Once, her absence bothered him so much he got up, put on his robe and walked downstairs. He sat in his chair and listened to himself breathe. An occasional car drove by the house, sending a wave of light across the ceiling. The air was chill. He looked down at his wrinkled hands, blue in the midnight, and saw his wedding ring. Too tired to cry, he sighed, stood up and trudged to the kitchen.

He grabbed a small glass from a cupboard above the sink and filled it with water. Taking a small sip, he stared out the window on the clear, bright, windless night. Dew shimmered on the grassy lawn where the tree shadows did not reach. He alone saw it while the world slept. The night. The shadows. The glistening grass.

Not that he didn’t try to see more. But try as he might, he could not envision her face. Gone so soon? After fifty-five years of seeing each other every day! Every morning, he would arise and go to this very kitchen. He would fix the coffee, turn on the machine, and set out two coffee cups on the counter, one for him and one for her. After retrieving the newspaper, he would go to his chair and read it while the coffee brewed.

Soon, her soft footsteps would sound on the stairs, and he would look up to greet her, precede her into the kitchen, pour out two cups — black — and they would sit at the table together to start the day. As rituals go, it wasn’t complicated or profound. Still, he was glad they began most mornings face to face.

How was it then, that he could not picture her pretty face now? Less than a week after laying her in the ground? Pictures of her were everywhere throughout the house, but he couldn’t see them, couldn’t see into them. He picked them up often and held them in his hands. He leafed through the photo albums of their trips. He traced their life together through them: from the time she was a schoolgirl, to that sexy young mother standing in the yard with a baby on her hip; she who had been the life of so many parties, his dance partner, lover, Valentine, “mom” on all the Christmases and birthdays and vacations and outings through the years, until the day she became “grandma” and her hair turned white and she was the petite one with sparkling eyes, like dew in the moonlight, in the front row of the large family portrait. He gazed often and hard at this evidence, yet couldn’t make sense of it. His vision blurred, his mind fogged, his chest heaved.

Who knows how long he stood there in the night? Out the window, the shadows had shifted, and a wave of weariness crashed over him. He set the glass in the sink and made his way back upstairs. He crawled into bed, pulled the warm, heavy covers up to his chin, and slept for the few hours of darkness that remained.

He awoke as usual, swung his legs over the edge of the bed, put on his slippers, picked his robe off the chair, and tied the belt around his waist. He made his way to the bathroom and performed his morning toilet. He ran warm water over his glasses and rubbed them with soapy fingers, washing away the dust and smears. Drying them, he placed them on his nose and looked at the old man in the mirror. He had made it another day.

The morning shone brightly through the living room windows as he went downstairs. Going into the kitchen, he slid open a drawer and separated a new coffee filter from its box. He went to the freezer and retrieved the bag of coffee beans, dumped some into the grinder and then ground them up fine. Measuring out just the right amount, he scooped the fragrant coffee into the filter and placed it carefully in the basket of the pot. He poured the water into the reservoir and closed the top. Reaching up, he grabbed two coffee cups off the shelf and placed them on the counter.

Then he went to retrieve the morning paper.

Dealing with the Wayward

Recently on iMonk we discussed how a church responded to a young man who confessed to a sin.  We tossed comments back and forth referring to Matthew 18 and both the Gospel and the letters of John.  Most of us seemed to be in agreement that the church’s handling of the situation was lacking in wisdom, at the least.

But why are we surprised that so many today lack wisdom?  It isn’t something we’re born with, after all, and for many of us even a lifetime isn’t long enough to acquire much.  Wisdom, especially that wisdom imparted to the Church by the Holy Spirit, is cumulative.  We become wise by humbling ourselves and learning from others – those around us and those who came before us – not by making it up by ourselves, as the leadership of this church (I understand) is prone to do.

I happened a few days ago to come across some ancient wisdom on the issue of dealing with sin among Christians:  two stories from The Desert Fathers, translated by Helen Waddell.

The first:  A certain brother had sinned and the priest commanded him to go out from the church.  But Bessarion rose up and went out with him, saying, “I too am a sinful man.”

The second:  Two brethren made their way into the city to sell their handiwork:  and when in the city they went different ways, divided one from the other, one of them fell into fornication.  After a while came his brother, saying, “Brother, let us go back to our cell.”  But he made answer, “I am not coming. . . .  Because when thou didst go from me, I ran into temptation, and I sinned in the flesh.”  But the other, anxious to help him, began to tell him, saying, “But so it happened with me:  when I was separated from thee, I too ran into fornication.  But let us go, and do penance together with all our might: and God will forgive us that are sinful men.”  . . . And they came back to the monastery and told the old men what had befallen them, and they enjoined on them the penance they must do.  But the one began his penance, not for himself but for his brother, as if he himself had sinned.  And God, seeing his love and his labour, after a few days revealed to one of the old men that for the great love of this brother who had not sinned, He had forgiven the brother who had.  And verily this is to lay down one’s soul for one’s brother.

My first reaction, especially to the second story, was to bristle at the idea of lying out of kindness.  Surely, I thought, there was a way to do good without being dishonest.  Well, yes; if salvation is my personal program of purification, just between me and God, then risking my soul by lying would be wrong and foolhardy.

But then it occurred to me that the second brother was not lying.  Although he had not committed fornication right then, he too was a sinful man.  Knowing himself to be sinful, he couldn’t pick up the first stone.  He understood that his job was less to strive for rigorous purity than to love his neighbor as himself.  He understood that salvation isn’t a gold medal awarded to the most rigorous achiever; it’s a party we’re all invited to, and if we refuse to share our taxi with someone else on the way to the banquet hall, we probably won’t get in ourselves.

Going back to the church we read about recently.  They had half of the story right:  they got the commanding to go out of the church part, and the enjoining of penance part.  But what about the second half of the story?  Was there no one willing to get up and go out with the young man who had sinned?  Was there no one willing to do penance with him out of love?  I hope there was.  There might have been.  Stories of humble kindness don’t usually get spread abroad as vigorously as stories of public disgrace.

I always had a hard time understanding 1 Peter 4:8 – “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”  The stories clarify the verse for me.  There is great wisdom to be found in these ancient books, as well as in more recent ones.  But here’s my dilemma:  Should I send a copy of The Desert Fathers to the church in question, or would that be an act of criticism and lack of charity on my part?

i drove through the drive-thru, like you do
the girl smiled and said, “have a wonderful day”
and i said, “do you really mean that,
or are you just toying with my heart?”

The Bible, through a Scientist’s Eyes, part four

Testing Scripture: A Scientist Explores the Bible
by John Polkinghorne

• • •

To my ears, one of the most bizarre and troubling passages in the Hebrew Bible describes the "bitter water" ritual (Numbers 5:11-31). This ceremony was to be used when a man suspected his pregnant wife of adultery. He was to bring her to the priest and present an offering. The priest would then have her stand before the Tabernacle and make her drink a mixture of holy water and dust from the floor of the holy place. If she was guilty, the potion would cause a miscarriage and she would become infertile. If innocent, the bitter water would have no effect on her. Whether guilty or innocent, the man would bear no guilt for being jealous and accusing her.

The text is sufficiently ambiguous that it has prompted much discussion. Was this a "trial by ordeal," designed to bring out a secret act of sin by appealing to God using a kind of divination? Is this a reflection of ancient magical practices? Why was the ritual only for women suspected of unfaithfulness and why didn't wives have similar recourse when their husbands cheated on them? Why was the woman exposed to public humiliation before proof of guilt? As some have suggested, could this elaborate ritual have actually been a way of protecting women by forbidding husbands from acting alone in a jealous rage when suspecting unfaithfulness?

This is one of those difficult, enigmatic Scriptures that came to mind when I read the chapter "Ambiguity" in John Polkinghorne's book, Testing Scripture.

The tapestry of life is not coloured in simple black and white, representing an unambiguous choice between the unequivocally bad and the unequivocally good. The ambiguity of human deeds and desires means that life includes many shades of grey. What is true of life in general is true also of the Bible in particular. An honest reading of Scripture will acknowledge the presence in its pages of various kinds of ambiguity.

Akedah, Chagall

To hear some people talk, the Bible is perfectly clear and well defined in its teachings. Black is black, and white is white. The way is plain and one can walk it by following transparent, easily perceived steps.

How then, John Polkinghorne asks, do we explain stories like God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? How do we square the fact that Abraham is commended as the great exemplar of our faith, when he is also shown to have so many flaws? And what of his family of scoundrels like Jacob? Likewise, David, the "man after God's own heart," who not only committed adultery and murder, but who apparently could also act like the most vengeful of near eastern kings. An example of this is when he revoked his pardon of Shimei, who had cursed him, on his deathbed and commanded his execution. Polkinghorne remarks, "It is the vengeful act of a spiteful old man."

Ambiguous characters, all.

And how are we to understand some of the events and descriptions written in Scripture? What of angels? Are all the miracle stories to be taken at face value? Is there room for interpretation with regard to some of these portrayals? Are there symbolic, figurative, or typological aspects that we should consider when reading about some of the more unusual depictions?

The Bible is like life, John Polkinghorne affirms. It is multifaceted, complicated, and at times bewildering. It portrays characters and situations with all the rich complexity of life itself, exploring the shadows along with the light. Furthermore, it is written about people who lived long ago, in cultures quite different than our own. It uses language, metaphors, illustrations, and conventions that are foreign to us, that may reflect practices and perspectives we find troublesome or obscure.

Trying to understand and apply what Scripture says can be frustrating, especially if we have accepted the commonly advanced idea that the Bible is "life's instruction book," designed to give clear answers to life's problems and questions. Open its pages, and you'll find a much more interesting -- if ambiguous -- story than that.

• • •

A Matter of Motivation
by Adam McHugh, author of Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture

The defining feature of introversion is where you find your energy; introverts, even though we may enjoy social interaction, even though we may really like people and be socially confident and skilled, lose energy in the outside world. We retreat into solitude in order to be restored.

But as I have continued to learn more about introversion, I have also come to see that there is a motivation factor for many of us. Introverts have rich inner lives and we can spend hours in our worlds of impressions, thoughts, reflections, and in the other dimensions of our inner life. From a neurological point of view, introverts have more brain activity and brain blood flow than extroverts, and we have less tolerance for the dopamine that is released from social interactions and activity. So in many cases it actually may be more pleasurable – in terms of the good feelings released in the brain – for us to be alone or at home than it is for us to be at a party or a church activity. In other words, we are more motivated to be alone than to be in a crowd. It’s not that we don’t like people or are anti-social or standoffish, it’s that it actually feels better for us to be alone sometimes. Reading a book on a Friday night may feel better than a night out with friends, especially when we have spent the week in a socially charged atmosphere at work. In that case, it’s not that we are choosing out of something, it’s that we are choosing, joyfully and purposely, another activity.

Often, in Christian circles, we idealize those people that have a “passion” for community. Those people who constantly want to be around other people and who love organizing and mobilizing social events are often considered those people who have the most “love” for people, and by derivation, God. And, let’s be clear, those people are absolutely indispensable for the formation of relationships in a community. Those churches that don’t have those people suffer because of it. At the same time, let’s also acknowledge that there is more than “love for people” that is happening here. For those social galvanizers, it feels good to be around people and to see people connect with one another. They are thriving on the dopamine that is released in their brain from those experiences. And that’s how God intended it for them.

Love for God’s people does not have to look for everyone like an overt, uncontainable passion for being with others. Love, as we know from the scriptures, is self-sacrificial, in which we lay down our rights and place the good of others ahead of our own. Thus, it can be a great display of love for those of us who relish our inner worlds, to lay those things down sometimes and be present with others, when we might otherwise prefer to be alone.

jesus told a story about a samaritan
who loved his neighbor, really and truly
the pharisees said, “yeah, but he was still a samaritan.”
and jesus said, “so what?”

1. A masculine ministry believes that it is more fitting that men take the lash of criticism that must come in a public ministry, than to unnecessarily expose women to this assault.

2. A masculine ministry seizes on full-orbed, biblical doctrine with a view to teaching it to the church and pressing it with courage into the lives of the people.

3. A masculine ministry brings out the more rugged aspects of the Christian life and presses them on the conscience of the church with a demeanor that accords with their proportion in Scripture.

4. A masculine ministry takes up heavy and painful realities in the Bible, and puts them forward to those who may not want to hear them.

5. A masculine ministry heralds the truth of Scripture, with urgency and forcefulness and penetrating conviction, to the world and in the regular worship services of the church.

6. A masculine ministry welcomes the challenges and costs of strong, courageous leadership without complaint or self-pity with a view to putting in place principles and structures and plans and people to carry a whole church into joyful fruitfulness.

7. A masculine ministry publicly and privately advocates for the vital and manifold ministries of women in the life and mission of the church.

8. A masculine ministry models for the church the protection, nourishing, and cherishing of a wife and children as part of the high calling of leadership.

• • •

Change a word here and there, and what Piper says makes sense to me.

Eight Traits of a Responsible Ministry (Chaplain Mike)

1. A RESPONSIBLE ministry believes that it is more fitting that LEADERS take the lash of criticism that must come in a public ministry, than to unnecessarily expose CHURCH MEMBERS to this assault.

2. A RESPONSIBLE ministry seizes on full-orbed, biblical doctrine with a view to teaching it to the church and pressing it with courage into the lives of the people.

3. A RESPONSIBLE ministry brings out the more rugged aspects of the Christian life and presses them on the conscience of the church with a demeanor that accords with their proportion in Scripture.

4. A RESPONSIBLE ministry takes up heavy and painful realities in the Bible, and puts them forward to those who may not want to hear them.

5. A RESPONSIBLE ministry heralds the truth of Scripture, with urgency and forcefulness and penetrating conviction, to the world and in the regular worship services of the church.

6. A RESPONSIBLE ministry welcomes the challenges and costs of strong, courageous leadership without complaint or self-pity with a view to putting in place principles and structures and plans and people to carry a whole church into joyful fruitfulness.

7. A RESPONSIBLE ministry publicly and privately advocates for the vital and manifold ministries of ALL BELIEVERS in the life and mission of the church.

8. A RESPONSIBLE ministry models for the church the protection, nourishing, and cherishing of ONE ANOTHER as part of the high calling of leadership.

• • •

Folks, in spite of what Dr. Piper and his folks assert, all of this has nothing to do with male and female distinctions. It has everything to do with responsible love. It has to do with moving toward maturity and living our lives as faithful adults in Christ. Men and women alike.

I know many are concerned about the demographic of young men today that seem to be having a hard time growing up. But if young men are failing to move past adolescence and embrace responsibility, we do not need to challenge them to be more “masculine” or “manly.” We should be admonishing them to grow up, to become adults, to move toward maturity, dutiful living, and the kind of love that lays itself down for others. All believers, male and female, are called to seek this maturity and encourage others in its pursuit. Hierarchy should not enter into the discussion when examining the principles Piper sets forth. And as far as church leadership goes, I don’t see that any of the principles he is advancing involve the special domain of man and “masculinity.” Women church leaders are equally responsible to promote the eight traits he names.

Piper and others who are elevating male/female distinctions in our day not only have an insufficient view of gender but, perhaps even more importantly, an inadequate ecclesiology. They should be encouraging young men (and all of us) to become mature adults and like Christ within a healthy Spirit-filled community in which all are called to submit to one another and honor one another. Instead, in the name of “masculinity,” they single out men and assign qualities to them exclusively that belong to the entire church. This leads to all kinds of adventures in missing the point.

No sir, God did not give Christianity “a masculine feel.”

He gave it the quality of responsible love. For everybody.

Chase Eastside Legacy Center, Indpls

The NFL provides seed money for building a youth center in past host cities. But the local Super Bowl Committee’s visionary leaders wanted to do things the “Indianapolis Way,” to dream bigger and promise to do something no host city has done before: partner alongside a neighborhood already in the midst of transforming their own community.

Near eastside residents developed a strategy for economic and social change that led to the creation of the 2007 Quality of Life Plan, and the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee advanced the community transformation with resources and support.

The astounding result – more than $100 million dollars of investments [$154 million at last count] in the near east side community, anchored by the new $11 million Chase Near Eastside Legacy Center, a fitness and cultural haven for kids and their families.

Click here to watch a half-hour program that was aired here in Indy — “More Than a Game: The Indy Super Bowl Legacy,”  which chronicles the impact of the Super Bowl on the city, focusing on good works being done on behalf of the city’s near eastside.

Christianity Today also noted these efforts by featuring a story from C. Christopher Smith, a member of Englewood Christian Church, a congregation in that neighborhood. It’s called, “A Legacy in Indianapolis that Outlives the Super Bowl.” I commend Smith’s article to you. It talks about how churches can and should be involved in bringing renewal to their neighborhoods, regardless of special efforts and infusions of funds like those we have seen in connection with the big game.

To be sure, the Super Bowl has offered the Near Eastside a rare opportunity to showcase its work, which has translated into additional human and financial resources. But our experience tells us that when we commit to a place and begin to look at our neighborhoods with new eyes—not as under-resourced, but as full of diverse resources—we begin to see it become healthier and full of life. New and different resources are identified. Strong connections are made that serve the neighborhood well during hardship. This inside-out development is the key to healthy and thriving places. Churches, in whatever location they find themselves, can play a vital role in this sort of cultivation of places if they understand and follow their calling to mature together into a rooted and imaginative embodiment of the shalom of Christ, and simultaneously to work diligently with their neighbors in seeking the common good of their place.

I love the church’s slogan: “Seeking the Manifold Wisdom of God on Indianapolis’ Near-eastside.” They present themselves, not as people who know all the answers, but as those who are seeking and serving. So, read Smith’s piece and another article of his, “Before ‘Transforming’ Your Neighborhood, Talk to Your Neighbors,” and visit this church’s website to be encouraged that there are churches in city settings who care about their neighbors and are showing practical and sacrificial love to those around them even when the TV cameras are off.

Finally, Eric R. Ivie wrote a piece on Yahoo! called “What Indianapolis Hosting Super Bowl XLVI Means to a Hoosier: Local Fan Perspective” detailing many different ways that hosting the game is bringing economic stimulus and providing opportunities for good works in the city.

He notes how preparing for the big event has led to improvements in Indianapolis’s infrastructure. Nearly 3000 trees have been planted in the city (surpassing the goal of 2,012) that will beautify and benefit a wide variety of neighborhoods for years. In addition, special charitable efforts have been set up, such as the Indy Super Bowl Cure project, for which 700 generous women will donate breast tissue to assist efforts in fighting the disease, and Super Bowl Baskets of Hope, which will send out 7000 baskets of goodies to sick children in all 32 NFL cities. The story I’ve linked here about those baskets tells about a young man in our own community who benefited from this generous effort.

• • •

There are many, many other good works taking place around us in the light of this event coming to our city. I hope you will read these articles and rejoice that, along with all the hype and hysteria that accompany football’s grand championship, there are people on the streets, in the neighborhoods, in congregations, and in special organizations who are using the opportunity to love their neighbors and provide a bit of renewal and hope in this sad world.

A good number of these works are “seeds” that followers of Jesus are planting in faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit. The full harvest will only be seen and enjoyed when Jesus brings the Kingdom at the end of ages and all is made new. And each day we pray, “May your kingdom come, may your will be done; as in heaven, so on earth.” (Matt. 6:10, KNT)

the east coast came to the midwest
a championship to seek
my son, who works downtown says
he hasn’t heard an “R” all week

A Letter for the Church Today (4)

2 Corinthians 11 is one of the most important chapters about ministry in the New Testament. In addition, it reveals information about the Apostle Paul — details about his work and sufferings — that is not recorded anywhere else. It is significant for the subject of ministry precisely because of those details and what Paul makes of them.

To briefly review, we are taking a few Sundays to look at 2 Cor 10-13, a section of Scripture in which Paul engages in an all-out effort to protect and save the church at Corinth from a group of intruders: “ministers” who have come to town and are threatening to tear down all that Paul built.

This message to the Corinthians contains one of the most personal and impassioned messages of pastoral concern in the NT. What is at stake? The very life and faith of the church.

I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (11:2-3 NRSV)

The situation has put Paul in a dilemma. The “super-apostles” who were winning over the Corinthians were high-powered and impressive. They “boasted” of their credentials, their polished presentations, their spiritual power, and their effectiveness in drawing crowds. When the church pointed to Paul as their spiritual mentor, these interlopers did all they could to tear him down in their eyes. Paul was put in a difficult situation. He didn’t believe that apostles were the sort of people who should commend themselves and advertise their accomplishments in order to impress others. But if he simply let his opponents ruin his reputation, the congregation would surely be led astray. 2 Cor 10-13 is his “defense,” his “boast” that answers the self-exalting rhetoric of those smearing him.

• In 10:1-6, he introduced this defense by saying, “We use different tools” than those who are trying to remake you in their image. As Christ’s apostles, we no longer conduct ourselves “according to the flesh” — the ways of the world system are not the ways by which we operate any longer. Instead, it is “the meekness and gentleness of Christ” that guides us.

• In 10:7-18, Paul asserts, “We are not out to make a name for ourselves.” He refuses to play a game of “spiritual one-upmanship” and focuses their attention back on the fundamental calling of a true apostle and the specific vocation God gave him.

Today, we come to chapter 11, where Paul begins his actual boast, undercutting all the so-called “credentials” on which his opponents were relying.

1. We may not be the most eloquent speakers, but we will be real pastors who give you the real Jesus (11:1-6)

I wish you could put up with a little of my foolishness—please try! My jealousy over you is the right sort of jealousy, for in my eyes you are like a fresh unspoiled girl who I am presenting as fiancee to your true husband, Christ himself. I am afraid that your minds may be seduced from a single-hearted devotion to him by the same subtle means that the serpent used towards Eve. For apparently you cheerfully accept a man who comes to you preaching a different Jesus from the one we told you about, and you readily receive a spirit and a Gospel quite different from the ones you originally accepted. Yet I cannot believe I am in the least inferior to these extra-special messengers of yours. Perhaps I am not a polished speaker, but I do know what I am talking about, and both what I am and what I say is pretty familiar to you. (2Cor 11:1-6, Phillips)

We live in a day when appearances mean more than ever. “Image is everything” the commercials tell us. In contrast, the true Christian minister is much more concerned to make sure that both “what I am and what I say” (v. 6) is centered in Christ. The ministry is not about impressive presentations but authentic relationships. It is not about enabling people to float from one ecstatic experience to another in search of new spiritual highs. It’s about helping people stay grounded in the love of Christ and in a healthy one-another lifestyle.

The Corinthians were so easily led astray that they would “cheerfully accept a man who [came to them] preaching a different Jesus from the one [Paul] told [them] about, and [they] readily receive a spirit and a Gospel quite different from the ones [they] originally accepted” if he could impress them with his speaking skills and promises. To counter that, Paul appeals to the relationship that had been established among them and the Jesus that had saved them through that relationship.

2. We may not command high fees, but we will show you genuine concern (11:7-15)

Perhaps I made a mistake in cheapening myself (though I did it to help you) by preaching the Gospel without a fee? As a matter of fact I was only able to do this by “robbing” other churches, for it was what they paid me that made it possible to minister to you free of charge. Even when I was with you and very hard up, I did not bother any of you. It was the brothers who came from Macedonia who brought me all that I needed. Yes, I kept myself from being a burden to you then, and so I intend to do in the future. By the truth of Christ within me, no one shall stop my being proud of this independence through all Achaia!

Does this mean that I do not love you? God knows it doesn’t, but I am determined to maintain this boast, so as to cut the ground from under the feet of those who profess to be God’s messengers on the same terms as I am. God’s messengers? They are counterfeits of the real thing, dishonest practitioners, “God’s messengers” only by their own appointment. Nor do their tactics surprise me when I consider how Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is only to be expected that his agents shall have the appearance of ministers of righteousness—but they will get their deserts one day.

In Paul’s day, the culture honored those who could command high fees for their persuasive speaking talents. (Wait, that sounds like our culture.) Though we don’t know the details, this was apparently a big emphasis in Corinth, so Paul made a decision not to seek ANY support from the Corinthians while he was among them. When his opponents came to town, they seized on this and cast doubt on his skill.

Paul’s answer to their charges contains his strongest and most passionate recorded words. He points first to the practice of his apostolic team: humbly serving, supporting themselves, working hard, getting support from others so as not to burden his Corinthian friends. He contrasts the showy spectacle of the opponents who swooped in as “angels of light,” wowing their audiences before fleecing them. He pointedly charges that this links the “super-apostles” with Satan, not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He suggests they will get their true wages from Another in the future.

3. We don’t have a list of accomplishments to boast about, but we will boast about our weaknesses (11:16-33)

One form of rhetoric common in the Greco-Roman world was the encomium, essentially a resume or “brag sheet” that listed one’s accomplishments. In his book on 2 Corinthians 10-13, D.A. Carson mentions as an example the Res Gestae Divi Augustae (The Deeds of the Divine Augustus), a eulogy that Caesar Augustus wrote in his own honor that was inscribed on monuments throughout the provinces. It is likely that Paul had read this as well as many other other praise-lists that were common in his culture.

But, as he does so often as a Christian, when using it to instruct the church, Paul turns this form on its head! Check out Paul’s list of “accomplishments” in 2 Cor 11:16-33 –

Since all the others are so proud of themselves, let me do a little boasting as well….

…Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Are they ministers of Christ? I have more claim to this title than they. This is a silly game but look at this list: I have worked harder than any of them. I have served more prison sentences! I have been beaten times without number. I have faced death again and again.

I have been beaten the regulation thirty-nine stripes by the Jews five times.

I have been beaten with rods three times. I have been stoned once. I have been shipwrecked three times. I have been twenty-four hours in the open sea.

In my travels I have been in constant danger from rivers and floods, from bandits, from my own countrymen, and from pagans. I have faced danger in city streets, danger in the desert, danger on the high seas, danger among false Christians. I have known exhaustion, pain, long vigils, hunger and thirst, going without meals, cold and lack of clothing.

Apart from all external trials I have the daily burden of responsibility for all the churches. Do you think anyone is weak without my feeling his weakness? Does anyone have his faith upset without my longing to restore him?

Oh, if I am going to boast, let me boast of the things which have shown up my weakness!

Paul refuses to list his victories, only his failures. He will not focus on his accomplishments, only the embarrassing situations from which God had to deliver him: arrests, prison sentences, beatings. He will not boast in his spiritual power, but in his weaknesses and deprivations, as he dealt with the dangers of travel, exposure, poverty, and opponents. He will not brag about his strong faith and confidence, only the fact that his stomach is constantly tied up in knots as he worries about his brothers and sisters in Christ.

As a final illustration, Paul points to what may have been the most demeaning experience he ever had. It’s captured well in the Phillips NT paraphrase of 2 Cor 11:31-33:

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, he who is blessed for ever, knows that I speak the simple truth. In Damascus, the town governor, acting by King Aretas’ order had men out to arrest me. I escaped by climbing through a window and being let down the wall in a basket. That’s the sort of dignified exit I can boast about.

I’m afraid Paul’s resume wouldn’t get him hired on as a pastor in too many churches today. Credentials? Lacking.