Grace and peace from God our Father, Jesus Christ our Redeemer and the Holy Spirit our Comforter, be with you all.

Amen

Sermon text: 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 (NIV)

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

This morning I would like you to engage with me in the sermon, by putting your own name into the slot where I refer to the traveller who is busy travelling, while being on earth. During the sermon it would become clear to you why I made this request.

Dear Congregation

A Traveller embarks on a journey and soon realized that time and time again he found himself right at the beginning from where he departed. During he journey however, he experiences new things, meets new people, but soon he packs things up and off he goes to continue his journey, experiencing new things at the new destination. A destination that is unclear for the people who remains behind, since the traveller did not share with the people whereto he is going and thus this man remains a mystery for them. For some of the by-standers in their understanding it looks like as if the traveller doesn’t know where he is going, because soon after his arrival and pitching his tent, he breaks it off again and continues with his journey. What those who he leaves behind, he leaves in amazement because of the surprisingly impact that he had upon their lives. This they only realize after he had departed and they start to wonder, why they did not make use of the time to share their experiences about him with him. The impact that they had upon them through not only his words but also through his actions. As any person who wonder who had a good experience with such an individual would wonder, they wonder whether they would ever see him again ad yes at times thoughts crossing their minds, wondering where he is and how he is doing.

In our text this morning Paul associates our lives as a journey upon we embark daily as we travel through time and space, doing our daily chores, while we impact someone’s life without sometimes even noticing it.  He associates us with our family members who dies, meaning ending their journey’s, when they are called to their final destination which is a world beyond any human beings understanding. People who impacted our lives in such a way that it help shaping us into the person that God intended for us to be. People that we miss knowing that their advice and love will always be missed and it is during that time that we come to realize how much that person really meant to us. For those staying behind they journey still continues as life for them doesn’t end with the departure of a loved one.

While travelling on the road of life the traveller wonders all by himself whether he will reach the place where he can out away his tent and stay there for a longer period of time. He is longing for a time where he doesn’t need to travel anymore. A long period of time where he can rest and find peace for his travelling mind. A time where he doesn’t need to worry about the bad things that could happen to him while he is on one of his travels. He groans since in really it is such a time that he is longing after.  It is during these times that he realises what he is really longing for, something that isn’t part of this life, but a different place, although he isn’t sure at times whether such a place exists. The traveller realise that the thing that he is searching for always leads him back to the same place, whether he wants it to be true or not. He realises that there might be something that he needed to do and forgot to do it, while being there for a long period of time and thus the uneasiness about his situation returned and therefore he had no choice but to return. He realises that he needs to do something about it, but fear withheld him from doing so, because it means that he needs to place his trust in someone else. The traveller realises the truth that during this life he is dependable upon someone else, not necessarily in human beings, but in the Lord who is working through people in his own time frame and space, connecting us with eternity in this way. The Lord thus becomes his travelling partner since it is in front of the Lord, that our hearts is known, our thoughts as well as our strengths and weaknesses. It is in the nature of humanity that human beings don’t want to be exposed in standing naked before God and yet he realises that the time to do that has come and that it is the only way in which he will experience a true form of peace. He stands in fear before God because maybe just maybe will he God will judge him in the same way as those individuals whom he met along the road who already judged him. Under the weight of his cross (the burden he carries) he is forced upon his knees pleading with God to rip off this old robe from his body and dress him with the new robe and as time goes by the traveller realises that his road that leads to fulfilment starts to open up. He realises that God has indeed listened to his plea and that he has already given him his new robe, a robe that consists out of the strength to stand up again from the ground, or to climb out of the pit of despair in which he laid for such a long period of time.

The traveller thus realised that this pilgrimage upon which he was, was an intimate spiritual journey of healing, reconciliation, restoring trust and love, which he himself couldn’t achieve alone, but only through the grace of God who looked upon him with favour, something that was only possible by living a life, which is fundamentally anchored in faith.

By referring to this traveller, we cannot help but to see our own lives as it is reflected to us by the mirror to which Paul refers to in 1. Corinthians 13:12, which says: “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” This traveller describes to us the true journey on which we are embarking and that gives us a clear understanding what Martin Luther experienced when he admitted to his mentor, Staupitz that he was in search for a gracious God.

This is the gift, the gift of intervention from God in a time of need, what Paul tries to teach the congregation in Corinth, because such a place and God were unthinkable to the Greeks as a result of their Philosophic background and that such a place is real did not fit into their thought. Paul thus answers their question through this insert for his letter to the congregation as a response. I am sure that we know this feeling and that we all have experienced it during parts of our lives and thus Paul also addresses us and our questions regarding this aspect this morning, while at the same time he reassures them and us, that there is nothing in this world that could explain God’s goodness and love and that there is nothing that we can do to obtain eternal life, since he has already done everything possible.

With our text this morning, Paul teaches us that God meet everyone of us on the places where we are in our journey’s through our faith in a God who only means the best for everyone’s life. Here where we live on earth and where we realise who difficult it may be at times to live through faith, due to our sinful nature, especially since we want to go into action, without consulting with him. Yes, we are even with times afraid to leave our lives in the hands of God and thus when we are able to do that our faith is transform in a real and practical manner if we can come to the point where we realise that I can make peace with the idea where I am and what is special to us and realise that for God we are very special.

Dear Congregation

We do not always need to understand why things turn out the way it does and I am sure that we will never have answers on everything why it had to happen the way it did, but all we need to know is that the Lord is busy to renew everything in our lives again. He is busy to reveal his plans for our lives afresh and therefore let us trust Him with our whole heart and mind by keeping it focused upon Him. Let us continue our journey’s, knowing that His Will for our lives is filled with good intention and that it doesn’t matter where people think we ought to be in a specific time of our lives, but that God’s timing with us is precisely where He wants us to be. Therefore keep the faith and have the courage to climb the steep mountains, which shows itself along your road of life on this pilgrimage, which we call your life for your final destination is eminent. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, but the only thing that does is that you will reach it.


And the peace of God which transcends all our understanding will protect our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen