A New Beginning

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  March 27, 2022

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Read 2 Corinthians 5:16 – 21 (NIV)
 
How many of you hear the sound of the alarm clock going off and feel a sense of dread?  Maybe even saying to yourself, “Good Lord, it’s morning…” Or do you awaken with a sense of joy, expectation and gratitude and think, “Good! Lord, it’s morning!”
 
Prayerfully it is the latter and not the former, but whatever the case may be, every day that we wake up means we have been given A NEW BEGINNING.
 
And as we reflect on that theme this morning, I want to invite us to listen to our text again as it is found in the Message Paraphrase. 
 
I am sure some of you wonder why I refer to the Message Paraphrase so often during the sermon… well, it’s because at times it can offer us a fresh perspective on the scriptures. 
 
When we read from the Revised Standard Version or the New International Version or even the King James Version, the words can become almost too familiar because we have heard and read them so many times before. 
 
Some scriptures can even become so familiar that we are able to recite them, almost without even thinking about it or really hearing what the Scriptures may be saying to us.
 
And yet the Word of God is living and breathing and it can speak to our hearts in new and exciting ways if we just remain open to receive it.
 
And so, as we listen to this passage for the second time, listen for the promise and hope as well as the reassurance and encouragement of A NEW BEGINNING that Paul wanted to share with the Corinthians, and by extension with us as well, when he wrote these words.

 
 Now, before we begin to delve into this text, we should probably back up a couple of verses to get the full picture of what Paul was trying to convey to the Corinthians, as well as to us.
 
Looking back to verses 14 and 15, we find:  
Paul and the disciples understood that Christ gave His life, not just for some people, but for EVERYONE – and Paul wanted to ensure that the Corinthians understood that as well.  In fact, the word “everyone” is used four times in two verses, clearly Paul wanted to make his point clear that this Gospel is indeed for EVERYONE.
 
Knowing that foundational truth would help them (and us) to have a greater appreciation for the important work that God was calling them (and us) to do… to share the Good News with anyone and everyone, and to tell them about the peace that only Christ can give.
 
And let me just say, we are living in a day and time when we need the peace of Christ like never before.
 
The world is in a state of turmoil, to say the least.  Whether it is the war raging in Ukraine or the political unrest, financial crises and aftermath of a pandemic that we are facing here in the United States… we need the peace of Christ that surpasses ALL understanding to guard our hearts and minds as Paul… so eloquently stated in Philippians 4:7. 
 
But despite all of the things we may see and hear going on in the world around us… we do not have to lose hope because we have the promise of A NEW BEGINNING with Christ.
 
So, what encouragement can we take from from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that will help us to navigate through the turbulent waters in which we all find ourselves?
 
Recognizing that we cannot do this thing called life on our own or in a vacuum, the first thing Paul encourages us to do is to look at the heart… to see what is inside of a person.  We should not judge someone else based on their outward appearance.  Paul reminded the Corinthians that they had looked at Christ that way once but when they did, they got it wrong. 
 
During the season of Lent, we are reminded that when Jesus came to Jerusalem, the Israelites had been looking for a Messiah who looked like a king, not a man riding in on the colt of a donkey.  Jesus’ outer appearance did not match the expectations that they had.  Little did they realize; however, just how much Jesus could and would exceed their greatest expectations for a Savior.
 
If we were to take a look back to the Old Testament, we would read what the Lord told Samuel about Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse, before finally choosing David who would become king, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
 
I believe that now, more so than ever… in a climate where there is pervasive racism and sexism, ableism and ageism… God is calling us to look beyond outer appearances just as He does and see into the hearts of the people we encounter… not allowing their outer appearances to shape our opinions… and influence our actions and reactions.
 
And here is what is so amazing about doing that… looking at the inside helps us to see that we are much more alike than we are different.  And that allows us to honor and celebrate the humanity within each of us, rather than focusing on the differences between us.
 
So, let us be sure that we always look into the heart.
 
The second thing that Paul’s letter encourages us to do is to understand that new life in Christ means letting go of the past.  Once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we are renewed and set free.
 
In the Revised Standard Version, we read, “if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come,” while in the Message we read, “…what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!”
 
So, let me pose this question… If God’s Word tells us that the past is done and over with, why do we keep bringing it up, holding it over someone else’s head?  Why do we act like a dog with a bone who refuses to let it go?
 
The truth is, God has forgiven us of so much and gone to extraordinary lengths to do so… giving us His Son as our Savior so that we can have eternal life.  And, if God was willing to do all that for us, what reason do we have to think He hasn’t or won’t do the same thing for someone else?
 
No one is beyond the reach of God’s grace.  In fact, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
 
That whoever doesn’t just extend to you, me and the people who think, look and act like us.  That whoever means just that – whoever… regardless of age, race, gender, financial status, height, weight, or any other characteristic or dimension that we might use to try to define or describe someone else.
 
It reminds me of something that I read in Max Lucado’s book, “In the Grip of Grace,” several years ago.  It is something that I have shared with you before, but I think it bears repeating here today.
 
In the chapter entitled “Godless Judging,” Lucado confesses that there was something that really troubled him about the serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. 
 
It wasn’t the atrocious acts that Dahmer committed that troubled him or the way that Dahmer showed no remorse at his trial that bothered him.  It wasn’t even the fact that Dahmer did not get the death penalty that caused the author so much anguish.
 
What Max Lucado said bothered him so much was Dahmer’s conversion. 
 
Just months before he was murdered by another inmate, Jeffrey Dahmer became a Christian.  He put his faith in Christ, repented of his sins, was baptized and started over with a clean slate – sins forgiven and soul cleansed.  He was given the gift of A NEW BEGINNING.
 
You see, it is not up to us to decide who receives God’s grace, mercy or forgiveness.  God reserves the EXCLUSIVE right to bless whoever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants… even a serial killer like Jeffrey Dahmer.
 
And we need to learn to do what Christ has done… and continues to do… which is to let go of the past and love people right where they are.
 
Which brings us to the last word of encouragement that I want to highlight from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
 
Not only does Paul encourage us to look at the heart and to recognize that new life in Christ means letting go of the past… Paul says that we are now ambassadors for Christ. 
 
We have heard a lot about and from ambassadors, particularly in the last several weeks in relation to what is happening with Russia invading Ukraine.  Those ambassadors are the official representatives working on behalf of one country for another.
 
As Christ’s ambassadors, we are His official representatives in a dark and dying world, and we have a duty and an obligation to share the good news with that world… to spread His message of love and reconciliation.
 
Verses 20-21 in the Message read,  
As Christ’s ambassadors, we have a responsibility to encourage others to not only ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” but to then actually go out and do what Jesus did.
 
In John’s gospel, we read these words of Jesus, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34 – 35).
 
Jesus commands us to love one another and nowhere in the command does He give us any leeway or wiggle room to pick and choose who the “one another” is that we are called to love. 
 
And that really is the crux of Paul’s message to the Corinthians, to not get so caught up in trying to judge people by what they look like or by their pasts that we miss the opportunity to share the Good News with them.
 
Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthians and to us was to remember that we all have a past… but because of Christ, we all have the promise of a future... A NEW BEGINNING.  And through Christ, each of us has been renewed and set free from our past and promised a future… for a purpose. 
 
And just what is that purpose?  To go and do as Christ commanded in Matthew 28 (19-20) when He said:  
Now the scriptures do not tell us how long it will be before Jesus returns for His bride, the church, the body of believers… basically all of us.  But one thing we can know for sure is that every day, we are one day closer than we have ever been before. 
 
So, every morning that we wake up means we have been blessed with A NEW BEGINNING that comes complete with new opportunities to share the Gospel and spread the Good News about Jesus. 
 
And let me stress that spreading the Good News about Jesus is not a task reserved simply for the pastor or even the elders.  It is something that we have ALL been called to do… it is part of what it means for us to love one another as Christ has loved us.
 
And, just how do we do that? 
 
Well, we can find a few suggestions in Matthew 25, when Jesus encouraged the disciples that they should feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, care for the sick and visit those who are in prison.  In other words, to attend to the needs of those that the world might consider to be the last, the least and the lost…
 
Because the fact of the matter is that before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, WE were the last, the least and the lost.  But praise be to God, we have received that gift of A NEW BEGINNING!   
 
And because of God’s love for us, we have been given the gift of new life in Christ.  But let’s be clear, it is not a gift that we are meant to just admire and let sit on a shelf or tuck away in a curio cabinet.  On the contrary, it is a gift that is meant for us to share with the world.
 
Now, many of us eagerly look forward to the start of Spring because it feels like A NEW BEGINNING… a fresh start.  But each of us has already been given a fresh start and it was given to us well before the start of Spring… in this or any other calendar year.
 
I came across a quote the other day that I want to share.  Mary Pickford, a Canadian born film actress was credited with saying, “You may have a fresh start at any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.”
 
Christ went to a cross at Calvary where He was crucified… He died and was buried in a borrowed tomb… and He got up from that grave with all power in His hand.  And because Christ got up… we, too, can get up whenever life knocks us down.
 
Because Christ gave His life for us, we have been given the gift of A NEW BEGINNING… given another chance to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again.  We have hope when we realize that our failure does not come from falling… even when we fall over and over again.  Rather our failure comes if we refuse to accept the forgiveness of Christ that makes it possible for us not to stay down… but to continue to get back up again and again and again.
 
As believers in Christ, we have been empowered to get back up again through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And isn’t it good to know that no matter how many times life tries to knock us down, we can hold onto the promise of A NEW BEGINNING in Jesus?
 
Amen.

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