By the Rev. Adrienne Stricker
“From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
“He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” – Mark 4:30-32
I’ve heard 2 Corinthians 5:17 many times: “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old has passed away, everything has become new.” Like many, I’ve reflected on this verse when looking for comfort in times of loss. We also need to carry that hope of a future with renewed creation to remind us to think beyond ourselves and trust in God’s redemptive work. God, who has created, is still creating.
But if we read verse 17 without verse 16, our hope is deficient. Because you are a new creation–because everything old has passed away–the way you regard “the other” will change. You can no longer regard anyone from a human point of view because when you are a new creation, you learn to see other people as beloved children of God. You can’t really separate those two verses anymore, because of this covenant you are living into as a child of God. And if we do not regard “the other” differently – are we really a new creation?
Roman Catholic author Doris Donelly believes that as Christians, we are called to continue the ministry of Jesus specifically as those who work for reconciliation–that the ministry of Jesus was incomplete when he was crucified. It is up to us to continue this work of reconciliation: “from the Scriptures we get a glimpse of reconciliation far more profound than patching up differences, or making a private peace with what’s wrong with the world, or putting a bandage over hurts inflicted in the course of living…reconciliation...begins ‘within’, when we hear (and believe) God’s words of acceptance and mercy. That realignment of the heart spills across all of our relationships, closing the gaps that distance us.”
The Kin-dom is “sort of like” when we learn to value reconciliation more than diversity: when we see that those at the table are a full and vibrant reflection of God’s creation, not as representatives, but as children of God. The Kin-dom is sort of like when the lion lies down with the lamb.
By using parables, Jesus was modeling for all of us that we need our “sort of/kind of” God stories to understand the Kin-dom. Without our distinct and unique stories, we can’t quite get at it. This is how things are made new. If we prevent people from sharing their truths, we can’t really see those glimpses of the Kin-dom of God. We lose what others might have contributed to the way we see God at work around us. We need each other to find the newness of God.