Email from Church of the Redeemer

Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost

June 2, 2023

Invitatory

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Reading - 2 Corinthians 4:7-12

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

To live as a Christian is to play the ultimate long game. There is no end to our understanding of our place in the world or our relationships with each other and with God. If one is seeking a religion at which to be proficient, a faith that can be mastered, Christianity is not it. Instead, it is about trusting God to provide what we really need and to offer us more than we can ask for or imagine, even if those things are not always totally clear to us.

In this second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul talks about the human tendency to see ourselves as our own makers, ourselves as the source of our accomplishments. We have created our own treasures: we make x amount of dollars and can buy a nice house and nice car; we make x on the SATs and get into x school; we win x tournament and get the biggest trophy. While these are real achievements, they are temporal. They will not last. They are victories in the short game of life. God offers us the ethereal things: love, meaningful relationships, unending questions to explore about the mysteries of life, the hope of a world to come. These are the real treasures of one’s life.

Paul writes, “we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” Our bodies are the clay jars: we are fragile vessels, easily cracked or broken. And the things of our own making in this world, things that we consider markers of success, are also clay jars. The fancy cars and trophies - while tremendously satisfying and fun to enjoy for a time - are fleeting. The real treasure is the intangible.

I do not mean to condemn the creature comforts of life. I would be thrilled with a nicer car, and I love buying new clothes or thinking about owning a big house. But I know that these things are fleeting, and that ultimately - at the end of my life - they will not be what I look back on with the most fondness or gratitude. Paul’s words at Corinth remind me of a portion of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount in which he warns, “do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consumer and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).

The long game of Christianity is about recognizing that the most meaningful things in life come from God. They cannot be measured or earned, cannot be checked off a to do list. They are what make life worth living, and they do not come from us, but from God.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.