Sermon
There always seems to be a boxing match going on in Paul's life. In one corner, wearing red shorts, weighing in at 80lbs soaking wet, we have afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger, dishonor, ill repute, imposters, unknown, punished, sorrowful, poor and having nothing. It the other corner, wearing white shorts, weighing in at 300lbs, we have purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, weapons of righteousness, honor, good repute, truth, known, life, not yet killed, rejoicing, making many rich, possessing everything and the power of God.
We have boxing rings like that too. Sometimes the opponent is a wimp, and one corner gets the knock out. Maybe you're facing a decision that is really easy. Sometimes the opponents are of the same strength and the constant push and pull of a decision you need to make is taking its toll. Of course not every decision we make involves a boxing match. Paul often takes this strong dualistic approach to convince the Corinthians not to lose hope. Many times when Paul does this he lists one or two items to contrast – living/dying; inner life/outer life. But the text for today gives us a huge list, not just a few things. It's as if he wants to say, hey, it's all out there. Don't let it stop you. Instead of listing a specific problem and a specific solution, or even telling them what to do in a particular circumstance, he reminds them that whatever keeps them captive, they will be free. Quoting the place in Isaiah where God renews Israel after the return from exile, Paul writes, 'At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.' And that time is now he says to the Corinthians. And to us.
Followers of this new way in Corinth were struggling with many new things and they could probably relate to the boxing ring inside Paul's head. Everything Paul was asking of the Corinthians was outside of their initial comfort zone. Usually Paul can be very demanding and emphasize suffering. But in this text today it feels as if Paul is not emphasizing the 80lb afflictions in the corner, but the 300lb power of God in our corner. He reminds us that it doesn't matter which powers are making you suffer, the power of God is what will bring you to freedom.
It is impossible to talk about freedom without recognizing that today is the weekend of Juneteenth. Freedom day. This is the day that celebrates the day in 1856 when Federal troops came to Galveston, TX to demand that the Emancipation Proclamation signed two years earlier, be enforced in this final enclave of slavery. Finally made a Federal holiday by law this week, the great irony is that the hope behind the emancipation proclamation has never been fulfilled. This week in Story Time With…we featured two books on the subject of Juneteenth. One, called “All Different Now” tells the story, but we know that slavery was just replaced with other methods of segregation, and Jim Crow laws. All Different Now just doesn't seem to be true.
I invite us to try to imagine anyone enslaved hearing the words “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” Juneteenth is a celebration of that day. Despite the sentiment being unfulfilled we still celebrate. Despite the glass being half full, we celebrate the fullness of that half of the glass. It's not nothing.
Most of us can only use language of slavery as a metaphor. As a metaphor we can all relate to the struggle of being trapped by things in our lives or situations we cannot escape. We can imagine people down and out, living with great distress, maybe far away from here. But we can be certain that right here there are those who look just fine who are trapped just the same. Trapped in relationships that are harmful. Trapped in mindsets that keep them isolated. Trapped inside the fear of ever being judged. Trapped in lives defined by needs not met instead of the abundance of choices that others have.
I think when Paul says to us that all these things in one corner of the boxing ring are part of the suffering of life he is saying that there is no comparing levels of suffering. All suffering becomes a trap eventually, if we are without hope that God is speaking to each of us when we hear, 'At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.' We too want salvation and are continually waiting for salvation to be fully realized.
If we have never had the experience of being freed from a place of harm, we only have our imaginations. Chances are though, we have all experienced our own boxing match in our brains where it feels like a true battle to get through to the other side of trouble. That's what we can remember and remind ourselves that God has listened and God has helped. When we do get through, and the 300lb boxer in the corner on our side with the power of God, patience, perseverance, creativity, forgiveness, honor, righteousness, good repute, truth comes through for us, we have been given the grace of God. The grace of God that we cannot accept in vain.
The world is in a scary place but there are places where the grace of God is already at work. In the midst of the angst and uncertainty about re-openings there is a search for a place to be grounded, a search for a place to feed the hunger all around us, to be part of the good that happens next in the world and in our own communities.
Yesterday I had an experience that just filled me with joy about that hunger. I reluctantly but then joyfully took my painting hobby to a pop-up art show in San Bruno, in order to try to get out into the community of San Bruno and meet some people. I can't imagine charging money for any of my stuff. I decided that I wouldn't take anything myself but anyone who wanted a painting could decide for themselves what they wanted to do in exchange. I asked them to promise themselves that they would do a good deed, make someone happy, help someone out. They wrote down their ideas and I collected the slips of paper in a bowl. It turned out to be really fun. The little kids were the best. They offered to help mom with the dishes. One little girl said she'd help mom with hugs. Another little girl said she'd jump up and down (that makes people happy!). Someone else said they promised to make five people smile that day. And then there were the promises of help at shelters and food bank sites.
It felt like a surge of positive energy coming from the beautiful weather, people's happiness to finally go outside and see people again. It was great to feel people's loving energy about doing something good. It's as if God was moving through this community of people hungry to be happy and hopeful.
There are so many places in the world far from us, that need to hear that the acceptable time is now. There are just as many places right here within our own families, our own communities, right around us where the message that God will help needs to be proclaimed clearly. Whenever we are in need of that message I hope we can find a way to reach out. When we are able to be a part of someone's acceptable time and be the help that God is sending, we need to hear that call and take action.
Amen.