Oh, the Places You'll Go!: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 - Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Storm by Moyan Brenn.  Creative Commons Image on flickr.com

As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.  ²For he says,

            "At an acceptable time I have listened to you,

            and on a day of salvation I have helped you."

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!  ³We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry,  ⁴but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,  ⁵beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;  ⁶by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love,  ⁷truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;  ⁸in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;  ⁹as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see — we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed;  ¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

             ¹¹We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you.  ¹²There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours.  ¹³In return — I speak as to children — open wide your hearts also.

I remember my confirmation day as one of those days that I was so proud to be me.  I’d “fulfilled all righteousness,” so far as the church was concerned: I attended 3 ½ hour classes every Saturday, for two years.  I memorized my verses; I passed the public exam.  It felt like there wasn’t anything in the world I couldn’t do. 

It was like I was living in Dr. Seuss’s famous book Oh, the Places You’ll Go.  With my brains and my smarts, I was on my way up, to soar to great heights and see the great sights—except when I don’t, because sometimes I won’t. 

Far be it for me to compare the Christian journey to a Dr. Seuss book, except that it’s true.  I doubt anyone can ever imagine the places they’ll go with Jesus. 

Take the disciples: we’re only four chapters into Mark—but already, they’ve been to many places and served a lot of people in the region of Galilee.  Now, however, Jesus is loading them onto a boat—at night—which was generally not considered to be a wise decision.  With shoddy boat construction, rudimentary navigation techniques, and nothing to light their way, the disciples were embarking on a journey almost as perilous as going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.  Their worst fears would soon be realized as a great windstorm arises and begins swamping the boat.

Paul’s missionary journeys would prove every bit as perilous.  Beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger.  What’s more is that he was not highly-regarded by the Corinthian church he founded.  For one thing—he scolded the Corinthians in his letters—for their sexually immorality, for fighting with each other, and for giving preferential treatment to the rich and powerful.  On top of that, some so-called “super apostles” had come to town, who were wowing the church with powerful words and miracles.  In sum, Paul reaped very few rewards for all he did in Jesus’ name.

So why did Paul follow Jesus?  Why did the disciples follow Jesus?  And for that matter, why should YOU follow Jesus?

The “super-apostles” of our day would say that with faith, you can satisfy all your heart’s desires.  “Name it and claim it,” they say.  “Have enough faith, be a good enough person, and you’ll move mountains.”  You’ll be successful in all that you do. 

Well, Paul had faith.  So did the disciples.  And Jesus had more faith than any of them.  But Jesus died on a cross.  Most of the apostles would have their lives brutally cut short. 

Yet the heart of the Gospel is that there is a life beyond this one—and, that there’s more to this life than everything we can accomplish and accumulate by our own strength, including fame, fortune, and success…  There’s more to this life than even what we can dream of.

Listen to Paul describe his life in Jesus Christ:

We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;
as unknown, and yet are well known;
as dying, and we are alive!
As punished, and yet not killed;
as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;
as poor, yet making many rich;
as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Because we are baptized into Jesus Christ, he lives in us.  Make no mistake: he’s not a magic genie who makes dreams come true.  And the Christian life is not a magic carpet ride over all the perils and pains of human experience. 

It is, however, a life of dying and rising with Christ.  It’s dying to the life we know and the life we want, to be reborn into the life he desires for you.  It’s facing every day believing that Jesus has places for you to go; people for you to serve; plans for you to be uplifted with saving grace.  When the storms come along and you’re holding on for dear life, Jesus will be there to comfort you and give you his peace.  Jesus is faithful—and he keeps his promises.

I’m reminded of one of our VBS games, where the children were blindfolded and led through a maze by the words of someone else.  That is the Christian journey.  We don’t know the way through this world.  We may think we do, but only Jesus can show us the way to life; a life that’s “out of this world.” That’s why it’s so important to listen and pray; to love all God’s people; to trust and obey.

Faith is the journey that begins today, and only Jesus the Christ can show you away.

There’ll be bang ups and hang ups, it’s sad but it’s true, for sometimes bad things will happen to you. 

Sometimes you’ll feel lonely, with a really good chance, that the things you will meet scare you out of your pants…

There are some down the road between hither and yon

That will scare you so much you won’t want to go on

But on you will go, though the weather is fowl;

On you will go, though your enemies prowl

On you will hike, and you will hike far,

and face up to your problems, whatever they are…

Oh, the places you’ll go, because Jesus is Lord

Though you know not | what he’s taking you toward

So believe him and trust him, and most surely you’ll see

That he’s Lord of your problems and fears, yes indeed. 

Though he will lead you to faces and places unknown,

Always remember | that you’ll never be alone.

On you will go, as a beacon of God’s love

As Jesus gives you life that comes only from above.

Portions of this sermon adapted from:

Seuss, Dr. Oh, the Places You'll Go! New York: Random House, 1990.

Scripture quotation from:

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.