Sermon for March 5, 2025
Ash Wednesday
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
As we begin the season of Lent, we begin with ashes on our foreheads: “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” It’s a reminder of the limits of being human; that we all start and end our lives in the same way—like dust; powerless, weak, reliant on God.
The ashes on our foreheads are traced there in the shape of the cross. It’s a reminder that Christ himself fully embraced the limits of being human, as he was crucified on a dusty hill just outside the city limits of Jerusalem; there he was lifted up for all to see his powerlessness and weakness. Yet as St. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Christ, who never sinned, to become sin itself, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” That is, through the cross God is repairing the brokenness that separates us from God and from our fellow human beings. And a big part of God’s repair work is that Jesus freely offers us forgiveness whenever we turn to him with a humble heart.
St. Paul was stuck in a situation that cried out for forgiveness, because his beloved congregation in the city of Corinth was losing sight of this “marvelous gift of God’s kindness”: given through the cross of Christ. That’s why he writes with such passion. Now, the backstory here is that Paul is the apostle who first introduced them to Christ. He worked with them to plant the first church in their city—one of the wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire. But Paul writes this letter because, while he was out of town, they turned on him!
Another group of apostles showed up to tell the people that they were doing it wrong. We don’t know specifically who there were, but Paul leaves clues in his letter. He calls them “super-apostles”—not because they were so great, but because they thought they were so great. Their high opinion of themselves took shape in arrogance and abuse. They also convinced the Corinthians that Paul was not a true apostle! Why? Because he was so unimpressive in person. Paul even quotes the accusations they make against him (in 2 Cor. 10:10)—“his letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.” A sophisticated Roman city like this needs a better apostle than that loser, Paul!
And the Corinthian Christians apparently said, “Oh, yeah—you know what? You’re right! Paul must not be a true apostle after all.” Meanwhile, how did the so-called “super-apostles” treat the Corinthian congregation? Paul mentions it (in 2 Corinthians 11:20), reminding them—“You put up with it when they made slaves of you, and preyed upon you, and took advantage of you, and put on airs, and gave you a slap in the face!” The super-apostles based their ministry in the image of the Roman Empire, where might makes right, and it doesn’t matter if you shame people, or run roughshod over them, or condemn them for their failures, or withhold the gift of forgiveness. The super-apostles heaped all of that abuse on them, and then walked away in self-righteous superiority.
How did Paul respond? He basically told the people: you know what? They’re right! I am a loser! Sure, I can write well, but I’m a terrible public speaker. I’m not charismatic or good-looking, either. In fact, God has given me a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7)—a kind of physical deformity—and God will not take it away no matter how often I’ve prayed. And I concede that these super-apostles have come with the intention of sharing the gospel of Jesus with you. But you know what? The way you go about trying to accomplish your message IS your message. They speak as if they are representing Christ, but they do it in such a way that they’re leading you away from believing in Christ’s forgiveness that he won for you on the cross.
So yes, Paul agrees, when you look at me, I am a loser. But how have I brought the message of Christ to you? “By patiently enduring trouble, hardships, and calamities of every kind. I’ve been beaten, put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, gone without food. And yet I have remained true to the virtues of Christ’s way of life. I have come in purity, with understanding, with patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, and sincere love.” Even as Paul has many weaknesses and limitations, yet still—God’s power is working in him—and still can be at work in all of them, because the true model for ministry is not the might-makes-right Roman Empire, but the Christ-like servanthood found in the cross.
With the cross of Christ traced in ash and dust on our foreheads today, we take upon ourselves the truth Paul proclaimed: our weaknesses and limitations are the main thing God chooses to use to make Christ’s power visible in the world. And so, for this Lenten season we are invited to join the Apostle Paul—living by the virtues of purity, understanding, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, and sincere love. And we are invited to follow the way of the cross, as we contend against evil by resisting whatever leads us away from love of God and neighbor.
The traditional way to do this is through the disciplines of Lent: repentance, fasting, prayer, and works of love. There are many ways we can attempt the disciplines, whether it’s “giving something up” or “taking something on”; devoting extra time to worship, prayer, or reading the Bible; finding ways to serve the most vulnerable people in our communities; or seeking to forgive or be forgiven for matters that trouble you, and letting Christ carry the burden of sin instead of yourself. Whatever you choose to do, these are all opportunities for us to offer up to God our own weaknesses and limitation, so that the power of Christ can be at work in us. We will probably fall short of our full intentions in whatever disciplines we take on, but our failure leads us to the good news that Christ is with you, to forgive you and help you. Amen.