For Such A Time as This – June 16, 2021 – Andy Hamilton

To the Good Folk of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren,

Joys and Concerns
If you have a joy or concern you would like us to share and pray about, please call, text, or email it to me.  If you would like it included in our Sunday Worship sharing and prayer time, please share it with Pastor Bill that week by Thursday evening. 
 
Ken Jurell asks for prayers for Bob Hummer.  Bob is the husband of Ken’s sister Marie’s best friend, Marty Bashore Hummer.  Bob was just diagnosed with liver cancer.
 
Dennis and Sally Lohr are excited to welcome their son Adam home for an 11-day visit from San Francisco, beginning this Thursday evening.  They have not seen him, except of by Zoom, since Christmas of 2019.
 
See this Saturday’s “Weekly Update” email for any new prayer concerns.
 
Thank You:
To all who call others to check in on them and to share our emails and devotions.
 
Today’s Devotion:
“Compelling Vision” is our denomination's effort to identify a shared vision that can foster unity in the midst of great diversity and dividing differences.  A thirteen session Bible Study has been developed to undergird this statement.  We are using pieces of the Bible Study in our weekly devotion email.
 
Today’s reflection was written by Andy Hamilton, who serves as pastor at Stevens Hill Community Church of the Brethren, Elizabethtown, PA. Educated at Ashland Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and the University of St. Andrews, Scotland (M.Phil.), he taught as an adjunct instructor at Ashland Theological Seminary for 15 years.
 
Shalom,
Dennis
 
Compelling Visions Statement
Together, as the Church of the Brethren, we will passionately live and share the radical transformation and holistic peace of Jesus Christ through relationship-based neighborhood engagement. To move us forward, we will develop a culture of calling and equipping disciples who are innovative, adaptable, and fearless.
 
Session 11 – Reshaping Life Together
How is God calling us to reshape the underlying culture of our life together?
 
Scriptures - 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:10
 
Reflection – Andy Hamilton
Conflict creates crisis in a community that can leave scars lasting decades, even centuries. The trauma of such conflict often affects the perception of those involved or close to the crisis to such an extent as to become overwhelmed and lost. Even as we find ourselves in a context like this, both in the church and the wider society, it can be easy to lose our way. Fortunately, God has not abandoned us but provided a navigational app to find our way, and the default voice is that of Paul.
 
In Paul's second letter to the Corinthian church, he addressed a church that was fractured and struggling to recover. Opponents had questioned Paul's credibility and challenged his authority. This created division within the community. Paul wrote to them to address these issues. In 2 Corinthians 5:16–6:10, Paul did so in three parts. First, he reminded them what God had done through the death and resurrection of Christ. Paul instructed them that this new creation involves looking at humanity differently to proclaim the message of reconciliation (5:16-19). Then he challenged them with urgency to return to the way of salvation (5:20-6: 2). And finally, he used himself as an example, demonstrating the virtues that distinctly mark this new culture.
 
To be clear, God has accomplished the work of reconciliation. And the Holy Spirit empowers the church in her ministry. All of this speaks to the new creation in which God is working—past, present, and future. There is a shape to this new creation with distinctive markers. Interestingly, these virtues are remarkably similar and overlap with the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. Also of note is that where the NRSV translates "spirit of holiness," it could also be rendered "Holy Spirit." While the former may be preferred, it does not preclude connotations the latter may infer (Shillington, 145-146). Taken this way, Paul's emphasis on God's power underlies everything.
 
In a nutshell, Paul reminds the church that it is to see the world through new eyes. Not in the form of selfish judgmentalism that seeks power, privilege, and prestige. God has transformed everything. In Jesus' death, God accomplished the work of reconciling humanity to God's self. In his resurrection, God brought about a new creation. Even now, those who believe and respond to God's work of reconciliation receive new life. Just as God transformed Paul's life on the Damascus road, all humanity is given the opportunity to enter this new creation. The result is a changed perspective.
 
Only due to conflict in the church did people begin living and relating to each other in ways inconsistent with the reconciled new creation. So, Paul called them to repent and "be reconciled to God." The urgency in his writing is palpable, "Now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!" (6:2b). Finally, Paul drew upon his own experience living amidst conflict to provide an example with clear markers for life in the new creation.
 
Today, Paul's words confront our reality, which leads to probing questions. He asks us to reflect upon our own brokenness. In his words, we hear the call to turn and return to God, to be reconciled. This call is the reminder of the promise of the new creation. It is more than a future. It is the promise of the present shaped and empowered by the love of Christ.
 
Sending
Go with Me in a New Exodus
O God of fire and freedom,
deliver me from my bondage
to what can be counted
and go with me in a new exodus
toward what counts,
but can only be measured
in bread shared
and swords become plowshares;
in bodies healed
and minds liberated;
in songs sung
and justice done;
in laughter in the night
and joy in the morning;
in love through all seasons
and great gladness of heart;
in all people coming together
and a kingdom coming in glory;
in your name being praised
and my becoming an alleluia,
through Jesus the Christ.
—Ted Loder, Guerillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle