Brothers and Sisters, Rejoice! 2 Cor. 13: 11-12

Dan Doyle

Paul tells us something very important about what it means to be a Christian in this world in his Second Letter to the Corinthians. He writes this: “Brothers and sisters, rejoice!” (2 Cor. 13:11). Why should we rejoice? Because we have been given a gift of grace far beyond what we deserve. That gift is God’s unconditional, infinitely compassionate love for us, which is never diminished and remains with us even now, though we are still sinners. But there is more, too.

As a result of the Incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus, no less than the kingdom of God has been given to us. God, who made each one of us in his own image and likeness, has not and will not abandon us, even though we so often turn away from him with foolish arrogance and rebellious acts, both great and small. To prove his love for us, He sent his only Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, into this rebel-held territory to conquer our greatest enemies, sin and death. He came not with a sword, but with the power of sacrificial love of the cross, and doing so, he opened the gates of heaven to us once again. How are we to say thank you for a gift of such infinite proportions?

Here we can return to the rest of the verse from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians to get an idea of how we should respond. “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you” (v.12). These few simple words give us much to contemplate in terms of our own daily lives. It asks us to honestly look at our lives, personally, as families, as Church communities, and as citizens, and ask ourselves: Do we take these words in this passage seriously? Do our lives equate with this admonition?

“Mend your ways.” Is there room in my life to be better, to become the person that God wants me to be? What things could I change? Of course, to change our habits is not easy. But if we align our desires with God’s will, we believe that whatever we ask in Jesus’ name will be given to us. We can ‘mend our ways’ with God’s grace. We have help in the form of our families and our faith communities, too. We are told to “encourage one another” in our efforts to become the persons that God wants us to be. We are to grow in love for one another so that we can practice living in peace. If we make sincere efforts to do this, we are told, “the God of love and peace will be with us.” Do we believe this? Do we trust in this love and peace of God?

How do I speak to my wife, my husband, or my children? Am I as patient and understanding as I can be? Do I, more often than not, judge rather than encourage them? Is my heart, my house filled with love and peace or with anger and anxiety? Can I say that God is the real source of joy and goodness in my behavior toward others in my house, in my life in general? Or is there room for me to grow in these things? If we say yes to that last question, we can believe that God’s generous graces will be given to us in our sincere and humble efforts to grow in His love. We should also be encouraging each other to grow in the kind of love that Jesus calls us to live toward one another in our families, our church communities, and our “neighbors”. This is our calling as Christians: to build up the kingdom of God. What would our families and our world look and be like if a critical mass of Christians were openly, actively, humbly, and faithfully living in this way in their families, in their workplaces, and in society in general?

Luke tells us: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded: and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Lk. 12:48). We who have been given the magnanimous gifts of faith, hope, and love have now a responsibility to share them in the manner that they were, and continue to be, given to us. Jesus has entrusted us with his way, his truth, and his life; because of this, much is properly asked of us by Jesus. He does not ask the impossible of us. He has given each of us, through the Holy Spirit, our own gifts and talents to be recognized and used in the building up of the kingdom. We may not be saints yet, but that is what we are all called to be.

When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we are committing ourselves to serve its coming by living in peace and by seeking justice for all those who suffer, in any way, in our homes, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, and the world. It all begins in each human heart and at home. The home is our proving ground, our boot camp, where we learn and train for love’s battles and victories. The world needs to see us living our Christian calling openly more than it knows or can presently understand. Let us pray with all of our hearts then: Thy kingdom come, Lord. Thy will be done. Amen