From a Rocky Hillside

August 3, 2023August 3, 2023

Three Books about the 70s

The 1970s was a pivotal decade for me. I became a teenager just two and a half weeks into the decade. By the time it ended, I had graduated from high school and college, began a short-lived marriage, and travelled halfway around the world. These three books describe a lot of what happened in the ‘70s. The first one, about baseball, I recently listened to while driving home from Pittsburgh. I wouldn’t become a fan of Pittsburgh until well into the 1980s, when I moved there to attend school. The other two books I read and wrote the reviews in 2008 and 2014 and are republishing them here.

Dan Epstein, Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ‘70s

Book cover for "Big Hair and Plastic Grass"

(2010, 2019 Blackstone Audible, read by the author), 12 hours and 54 minutes.

There were lots of crazy things going on in the 70s and this included baseball. Throughout the 60s, baseball remained conservative. As hair grew longer, ball players stayed clean cut with no facial hair. Drugs were shunned. Politics avoided. Oddly, which I didn’t know, the Detroit Tigers played a game while riots were burning much of the city just blocks from the ballpark. In the 70s, baseball caught up with society. I began listening to this book in my drive back from Pittsburgh the other week. It was a good book to listen to, as I had just watched the Pirates drop two games. In the 70s, the Pirates were often in contention, and they bookended the decade with World Series wins (1971 and 1979).

This book is probably not for everyone. The chapters deal with each season during the 70s, with chapters intersperse that deal with multi-year issues such as players hair, artificial grass, tight-fitting polyester uniforms, mascots, and promos that included cheap beer, wet t-shirts contests, and anti-disco events. It was a decade that saw a new dynasty rise and fall in Oakland. They will forever be remembered as the “mustache gang.” as they broke new barriers with facial hair. And then there were the Cincinnati Reds, who also set records with Pete Rose and Johnny Bench.

Baseball and Culture in the 70s

The 70s was a decade that saw many of the greats from the 50s and 60s retire as well as many long-term records broken such as Henry Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s homerun totals. While it was a decade that seemed to overcome many racial issues of the sport with the Pirates at one point having all nine players being of color. But there were still racial issues, especially as older ballplayers were looked over for coaching positions. It was the decade that saw George Steinberger enter the game as he purchased the New York Yankees. It also saw new teams emerge, including the first teams outside the United States as franchises began in Toronto and Montreal. And it was the decade in which players began to have more control over their livelihood and able to negotiate for better salaries and working conditions.

For one with roots in the 70s, there are a lot of good stories that I had vague memories of, and others that I didn’t know, but enjoyed listening to them being told. While I remember Roberto Clemente, it was nice to be reminded of his incredible 1971 World Series (he would die in a plane crash three months later while on a rescue mission for those suffering from an earthquake in Nicaragua). By the late 70s, I was no longer keeping up with baseball (I’d start again during the 80s), but it was nice to learn about Willie Stargell’s bringing together the Pirates for their last World Series in 1979, with “We Are Family” playing in the background.

Statistics

Of course, because this is book about baseball, you have statistics. Every chapter, and most paragraphs, contain numbers. My ears began to gloss over them (or would have glossed over them if I had read the book instead of listening to it). Hits, home runs, stolen bases, earned run averages, wins and loss, the numbers just kept coming and became a bit of a distraction. After a certain point, the numbers began to run together. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and the walk down memory lane. While I always admired Clemente, I came to also appreciate Willie Stargell for more than the stars placed in the upper deck of the old Three Rivers Stadium, where he’d launched homeruns.

My recommendation

Throughout the years of the 70s, there were many funny stories that today almost seem unbelievable. Such as 10 cent beer (what would go wrong with that?). Or a wet t-shirt contest in Atlanta. And then there was Doc Ellis pitching for the Pirates. In 1971, he threw what will probably be the only no-hitter ever pitched while high on LDS. And finally, at the end of the decade, a promo offered a discount for turning in a disco record at the turnstile. Late in the game, the vinyls were blown up which destroyed part of the field and led to an inside the park riot. Baseball, which had become respectful in the middle of the century, was a different game in the ‘70s.

A quote about Stargell

QUOTE ON THE 1979 WORLD SERIES: Stargell insisted on giving full credit to his teammates, but his teammates gave it all back to him. “He taught us how to take what comes and then come back,” Dave Parker said. “He taught us how to strike out and walk away calmly, lay the bad down gently, then get up the next time and hit a home run. From him we learned not to get too high on the good days or too low on the bad days, because there are plenty of both in this game…”

Edward D. Berkowitz, Something Happened: A Political and Cultural Overview of the Seventies

(New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 283 pages.

For Berkowitz, the 70s as an era ran from 1973 to Reagan’s inauguration in 1981. He cites ’73 as a beginning because so many things that helped define the era occurred that year: the end of American involvement in Vietnam, an Oil Embargo, and the crisis of a president that included the resignation of the Vice President (Nixon would resign a year later).

Berkowitz does a great job of describing the 70s. He reminded me of all the twist and turns we had in those turbulent years. We had a president who, by visiting China, changed the history of the world. I don’t think I realized how close we were to National Health Insurance in the early 70s. Sadly, this idea that died with Watergate and the economic downturn in ’74. And then we had a whole series of scandals. While it may have started Nixon and Agnew, they weren’t nearly as colorful as Wilbur Mills and his strippers.

From optimism to pessimism

The sixties were an optimistic decade; the seventies were pessimistic. In the 70s, according to Bruce Schulman, America was “made over.” Our “economic outlook, political ideology, cultural assumption and fundamental arrangements changed.” It was an era of declining productivity and extreme inflation. It was the era when much of the United States industrial strength started to slip and countries like Japan made great strides in their own productivity.

politics in the 70s

Politically, Berkowitz divides the seventies into political eras: the fall of Nixon, the Ford years, and the Carter years. Reading the book, I felt sorry for Carter. he inherited many problems. Berkowitz also points out Carter’s attempts at transparency made it harder for him to get things through Congress. Furthermore, Congress had new powers inherited from a weakened executive branch following Watergate. Carter was also the first post-World War II president not to have a period of economic growth. Then, just when it seemed his luck couldn’t get any worst, it did. His administration ended with Three Mile Island and the Iranian hostage crisis. Berkowitz notes that the problems Carter inherited and faced may have been beyond any politician ability to handle, but that Carter’s moralizing issues didn’t help and probably only made things worst.

According to Berkowitz (and others like Thomas Wolfe, whom he likes to quote), the 70s was the decade that everyone else began to demand rights. Women’s rights were at the forefront. 1970 saw the release of a new brand of cigarettes that focused on women. Virginia Slims came packaged with the logo, “You’ve come a long way, baby.” Much of the decade was also spent arguing over the ERA amendment. I hadn’t realized that the ERA passed Congress with the support not only of the left, but with right-winged senators like Strom Thurmond and Barry Goldwater. Berkowitz goes into detail on reasons why it failed. One reason was the economic downturn, which made people afraid of change. The other two major reasons were the political savvy of those against it, and the ERA debate framed around the abortion issue that moved to the forefront at the end of the decade.

Demanding of “rights”

In addition to women’s right, the 70s saw the rise of the gay movement, disability rights and rights of immigrants. In many ways, all the new groups demanding their rights paralleled a shift from the Civil Rights era, which spoke of doing what was good for all America, to a focus on more individual concerns. The 70s is seen as the “ME” decade, which helps explain the rise of Reagan in the 80s.

Growing up in the South in the 70s, I was shocked that Berkowitz discussed the integration of Boston’s public schools and spent little time talking about the integration of the schools in the elsewhere. Interestingly, the ruling which started busing wasn’t in Boston but in North Carolina (Swan vs Charlotte Mecklenburg, 1971). Three years later, this ruling was applied in Boston. As a Southerner who’s lived much of his adult life up north, I am still shocked at how segregated schools remain in th north. It seems strange that in upscale neighborhoods around northern cities, one can still find school districts that are mostly white.

Cultural changes

Berkowitz does a better job on describing the political changes in the s70s than the culture changes. Culturally, he explores only movies and TV in depth. Although he acknowledges significant authors like John Updike, he does not explore the role they played in defining an era. In movies, he focuses mostly on “blockbusters,” a new way of marketing movies in an era that was seeing declines at the theater. As for TV, the 70s were the golden years as they didn’t have competition from cable and other forms of media. He discusses not only sitcoms, but also news programs and sports.

Outside of a few brief mentions, Berkowitz does not discuss the role of music. Maybe it was because I spent most of the decade as a teenager, that I think that music defined the era. It was the era when “album stations” bucked the top-40 trend and migrated to FM. There, the airways were filled with the likes Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan and southern rock. The last years of the decade was also, sad to say, the era of disco.

My recommendation

I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it; I just wished Berkowitz had gone further. He does a wonderful job discussing American politics. One final criticism, he overlooks lots of major world changes that were occurring, especially in Africa. Maybe the book should have been called a political history of the 70s in America

Bruce J. Schulman, The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics

(Free Press, 2001), 352 pages.

I have a confession to make. I may need to do some serious penance. Reading this book, I realize in the 70s, I might have been a chauvinistic, misogynistic, homophobic racist. At the time, I just thought I hated disco and liked rock-n-roll. Mr. Shulman points to the errors in my thinking, suggesting those of us who shunned disco were guilty of a host of society’s evil (73-75). Or maybe I should revert to my redneck anti-elite ways and ask, “What do you expect from a professor in tweed from the Northeast?” Sadly, this makes me sound like Richard Nixon who hated the Northeast elite (24). Bruce Shulman, a disco loving Yankee, teaches at Boston University.

Despite what I said in my opening comment, I mostly enjoyed this book. I disagree with Shulman’s comments on disco and on how he looked disdainfully on the South. But if you can overlook his biases, he provides a good cultural and political history to the decade.

The 70s is often seen as a lost decade, squeezed between the optimistic 60s and the opportunistic 80s. Interestingly, as Shulman recalls, the 60s began with the Kennedy Camelot and ended with the widowed queen of Camelot (Jackie) marrying a rich Greek tycoon, twice her age (4). Shulman strives to interpret several wide cultural shifts occurring between 1969 and 1984. In this work, he explores music, books, television, movies, economics, and politics.

changes in the 70s

Several things happened during this decade. America lost a broad cultural consensus as the era of special interest groups gained prominence. Many of these groups were based on ethnic heritage. There a continual interest in African American culture held over from the 60s (the mini-series “Roots” premiered in the decade). Interest also included Hispanics, Italians, and Irish. The 70s also saw the rise of women’s interests with the ERA. As America began to gray, the elderly became a political force. Tip O’Neil, the Speaker of the House, was first referred to Social Security as the third rail in American politics. You touch it and die. Following up on the Stonewall Riots in the late ’60s, gay rights also gained ground.

In addition, there were shifts in regions. Shulman refers to the decade as the “Southernization of America” (256). Three were also religious shifts. Although religion became more important, it also became more personal and less able to lift a common vision for society. There were also changes in the American economy. The era gave rise to the “rustbelt” as factories in the northern part of the country closed. The inflation of the late 70s caused Americans to use more credit (why put off buying when it will cost more tomorrow).

Economic changes and the rise of the conservative movement

Also, due to regulation changes, Americans began to look at savings differently. Investing become more important than savings. Inflation ate up savings. And finally, the era saw the end of the old liberalism in American politics. No longer was the government seen as a force for the good with an obligation to help those unable to help themselves. Now, voices bemoaned any government involvement. Shulman discusses the tie between government involvement and civil rights in the 60s and how it took the decade for a new conservative collation to rise out of the old. Racial prejudices slid into the background as new conservatives found other issues to excite their causes.

my recommandation

Although I took offense at Shulman’s comments on those who disliked disco (as evident by my sarcasm), there is a lot to ponder on the role changes in religion, region, and race made to America during the decade. However, the nature of this book requires a certain amount of subjectivism, and one could draw different conclusions. That said, this is a good book for a trip down memory lane.

author paddling a canoe on the Black River in Eastern North Carolina in 1975 — That’s me in 1975, paddling the Black River (photo by Donald McKenzie)

July 30, 2023July 30, 2023

Doing what is right, because it is right

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Presbyterian Churches
July 30, 2023
2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Friday, July 28, 2023

At the beginning of worship:

Does the end ever justify the means? It’s an ethical problem that can be improperly applied to the Christian life. If we believe the purpose of the gospel is to save people from burning in hell, we might assume whatever we do, including coercion, is acceptable. After all, who wouldn’t want to keep people from experiencing such a horrendous fate.^[1]

But such an assumption is wrong. First, the gospel is about the glory of God. Jesus never told anyone to believe in him order to avoid hell. In fact, when Jesus discussed hell, he tended to address the self-righteous and hypocritical religious leaders, not unbelievers. Second, while God has called us to be messengers of the good news, we must understand God is in control. Not us. We live out the gospel trying to glorify God in our lives. That’s what we’re to be about, the glory of God. So, we must be careful of compromising our morals to achieve some goal we make up for ourselves. We must be honest in all our dealings, as Paul outlines in the text we’ll deal with this morning.

Before the reading of the Scripture:

Three Sundays ago, preaching from the third chapter of Second Corinthians which is essentially about election. We saw how Paul contrasted his ministry with that of Moses. The law given to Moses has condemned humanity. But in Jesus Christ, God offers us a new covenant, one based on grace, the covenant Paul proclaims to the gentiles.^[2] In our reading today, Paul continues to refute those who have discredited him, reminding the Corinthians of the purpose behind his ministry, one to which he’s been called by God.

Read 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Playing Good Samaritan

One hot summer day when I was working for the Boy Scouts in eastern North Carolina, I was driving between Chadbourn and Fair Bluff. I had a lunch meeting with some Scout leaders there. On the way, I came upon a large snapping turtle sitting in the middle of Highway 76. Obviously traumatized, the turtle snapped at passing cars and trucks. Soon, if it didn’t get off that hot asphalt, it would be flattened or cooked. This turtle was a big boy, 3 feet long and two feet wide.

Thinking I’d be the Good Samaritan, I pulled over. When there was a break in traffic, I walked up to the back end of the turtle. The turtle retreated inside his shell. Then I began to push. You’d think the turtle would appreciate my efforts, wouldn’t you? But no. As I pushed, suddenly his head lunged out and behind, snapping within inches of my arm. I had no idea he had that long of neck and began rethinking my good deed. His bite would have done some serious damage to my arm.

About this time, a man in a pickup stopped and out of the bed of the truck pulled out a long 2×6. We each took an end and dragged the turtle safety off the highway. The huge brute quickly made his way down into the ditch and disappeared.

Punished for doing Good

Have you ever done something good for someone only to be snapped at? Of course, the turtle snapping at my arm didn’t know any better. But when we try to help others and they turn on us, it’s painful. This is especially true for people, who, unlike the turtle, should know better. But such an experience is common in ministry.^[3]

A congregation financially helps a parishioner going through tough times and afterwards he or she finds another church and criticize their former home. I’ve seen that happen many times. But just because it happens, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help. It’s the risk we take.

Or you go out of your way stand by someone in their troubles, being present with them in court and visiting them in prison, only to have them accuse you of being indifferent and spread lies about you. Again, it happened, but it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have attempted to help or be a presence in their troubles.

Ministry is about God, not us

Anyone who has been in ministry for any time will have a basket full of such stories to share. It’s enough to make me wonder why we even bother. Of course, the answer is that I, and others in the Christian life, aren’t in it for ourselves. The ministry of the church is not about us. It’s about God, the God who showed us mercy, and who called us into ministry. Therefore, as Paul says, “we do not lose heart.” And let me add, we do what we can and trust God to take care of the rest.

Paul’s Troubles

You know, Paul also had his problems. As I’ve said many times in the sermons on this letter, we only hear one side of the story. We hear Paul’s response, but if read carefully, you get the sense Paul suffers from how others have responded to him in Corinth. Perhaps they charged him with being unhanded or falsifying God’s word as he pointed to Jesus and not to the Law. Or maybe they deceived people by twisting the gospel, and then pointed to Paul as the one in the wrong. But Paul is unfazed. He is not working for the praise of people, but for the glory of God.

3 couplets

Our passage can be divided into three couplets. The first, verses 1 and 2, I just covered. The second, verses 3 and 4, Paul reflects on what he said in the previous chapter where he spoke about Moses’ veil. Now the veil is over those who have been blinded by the god (with a small g) of the world. This is Satan, the one in opposition to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Satan doesn’t want us to see the glory of Christ.

But just because he faces opposition, Paul doesn’t give up. He believes in his message. Jesus Christ, raised from the death, is establishing his dominion over all things. In the end, God will work things out for his glory.^[4] Until then, Paul will continue to do his job of spreading the message.

In the third couplet, that begins in verse 5, Paul returns to theme that it’s not about Paul, but about Jesus Christ. Paul, by the charges leveled against him, has been forced to defend himself. To do this, he had to talk about himself. But that’s not his message. As one commentor wrote, “Paul again affirms the essence of the gospel: Jesus Christ is Lord.”^[5]

Paul was saved by God’s mercy as shown in Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, Paul finds himself in ministry. Because of this, it’s not about Paul, but about the God who brings light into the world through Jesus. Paul may not always be successful in what he does, but he doesn’t give up. He keeps his eyes on Jesus and doesn’t lose heart.

the Christian Life is not about winning

We, too, are called to live in such a manner. It’s not about winning, for Christ has already won the battle. Through the cross and resurrection, Jesus overcome death and evil. Instead, we’re called to be faithful. The end is not in our hands. God has it under control. We’re to be honest and loving as we trust in God. In living in this manner, we live out the gospel.

Yes, it’s easy to become discouraged when we are disappointed. But think about how disappointed God can become with us. We abandon God and look to ourselves and others for our salvation. Yet, God doesn’t give up on us and we shouldn’t give up on others. Amen.

^[1] For more discussion on this topic, see Leslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralistic Culture (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989), 173.

^[2] See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2023/07/09/6666/

^[3] See Ernest Best, Second Corinthians: Interpretations, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1987), 37. He writes: “Nothing disheartens us more than the accusations of those we set out to help.”

^[4] Romans 8:28-29

^[5] Best, 38-39.

July 27, 2023July 28, 2023

Returning to Pittsburgh

In front of the seminary, looking toward East Liberty Presbyterian Church

Have you noticed that I’ve been absent the past two weeks?

I’ve walked North Highland Avenue many times, but it’s been over 3 decades since I last made this trek. I pass the old homes lining the avenue, which have changed little since the 80s. At the corner of Bryant, I stop at Tazza D’Oro, a coffee shop, for breakfast. This wasn’t here before. The cafeteria at the seminary, where I am staying, is closed during the summer. Coffee and a breakfast sandwich cost me $16. Spending a few minutes reading Karl Barth while eating. I notice the crowd seems different. The people are much younger than those I remember being around these parts. No do I remember having such a meager breakfast at such a price.

The coffee shop is just around the corner from Dinos, a dive bar I frequented. In 1986, I could get a 12-ounce glass of IC Light (pronounced Icy Light in Pittsburghese). Their top shelf liquors were only $2, but sadly the establishment closed after the death of the bartender in 1989. Today, the storefront host the Kyoto Restaurant, an upscale looking Japanese establishment which won’t open until much later in the day.

I continue walking north on Euclid Avenue, passing the ironic Azimuth Way, as I head toward Highland Park. The entrance is neat and clean with flowers blooming in the beds surrounding foundations. In the grass to the side, a yoga class is being held. I climb the steps leading to the walkway around the reservoir, a walk I took hundreds of time before. With a fast clip, I walk around the reservoir as I am meeting friends for lunch and need to shower as I have worked up a sweat thanks to the humidity. I head back to the seminary, having walked a little over 3 miles.

After cleaning up, I drive the same route I just walked, and then work my way around the park and zoo to the Highland Park Bridge, where I cross the Allegheny River. The bridge is being worked on, which isn’t anything new. When my parents first visited me in Pittsburgh, the bridge had holes in which you could look down into the river. I took my parents over the bridge to Aspinwall for dinner and my mother insisted we not drive back across that bridge again. She also ordered me not to drive across it, which became a mute request for soon they’d closed the bridge in order to rebuild it.

I’m meeting for lunch two of my professors (Charles Partee and Don Gowan) and the former seminary’s Director of Placement, Jean Henderson. The three of them, who have all lost their spouses and are in their 80s and 90s, live in a large continuing care facility in Cranberry Township.

After lunch, I return to the seminary and in the late afternoon take a walk south of the Seminary, around East Liberty (pronounced s’berty in Pittsburghese). Back in the 80s, I used to occasionally help feed the homeless men at the shelter housed by the East Liberty Presbyterian Church. It was eye opening, as many of the men would come in and pour hydroperoxide on the needle marks on their arms to keep them from becoming infected. I seldom walked this direction by myself at night, and when I did, I left my wallet in my apartment and only took a few dollars as it wasn’t uncommon for someone to be mugged.

Today, East Liberty is undergoing renovation. The high-rise low-income apartments have been torn down and replaced by more appealing apartment-like buildings. The old Sears and the buildings around it have been razed and a new Home Depot now sits in the area. The old Giant Eagle, a grocery store, is now a Senior Center. I wonder where the young men who used to hang out around the pay phone, waiting to receive a call for a lift. While this was frowned on, especially by the taxi companies, in the age before cell phones and Uber, it was efficient and met a need within the community. I’m not sure what other services beyond transportation they supplied, but they hustled.

There’s a lot of work being done on the roads around East Liberty. I walk pass Eastminster and East Liberty Presbyterian. Both are grand churches. Eastminster has wonderful Tiffany windows, while East Liberty is the closest thing we Presbyterians have to a cathedral. There was an older church at the site that was torn down so this one could be rebuilt. It was funded by Richard Mellon, from the prominent Mellon family of Pittsburgh, who in addition to working at the family bank with his brother Andrew, headed Alcoa and was involved in other business in the region. His hope was to create jobs during the Depression, and he has left an amazing structure. Inside, he and his wife’s remains are parked in a small prayer chapel off the main nave. As the sanctuary is massive, the seminary uses it for graduation. I continue to walk South, across the sunken railroad tracks and the bus way which allows buses to take you downtown without traffic in minutes. Then I cross over into the Shadyside neighborhood. Only a few things seem familiar.

For dinner, I drive back across the Allegheny River, looking for another favorite dive bar where, in the 80s, one could get a plate of eight whole chicken wings (not the cut up kind) for three bucks. They were so hot that you also ate the celery with ranch dressing along with several beers to down it all. It’s not there and I end up eating at a new Thai Restaurant at Waterworks. I’m back in my room at the seminary before dark and spend the rest of the evening preparing for the week’s seminar.

The next morning, I head out to an old Eat’n Park in Etna, where I often ate breakfast on Sunday mornings as I north headed to Butler and the church where I worked at from 1986 to 1988. I’m sure most of the waitresses weren’t even born when I lived here. I found myself wondering what ever happened to Lydia, one of the regular waitresses in the 80s.

Then I head downtown. I’m meeting two former classmates at the Willie Stargel statue by the ballpark on the north side. Back in the day, I would walk across the Roberto Clemente Bridge, the first of the “Three Sisters” (identical yellow bridges that cross the Allegheny). As the Clemente Bridge is closed for reconstruction, I take an option that wasn’t available in the 80s. The subway has now been extended to the Northside. It travels under the Allegheny River and drops you off right beside the stadium. Of course, the stadium is also new and is much nicer than the old Three River Colosseum, where I saw many Pirate and a few Steeler games.

We meet at 11:30, buy tickets for seats up above the third base line. It’s a beautiful day, a little warm, but not terrible. The game is competitive and at the end of nine is tied. We go into an extra inning, but the Giants blow out the Pirates in the 10^th. Afterwards, we plan to go to dinner with another classmate (who had to preach this morning and was unable to make the game). We meet at Bakery Square, which is near the seminary. In the 1980s, it was a large Nabisco Bakery, but today consists of restaurants, offices, apartment flats, and a fitness center. I would eat here three more times over the next four days, as I meet with a theology group from Monday through Thursday.

Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. This is a magnificent ballpark!

By the end of my second full day in Pittsburgh, I realize that most everything I knew about the city has changed, except for the work on the Highland Park Bridge and the Pirates losing. Our group would also go to a night game at PNC Park. The Pirates lost again, this time to the Cleveland Guardians.

July 9, 2023July 9, 2023

God Opens the Door through a New Covenant

Title slide showing a picture of a chicory in bloom

Jeff Garrison
Bluemont and Mayberry Churches
July 9, 2023
2 Corinthians 3

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Thursday, July 6, 2023

At the beginning of worship:

We don’t like to talk about election, do we? When I say thist, many of you agree. We’re tired of our nation’s election cycles. Right? They seem to go on continually, no breaks. But as important as our elections are, I’m talking about the other kind of election. This is the only one that matters for eternity. God voting for us!

I’ve been rereading Lesslie Newbigin’s book, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. It’s been in preparation for a presentation next week in Pittsburgh at a Foundation for Reformed Theology seminar group of which I’m a part. After spending forty years as a missionary in India, Newbegin came back to the United Kingdom where he critiqued the western church. Near the middle of book, steeped in theology and philosophy, he writes about election. Let me quote a short piece:

The doctrine of election is central to any true exposition of the Bible. From the very beginning God chooses, calls, and sends particular people. God is always the initiator. The words of Jesus to his disciples, “You did not choose me; I chose you,” are in line with everything in the Bible from beginning to end.^[1]

We can’t forget that God is in charge. And because of God’s love for the world, we should rejoice, be at peace, and do what we can to aid God’s mission in the world.

Before the reading of Scripture:

I chose our Old Testament readings this morning because Paul essentially uses both in his reflections from the third chapter of Second Corinthians.^[2] Paul uses the Jeremiah prophecy of God writing his law in our hearts in the first half of this chapter. Then Paul reflects on Moses coming off the mountain, establishing the Old Covenant. Paul may have used one of his old synagogue sermons in this part of the letter, some suggests. ^[3] Of course, Paul flips its meaning to emphasize the New Covenant.

Here, as in other places, Paul is clear about the two covenants, the covenant of the law which leads to death (because we can’t keep the law), and the covenant of grace, the new covenant, established in the ministry of Jesus Christ, which offers us life.

Paul continues along the same personal theme as we heard last week.^[4] Some in Corinth appear unhappy with Paul. They question Paul’s credentials. Paul defends himself, but mostly deflects such attacks by pointing out that he’s doing God’s work. God, through Christ, has instituted a new covenant of grace.

Read 2 Corinthians 3

A 22-year-old in Japan

When I was a senior in college, my parents along with my younger brother moved to Japan. Unable to attend my graduation, they gave me a trip to Japan. This was my first time out of the country. I spent nearly 3 weeks in the land of the rising sun. While most of the time I stayed with my parents, I took a trip without them to the historic and beautiful city of Kyoto. A neighbor of my parents, Mr. Nakamora, who owned several travel agencies, arranged the trip.

I was excited. It was a chance to ride the Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train, which covered the 300 miles in less than 3 hours and that included a few stops. I also got to see one of the few cities not destroyed during the war. Kyoto is an ancient capital city, so there were lots of interesting temples and palaces to explore.

I packed light and when I arrived, made my way from the station to the Hotel Kyoto, where I checked in for the night. I was surprised to find a letter waiting for me at the desk. Who knew I was even going to be in Kyoto. I opened the letter. It was from the hotel manager, welcoming me to his city and expressing disappointment that he was away on business, but hoped we could meet when he returned. That’s nice, I thought and didn’t think anything more about it. I assumed all guests received such a note.

A letter of recommendation

The next day, I left the hotel early and came back after dinner. There’s a lot to see. When I stepped into the lobby, one of the receptionists ran over and handed me another note. It, too, was from the manager, inviting me to dinner. Of course, it was well after dinner. I now realized this wasn’t normal, I was being singled out.

The attendant called the manager. We arranged to meet the next morning at breakfast. This was something that never happened to me in the States. We had a pleasant breakfast. He was very curious as to what I thought of the hotel, which was probably the nicest hotel I’d stayed in up to this point in my life. And afterwards he insisted on hiring a cab for me. My plan was to see the Kyoto Castle, before taking the train back to my parents, and it was only a mile walk. But at his insistence, I rode in a cab.

Was this the treatment every 22-year-old American received in Kyoto? Not hardly. The reason the manager of this large hotel reached out to me was because my parent’s neighbor. Mr. Nakamara, who was in the travel business, had sent him a note introducing me and encouraging him to reach out.

Opening doors

A letter of recommendation can open doors (or in my case, buy a breakfast and cab ride). Paul knows the importance of recommendations. Obviously, there were some in Corinth who wondered about Paul. He was not above claiming his credentials,^[5] but not to the Corinthians. After all, they know him. They have seen his work and its fruit. He shouldn’t need a recommendation.

You know, a letter of recommendation will open doors. But that’s it. It’s kind of like a diploma. It might get you a job, but then you must prove yourself. In Paul’s case, he doesn’t need to be introduced to the Corinthian congregation. They know him. They have seen his work. He introduced them to Jesus. They are qualified enough that they could write Paul a letter of recommendation. In Paul’s eyes, such paper isn’t important. What’s important, is what’s in our hearts and the fruits of our labor.

A one-sided conversatio

As I’ve mentioned throughout my sermons on this epistle, we only hear one side of a conversation. This letter is one of several Paul sent to the Corinthians. These letters were often in response to the news Paul received about what was going on in the city. Perhaps Paul’s detractors in Corinth had recommendations which caused Paul to bring this up. So, Paul appeals to the work he’s already done with the Corinthians.

Whose work is it?

Notice, it’s not really Paul’s work, but the work God has done through him. In fact, Paul’s credentials ultimately come from God who freely reached out and chose him for his mission. It wasn’t Paul’s idea to become a missionary. He’d had a much easier life if he had settled down and sewed tents for herders and awnings for storefronts. But God has other ideas for his life.

God’s letter written on our hearts

In this opening part of the chapter, Paul draws on the Prophet Jeremiah, who speaks of the day when instead of God writing laws on a tablet, God will write his word in our hearts. Essentially, Paul says this prophecy has been fulfilled. A new covenant has been established by God that continues beyond the covenant with the Jews. This covenant is with the entire human race. Paul is one of the main missionaries, spreading the good news to the gentiles.

The two covenants

The second half of our reading contrasts the new covenant with the old. The covenant God established with Moses on Sinai, is one of death. We, as a race of people, are unable to keep the terms of the covenant. As Paul explains, our hearts are hardened. While Paul is proud of his Jewish heritage, he also understands the limitations of the law. “All have sinned,” Paul tells the Romans.^[6] The old covenant required a veil to hide the glory that quickly faded, but that veil was removed by Jesus who allows us to see the face of God.^[7] And we, as Paul says in verse 18, are to be transformed by the Spirit into that glory.

The work of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

In this chapter, Paul gives us an understanding into God’s work which began in Jesus and continues with the work of the Spirit in us. Paul, as an ambassador for Jesus to the gentiles, has nothing of which to be ashamed. He’s doing the work for which he’s been called.

While it is nice to have a letter of recommendation, Paul knows what’s important isn’t what others think of us, but God knowing us. If God knows you, that’s all that matters. And in this new covenant, God is reaching out to the world in open arms, inviting us into his presence. It’s up to us to accept the invitation and to step forward, allowing God to sanctify your life. It may not make our lives any easier here on earth, but you’ll be on the right side of history. And eternally, that’s all that matters. Amen.

^[1] Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989), 80.

^[2] Exodus 34:29-34 and Jeremiah 31:31-35.

^[3] C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishing, 1973), 110.

^[4] https://fromarockyhillside.com/2023/07/02/willingness-to-forgive/

^[5] See Paul’s defense speech in Acts 22 (especially verse 3).

^[6] Romans 3:23.

^[7] Jesus removing the veil is seen at his crucifixion when the temple curtain ripped in half, Matthew 27:51. Also see John 14:9

Blue flowers of Chicory — Chicory growing at the edge of a field

July 5, 2023July 5, 2023

A Solo Paddle to the North End of Cumberland Island

Title page for article showing a kayak pointed toward land

Sunset from Cumberland Island — Sunset from campsite on Brick Kiln River

A soft light glows outside in the darkness. It could be a dying street light, except there are no streetlights on this island. I check the time. It’s a little before 6 AM. Time to get up if I’m going to beat the tide change. I pull on my pants and crawl out of the hammock. Sliding into flip-flops, I stand and turn around to a beautiful view of the nearly full moon setting across the marsh to the west. Its light reflects off the ripples on the waters of the Brickhill River. I look at the shoreline. The tide is coming in strong. I’ll need to be on the water soon if I’m to make the fourteen miles back to the landing at Crooked River State Park without fighting the current.

Heading back to the mainland

In the dark with only the moonlight guiding me, I stuff my sleeping bag and hammock into their sacks and stow both into the holds of the kayak. I pack my stove and percolator. With not enough time for coffee, I skip it figuring I can pick up some later on my drive home. Dropping the food bag that’s hung from a branch, to keep it safe from raccoons, I take out a couple of granola bars and a pear for breakfast. I eat one of the bars while watching the moon set. What little light I enjoyed is gone with sunrise still 45 minutes away. Taking out a flashlight, I stow everything in the kayak and make a last tour of my campsite. Then I slide the kayak down the bank and into the water, crawl into the cockpit, and begin paddling.

Paddling toward the St. Mary's Submarine base — Distant sub base in morning light

In less than 30 minutes I’ve passed Table Point. When I paddled here two days earlier, the tide had turned by the time I arrived here and it took me 90 minutes of hard paddling to make it to the campsite. I’m making good time. I look behind me and catch the opening rays of the sun as it rises over Cumberland Island. I take out the pear and eat it, enjoying the splendor. When I resume paddling, I notice the large covered submarine dry-dock at the Kings Bay Naval Station. In the low light, it looks remarkably similar to Noah’s Ark, floating beyond the marsh grass that separates the Brickhill River from the Intracoastal Waterway. It’s ironic, I muse to myself, that each submarine carries almost as much destructive power as that ancient flood.

Travels to Cumberland

I have spent the last two nights camping on Cumberland Island National Seashore. This is my second trip to the island. The first trip, two years earlier, was to Sea Camp on the south end of the island. That site is served by a ferry from St. Mary’s. It’s close to the beach and has potable water, flush toilets and hot showers. We spent a lot of time soaking up rays on the beach, swimming in the surf, as well as exploring the ruins of Dungeness, a grand home built by Thomas Carnegie. It burned in the 1950s.

The Carnegie Influence on the Island

In the late 19^th Century, Thomas Carnegie, the brother of Andrew, purchased much of the island and had a massive winter home built at the site of an earlier Dungeness mansion. Thomas Carnegie died as his mansion was being completed, but it was occupied by his wife Lucy. In time, as each of their children married, Lucy granted them land on the island and a stipend to build homes of their own.

Kayak beached at Brick Kiln River campsite — My kayak shortly after arriving at Brick Kiln River wilderness campsite

My campsite for the weekend was on a bluff along the Brickhill River. The wilderness site can hold six groups, but there are only three other campers the first night. These guys, students at Georgia Tech, had come over on the ferry and peddled bikes the ten miles along sandy two-track dirt roads to camp here. We chat for a bit and I learn they are planning on leaving early on Sunday in order to catch the 10:30 AM ferry to St. Marys.

The Paddle over and Plum Orchard

Inside Plum Orchard showing den with fireplace — inside Plum Orchard

On Saturday, as I left Crooked River, paddling in the rain, my first stop was at Plum Orchard, one of these magnificent homes. Thankfully, by the time I arrived, the rain had stopped. This home, built by George and Margaret Thaw Carnegie, was the first of the island mansions constructed by the Carnegie children. The 24,000 square foot home was seasonally occupied until the 1960s with Thomas and Margaret’s granddaughter and husband being the last occupants. Today, the home is a part of Cumberland Island National Seashore and the National Park service offers tours. After eating lunch, I stuck around for a tour. It was well worth it, even if it meant the tide turned and my paddle to the campsite was more difficult. The home features a grand entryway, a formal dining room, modern bathrooms, an indoor squash tennis court, a women’s parlor and a men’s gun room that displays trophy heads of various animals bagged by the Carnegies. It is magnificent.

First Night

Fires are not allowed at this site, so after setting up my camp, I fire up my gas stove and use it to prepare chicken and rice for dinner. I watch the setting of the sun, sipping on bourbon, then retreat from the bugs into the security of my hammock where I read for an hour with the use of a flashlight. Then I turn it off and go to sleep.

As it was still warm in the evening, I left the fly off my hammock in order to receive the best breeze. But at 3 AM I wake to the rustling of palm leaves and distant thunder. The moon and stars are no longer visible. I quickly get up and position my fly over my hammock. The rain comes as I put in the last of the stakes into the ground. I crawl back into the hammock and fall asleep to the sound of rain.

I sleep in till nearly 7:00 AM on Sunday morning. Getting up in the dawn light, I perk coffee and boil hot water for oatmeal. I notice my neighbors have already left.

two track road on Cumberland Island — The two track that runs the length of the island

Sunday Morning Exploring

After breakfast, I set off on a hike to the old settlement on the northern end of the island, about four miles away. It’s warm and muggy, and I’m serenaded by insects, songbirds and a distant woodpecker providing the bass. About half way to the settlement, a shower passes by cooling me off. When I arrive at Terrapin Point, I stop for a few minutes on the high bluff overlooking what used to be the Cumberland Wharf. A large pod of dolphins feed in the shallows as a barge makes its way south along the Intracoastal Waterway. In the distance, I can see the Sidney Lanier Bridge from Brunswick to Jekyll Island.

inside of First African Baptist Church — Inside the church

My hope was to be at the old First African Baptist Church by 10 AM, but I am a few minutes late. The cornerstone indicates that it was built in 1893, but I later learn that was when the first church was constructed out of logs. It was rebuilt out of timber in 1937. I step into the old building. It’s small, with only eight short pews. Taking out my smartphone, I am pleased to have a signal. I log into the streaming service of Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church in time to catch an excellent sermon by our Associate, Deanie Strength. As I listen, I think about those who in years past worshipped here and that it is good the gospel is again heard in these walls.

HIstory of the settlement

The residents of the Settlement were former slaves. They lived where they did to work for the hotel that used to sit on the north end of the island, as well as to work for the Carnegies who turned much of the island into their private winter playground. The community dwindled after the hotel closed, with a few people hanging on to work as servants in some of the islands homes. Today, the church and one home remains open by the National Park Service.

African American Baptist Church on Cumberland Island — The church and a home left from when this was a community who worked in the homes and hotel on the island

In 1996, a hundred and three years after the church was first built on this site, it became the setting for the late John Kennedy Jr’s and Carolyn Bessette’s private wedding ceremony. Tragically, two years after their marriage, both were killed in a plane crash off Martha’s Vineyard.

After listening to church, I eat lunch and then hike back to the camp, taking the Terrapin Point and Brickhill Bluff trails. At times, from high bluffs, I’m afforded wonderful views of the marsh. Other parts of the trail move deeply into the woods of this maritime forest. I am amazed at the size of some of the longleaf pines. In addition to pines and live oaks, the most abundant trees, hickory and magnolias are also common. I scare up a few feral hogs that grunt as they run away, along with a wild turkey and an armadillo that makes all kinds of racket as it rushes through dense growth of saw palmetto.

A restful afternoon

It’s about two o’clock when I arrive back in my campsite. I rest for a few minutes, reading David Gressner’s Return of the Osprey. As I read, I notice an osprey hunting out over the Brickhill River. For the longest time, the bird never dives for a fish, but when it finally does, he misses. The bird comes up out of the water flapping, nothing in its talons. It shakes its wings as if to shake off his missed lunch. In reading this book I learn that mature birds generally catch their prey fifty percent or more of the time. That’s a pretty high percentage. Either my bird was having a bad day or it was young and just learning to dive for fish.

After resting, I take my chair, book, and some snacks, and hike the two miles out to the beach. Along the way, I pass several fresh water ponds. In one an alligator is sunning and as I walk by I catch sight of the tail of a large snake slithering down into the water. I spend nearly two hours on the beach enjoying the sound of the waves as I read and nap. At 5:30, I start back, wanting to be able to fix dinner and prepare for the evening before dark. Knowing it’s going to be a long paddle in the morning, I am in my hammock sleeping shortly after watching an amazing sunset.

This slightly edited post originally appeared in The Skinnie, a magazine published on Skidaway Island, Georgia. The opening page of the article is to the right. When I wrote this article, I was the pastor of the Presbyterian Church on Skidaway.

For another kayak adventure of mine on Cape Lookout, click here.

Planning a trip to Cumberland Island

To visit Cumberland Island, camping sites (both in developed sites and wilderness locations) must be reserved through the National Park Service. Check out the Cumberland Island website at or call (912) 882-4336. Cumberland Island Ferry has the concessions for ferry transportation to and from the south end of the island. Their schedule varies depending on the season. Boats (motored and kayaks) can be launched from St. Mary’s or Crooked River State Park. If paddling, know the tides especially in the Crooked River where the tide currents can be faster than most people can paddle! There is also a rather pricy lodging available at the Greyfield Inn, a former Carnegie mansion. To stay there, the Inn arranges a shuttle from Amelia Island, Florida.

Sunrise on Cumberland Island — Sunrise, 2016, near Sea Camp

July 2, 2023July 2, 2023

Willingness to Forgive Others

Title slide with photo of Lenten processional in Antigua, Guatemala

Jeff Garrison
Bluemont and Mayberry Churches
July 2, 2023
2 Corinthians 2:5-17

Sermon taped at Mayberry Church on Friday, June 30, 2023

In his book, What’s So Amazing about Grace, Philip Yancey makes a bold accusation about the church. [Jesus] “gained the reputation as a lover of sinners, a reputation that his followers are in danger of losing.” He then quotes Dorothy Day, the Catholic worker among the poor in the early 20^th Century, who said, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”^[1]

Who do you love the least? What sins really turn your stomach? Why? How can we, as followers of Jesus, regain a reputation for being a lover of sinners. As I have noted in the first two sermons from Second Corinthians, we need grace and not just from God but from one another.

Would we want to live in a world without grace?

Yancey, in that same book, makes another bold statement, “the strongest argument in favor of grace is the alternative, a world of ungrace. The strongest argument for forgiveness is the alternative, a permanent state of unforgiveness… Where unforgiveness reigns… a Newtonian law comes into play: For every atrocity there must be an equal and opposite atrocity.”^[2] Not the kind of place I’d want to live. Would you?

If the church wants to be serious about changing the world for the better, we must learn to forgive and to show grace even to those from whom we despise. It doesn’t me we downplay sin. But it does mean that we value all people as having been created in God’s image and worthy of our love.

Before reading the Scripture

So far, in our look at Second Corinthians, we’ve seen the trouble Paul faced in Asia^[3] and Corinth.^[4] We don’t know all the issues or reasons behind the trouble. We’re only hearing one side of the conversation. We also know that Paul sent other letters to Corinth in addition to First Corinthians.^[5] These missing letters could help explain what is going on, but sadly they’ve been lost to history. We must make our best effort with what we know and depend on God’s Spirit to help us interpret the opening chapters of this letter.

In today’s reading, we’ll see that there was one person in Corinth who Paul may have called to be punished. Some assumed this was the man in an incestuous relationship with his stepmom, mentioned in Paul’s first letter.^[6] For that, Paul chastised the Corinthians, telling them that even the pagan Romans didn’t allow such behavior. However, most scholars now question such a linkage. It sounds like the person Paul has in mind had had an encounter or at least his actions impacted Paul. Interestingly, Paul is now ready to forgive and move on and that’s part of the message here.

Read 2 Corinthians 2:5-1 7

Our text last week ended with a beautiful statement of the love Paul has for the Corinthian followers of Jesus.^[7] Now Paul wants them to demonstrate their love as they forgive someone whom Paul has already forgiven. Love is perhaps best demonstrated in our willingness to forgive, just as God’s love for us in shown in God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness

The first part of our reading has to do with the forgiveness of this unknown individual whom the Corinthian Church had punished. We don’t know the crime or what this individual did. One of the early Church fathers pastorally suggests Paul doesn’t mention the deed because he’s ready to forgive.^[8]

Here we get insight into Paul’s thinking. Punishment is not for vengeance. In writing to the Romans, Paul reminds them that vengeance belongs to God, not us.^[9] Punishment is only to be used to encourage people to get their lives back on track.

When someone repents of a wrong, Christians are called forgive. Paul realizes that harsh punishments, those which go beyond correction and the protection of the community, will only overwhelm the sinner. In their grief, there will be an opening for Satan to enter and to cause even more destruction to the one being punished. So, when repentance occurs, the community should immediately welcome the individual back into the fold and let bygones be bygones.

Welfare of the individual and the community

While I think Paul is mostly concerned for the eternal welfare of the individual who committed the sin, his rational also applies to the community who punished the individual. It is easy in our self-righteousness, to hate evil more than we love good. If you’ve ever read C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, you’ll see how the Devil can use such righteousness to his own benefit. When we hate more than love, Satan wins.

Love

Love must exist at the heart of all who follow Jesus. We want to draw in more people to love and follow Jesus. If we’re only good at hating things, even sinful things, it eradicates our love. So, for the good of the Corinthians as well as the individual, they should forgive. And so should we. Letting go of grudges and forgetting about retaliation are marks of a true believer and a follower of Jesus.

Paul’s pastoral concern

Paul’s concern is pastoral. John Chrysostom, writing in the 4^thCentury, notes that Paul is no longer speaking as a teacher here but as an equal. He places the Corinthians on the judgment seat as he acts as the advocate for the convicted man.^[10] In a similar manner, Jesus will be our advocate before the judgement throne.

Paul’s “harsh letter”

In the next section of our reading, we have another glimpse at the struggles Paul faced in his journeys. As I pointed out earlier, there were more than two letters from Paul to the Corinthians. It is thought that between First and Second Corinthians, there was a third “harsh letter.”^[11]

This letter may have dealt with the problems of the individual mentioned above. Maybe the person in question was a threat to the safety of the church. Perhaps his teachings were divisive, which is another problem Paul addressed in his previous letter.^[12] Maybe Paul came down hard on the need to punish the individual, as he did with the man involved in an incestuous affair in First Corinthians. Whatever the reason, Paul finds himself concerned over the welfare of the church in Corinth and anxious for news.

Paul’s second visit to Troas

I also find it interesting that Paul, in Troas once again, finds the door open to his preaching. If you remember, Paul earlier visited Troas and found all the doors closed. Then, in a dream, he was called across the sea from Troas to Macedonia and onto the European continent.^[13] But now, as he finds doors open to preach, Paul’s anxiety keeps him from taking advantage of this opportunity.

Paul again heads to Macedonia in search of Titus and news of the Corinthians. Sadly, the citizens of Troas lose the opportunity to hear Paul, but we are reminded that the God has entrusted the good news to frail human beings like Paul and us. And yes, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit, the good news spreads even despite us.

The victory parade of the gospel

We learn of this spread in the last section of today’s reading, beginning in Verse 14. Paul describes it as a victory parade, in which the victors are seen in glory, spreading fragrance. Of course, such parades in Paul’s day would have included the defeated, the captured enemies, seen in their humility also being paraded through the city.^[14] Paul uses this metaphor to remind us that the victory of the gospel doesn’t belong to us, but to God.

Antigua, Guatemala

A few years ago, I was on a mission trip to Guatemala. After our stint was over, conducting medical surveys in rural villages, I stayed a few days in Antiqua, an ancient city on the flanks of a volcano. This was during Lent. On Sunday afternoon, many of the streets were cordoned off. Local artists using flower petals and colored caulk, created murals along the street.

Then came the procession, which occurred every Sunday during Lent. Floats with depictions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, the disciples, and finally a statue of Jesus himself made its way into the city toward the Cathedral. In the front of the floats were priests, swinging their censers of incense that spilled out among the crowds.

Reading about Christ’s triumphal procession reminds me of that experience, although I must admit the incense drove my sinuses crazy and I ended up with a terrible infection. But what’s important is that victory belongs to God, and we are those called by God to do our small part in telling Jesus’ story to the world. We help spread God’s love, which is a fragrance smell to those being saved.

Conclusion

You know, if it was not for Christ, we’d all be lost. We’re all sinful, and only in Jesus can we find forgiveness. Because of our past failures and God’s acceptance, we are called to build a community that welcomes others. And because we have been forgiven, we need to forgive others. Instead of dividing people into “Us” and “Them”, the church is called to show the world a better way of welcoming each and every person as a sinner in need of God’s grace. Are we up to the task? The health of our community and world depends on it. Amen.

^[1] Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 158.

^[2] Yancey, 114.

^[3] https://fromarockyhillside.com/2023/06/18/were-saved-by-gods-grace-to-help-others/

^[4] https://fromarockyhillside.com/2023/06/25/restoring-relationships/

^[5] Paul Barnett, The Second Letter to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 28-31.

^[6] 1 Corinthians 5:1-8. See Barnett, 124-125.

^[7] 2 Corinthians 2:4. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2023/06/25/restoring-relationships/

^[8] Chrysostom, Homilies of Paul to the Corinthians, inAncient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament, Vol. VII (Dower’s Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1999), 206.

^[9] Romans 12:19.

^[10] Chrysostom, 207.

^[11] Barnett, 128-129.

^[12] 1 Corinthians 3.

^[13] Acts 16:8-10.

^[14] Barnett, 146-150.

Photo of Lenten processional in Antigua

June 28, 2023January 5, 2025

Two on the American West

title page with book covers and western scene in background

Ivan Doig, Ride with Me, Mariah Montana

narrated by Scott Sowers, (1990, audible release 2014), 14 hours and 18 minutes.

It’s 1989. Montana is coming up on its Centennial celebration and newly widower Jick McCaskill drives a newspaper photographer and writer around the state in search of stories in his Winnebago. The photographer is his daughter, Mariah. The reporter is her ex-husband, Riley. Jick doesn’t care for Riley ever since the couple’s split. He’d hoped the two of them would take over his sheep ranch.

The three set off on their journey with Jick as the narrator. They mostly seek out small towns where they strive to learn more about their home state. Jick realizes change is coming, but he doesn’t like it. Pressured to sell out his sheep ranch to a large cattle operation (who wants to maximize the livestock on it), while coming to terms with his wife’s death, and attempting to keep his daughter from falling in love again with Riley, Jick begins the story as a bitter soul. Yet, even in his bitterness, there’s lots of humor mixed into his storytelling. But he softens and as the story continues, he (and we) learns more of his history. This is especially true after Riley’s mother joins them for part of the trip. The story ends on the day of the Centennial celebration in November with some surprises.

In this novel, the reader gets to meet many interesting characters along with gaining insight into the state’s history. Jick’s background is Scottish and Swedish, and I couldn’t help but think of two other Swedish sheepherders I knew in Utah, Roy and Eddie. As I lived in Utah during that state’s Centennial, I was curious as how he used that celebration to tell this story. While much of the story is about loss, there is also hope in it for the future. I recommend this book and now look forward to listening to the first two books in this trilogy (English Creek and Dancing at the Rascal Fair).

This is my fourth book by Doig. Twenty-some years ago, when I lived in Utah, I read two of his non-fiction works (House of Sky and Heart Earth). Earlier this year, I listened to and reviewed, A Bartender’s Tale.

Marc Reisner, Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water

revised edition (1986, New York: Viking/Penguin, 1993), 582 pages including notes and index. Also, two collections of photographs. Audible: 27 hours and 58 minutes.

I read parts of the original book back in the early 1990s when I was living in Utah. There, the problems of water were real. This time, I mostly listened to the book and was caught up in the story Reisner tells.

The book begins with a brief historic account of Western exploration and migration in the 19^thcentury, especially focusing on the survey of the Colorado River by John Wesley Powell. Reisner also reminds his readers that there were other civilizations there before the coming on European-Americans. For some unknown reason, these civilizations collapsed before European migration, probably because of a change in weather patterns. He also frequently reminds the reader that all desert civilizations in human history have collapsed with one exception, Egypt. Of course, the Aswan Dam may change this. While the country had 3000 years of life without a dam, Aswan ended the annual flood that brought new soil and enough water to grow crops. In addition, irrigating without fresh soil causes salts to build up in the soil. Sooner or later, the soil wears out.

Much of the first part of the book focuses on the growth of Los Angeles and their taking water from the Owens Valley. From there, Reisner speaks of many other water projects in the West. From the Mormons who irrigated on a small scale and brought agriculture to the great basin to the big projects during the Depression that provided (temporarily) a surplus of water and electrical power for the West. The power these dams produced help fuel a growth in industry that was especially helpful during World War 2.

In addition to building the dams and providing water and electricity, he acknowledges the problems. Backing up water floods places where people live. They must be moved. The larger dams (like Grand Coulee), block migrating salmon and have destroyed commercial fishing operations. I didn’t realize how valuable canned salmon was, but it was the cheapest meat available during the Depression. The safety of dams is another issue. Reisner goes into detail about the breach of the Teton Dam in Idaho. On rivers like the Colorado which carries a lot of silt, dams trap it, reducing the availability of electrical power and the amount of water available. Finally, using irrigated water also has a long-term detrimental impact on the land as salts build up in the soil.

Reisner captures the battle that existed between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corp of Engineers. Both were vying to build more dams in the West, often for different purposes. Bureau of Reclamation looked to irrigation while the Corp of Engineers were more interested in flood control and navigation. Both had questionable ways of making a project look economic feasible as they tried to justify their projects, such as using the electricity produced to offset the cost of irrigation water. As Reisner shows, the economics of most dam projects didn’t make sense. After all, some of the crops grown with subsidized water were the same crops the Department of Agriculture were paying farmers not to grow in the East and Midwest.

The politics behind water projects are terrible (as is the economics). With everyone wanting a piece of the pie, strange alliances form and no one questions the value or the wisdom behind the projects. I came away thinking that Eisenhower might have been the last true fiscally conservative President, as he questioned many of the projects. Carter was another who tried. stop a lot of projects that didn’t make economic sense. Reisner suggests that because of the way he attempted to stop them, it doomed his Presidency long before the Iranian hostage crisis. In the end, Carter’s hit list was narrowed, and many moved forward under Reagan.

This is a book that needs to be read by more voters and concern citizens. More people need to understand the short-sightedness of many of these boondoggle projects. Unfortunately, it’s a long book that will overwhelm many people.

Scene from Wyoming — A view from Wyoming

June 25, 2023June 25, 2023

Restoring relationships

title slide with photo of those gathered at a cookout

Jeff Garrison
Bluemont and Mayberry Churches
June 25, 2023
2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4

At the opening of worship:

Have you ever been hurt by a misunderstanding? Either someone took what you said or did the wrong way? Or they misunderstood your intentions? It happens to us all. We chalk up such experiences to the human condition.

Our egos are fragile. It often doesn’t take much for us to be hurt, yet walking around on eggshells isn’t the answer. We shouldn’t only depend on God’s grace. We need to show grace to one another, just as we need grace from others. Also, we need to be honest about our feelings and willing to forgive and move forward. Today, we’ll see that even the great heroes of Scripture had thin skin and were hurt by what others said. What we experience isn’t a new phenomenon.

Before the reading of scripture:

Before I read today’s Scripture, let me say a bit more about 2^ndCorinthians. This is the most personal letter among Paul’s epistles. We see the real Paul, and a glimpse into his emotional life. Paul wasn’t always self-confident, optimistic, and loved. He had his defectors. There were those who questioned his decisions and his teachings. This bothered Paul. After all, as a human being, he could be hurt by the actions of others. We’re going to see one response to such an experience in today’s reading.

Last week, we saw how Paul, in Asia, was threatened and concerned for his life. As Paul moves into the meat of this letter, we realize that emotional hurts can be just as damaging as physical threats. In fact, they may be even more damaging, especially when they come from those you love and respect. Most of us, by experience, know the fallacy within the childhood rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.” Words do hurt, as Paul expresses here.

Paul whines

Let me make one apology and then give you some background to our text. I apology for the passage. Paul appears to whine, although I think he tried to avoid coming off that way. The passage is also confusing for we don’t exactly know all the details. We’re only hearing Paul’s side of the conversation. Furthermore, there’s even one play on words within the text which unfortunately doesn’t translate well.

Paul changes his plans

As background, it appears Paul’s original plans was to travel from Asia to Macedonia, in northern Greece, then travel south, overland to Corinth. From there, he hoped the Corinthians would give him a big send-off for a trip back to Judea. But for some reason, Paul travelled directly from Asia (probably Ephesus) to Corinth, first. He did this because he thought he could then visit the Corinthians. Then he’d travel north to Macedonia. On his way south, he’d stop again and see his friends, before heading across the Mediterranean.

Maybe Paul befriended a captain on a ship sailing from Ephesus to Corinth, who offered him a berth. This opportunity could have led to this change of plans. We can’t say for sure. It appears Paul’s visit did not go well and therefore he decided not to visit Corinth after Macedonia, but to head straight to Judea. Paul had been hurt in the visit, and it appears some in Corinth were hurt by his not visiting a second time.

Read 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4

Have you ever had an unexpected guest arrive at an inopportune time? Maybe you stopped by to see a friend during a middle of a family reunion? Or a party that you weren’t invited? Or maybe, when younger, you stopped to see a girl or a boy to whom you were interested, as they headed out on a date with someone else? That would be embarrassing, right?

Paul’s problems

It appears something like this happened to Paul. He arrives, unannounced, in Corinth. We know Paul had concerns about the teachings going on in Corinth.^[1] Maybe another missionary was there. Perhaps this missionary didn’t teach the same way or the same things that Paul taught. This might have been the reason the Corinthians gave him a cold shoulder. So, he leaves Corinth feeling bad. He doesn’t return at the time when they expected him. Paul feels slighted, now the Corinthians feel slighted. Both parties have been unintendedly hurt.

Paul loves the Corinthians, so he writes this letter while also making plans for a third visit to the Corinthian church. Paul spent 18 months bringing this church to life.^[2] He doesn’t want it to flounder or go in the wrong direction. So, he tries to correct the misunderstanding that has occurred.

Boosting

The opening paragraph is book-ended with the word referring to boosting. It’s a word he mostly uses in 2^nd Corinthians.^[3] Paul boosts about God’s grace, not his own efforts. And he looks forward to boasting about the Corinthians on the Day of the Lord, and of hearing them boast of him. Notice, the boasting isn’t of oneself, but of God and of one’s relationship with others. We can learn from this.

Paul’s hurt

But at the time of writing this letter, I don’t think Paul was doing much boasting. He was so hurt by his second visit to Corinth. The cut was so deep that he decided to avoid visiting them again on his way back for Macedonia. He didn’t want them to see him in such a manner, nor did he want them to be embarrassed. He certainly didn’t mean to hurt them. But Paul’s letter is confusing.

It seems to me this section of the letter is a lot like those I received, or maybe even sent, when I was a Junior High Romeo. You want to make things right but, in a way, you dig yourself a deeper hole. When we discussed this passage at the men’s Bible study on Tuesday, most everyone thought Paul was whining and even wondered why this section found its way into the Bible.

Why is this part of the letter in the Bible?

I don’t know why this part of the letter found its way into Scripture. I’m not privy to all the work of the Holy Spirit. However, there are useful and informative parts of 2^nd Corinthians, so we can just toss the book out. And we must acknowledge God’s Spirit’s work to select the letters chosen for the Bible. So, we accept them and try to figure out what this passage can say to our lives or inform what we believe.

We see Paul’s humanity

One of the things this passage shows us is Paul’s humanity. He is no superhero. He’s a regular guy with emotions just like all of us. In a way, I think this passage may especially speak to pastors. Anyone who has spent time in the ministry knows you can’t please everyone. At times, when you do something thinking your actions are helpful to others (such as Paul canceling his return trip to Corinth), you find out your actions are perceived in a negative way.

Of course, this isn’t just experiences for those in ministry. We all experience such misunderstandings, whether it is between spouses, parents and children, friends, and relatives. Sometimes we mess up and, like Paul, try to make things right. Paul, here, works to mend the relationship by sending this letter while making plans to again visit Corinth. At such times when we’re in strained relationships, we stand in the need of grace. While we are eternally grateful for God’s grace, we should also be thankful when others show grace to us.

Paul’s love for the Corinthians

This passage ends with a beautiful statement from Paul. Despite the strain on their relationship, Paul loves and cares deeply for the Corinthians. He strives to show his concern. He’s willing to fight to restore the relationship that existed between him and the believers in Corinth.

Relationships are important

Perhaps this is what we should take from this passage. As disciples of Jesus, it’s not just about us getting our relationship right with God. We’re also to make right our relationship with others. Jesus even tells us that if we come to make an offering to God, and have wronged a brother or sister, we should attempt to reconcile before making the offering.^[4] Relationships are important, as Paul shows.

Who do you need to reach out and attempt to rebuild a relationship? Think about it. And then consider how you might reach out. Paul, in this letter, doesn’t so much show us how to restore relationships, but that as a follower of Jesus, it’s important to try. Amen.

Sources:

Barnett, Paul. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians

Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997.

Barrett, C. K. A Commentary on the Second Epistle to the

Corinthians. Peabody, MS: Hendrickson, 1973.

Best, Ernest, Second Corinthians: Interpretation, A

Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, KY, John Knox Press, 1987.

Wright, N. T. Paul, A Biography. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2017.

^[1] In 1 Corinthians, Paul several several corrections to the Corinthians including unlawful sexual relationships (a son and stepmother), lawsuits among believers, relations with food and other Jewish practices, and abuses at the Lord’s Table. Concern about teachings within churches are also seen in Paul’s letters and the other epistles.

^[2] See Acts 18:11.

^[3] Paul uses this word or a variation of it more times in 2^nd Corinthians than in all of his other letters combined.

^[4] Matthew 5:23.

Photo of those gathering at a Dutch Oven Dinner at Mayberry Presbyterian Church — Some of the folks at yesterday’s Dutch Oven Dinner at Mayberry

June 22, 2023June 22, 2023

Others Arrive in Virginia City

title slide with photo of Virginia City with the Combination Mine Shaft in foreground

Several weeks ago, I wrote about my journey to Nevada in 1988. This is a follow up piece, as I try to draw upon the history of the church and tie them to my personal experiences in Nevada. If you didn’t read my first piece, click here.

Of course, I was not the first pastor to arrive in Virginia City, although I was one of the few who made the journey without going through California first. Even after the church started depending on year-long student interns in the 1970s, most all their interns came from the West Coast. The same had been true of their called ministers before employing students. Even those not originally from the West Coast, generally spent time in California before making their way to Nevada. This was especially true in the early years before the completion of the transcontinental railroad. And most of the pastors stayed for only a year or so. In his 1927 history of the Presbyterian Church in California, Edward Arthur Wicher reported that in the congregation’s first 65 years, it had over 30 ministers.

The Church is Organized

Presbyterian pastors had been coming and going in Virginia City since the 1862, when the Reverend William Wallace Brier organized the church. Brier was the first minister of the New School branch of the Presbyterian Church on the Pacific Coast.

Background to church mission work on the West Coast

The Presbyterian Church had split in 1837 into two camps. Although there were many reasons for the split, it mostly had to do with how open the church should be toward revivalism. The Old School shunned the use of emotion in revivals of the Great Awakening, while the New School allowed such techniques. The New School was also more open toward movements for social change, especially abolition along with the work of parachurch organizations. Both the Old School and New School split again, this time along sectional lines. The New School split first, between the north and south, in 1854. Then, at the beginning of the Civil War, the Old School also split regionally. The Southern Old and New School branches would join during the war. The northern branches rejoined shortly after the war. While I grew up in the Southern branch of the Presbyterian Church, the two regional denominations came back together in 1984, two years before I entered seminary.

In 1850, when Brier arrived in San Francisco, there were still deep divisions and distrust between the two groups of Presbyterians. Discovering the Old School Presbyterians had already established churches in the larger communities along the coast, he headed inland to the mining communities and founded a church in Marysville. Two years later he organized a congregation in Grass Valley. Appointed the exploring agent for the New School Presbyterians, Brier joined the “Rush to Washoe” (as Western Nevada was known then) in 1861. Brier was like most of the miners who initially made the journey into Nevada, coming from the West as mining began to wane in California.

First Church organized in Nevada

In the summer of 1861, Brier spent time in Carson City, where he organized a church in a small school building. He headed back across the Sierras before winter, but persuaded the Reverend A. F. White, a pastor from the Midwest, but currently serving in Gilroy, California, to take charge of the church. White, sensing the opportunity, appealed to the Home Mission Board early in 1862 for more help:

A failure in this effort would be to yield the whole Territory almost to unrestrained vice. Will you sustain us in planting the standard of the cross here amid these mountains? The infant church (Carson City)—the first born in the great basin between the Sierras and the Rocky Mountains, stretches forth her hands to you for help.

Brier would return to Nevada in the summer of 1862. This time, he called a meeting of those interested in a Presbyterian Church in Virginia City. Meeting at the Methodist Episcopal Church, they organized themselves into a congregation on September 21, 1862. Shortly thereafter, he left Nevada and A. F. White assumed responsibility for both the Carson City and Virginia City congregations. That winter, White wrote another letter to the Home Mission Board:

The wealth is here – untold. If we could concentrate our best talent here for the next two years, if our Church would only seize these sources of influence now offered here, she could in a short time be independent, and place a man in every village on the Pacific slope and sustain him there.

New Pastors recruited

The Palmers in 1863 (can you believe they were in their early 20s?)

White’s pleas did not fall on deaf ears. Even though the Civil War raged in the east, Henry Kendall, the head of the Home Mission Board for the New School Presbyterians was at work. He understood that after the Civil War, the nation would be linked together by railroad, opening vast areas for new communities. He set out to recruit pastors to answer the call to go west. In the spring of 1863, Kendall, recruited William Henry Palmer and William Wert Macomber to become missionaries to Nevada. The two were soon-to-be graduates from Auburn Seminary in the Finger Lake Regions of New York. He also recruited the Reverend L. P. Webber, a minister who had been serving in Indiana.

After graduation, the Presbytery of Buffalo ordained both Palmer and Macomber. They also married. Palmer married Jennie Gilmore, the daughter of a physician, on June 25, 1863. The Palmer’s enjoyed a honeymoon night at Niagara Falls. It appears Jennie was excited at the prospects in Nevada, writing to her family:

I have felt that I was doing so little good in the world and the burden of my prayer has been that I might be the means of bringing souls to Christ. What a field of usefulness is now open before me and I am amazed to think one so feeble as I should have been called to such a great and difficult work.

Travel to Nevada in 1863

On July 9, 1863, shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, the couple took a train from Western New York to New City. While Palmer doesn’t mention this in his journal, this would have been during the New York City draft riots. They met up with the Macombers. In a worship service at Brick Presbyterian, prayers were offered for their safe travels. On July 13, the four of them boarded the mail steamer, Northern Lights, bound for Panama. Arriving in the jungle a half century before the Panama Canal, but after a railroad made the travel across the isthmus a simple affair. On the Pacific, they boarded another steamer, “Golden Age”, for the trip to San Francisco.

Palmer, who faithfully kept a journal since January 1 of that year wrote little about the journey except to mention that both he and his wife, Jennie, were sick on the sea passages. They arrived in San Francisco in early August. There, Palmer and Macomber preached in various churches.

On August 16, 1863, Palmer preached in Oakland. Afterwards, he met with Nelson Winton, an elder in the Virginia City Church. Winton paid their hotel bill and arranged passage for them to travel to Nevada.

From California to Nevada

On August 19, Palmer and his wife took an overnight riverboat to Sacramento, arriving at 6 the next morning. That morning, August 20th, they boarded a train for the run to Folsom, where the tracks eastward ended. They switched to a stagecoach. That evening, they dined in Placerville, at the foothills of the mountain. Then, they took off for Nevada, on a stage that frequently had to change horses as it climbed up into the mountains on rocky and windy roads. Writing to his parent’s, Palmer described this experience:

As the road became more difficult and dangerous, the speed of the coach seemed to increase also. Soon we found ourselves circling around lofty hills and deep valleys. Many miles of travel were but few of progress. The grade was nowhere very steep, but at times we could look from the windows on one side up hundreds and even thousands of feet to the summit above us, and from the other side as many feet below us upon the rocks at the bottom of the ravines. On this narrow-crooked road, with no protection at the edge, with six galloping horses before the coach, which was rocking and jolting about, I felt none or little sense [of] danger, but was most deeply interested in the strange, grand, and awful scenery through which we were passing.

Later that night they stopped at Strawberry, where the coach changed horses before heading in the dark over Johnson Pass. The old stage stop in Strawberry is still in operation as a store and restaurant along US 50. In the early morning hours, they skirted the south shore of Lake Tahoe. Jennie wrote home describing the beauty of the moon as it reflected off the lake. The moon would have been not quite at first quarter, or half-full. Although traveling by night meant that they would not be able to see much, it allowed the stage to make better time as the grades were clogged during daylight with teamsters hauling heavy freight to the mines.

Arriving in Carson City

Their stage journey continued, leaving Tahoe, and descending the steep Kingsbury Grade into Genoa. I can imagine the newlyweds were shocked as they descended the east slow of the Sierras and entered the vast desert of the Great Basin, with few trees and lots of sagebrush. At Genoa (formerly Mormon Station and the first incorporated town in the territory, the line turned north toward Carson City. They arrived on the morning on August 21, checking into the St. Charles Hotel. Palmer would later write home describing it as the dirtiest hotel he’d seen. After cleaning up from their journey, they had lunch with James Nye, the Governor of the Nevada Territory.

Palmer’s Labor in Carson City

Palmer didn’t have much of an opportunity to rest. Having arrived in Carson City, White left him in charge of the church and headed off east on a scouting expedition to the newly established Reese River Mining District. During his first two days in Carson City, Palmer officiated at three funerals. He described them to his parents in this fashion: “The first an awful drunkard, the second one of the greatest gamblers and the profanest man in the territory, and the third was murdered.” He continued, telling of a saloon in Carson City where six men had been shot or stabbed recently. Then, added, “They tell me Virginia City is still worse.” In the ten days of White’s absence, Palmer officiated at five funerals.

The Palmers arrive in Virginia City

Palmer and his wife moved to Virginia City after White’s return. At first, they stayed in the home of Nelson Winton. Things didn’t get easier for during his first week on the Comstock. In addition to preaching in the courthouse where the congregation met, he had four weddings (three of which were in Dayton) and a funeral. It was decided that Palmer would serve the church in Virginia City, while Macomber would serve Calvary Presbyterian in Gold Hill (just south of Virginia City). Webber travelled to the Reese River and organized a congregation in Austin. His story ended in tragedy.

Sources:

Primary sources provided by the late Elisabeth Ruddy of Encinitas, CA. Ruddy provided me with letters, newspaper clippings and journals of her grandfather, David Henry Palmer. Upon agreement, after I had finished with the papers and transcribed the journals, they were donated to the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, PA, with copies of the transcription provided to the Nevada Historical Society in Reno, NV.

Much of his information can also be found in two journal articles I wrote along with my dissertation.

Garrison, Charles Jeffrey, “’How the Devil Tempts Us to Go Aside from Christ:’ The History of First Presbyterian Church of Virginia City, 1862-1867. Nevada Historical Society Quarterly (36:1, Spring 1993), 13-34.

______, “David Henry Palmer: A Pastoral Baptism in Western Mining Camps,” American Presbyterians: Journal of Presbyterian History (72:3, Fall 1994), 173-186.

______. “Presbyterians and Miners: The Church’s Response to the Comstock Lode, 1862-1924. (San Francisco Theological Seminary, 2002).

We’re saved by God’s grace to help others

Title slide with smoky picture of mountains

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
June 18, 2023
2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Friday, June 16, 2023

At the beginning of worship:

Why are we saved? Too often people think salvation is personal. We’re so good God wants us to fill a hotel in the sky. Hopefully, you don’t think that way and if you do, it’s my prayer that by the end of the service, you’ll reconsider. We’re saved, not for our benefit, but for God’s glory and to do God’s work in the world.^[1]

Before reading the Scriptures:

We begin our journey through 2^nd Corinthians today. Paul opens this letter almost identically to how he began 1^st Corinthians. This was a familiar style in the era without envelopes to identity to whom the letter is for and who sent it. Paul’s audience is not only to the church in Corinth, but also believers around Corinth. It’d be like us receiving a letter for this congregation along with other believers in Patrick, Carroll, and Floyd Counties.^[2]

In both letters Paul doesn’t just say he’s an Apostle. He makes it clear that his Apostleship wasn’t his doing. He’s an Apostle onlyby God’s will. God called him. He didn’t volunteer for this task; he was chosen.

One difference in this opening verse is the person with Paul when he pens the letter. In 1^st Corinthians, Sosthenes accompanies him. Now, he’s with Timothy.

“With Me” principle

Paul understood the “with me” principle. Those of you who attended Stan Ott’s discipleship workshop may remember it.^[3]Don’t do anything by yourself when you can do it with someone else. It’s more fun with two people and it’s a way of building disciples. By having Timothy along, Paul can help disciple him as he becomes a more important leader within the community.

Paul’s benediction:

After a blessing, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul does something different. Generally, he would next give thanks for those to whom he’s writing. This was common with Greek letters of the era. But in 2^ndCorinthians, Paul provides a benediction. He draws on his Jewish heritage. His wording is like the Jewish benedictions of the day, except Paul Christianized it. The traditional Jewish benediction, even today, will begin something like, “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob…” Paul changes this. Instead of focusing on the patriarchs of the past, he focuses on God as Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.^[4]

Suffering and consolation

After the benediction, Paul discusses the sufferings endured by the disciples and what they might learn from it. In speaking of suffering and consolation, Paul draws heavily from the center of Isaiah, beginning with the 40^th chapter, which we read earlier in the service.^[5]

Now that you have an idea of what’s coming, follow along in your Bibles and you can see the different parts of this passage.

Read 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

One miserable night:

I remember a miserable night in the fall of ‘71. The Order of the Arrow lodge held a campout for its members in the dunes behind the beach near New River Inlet. Saturday had been wonderful. The fall weather was nice. We saw the hermit who lived in a World War 2 bunker just to the south of where we camped. He’d become something of a celebrity and none of us knew he’d be murdered the following spring by someone thinking he buried a fortune under the trash around his camp.^[6] We were told to stay away from him, but fourteen-year-old boys are curious. In the sunshine, we roamed the beach and the marshes south of Fort Fisher, a Civil War fort.

The storm and the search:

David Williams and I tented together. After dinner, stormy weather blew in and we retreated to our four-person tent. We felt like kings, two of us having that big tent with so much room. We had staked out the fly to give us maximum ventilation. As we prepared to turn in for the night when one of the adult leaders summoned us to gather. A sheriff deputy had stopped and asked for help in finding a boat in trouble.

We were sent off in groups to comb the beach and, with our flashlights, scan the surf. The wind howled, and in no time, we were wet. Ponchos, which was all any of us had for rain, are useless in the wind. It’s like wearing a sail. But we did our part. Nonetheless, it was miserable, and we didn’t find anything. After a while, the search was called off, as the missing man on the boat had swum ashore and walked to get help. The next morning, we could see the overturned bow in the surf.^[7]

Campsite wrecked by the gale:

We headed back to our campsites. David and I were happy to see our tent still standing. Most of the tents had blown down. People began to crawl into cars for the night. We went to our tent, where we discovered that we were not so lucky after all. The fly over the door had ripped in the gale and flapped in the wind. Inside, our sleeping bags and everything we had floated in two inches of water. As the saying goes, “no good deed goes unpunished.”^[8]

We searched for a dry place… All the cars were filled. We ended up in the back of an equipment trailer. It was a long night. Somehow my nine-volt transistor radio survived the flood. We listened as we tried to get some sleep in our wet clothes. Rod Stewart’s ballad, Maggie May, was on the top of the charts.^[9] I bet we heard that song a dozen times that night and even today, I can’t hear it without thinking about trying to sleep while soaked and on the hard floor of a trailer.

Misery loves company, sometimes…

They say misery loves company. In a way, suffering with others like we did, was a bonding experience. Together, the night wasn’t as long as if it would have seemed if I was by myself. We got through it. And with the morning, the storm had passed. Some of the adult leaders got up early and fixed us all hot chocolate and scrambled eggs.

My dad picked David and I up late that morning. We wanted to brag on our misery, only to find out Dad had just as good of a story. He’d gone fishing that evening on Masonboro Island. The storm came and the tide was out. There was a half-mile of mud flats between my dad, his boat, and the mainland. He spent a few miserable hours waiting for the tide to rise enough to float the boat so he could get home.

Paul begins this letter talking about comfort in affliction… His message is simple. God can comfort us in our suffering, and if we experience such comfort, we’re to be a comfort to others.

Suffering for Christ:

Of course, the suffering Paul refers to wasn’t spending a wet night during a storm. Suffering like that is something everyone experiences. It’s part of the human condition. We fall off a bike, or hit our thumb with a hammer, or experience a car accident. Some of our suffering we caused ourselves. Abusing our bodies for a lifetime, then getting ill as an example. At other times, we suffer when caught in nature. A tornado strikes our side of the road. Or maybe we’re laid off when a company downsizes. Such events are not limited to a particular religious group.

Paul’s example of affliction:

In this letter, Paul’s afflictions are brought on because he follows Jesus. In other words, by taking seriously Jesus’ teachings and commandments, people want to shut him up. It started right after Paul’s conversion. If you remember, Paul had to be slipped out of Damascus because of a group saw him as a traitor to his faith.^[10] And it didn’t get any easier.

We can help others because of what we’ve endured:

But Paul gains a unique insight from his afflictions. God who consoled him, prepared him to console others. One of the first books assigned for us to read in seminary was Henri Nouwen’s The Wounded Healer. Nouwen’s thesis, from what I remember of the book, is that through our wounds we gain the ability to help others. Our woundedness provides a ready-made connection, for on some level we’re all wounded.^[11]

The 12th Step in Alcoholics Anonymous captures what Paul teaches. Through a spiritual awakening while working the steps, the addict gains some control over his life and then can help others.

As Paul says, “our affliction is for your consolation.” God helps us and then expects us to help others. As I said at the beginning, salvation isn’t just a personal individual experience for our own benefit. We’re to use our experiences to glorify God and help others.

Paul’s example of affliction:

Paul speaks of an affliction he had when in Asia. At this time in history, Asia was what’s today known as the country of Turkey. In the letter he doesn’t go into detail of the type of suffering. Perhaps it was the riot Paul experienced in Ephesus, the leading city in Asia at the time.^[12] Whatever it was, Paul felt he was going to die. He could only trust God, but his hope is in the God who raises the dead. Such a God is worthy of our trust. As Paul wrote to the Romans: “if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.^[13]

Community:

I want to make one last observation on this text. Notice that Paul doesn’t writes in the singular here. Look at the pronouns. You don’t see an “I” or a “me.” It’s all “us” and “we” and a plural “you.” If this was translated by a Southerner, it’d be “y’all.” My point, as I have been trying to vocalize more and more in my preaching, our faith is lived out in a community. While there are individual aspects in Christianity, we develop our faith within the church where we console one another.

Conclusion:

What should we take from Paul’s letters. If we are suffering because we are striving to follow Christ and find ourselves in trouble, we shouldn’t be overly concerned. Let’s keep our eyes on Christ, not on the worldly demands we face. He’ll give us the strength we need to get through. And then, if we find another believer who is suffering, we can come alongside him or her and offer hope. Remember, the Christian faith is about community, about supporting one another in their afflictions. Amen.

^[1] See Presbyterian Church USA, Book of Confessions, “Second Helvetic Confession, Chapter XVI (5:1115) and “The Westminster Confession of Faith, 6.088-6.089.

^[2] Paul may have identified these Christians as Saints instead of the churches of Achaia because they had not yet been constituted into a congregation. See Ernest Best, Second Corinthians: Interpretation, A Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1987), 8.

^[3] I spoke about this before in sermons. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2022/11/27/advent-1-a-call-to-be-a-blacksmith/

^[4] Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997), 65, 67.

^[5] Paul draws on Isaiah 40-55 according to Barnett, 72 (see pages 71-76).

^[6] For the story of the Fort Fisher hermit see: https://www.ourstate.com/fort-fisher-hermit/

^[7] From what I remember, there were two men fishing. They’d run out of gas. They brought the boat close to shore, anchored it, while went to get gas. When he returned, the weather had changed. He couldn’t find the boat. The other man, once the boat capsized, also swam to shore. They’d missed each other in the dark.

^[8] While this saying is not in scripture, I think it should be in the book of Ecclesiastes. However, there is a close quote in the non-canonical (according to Protestants) book of Sirach 20:16.

^[9] Maggie May was released in July 1971 and was at the top of the charts by October. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbI_awR4CKE

^[10] Acts 9:23-25.

^[11] Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society (Doubleday, 1972).

^[12] Acts 19:21-41. If this was the affliction Paul refers, he was in more danger than we’re told in Acts (where his friends shielded him). C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (1973, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987), 64.

^[13] Romans 14:8.