
like,
your discipleship.
Perhaps,
for now,
it's just meeting
with a small group
of friends,
regularly,
with whom you can
be completely transparent,
who will love you
and hold you accountable
and pray for you.
Perhaps it's making
the decision,
if you're a leader,
that instead of obscuring
your need for grace,
which only keeps
your followers
at arm's length
and subverts their trust
and steals their energy
and creativity,
perhaps as a leader,
you could confess
in real time
how much you mess up.
And in doing so,
your character
is transformed
and your followers
follow you
instead of out of fear,
but in creativity
and joy
and openness
and flexibility.
So those are two ways.
I'd like to share
something a friend
of mine did.
His name is Ted.
And this week,
he posted something
on CaringBridge.
I don't know if you know
CaringBridge.
It's a site where you
post,
like,
a very serious
medical condition.
People can follow along
and keep track
of your progress,
make donations,
et cetera.
This is what Ted did.
And to me,
this is a great example
of putting one's
weakness forward.
He writes,
he starts
a CaringBridge
for himself
and he writes,
I want to be honest.
I've been closer
to death
than I've let on.
I'm doing really well.
I'm not suicidal,
but I have been
at times
over the last three years.
Anxiety and depression
seem like opposites,
but they often
mix together
to create an empty,
nauseous,
hollow feeling
of freefall.
Now,
if you add to that
marital conflict,
a sense of failure
in parenting,
or a perfect storm
of stressors,
ending it all
can seem
surprisingly attractive.
The Apostle Paul,
this is Ted writing,
the Apostle Paul
was at times
under great pressure,
far beyond
his ability
to endure,
and despaired
even of life itself.
That's from
2 Corinthians.
He endured
far worse suffering
than I have,
including beatings
and imprisonment,
hunger and thirst
in the desert,
and shivering cold
while shipwrecked
on the open seas.
I wonder if it was
while clinging
to driftwood
all night
in the Mediterranean
that he despaired
of life
and contemplated
just letting go.
I wanted to share
my health status
because it is good
for me,
and it also may
encourage others
to know they are
not alone.
I wanted to share
through Caring Bridge
to remind others
that mental health
struggles are as real
as cancer,
dementia,
or kidney failure.
As cancer can come
out of remission,
so too can the
darkness of depression.
It can overwhelm
one's thoughts
and blot out
any ray of hope.
But the main reason
I want to share
is to testify
to God's kindness
and loving grace.
The very next verse
in Paul's letter
is one of my favorites.
It's 2 Corinthians 1.9.
But this happened
that we might not
rely on ourselves,
but on God
who raises the dead.
One reason churches
are so weak today
is because most
American Christians
simply don't need
to rely on God.
I know I didn't.
We can take care
of ourselves just fine
through prideful self-reliance,
distract through entertainment,
cushioned with comfort,
only we really can't.
When we rely on ourselves
or other gods
of this world,
if we are honest,
we end up eventually
with broken dreams,
disillusionment,
and even despair.
But it is surprisingly
God's loving kindness
that leads us
to turn from trusting
in ourselves or others
and turn to Him
desperately for rescue.
That is when God shows up
in exciting ways
with a refreshing forgiveness
through Jesus Christ.
Living for Him
is so much more exciting
than living for me.
Many of my goals
for my life
were pitiful,
but His mission
and purpose for me
are fulfilling
and full of hope.
My theme of living
for eternity
is a very real part
of that hope
and as a result,
my health.
So no,
mental health
is not a traditional disease
you will find
on Caring Bridge,
but it can be equally deadly
nonetheless.
Perhaps this may become
an acceptable place
for others to open up
and share similar struggles.
And even if one person
does this,
my sharing
will have been worth it.
Do you hear
His weakness
pointing to Jesus?
Do you hear His flaws
and His confession
pointing to the greatness
of Jesus
who brings resurrection life?
So let this question
be a question
we meditate on
for the rest of the summer
coming out of this book
of 2 Corinthians.
Not how does my excellence
display Jesus,
but how are my weaknesses
a playground
for God's grace?
How are my weaknesses
a playground
for God's grace?
In the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Lord,
as we contemplate
Paul
and his example
and his admonishment,
we confess
we need help,
we need wisdom
on how to
live with our weaknesses
on display.
We need courage
and ultimately,
Lord,
inflame
our desire,
increase our hunger,
Jesus,
for you to be displayed
in our lives
through our weakness,
Lord.
We would seek many
to see you,
Jesus,
to know you,
to follow you,
to experience you
and your saving grace
and your love.
Make us,
Lord,
as individuals
and as a church,
that vehicle
for displaying
your power
and grace.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.