An Urgent Appeal

 II Corinthians 5:20b - 6:10 is the Second Reading appointed for Ash Wednesday.  It is an urgent appeal to be reconciled with God.  That is undoubtedly why it is regularly read on this day.  The fact remains, however, that reconciliation with God has already been achieved in Christ.  Verses prior to these in chapter 5 make this clear:  "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ." (5:18a).  How then do we understand this appeal?  It will be the preacher's task to figure this out.

(The following questions are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions available to exegetes. These questions have been developed to get at a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers, namely how the Word is functioning in the text?  For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The appeal is to be reconciled and to not let God's initiative in Christ be done in vain.  This implies, therefore, a state of need for the listener.  In effect, what is being said is, "You are in danger of allowing all of God's grace shown in Christ to be done in vain." The Word, then, is functioning as Law - as a call to repentance.  The Word is also clearly functioning as Gospel, when Paul states explicitly, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

2.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  It is always important to identify with those being addressed by the Word, therefore we identify as those whom Paul exhorts to be reconciled to God.  This would mean taking the posture of those who could cause God's grace to be done in vain.

3.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  While Paul is giving many examples of his own life under the call to obedience (e.g. beatings, imprisonments, labor, etc.), there is no specific call to obedience here. This call is the call to repentance and faith.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The text gives us some obvious alternatives:  separated from God/reconciled to God; full of sin/full of righteousness.

5.  Exegetical work:  The Lutheran Study Bible, in its notes, has a helpful commentary on the word translated 'reconciled'.  Note: "But is 'reconciliation' the best translation?  The re- at its beginning indicates restoration of an existing relationship.  The Greek word, katallassein, meant 'restoration' only occasionally.  More often, as is probably the case here, it refers to the initiation of friendship, a relationship between persons in which all things are shared in common. (p. 1902).  Ernest Best, in his commentary, sees this passage differently.  He sees this call not as a call to initiate a relationship with God, but the reminder to be continually renewing our relationship with God:  "Just as there is a continual need to be reconciled to God (see 5:20), so there is continual need to accept salvation day by day, 'now is the day of salvation.'  No group of Christians can think itself so firm in the faith that it does not need to go back again and again to examine itself lest it accept in vain the grace of God, the gracious way he has acted in Christ.  The same is true for the individual Christian." (Interpretation Series, Second Corinthians, p. 59).  It is also important to note that the Greek word for "reconciliation" and "reconciled" is almost exclusively reserved for this passage and Romans 5, where Paul summarizes the results of justification:  "For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Romans 5:10-11).  Again, it is clear that reconciliation with God remains in God's hands.

6.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Since this is not a narrative text it will be important to bring some real life experience into the sermon.  Stories, remembrances, and anecdotes will all be important to bring this sermon to life. As Fred Craddock frequently said, it is important to bring the experience of the text to the listener, not just the content.

Blessings on your proclamation!