Comforting Calamity?

Recap Curious Case of Phoebe

Today we begin our new subset in our sermon series on the early church. We started this series as a series in the spiritual disciplines of a disciple, which led to studying the early church in Acts, leading us into studying the letters from Paul and other early church leaders chronologically. Last week we completed our walk through of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Last week we looked at the importance of Phoebe. Phoebe, a woman, was the person that delivered the letter to the Roman church. She is also listed as a servant of the church and a benefactor for the early church and Paul. That means she was funding the early church and serving the early church. Looking at the modern context, it is difficult because so much focus is being placed on the role of women in ministry in certain pockets. Rather than focus on the bigger problems, they focus in on one thing.

I get accused of doing the same thing when it comes to cleaning the house. Typically, when I clean the house, I start with the oven. We have one of those glass top ones, so I get the polish out and make that bad boy gleam. Meanwhile, there is still stuff and dirt everywhere else. I am of the opinion that at this point, to worry about the gender of church leaders rather than worry about matters of theology is to throw the baby out with the bath water.

We also looked at the long list of names Paul gave at the end of the letter. He did this to show that he is not just sending this letter out as a broadcast. They were a very real group of actual people, people known and loved by God and known and loved by Paul. That personal greeting takes it from impersonal to something heartfelt. That goes hand in hand with the idea of reciprocity. One thing we are working on here is how do we move from simply broadcasting our services on Sunday morning to developing deep relationships with the folks that cannot attend the church on Sunday for whatever reason. Paul was able to create these relationships with these Christians in Rome and that was way before we had such an ease of communication.

The church in Rome had a good reputation. Everyone knew about them throughout the churches. What is our reputation here?

Today we are going to look at the second letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians. We know that in reality that this is actually the third letter that he wrote to them. However, we do not know what the second letter contained. It has been lost to history. There is speculation that the letter was pretty harsh. Which is kind of surprising considering how harsh some of these other letters Paul wrote to Corinth are. Remember in his first letter, he calls them out for their endorsing sexual immorality. He also calls them a bunch of babies, not able to eat any meat, but being stuck on spiritual milk.

If you have your Bibles, please turn them to 2 Corinthians 1: 1-11. Before we get started I want us to each ask ourselves a question. When is the last time we gave praise when we hit times of suffering?

2 Corinthians 1:1–11 CSB

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother: To the church of God at Corinth, with all the saints who are throughout Achaia. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will also share in the comfort. We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.

The letter opens up with the standard greeting. He identifies himself. Timothy, a man they would know is with him as he writes the letter. Timothy had been dispatched at one point to deliver a letter to them in Corinth and serve. Paul makes it abundantly clear that he is writing this letter to the church in Corinth, but he also addresses it to all the saints. This is a reference to all believers. There is a shift in definition of a saint between the Old and New Testament. Typically when we hear about saints in the Old Testament, it is talking about priests. Not so in the New Testament. The saints are the believers. Of course, the idea that they are still priests is also true. The priesthood of the believer is one of those things that separated the Protestants from the Catholics. Peter writes about this is in 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” He is not just talking to a select few believers there, but the entire group. Paul wanted this letter to be passed around to all the churches in the area. I wonder if he had any clue that his words would eventually be preserved in the Bible. I doubt he did. A lot of the times people set out on a mission and have no idea that they are making history.

Paul also gives one of his standard benedictions as he begins the letter. Back then, letters were written in a very different format than what we have today. He hopes for grace and peace for the church there in Corinth. This letter is written solely to believers and not seekers. We know this based on his description in of grace. He does not speak of the initial grace that leads a person to conversion. Instead, he is focusing on continuing grace, the mercy of God that is needed to complete the Christian life.

Paul moves into the description of some trials and tribulations that he had endured. The overarching theme in this letter is Paul’s answer to the church in Corinth on why he had not returned to them. Doubts were growing about Paul within Corinth because he had not come to be with them, even though he said he would. Paul begins to give the account on what happened. Sometimes, we set out on a course and the next thing we know, we are re directed by something. It happens, we are on the way someplace and we catch a flat tire. Or we are planning to head one place, but forgot that there was another place we needed to be at. That happens in my house often. We have calendars, but unless we are sharing our calendars with one another, we might miss something. Just the other day, I had a dinner plan for Dania and Lucy, Dania showed up and said, “Let’s get going to piano lessons.” So we went out that way, and then on to our respective meetings. All that to say, sometimes things pop up and we need to redirect. Other times, things pop up that require our immediate attention. Paul has such an issue that creeps up on him. However, Paul paints all of this in a positive light.

He modifies the old Hebraic formula for praising God. Psalm 41:13 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen.” He has modified the praise to not only give God praise, but to demonstrate that He is the God and Father of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This slight modification shows that Paul sees Christianity as being one with the Old Testament religion, but not exactly the same.

Paul also adds that God has compassion. This praise also comes from the Old Testament Isaiah 51:12 “I—I am the one who comforts you. Who are you that you should fear humans who die, or a son of man who is given up like grass?” and Isaiah 66:13 “As a mother comforts her son, so I will comfort you, and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” This compassion Paul writes of speaks of God’s mercy and concern for those who are suffering.

God Comforts Those Who Suffer

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

It is appropriate for Paul to remind them of this compassion God has for His people as Paul goes into detailing the issues he has come up against. If he had just opened up with all the problems he ran into, it could be viewed as him simply complaining about the circumstance. Rather than be concerned about the circumstance and focus his attention on that, he focuses on how God gives comfort.

How Often Do We Praise God When we Suffer?

Do we? It’s easy enough to praise God when things are going well. We get great news about something. Maybe we get a promotion at work. Maybe we find out there are grandkids headed our way. We receive some kind of good news about great things headed our way and it is easy enough for us to give God praise. It’s a wholly different thing to give praise when things don’t go the way we want them to go. Casting Crowns has a song in which they proclaim they will give praise to God despite the storms going on in their lives. It is easier said than done, though. I know this for a fact because it is hard to praise when things are going wrong for us.

When I had applied for the chaplaincy and was turned down, as I was giving the news, there was only one person I spoke to that chose to use it as an opportunity for praise. Everybody else was mad, complaining about how stupid the board is, and the state of the chaplaincy. However, my buddy Dave Peterson, when I called to give him the news had the best thing to say. He simply said, “Praise God because He has shown you His will.”

That was just bad news about work, so it’s doubtful that anyone would have rejoiced over true calamity. However, as believers we can rejoice in that calamity. In fact, that calamity can be used to comfort others. As believers, we know that the sufferings of this world are temporary. One thing that everyone on this earth has in common is that one day, our physical sufferings will end when we draw our last breath.

The issues I have faced here on earth pale in comparison to what Paul had to deal with. He does not go into great detail about his sufferings. He suffered greatly in Asia, what is now modern day Turkey. Paul appeals to the Corinthians for sympathy. We are not certain what exact hardships he endured while he was there, but we know that throughout his ministry, Paul suffered through riots, vicious attacks, imprisonment, and physical illness. At one point in his ministry, he has suffered so much that he believes his life is about over. Paul remained faithful to God. He remained rooted in Him. God gave him the ability to endure.

God permits His servants to suffer and then gives comfort so that we can go and give comfort to others.

Paul knows this is true. Christians are joined with Jesus. Christ suffered tremendously for all of us. His sufferings included beatings, being mocked, humiliation, and crucifixion. He hadn’t even done anything wrong, but He suffered through all of that. Why? Well, to do the Father’s will, but also to comfort us. If Jesus had decided not to endure that suffering, we would be in a whole lot of trouble because we would still have to pay for our sin. God sent Jesus to come and suffer for our comfort. As believers, when we suffer, it presents an opportunity for us to give comfort to others.

Job 10:4 “Do you have eyes of flesh, or do you see as a human sees?”

Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.”

It goes back to the whole relational thing. It is easier for me to talk with someone that has shared experiences. Let’s take it out of the realm of suffering for a minute. Within humor, one leg of comedy is what is called “shared similar situation”. When a comedian or a situational comedy does something that we have a shared similar situation, it causes us to laugh. Sometimes a shared similar experience makes us laugh at something that is not appropriate. A while back, Dania and I watched a documentary about a cruise ship that had a fire. Then everything went terribly wrong. They lost water, they lost their AC plants, their plumbing systems were not working. It was a terrible time for all involved. Dania is watching all of the bad stuff happening with this look of horror on her face. Meanwhile, I was laughing. Not because I didn’t feel bad for them, but the issues they were running into were the same ones that I had experienced on pretty much every shipboard deployment I went on. Recently we have heard the reports about the issues on the Abraham Lincoln. A few people asked my opinion about it and my typical response was, “well, I have had the same thing happen to me, but we also ran out of water and our AC plants were broken. So at least they have water and Air Conditioning.” When we have been there and done that, we can better appreciate a situation someone is going through.

That’s what Paul is getting at here. When we are joined with Christ and we suffer, we will one day be able to use that suffering to comfort someone else. Unless we have been through a similar experience, it will be difficult for us to relate to people.

My High School Sunday School teacher, Tom Bushman, great dude. He was a lawyer, so he really made me do my research because I knew he was going to debate my argument one way or another. One time he gave a very candid testimony to my little class. He explained that early on in his marriage, his wife was pregnant, but the baby never made it to term. Instead, she had a miscarriage. Tom explained that he was devastated by the news. They both were. They were suffering, but God gave them the comfort to endure. They eventually got over their grief. One day, Tom found himself giving counsel to a young coworker whose wife had miscarried. He spent a lot of time helping others that went through the same thing. What an amazing testimony. His pain and his suffering led him to be able to comfort others that were going through the same thing. Talk about spiritual maturity. Mr. Bushman’s spiritual maturity was so great that he was able to see how God made him able to help this young man out based on going through the same situation. When we have suffered something similar, it is easier to have empathy with the person. That is what Paul is getting at here. He has suffered so that they can be comforted. They too will suffer so that others can be comforted.

Within the veteran circles, there is the story of a man that is stuck in a deep hole, the hole representing a variety of things that veterans struggle with. Well, a priest comes by and tells him what he needs to do to get him out. But he doesn’t actually get the guy out. A businessman comes by and gives advice on how to get out of the hole, but to no avail. Same thing with his family. The man is just stuck alone in this hole. Until another vet jumps down into the hole with him. The man stuck says, “What are you doing? It was just me stuck down here and now you’re going to be stuck with me.”

To which the other man says, “Yeah, brother, but I’ve been stuck in this hole too, and I know the way out.” Maybe rather than look at our issues as something that tears us down, maybe we should look at them as learning opportunities to help others in the future.

As God’s people, we can expect that things are not going to be happy and hunky dory. We can expect that we are going to run into trouble. That trouble will lead to suffering, but through Him, we can endure. The Christian life is not one where we make an affirmation of faith and then go back to doing whatever we were doing before we came to Him. Instead, the Christian life is one of waking up daily and deciding who we are going to follow.

That’s why we are calling this sermon comforting calamity. Affliction will hit, but it is there to make us better. These trials do not mar us, they only make us stronger. That affliction leads to comfort, comfort leads to endurance. We must have endurance if we are going to wake up every day and live for Christ.

Romans 5:3–5 “And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

When times are tough and when calamity hits, we can give praise to God because we know that He is going to make it all right. He is going to get it fixed. He is our only source of hope. So no matter how bad it gets out there.