Thought for the Day – Monday 8th June
‘Finally, brothers, goodbye. Aim
for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God
of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the
saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.’ (2
Corinthians 13: 11-13)
Another goodbye – this time from Paul as he takes his leave of the
Corinthians.
Saying goodbye can be a time of mixed emotions. Sometimes we can be
elated that someone is actually going to finally take their leave of us
particularly if their time with us has left us fraught or exhausted or
exasperated. Sometimes a goodbye can be challenging for us, rather as it was
for the disciples in our text yesterday where Jesus said goodbye but also left
them with a daunting task to undertake. Most times though it feels as if our
goodbyes are tinged with sadness - as family go after a visit, as a friend
leaves after a chat, as we transition from one part of our lives to another
moving on to pastures new, and perhaps that sadness is most deeply felt when we
have to say goodbye to loved ones whom we will miss forever.
Paul’s goodbye though, while it may indeed have brought joy to some and
sadness to others, is actually one which offers encouragement. Here was a young
church where the people were not one in mind or treating each other equitably
and fairly and so Paul in his farewell words to them tries to model a way of
living together for the Corinthians. His words are encouraging but there is a
wee hint of challenge in there too for as people who believe in Christ they are
to aim high in all they do in their life in Christ, aim for perfection; they
are to do their utmost to be of the same mind and to live peaceably together,
there must be no divisions among them; they are assured that in doing so God
will be with them always. They are also encouraged to greet each other with a
holy kiss - a holy kiss being seen as a token of mutual trust and affection
something which still happens in the churches of the Near East today as people
greet each other - I suppose rather like our handshake would be here in the
West or our kiss of greeting – at least pre-lockdown. Paul’s words also
encourage them to remember that their young church is actually part of
something so much bigger that is why he tells them ‘All the saints send their greetings’.
However, there is more to this goodbye, because it is not just about
encouragement it is also about blessing. Paul’s farewell includes words so
familiar to us, the words of ‘The Grace’ which we use so often as we ‘say
goodbye’ to each other following a whole host of fellowship times together. As
we are blessed by saying the Grace together, we are reminded of the Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and it is reminder to us too to be of one mind, to
live at peace with each other, to greet each other with mutual trust and
affection and to remember we are not alone as followers of Christ, we are part
of a whole communion of saints.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
all.
Prayer
Loving Lord,
So much of the road ahead is uncertain, the path constantly changing, we
know some things that are as solid and sure as the ground beneath our feet and
the sky above our heads. We know God is love. We know Christ’s light endures.
We know the Holy Spirit is there, found in the space between all things, closer
to us than our next breath, binding us to each other. May we be of one mind and
live at peace in this knowledge until we meet we are able to meet and greet
each other once more. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
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