Today, on this Trinity Sunday, all we need is just to be quiet. Lie back. Stare at the stars and be totally filled with amazement. The creator of all that—loves the world. Loves you. Loves me. Loves the young people who will be baptised and confirmed today. He is our God. He made us. He saved us. He calls us into his family.
If there is one thing the cantankerous Corinthian church cannot do, it is to put things in order. They can't agree with one another either. Definitely not their strong suit. Live in peace? Forget about it! And they're not too good at listening to Paul's appeal, either.
In the winter of our pain and trouble we find ourselves, we find the means to help others and we find our God ... and so learn the true and deeper joy of real life. On the night before Jesus was to die, he said, "In this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world."
St Paul said that our "weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities" are opportunities to show God's grace and God's glory. As we are weak, we come to know that Christ is strong. As we suffer, we come to understand the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. As we triumph over our adversities, we are empowered by God working in us.
Rather than boast of his achievements, Paul "boasted in his weaknesses." Paul, like any of us, had appealed to God to be free of his hardships, but God responded to Paul by saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." Power in weakness? You got to be kidding.
By expressing our thankfulness like Eleanor and Susie, we are living witnesses to the grace of God. Giving is a way of worship in which thanksgiving and glory to God is expressed. Verse 13 also reminds us that our giving is related to confession of the gospel of Christ. People of faith are grateful and live lives of thankfulness.
A theology of offering arises out of a simple premise: WHY you give is every bit as important as WHAT you give. Let me hasten to say that what we have to offer God is a lot more than money. We have time and talent and energy and the creative gift of imagination. In many ways, giving money is the easiest part.
I would be embarrassed to tell you the times I have spent money foolishly. Most of the time, we spend our money on things that really aren't that important. That's because most of the time we spend it on our own appetites. We spend our money foolishly on our appetites instead of spending it wisely on the Kingdom of God.
In the fullness of time Christ came to redeem us from our fallen state. He died for our sins and rose to usher in a New Creation – the Kingdom of God – that we might live together in peace. That New Creation is not realized by government decree, but as individuals like us humble ourselves and turn to the Lord--and invite others to join us.
Does anyone know what time it is? The Bible says, "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor. 6:2) Not yesterday, not tomorrow, not when you feel more like it. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the time to respond to God's grace.