When the Hubble telescope was set in place, it brought the vastness of the universe into focus in ways never before imagined. But, after it was deployed, the scientists working with the telescope discovered a flaw in the lens that made the image fuzzy. So, NASA launched a shuttle with a crew that could repair the telescope, making it possible to view the wonders of the universe with greater clarity.
I also know what it means to bring things into focus on a more personal level. That’s because every morning since I was in fourth grade, I put on my glasses so I can see the world with greater clarity than I can without them. Once upon a time, I might have been considered blind, but now, thanks to the science of optics I can see clearly!
In our reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church, he speaks about focusing on things that cannot be seen with the naked eye. He tells the Corinthians that what we see and experience with our senses is temporary, but the things we can’t see with our eyes are eternal. That’s what we need to focus on so we can live by faith. Although Paul didn’t write the Letter to the Hebrews, that letter’s definition of faith is helpful. Hebrews defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).
Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian church to help them deal with adversity. He wanted them to know that even if they couldn’t see God with their eyes, if they lived by faith then they could sense God’s presence with them in their moment of adversity. It’s sort of like using the Hubble or the Webb telescopes to peer deep into the universe. When we do this, we can discern what is most important in life.
When it comes to seeking things that are eternal, Paul points us to the resurrection. To live by faith is to know that the one who raised Jesus from the dead will raise us up as well. Therefore, we can rest in the assurance that we will enter God’s presence. The good news is that the promise of the resurrection has already begun to take shape in our lives now. That promise helps us keep things in perspective. It removes the fear of death, which allows us to live our lives with greater boldness.
With this promise in mind, we can take a 360-degree look at our lives. When we do this, what stands out as most important in our lives? Is it our education, bank account, family, friendships, job? As we take stock of our lives, where does God fit into the picture? It is said that most Christians are functional atheists. We may believe in God and even go to church, but we live our lives as if everything depends on us. Paul invites us to recognize that we don’t have to live that way. We can live by faith, which means trusting God to guide and empower us to live lives that have meaning and purpose.
Jesus said something similar in the Sermon on the Mount. He told the gathered crowd:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Mt. 6:19-21).
So where do we find this heavenly treasure? Where do we find the eternal things that will endure?
Paul answers these questions by inviting us to live by faith. Faith involves trust. When we live by faith, we can enter into life-changing relationships. Faith allows us to move beyond the surface when it comes to relationships with others.
Most of our daily conversations, even at church, stay at a surface level. We talk about the Lions and the Tigers, what’s new with the family, and things like that. But if we build up a level of trust, we can go deeper and share what’s on our hearts without fear of betrayal. We may only have a couple of friends with whom we can share the deeper truths of our lives. So, until we’ve developed that level of trust, even when we’re hurting, we will stay at the surface level because it’s safer.
The question Paul raises here is whether we stay at that same level with God. In other words, are we willing to be honest with God, even if we feel like telling God off? When it comes to talking back to God, I have some good news. If you go to the Psalms, you will find prayers that do just that. Remember the words of Jesus on the cross, which draws from Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from me, from the words of my groaning?” (Ps. 22:1). Psalm 10 begins with a complaint: “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1) Now that Psalm goes on to call for God to act against the nation’s enemies, but that opening line can serve as an opening to voice our complaints to God.
Now that I’ve said all of this about focusing on heavenly things, I need to add a word of clarification. I don’t believe that Paul is telling us that the material world is evil or that it doesn’t have value. After all, God created the universe and declared it to be good (Gen. 1). He is simply calling on us to keep things in perspective so that what is eternal can serve as the lens through which we view our lives. When we do this, we can move beyond the present moment with its momentary afflictions and step into an unseen future. Turning to the Letter to the Hebrews once more, after the author defines faith, he points out that it was “by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8). After Abraham and Sarah set out on their journey God made a covenant with them, telling them that the nations would be blessed through their descendants (Gen. 12:1-4). It takes spiritual lenses to get clarity when it comes to eternal things, so we can follow the example of Abraham and Sarah. We may not know, as a church or as individuals, where the future is heading. What we can know for certain is that there are three things that are eternal. Paul reveals these three eternal things in 1 Corinthians 13, where he writes: “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, and the greatest is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). Yes, while this world will waste away, love will endure. This is our hope. This is the focus of the life of faith.
While death serves as a reminder that life on this planet is fleeting that doesn’t mean life is without hope or purpose. While we may endure what Paul calls “temporary minor problems,” if we walk by faith, the things we endure in life can “produce an eternal stockpile of glory for us that is beyond all comparison” (vs. 17). Paul faced his share of obstacles, ranging from shipwreck to prison, along with having to deal with unruly congregations like the one in Corinth, and yet he stayed the course, knowing that the one who raised Jesus from the dead will do the same for us.
Paul roots his message in the resurrection. He found hope in the promise that God will not abandon us, even in death. With that promise in mind, he invites us to join him in laying up treasure in heaven. That is, he invites us to focus on the things that will endure, the greatest of which is love. When it comes to defining the nature of this love, I have found Tom Oord’s basic definition helpful. He writes that “to love is to act intentionally, in sympathetic response to others (including God), to promote overall well-being” [Defining Love, p. 15]. In other words, love speaks to the way we live with God and each other in such a way that we work with God to promote the well-being of others.
When we embrace what is eternal, that is, love, then death loses its hold on us. Instead of living in fear of death, we can pursue life with boldness knowing that there is an eternal weight of glory standing before us.
As we journey forward in life toward the day when we fully enter the eternal realm, Paul calls on us to live by faith so that we can participate in the things of God who is love. With that, I believe the Russian Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann offers us a way of seeing how the church and its sacraments embody the eternal.
The Church, if it is to be the Church, must be the revelation of that divine Love which God “poured out into our hearts.” Without this love nothing is “valid” in the Church because nothing is possible. The content of Christ’s Eucharist is Love, and only through love can we enter into it and be made its partakers. Of this love we are not capable. This love we have lost. This love Christ has given us and this gift is the Church. The Church constitutes itself through love and on love, and in this world it is to “witness” to Love, to re-present it, to make Love present. Love alone creates and transforms: it is, therefore, the very “principle” of the sacrament. —Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World.
As we go forth from this place today, may the Love of God be your polar star as we continue our journey toward eternity.
Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Acting Supply Pastor
First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
Troy, Michigan
June 9, 2024
Pentecost 3B
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