Jars of Clay: Our Hope and Treasure

Over the course of the next two weeks, we’ll be exploring a small slice of 2 Corinthians. We’re looking at chapter four, where Paul is describing the afflictions that many of the Christians were experiencing in those early days – and the Christians were experiencing some serious problems. They were seen as a dangerous cult that had formed from Judaism and was threatening the order of society. Jews hated the Christians because the Christians made the Romans question Jewish loyalty. Romans hated the Christians because they were spreading across the Empire and were converting more and more Romans to their cause.

What Rome feared of the Christians was the same thing which the British Empire feared and had to face 246 years ago tomorrow: rebellion. We know the story of our nation’s rebellion well. How the nation’s leaders declared on July 4, 1776 that they would no longer be controlled by the British head of state, but would form their own nation and would fight for its independence. And fight they would have to.

Many times, when we think of the American Revolutionary War, we remember the causes we fought for. We remember the impossible battles that were won. We remember the incredible faith of those which led our men to victory. But we often forget the intense struggle that it was. We like to think that the mighty United States was a powerhouse of military power from the beginning. But it was not.

In 1776, the very year that the war began, the American cause was very dim. In fact, most people believed that the Revolutionary War would be lost and over in a short amount of time, and it was with good reason. By November, George Washington’s troops had been forced to retreat losing 3,000 prisoners of war to the British. New York had been lost. Only 5,000 men were left in the army, and more were scheduled to leave because their enlistment was to end at the end of the year. Support for the revolution was waning, moral declined, and Congress was forced to move from its capital in Philadelphia to Baltimore. The British now were predicting to win the war within the next year. Talk about a bleak situation – it seemed like the revolution was at its end.

In many ways, I know that we, as a church, have experienced this feeling. Across America, but even in our own backyard, less and less people are going to worship on Sunday mornings. Less and less people are staying connected to the Church. It feels like we try things in the Name of Jesus and nothing happens. We put ourselves out into the world to bring new people in, and nothing happens. We come up with new and fun activities, inter-church committees, bring in conference experts, hire new staff members, enlist more people from the pews, merge churches together, and yet – still nothing works. We watch as the church continues to splinter, we see how the people we love are choosing paths to walk down that we cannot follow.

It seems that the world we know and love is crumbling around us, that hate is reigning supreme, and that there is nothing we can do to end it. In many ways, it seems that the enemy has the upper hand, that we don’t have the troops we need, the leadership we need, the strength we need. In many ways, it seems that the revolution is at an end. This is where we are. Where the Americans were. Where the early Christians were.

But into this moment and into these feelings of desperation and loss, Paul gives us encouragement and reminds us of the reality of things. He says, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God.”

We are working alongside the God of the Universe – the God Who made everything that there is: the earth, the stars, the sun, the moon, the animals, the fish, the light and the dark, the day and the night, the God Who understands how the cosmos works because He put it into motion. We are working alongside that God. That God is choosing to be right here with us in this moment. To guide us and equip us for the work He is calling us to. Because of that, we don’t lose heart.

In fact, instead of losing heart and abandoning the cause of our faith, we are taking the next steps of faith. We’re not going to chase after some secret knowledge that will bring people into the pews. We’re not going to abandon our morals to get people to join our church. We’re not going to distort the Word of God so that it is more palatable for the world. No, we’re doubling down because THAT is what the world so desperately needs. The world doesn’t need more entertainment, it has enough. The world doesn’t need more fun activities, it has enough. The world doesn’t need more political agendas pushed or ways to volunteer, or places to give its money – it has enough.

What the world needs is the authentic, committed, completely bought-in faith of people who are able to stay faithful in the face of hardship. It needs people who trust in God so completely that loss, failure, and uncertainty don’t phase them.

Paul continues saying, “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, Who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

We have come to know God through Jesus Christ. How incredible is that? The God that is so vast that we can never understand a percent of Him, the God Who is so ultimate that time does not affect Him, the God Who is so great that space does not define Him – we have come to know that God because of Jesus Christ and what we do on earth now is a reflection of that. For our sake and the sake of the world, God has placed His light in our lives that we may shine forth into the world.

To nail it home, this is what Paul says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”

This treasure that we have, trust in the almighty God to be with us and guide us through all things, is held in jars of clay. It is held in the fragility and commonplace of our lives. Just as jars are cheap and can be smashed easily, so too do people’s lives start and end without much pomp or circumstance. Yet, that is the power of this treasure and the hope that it contains. That we do not have to be steel vaults to keep the treasure in – we do not have to be perfect beings that never make mistakes or take missteps because our treasure’s security is not dependent on us. God continues to be present. His power is not dependent on our own! In our weakness, God is strong.

And it is because of this that we can be “hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” Because in us is the life and death of Christ and there is strength in our weakness. More than that, we have a promise: That while death is working in us, Life is at work in us. The Life that can heal sickness. Life that can bring people to know happiness. Life that can turn the church around. Life that can resurrect the Son of Man after three days and bring eternal life to all who believe.

The Christians in Paul’s time were at a crucial moment when everything could have folded up. Yet, they were able to trust that Life was at work in them and God used them to bring His Good News to the world. The Americans were all but defeated, yet they headed towards their great trust in God and cross the Delaware River. We are at our pivotal moment, when we can choose to go down a path which relies more and more on our own thoughts of what to do next – a path which is filled with fear and sadness – or we can choose to return our trust to God and see how Life is at work in us. We can choose to see how God is moving in our midst, how He is already doing amazing miracles in Cavalier, and that Trinity United Methodist Church is already being used to do His wonders.

I pray that this day, in this moment and in the weeks, months, and years to come, that we choose to trust in the ever present, always working, never abandoning God Who is in this place today. May it be so. Amen.