closing thoughts

2 Corinthians 1:12 12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace.

15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand, 16so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man's territory. 17 But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Against the self-absorption that is sometimes seen even in Christian circles today, it is important to focus on things that lie beneath the surface. Paul’s provision of comfort in the first part of 2 Corinthians is not self-serving, but is intended to equip his listeners for service to the church. God comforts us, Paul states, so that we, in turn, can comfort those in any trouble.

Stress and challenges, then, are a training ground for service to the body of Christ. It equips us so that we can better minister to those who, for the sake of the gospel, are going through trials and hardships. In this way we mediate God's encouragement.

Further, the provision in this passage is not deliverance "from" strife, but encouragement in the midst of it. The implication is that if we are serving Christ, we will encounter hardships. This is a given of the Christian life, as it was a given in Christ's life.

What Paul says here is in essence what Jesus taught his disciples-- that all who would come after him must deny self, take up the cross and follow him (Mk 8:34).

Paul's purpose in this section of scripture is not merely to praise God for personal comfort received or to discuss the nature of the gospel ministry. His primary concern is to show the Corinthians that their lives are inescapably intertwined, so that what impacts Paul impacts the Corinthians and what impacts the Corinthians impacts Paul. It is for their benefit, he says, that he encounters trouble. For, if we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort (v. 6). Whatever he experiences, be it suffering or comfort, the Corinthians personally benefit.

And wonderfully, Paul then goes on to state the critical but often overlooked truth: service to the body of Christ results in personal gain rather than personal loss.

Here, on the last day in my “official” capacity at the Rez, I would be utterly remiss if I didn’t steal a moment of your time to comment on my time here, and to point out that – though we in the modern world tend to sometimes be unaware of it – there are indeed churches living out the Word of Christ and you here at the Rez, are among them. This is the way Paul exhorted the Corinthians to live. This is what Christ taught us to be.

We are all intertwined in Christ and in His Church. An intern is only as good as the community that ministers with her; and you, being an extraordinary community, have made this an amazingly fruitful, spiritual and profitable time for me. Its been a time of stress for me – not BAD stress – but stress nonetheless; and as I was placed at the Rez to offer comfort and ministry into your lives, so too have you been moved to extend the same to me.

If I had a dollar for every time I messed up on something, and you as a community responded with “WHATEVER”, I would be a wealthy woman indeed. You have been tolerant and forgiving, open minded and open hearted, unafraid to challenge me, unreservedly supportive of helping me to learn and to grow.

As anyone called to a life of ordained ministry, I will, with God’s help, take what I have learned here out into the broader church, in an effort to show others just how amazing doing church can be. You have let me sit at your feet and be discipled by you, you have invited me into your homes and your lives, you have taught me more in under a year about “the beating heart of Christ” than most people encounter in a lifetime.

Soon you will have a pastoral assistant that I KNOW you will enter into a similar relationship with, to the Glory of God and the betterment of His church – and if there is one thing I would ask of you all, is don’t stop doing what you’re doing. We all hear about it when Church goes wrong. Take a moment to look around you and understand what happens when church goes right.

I am humbled and grateful in my time here, and while I truly believe that "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord" I will admit that I will take a tiny measure of pride wherever I go in saying “I did my placement and my internship at the Rez”, because of what Paul taught us: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace.

Thank you for everything.