The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Today’s epistle reading (2 Corinthians 5:1-17) is a challenging passage in Paul’s letter to the church he founded in Corinth. Some influential members of that congregation questioned the authority of the Apostle Paul, forcing him to answer their charges in his public correspondence to the Corinthian church. It was not an easy task for Paul.

Exegetes debate about the underlying logic of these verses. Without getting too deep into the weeds of Paul’s arguments, however, we can notice some major themes here. First, Paul is confident that when we are in the body (alive) we are walking by faith; that is, we are looking ahead to the time when we leave the body and find ourselves in the presence of the Lord. When we are away from our body (deceased), we will be able to live by sight. Second, we must attend carefully to how we live since in the future (when we are with the Lord) we will receive recompense for how we have lived (when we are in the body).

Third, the death of Christ on our behalf has changed everything. It has given us new purpose for living; it has caused the old to pass away; and it has brought us to a point where “everything has become new!” We have the grand privilege of living by faith in light of these confidence-building truths.

— Jim Beck