Where Is Our Confidence?

Daily Office Devotional, Monday, May 31, 2021

The Week of Trinity Sunday

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th,D.

Kay phrase for reflection in today’s reading:

17‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ 18For it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (See below.)

Daily Office Lectionary readings

AM Psalm 56, 57, [58]; PM Psalm 64, 65

Deuteronomy 30:1-10; 2 Corinthians 10:1-18; Luke 18:31-43

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Office Epistle, 2 Corinthians 10:1-18

10:1I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards. 3Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; 4for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments 5and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. 6We are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.

7 Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we. 8Now, even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9I do not want to seem as though I am trying to frighten you with my letters. 10For they say, ‘His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.’ 11Let such people understand that what we say by letter when absent, we will also do when present.

12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another, and compare themselves with one another, they do not show good sense. 13We, however, will not boast beyond limits, but will keep within the field that God has assigned to us, to reach out even as far as you. 14For we were not overstepping our limits when we reached you; we were the first to come all the way to you with the good news of Christ. 15We do not boast beyond limits, that is, in the labors of others; but our hope is that, as your faith increases, our sphere of action among you may be greatly enlarged, 16so that we may proclaim the good news in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in someone else’s sphere of action. 17‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ 18For it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends.

David's Reflections

John Powell writes of the importance of vision in these words: "The fact is this: we all need a vision . . . because of the restless insistence of the mind to find answers to its questions and to organize reality into understandable patterns. A vision gives life predictability. My vision serves me as a frame of reference, a source of adjustment to reality. Because of my vision . . . I know how to act." * Paul’s vision of ministry, a vision shaped by the ministries of Jesus and Jeremiah, conflicted with the vision of the adversaries addressed in 2 Corinthians 10-13. Paul found his center in his vision of God’s call to proclaim Christ, which prompted him to resist those whose vision offered less freedom and a skewed understanding of Christ.

In 2 Corinthians we encounter Paul's most passionate and vulnerable letter, in which he is most personally present and autobiographical. Here he fought for the survival of a church he began against the destructive influence of missionaries with a different vision who arrived after his departure. He contended for his beloved community with raw emotion and with biting sarcasm; his arguments evade a shallow reading and easily can be misunderstood.

Today's reading encourages boasting, but boasting in the right things. Paul has been misread here as being egotistical. But, quite the reverse, this theme grows out of the theology of Jeremiah. It informed his attitude toward his ministry and his vision of ministry. Jeremiah's influence indeed can be felt in Paul's ministry, and especially in today's reading. Paul's reference to building up and not tearing down alludes to a metaphor God gave Jeremiah when God calledJeremiah as a prophet (Jeremiah 1). He was called to pluck up and tear down, to build up and to plant. Also, the quotation, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord," comes from Jeremiah 9:24. Paul cites it here and in 1 Corinthians 1:31.

The basic concept behind boasting has to do with worship and trust. Jeremiah called on the wise not to boast of (trust in) their wisdom, or the strong, in their strength, or the rich, in their riches. Rather people should boast only that they had the wisdom to know (have a relationship with) God. Paul labeled the missionaries who were misleading the Corinthians as self-confident, self-trusting people, as people who boasted in themselves and not in God. In this week's readings, he returns to this theme repeatedly.

Perhaps the best commentary on this concept can be found in Philippians 3 where Paul says, "We are the true circumcision, who boast in Jesus Christ and have no confidence in the flesh." He juxtaposes boasting and confidence as identical in meaning. And, here, “flesh,” a multifaceted term in Paul, refers to the realm of human existence and endeavor apart from confidence in God.

What would life look like if we boasted in Jesus Christ and had no confidence in flesh? We might be less focused on money and it's acquisition as a substitute for radical dependence on God's presence to fill our lives. We might be less vulnerable to the advertisements encouraging us to acquire more and more as a hedge against retirement and poverty. We might be less dependent on the acceptance and praise of others, finding our needs for love and acceptance more fully met out of our relationships with Jesus and the Christian community. We might be less given to addiction and distraction to dispel our fears and anxieties, because we would listen to those as signals of areas where boasting in God was lacking. We might be more engaged in prophetic action opposing the powers of this world that corrupt and destroy the creatures of God. (A commitment we made and reaffirm in the baptismal liturgy.) We might be less anxious about the current situation in churches and trust more in the power of the Gospel to draw people toward God.

"Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord." Because of Paul’s vision of ministry, he knew how to act and he could challenge the actions of his adversaries. A clearer vision of our ministry as individual Christians and as communities would shape our actions as well.

* John Powell, Fully Human, Fully Alive (Niles, IL: Argus, 1976), p. 52.

The Collect of the Day, Trinity Sunday

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Visitation.htm

Collect of the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Father in heaven, by whose grace the virgin mother of your incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for the Renewal of Life

O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 99)

Of the Holy Angels

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 251)

A Prayer for Light

Almighty God, we give you thanks for surrounding us, as daylight fades, with the brightness of the vesper light; and we implore you of your great mercy that, as you enfold us with the radiance of this light, so you would shine into our hearts the brightness of your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 110)

A Collect for Mission

O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)