God's New Creation

Year B: Proper 4

In this section examples from Jesus’ teachings as expressed in the beatitudes and the parables along with several incidents of his ministry are presented to show how ordinary life is transformed by the power of the Gospel and by the divine light, life and love transmitted through the liturgy. In this sense, Ordinary Time is in fact totally extraordinary—time that has been transformed or time to be transformed.¹ —Thomas Keating

Year B, Proper 4, June 2, 2024

First Reading: Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Psalm: Psalm 81:1-10

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Gospel: Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon - God’s New Creation

Our livestream messed up on Sunday, so I do not have a recording for you.

For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’s sake. For it is the God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 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 around in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For we who are living are always being handed over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us but life in you. 2 Corinthians 4:5–12

In 2 Corinthians, Paul emphasizes the church’s identity as the new creation. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Jesus is called the “image of God.” In 4:6 the light of the gospel is the light of a new creation. In 5:16-17, Paul insists that the Christians look at the world from a new creation perspective, not simply a human point of view, because anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.

This new creation theology should drastically change how we view ourselves. We are not pilgrims wandering on this earth below who are simply waiting for the new creation; instead, we boldly adopt the title new creation for ourselves, and participate with God in the transformation of our communities, nations, and world through the light of the gospel.

“How can we be the new creation?” one might ask. “We are so small, so broken, and so out of sorts.”

Paul answers this question before the question ever leaves our lips, “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.”

If we can begin to grasp the depth of this mystery, then every interaction we have is transformed. When we feel afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, we know that we are truly not crushed, not driven to despair, not forsaken, and not destroyed. Even though it might be said that we are “always carrying around in the body the death of Jesus,” this only means that “the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.”

Where the world sees defeat, God sees success. Where the false self sees weakness, God sees power. Where we may see dishonor, God sees glory.

Even when it seems like everything is falling apart, this understanding of the new creation reminds us that even in those moments, we have a precious treasure.

Second Reading: Jesus is Our Sabbath

The Sabbath was given to Israel for a number of reasons. In Exodus 20:8-11, God told Moses that Israel was to keep the Sabbath so that they would remember the seventh day of creation. All of the living beings, including servants and beasts of burden, were to have rest on this day. So Sabbath served as a memorial of creation and a basis for justice among the people. You could see how a people freshly released from slavery would need a mandatory day of rest.

In Deuteronomy 5:12-15, God offers a different reasoning for keeping the Sabbath. Instead of being a memorial of creation, Sabbath is instituted as a memorial for their bonding in Egypt. “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:15).

With this in mind, we might look at Jesus as giving a new meaning to Sabbath. In Matthew 11 and in Hebrews 4, the New Testament speaks of a new Sabbath that is fulfilled in Christ. In showing us a new Way to live, and in dying and rising again, Jesus became the Sabbath. That is, in Christ we have ultimate rest every day of the week. While keeping a rhythm of rest and work through observing a personal sabbath has many benefits, such as preventing burnout and making time for family, our rest is in the experience of Jesus in our life.

Since we have known through our experience that there is no condemnation in Christ, then we are able to experience a peace that passes all understanding. Jesus has led us on a new exodus out of an old creation of darkness and into the kingdom of light.

Thanks so much for keeping up with this blog. If you have any suggestions, recommendations, or critiques, you can always comment here or reach out through my website: https://danielr.net.

1. Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.