Lent Ash Wednesday.
II Corinthians 5:20-6.2
"’Bridge Builders"
"So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, "At the acceptable time I have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation." Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2, RSV.
While I was taking a summer course of CPE in a hospital Cleveland, Ohio, we had a long weekend so Wanda and I decided to, drive to Niagara Falls to see the sights. It was a. nice drive and as one approached the falls, the roar of the water falling over those rocks could be heard a long ’ distant away. The wonder, the majesty of the falls was a sight to behold.
There were tour boats that took us close to the bottom of the falls, so close in fact that you had to wear a rain coat and boots or you would get all wet. There was a cave dug out behind and besides the falls, where one could go to see and feel the great power of the falls.
Then there was a suspension bridge across the falls. I don’t like high places and especially high places that move, so I didn’t walk across .
I wondered how they got that bridge built across the falls. Then I came across this story in a paper that explained it. Listen: "The suspension bridge built across Niagara Palls was begun by a thread attached to kite. When the wind blew, the kite went across. Then on the thread they attached a string and pulled it across. Then to the string, they attached a rope and pulled it across. Then’ to the rope they attached a cable, that was fastened to each end. Then on the cable a basket was attached for the men to work in and eventually the bridge was built.
The bridge started with a small piece of thread, but eventually,"a giant of. a bridge was built in comparison.
Paul says in our lesson from II Corinthians that we to be ambassadors, or bridge builders, for Christ. An ambassador is one who is an representative for a country in a foreign land. During their stay in the land, an ambassador learns about the culture, the lifestyle, the habits of the people and at the same time, through his actions, through his words, through his lifestyle, he brings into this foreign land some of the culture, some of the traditions, some. of the values of his country. The in a sense, through this ambassador, a bridge is built between the two countries. Through this one man, two different nations get to learn about each the other.
In the some kind of way, Paul says as Christians we are to be representatives for Christ. As the Amplified translate says: "So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal’ as -it were through us. We as Christ}’s personal representatives beg you for His sake to lay hold of the, divine favor new,offered you and be reconciled to God."
Or as the Living Bible says: "We are Christ’ s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you."
We are ambassadors or representative for God, for Christ in this world. We are bridge builders for Christ . It us through us, through our actions our words, that people learn about the one we call Lord or Christ.
Barclay says in his commentary "An ambassador is a stranger in a foreign land. His life is spent among people who speak a different language, who have a different: tradition and who follow a different way life
The Christian is always like that,. He lives in the world,he takes part in all the life and work of the’ world but he is a citizen of heaven. to that extent he is a stranger. The man who is not willing to be different cannot be a Christian at ’all."
As a Christian, we represent something i. this world that is different, we represent Christ. And because we represent Christ, our lives, our actions, our’ values, our attitudes. our words, all point to him. We have value because Christ has made us valuable through his death and resurrection.
"There is’ a story about an American tourist in Paris who purchased an inexpensive amber necklace in a trinket shop, who was shocked when he had to pay. a high duty on it to clear customs in New York. This aroused his curiosity, so he had it appraised. After looking at the object under a powerful magnifying glass, the jeweler said,." I’ll give you $25,000 for it."
Greatly surprised, the owner decided to have another expert examine it. He was offered $25,000.
"What do you see that is so valuable about this old necklace,: asked, the astonished owner.
"’Look through this glass," replied the jeweler. There before his eyes was an inscription "from Napoleon Bonapart to Josephine."
Identification ’with a famous person was what made the necklace enormously valuable."
We are like that necklace, "just a trinket" with little or no value with out "Christ". But because, we are linked to him through his, body and blood, through the waters of our baptism then we are valuable, then we have an enormous worth , then our value soars.
Because of God’ s action through Christ in our lives we have become valuable.
The living Bible says: "For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, He poured God’s goodness into us."
God acted in our lives through His Son to make our lives valuable, worthwhile.
In a newspaper it’ says this: "The one thing which distinguishes the gospel of God’s grace and extinguishes the religions of the world is that in the religions of the world, the blood is flowing from the devotees to the gods to appease them; but in Christianity, the blood is flowing from God to the sinners"
. As a famous hymn says: ’See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down; Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown’"
We are ambassadors, bridge builders to Christ because God has made us valuable through the body and blood of his son. Our lives represent Christ "in the world. Through us people can and do see Christ.
Charles Spurgeon likes to view the. Christian life and witness in this way. ’He says:
"Picture in your mind a brook; with’ water; running fast in it t. and in this brook are stepping stones upon which a traveler can cross. Then it flashed across my mind, ’isn’t all of time like that brook and aren’t those stepping stones like the stepping stones of testimony to cross the stream of time.
There you have Noah and he. is a steppingstone, to step to Abraham and from him Moses; and from Moses to Elijah, and so on from Elijah to Daniel, Daniel to Isaiah and Isaiah to Jeremiah, and Jeremiah to Jesus, and Jesus to us, the church,’is body, his vine in this world"
Think of yourself as a’ stepping stone for others’ to cross the stream of. time to get from their birth to "life eternal across the stream of time. You and I are those stones, we are the testimony of Christ in the stream’ of life. It is through us, the church., the body of Christ in this world that others. will find the same, good news about a God who was willing to shed the blood of his son so that-we might live.
Paul’ tells the Corinthians in the Living Bible, "As God’s partners we beg’ ’you not to toss aside this marvelous message of God’ s great kindness."
Paul. is imploring the Corinthians to take seriously all that God’ ’has done for -them through Jesus and then to assume the responsibility that is their’s’ as a step-stone, or if you like better, as bridge builders. God has made our lives valuable, He has turned our lives from living in the Ash Heaps into something of value.
Our Lenten theme’ says; From the Ashes of Death to Newness of Life,
We have been spared the ashes of death through Jesus so that. we might live a new life, a new life as bridge builders pointing to Christ who has done all the restoring work in, our lives.
The great Danish theologian Soren Kirkegaard said, "most evangelism is like reading to a hungry man out of a cookbook when it should be one hungry man showing another hungry man where he’d found bread."
As we eat the bread of life tonight and we sup the blood of forgiveness, let us be like that hungry man showing others from where we have received our nourishment, the body and blood of Christ.
Bridge builders, ambassadors, stepping stones, all describe what kind of life you and I are to live for Christ and our neighbor.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale February 7, 2005
