Embodied Hope

Good morning again, and welcome to Church of the Advent.

If you're joining us for the first time, my name is Jeff, and I'm one of the pastors here,

and I would love to meet you after the service and get to know you a little bit.

I'll be outside on the steps.

Please come say hello.

Brian Johnson is a billionaire tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist whose mission in life

is to reverse the aging process of his own body and to be able to live longer than human beings

have ever been able to live.

Every day, Brian Johnson follows a strict regimen of diet and exercise, taking over 100 supplements

a day, having blood plasma treatments, skin treatments, and strict sleep protocols.

This is a project that costs him over $2 million a year.

Back in January of this year, Fortune magazine reported that Johnson had hosted Kim Kardashian

and other members of the Kardashian family and influential people, lots of other influential

people, for a don't-die dinner.

It sounds like I'm making this up, but I'm not.

The article said that Johnson has hosted bi-weekly Don't Die dinners for the last few years, and

he has welcomed hundreds of guests, including politicians, astronauts, artists, scientists,

and he says the impetus for the dinners is to provoke conversations about what it means

to be human.

Don't Die is the punchline of the dinner, he says.

The article goes on to say that guests enjoy a meal of broccoli, cauliflower, black lentils,

and nutty pudding, a concoction of various nuts and berries.

And in true Johnson fashion, because sleep needs to be optimized, the dinner wrapped up

at 7.30 that evening.

Most recently, it was reported on multiple news outlets, you can look this up, that due to Johnson's

progress, he now celebrates his biological age every 19 months.

Now, to many of us, I think this probably sounds a bit extreme and honestly a little silly,

but I think you've got to give it to him.

This is someone who has taken the human problem of human mortality very seriously, a problem

that most of us would honestly prefer not to think about on a daily basis.

The fact that there are over a thousand ways that our bodies can break down and get sick

and suffer and die.

Some of us right now know this better than others, but even for the healthiest among us,

it's just a matter of time.

Given enough years and days and months and minutes,

our bodies will eventually break down and stop working.

And you have to give it to him.

Brian Johnson is trying to face this problem of human mortality with incredible hope and

optimism and discipline, and he's trying to inspire others to do the same.

But is there a better way to think about and respond to the human problem of mortality and

frailty and weakness?

The Apostle Paul is someone who not only thought about these things a lot, but he faced them

head on and experienced a great deal of suffering.

He was imprisoned.

He was beaten.

He was shipwrecked.

His life was threatened countless times.

And he had critics who questioned his credibility, critics that he's speaking to here in this letter

in 2 Corinthians.

And his critics believe that if he really was an apostle from God,

he wouldn't experience this kind of bodily frailty and weakness and suffering.

And yet in the middle of that, he has this incredible hope and optimism.

Far beyond the hope and optimism of somebody like Brian Johnson.

And the question is why?

What hope does Christianity offer the world as it relates to human frailty and weakness

and mortality?

And what difference does that make in our lives?

And that's the question that I want to look at this morning, this question of hope.

That's what we're going to look at as we look at our passage in 2 Corinthians 4 and 5.

We're going to look at the hope of present transformation and the hope of future glory.

The hope of present transformation and the hope of future glory.

So first of all, the hope of present transformation.

In verse 16, at the beginning of our passage, Paul says this.

So we do not lose heart.

Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

The fact that our outer self is wasting away, this reality of mortality,

has the potential to drive us to discouragement and even to despair.

And many people have been driven there.

On the other hand, it can drive others like Brian Johnson to,

not to discouragement and despair, but to greater discipline.

To have greater discipline and mastery over his body.

But Paul isn't discouraged about his mortality.

He's not driven to despair.

Nor does he say that the solution is greater discipline or mastery over our bodies.

No, he's filled with hope and encouragement.

He says, for we do not lose heart.

Why?

Why?

Because though our outer selves are headed towards a trajectory of breakdown and decay,

our inner selves are headed in precisely the opposite direction,

towards transformation and renewal and healing.

Listen to how Paul describes this inner transformation just a couple chapters earlier in chapter 3, verse 18.

And we behold the glory of the Lord.

As we behold the glory of the Lord,

we are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.

From one degree of glory to another.

Outwardly, our bodies are being changed from one degree of mortality and weakness to another.

But for the Christian who's been filled with the Spirit,

we are inwardly being transformed from one degree of glory to another to look more and more like Christ.

This is a kind of glory that no amount of discipline could ever achieve.

And it's the glory of spiritual transformation and moral beauty.

It's the glory of holiness.

It's the glory of becoming more and more like God.

But even as we think about this,

as we think about our own transformation,

it's easy to get discouraged about that.

The older that I've gotten,

the more I've wondered,

can people actually change?

Can I change?

Can broken relationships be healed?

Can leaders in the public square

live just and morally beautiful lives?

A younger version of myself would probably have been more optimistic

about the answers to these questions.

And I wonder about you.

As you've gotten older,

have you become more encouraged or discouraged

about the possibility of change?

About the possibility of change in your own life

and in the lives of others?

Wherever you're at,

Paul would remind us today that we,

of all people,

should be optimistic in the face of these questions.

Because of the power of the Holy Spirit

that is available to us

to transform us inwardly,

even as outwardly our bodies

have the appearance of wasting away.

By God's grace,

people can change

and live lives of moral beauty

this side of heaven.

Just in the past month,

I have seen this.

I've seen a change happen in my extended family

that, to be honest,

I had lost hope could ever happen.

After years of no communication whatsoever,

I received a text message

from an extended family member

who I thought would never talk to me ever again.

Now, this might sound like

a really simple, unglorious thing,

but some of you have the kind of broken relationships

where you know that there is a depth

and there's a degree of brokenness

where to receive a text message from somebody

would mean that God has done a miracle.

And this is exactly what happened.

I saw real change.

I saw real transformation happen

in somebody in my extended family

that I have a relationship with.

Brian Johnson is seeking outer transformation.

He's seeking the reversal of his age.

But Christianity offers us something

far greater and deeper and profound,

the inner transformation of our humanity

into moral and spiritual beauty,

into Christlikeness,

the reversal of our sin nature.

And this isn't a transformation

that just lasts for the present.

It's a transformation that lasts for all of eternity.

And Paul is clear

that the transformation that we experience in this life

is evidence,

is directly linked to the fact

that we also possess the hope of eternal glory.

And that's what I want to look at next,

is we not only have the hope of present transformation,

but we also have the hope of future glory.

And we see that in the next verse

and the verses preceding.

2 Corinthians 4, verse 17.

2 Corinthians 4:17

Paul says,

For this light and momentary affliction

is preparing for us

an eternal weight of glory

far beyond all comparison.

However we imagine

the beauty and glory of heaven

to be with our finite brains,

our best projections,

our best imaginations

pale in comparison

to what it will actually be like.

Consider what Paul says elsewhere

in 1 Corinthians 2.

He says,

No eye has seen,

nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined

what God has prepared

for those who love him.

We are actually not given

a lot of intricate detail in Scripture

about what heaven will be like.

We do have some glimpses

in some places,

like the book of Revelation.

But actually what we're given more of

and what Paul emphasizes here

in this passage

and in other places

is that we will have

resurrected glorified bodies.

In chapter 5, verse 1,

he compares our current bodies

to a tent.

And he says that we have,

in these tents that we have,

we have this promise

of a greater house,

a greater dwelling,

a building from God,

a house not made with hands,

eternal in the heavens.

And then in verse 4,

he mixes these metaphors

of dwelling and clothing.

And he says,

For while we are still in this tent,

we groan,

being burdened,

not that we would be unclothed,

but that we would be further clothed

so that what is mortal

may be swallowed up by life.

Paul is mixing metaphors here

of home and clothing

to make the point

that our transition

from this life

to the next one

isn't going from being clothed

to being naked.

It's not from having a body

to being without a body.

Rather,

it's transitioning

from a lesser body

to a greater,

more glorified body.

From a tent

to a home.

From being clothed

to being further clothed.

From a weak,

frail,

mortal body

to an immortal,

indestructible,

glorified body.

Now,

even though he

doesn't go into great detail

about what this body

will look like,

and sometimes I wish

that Paul did,

this actually helps us

to imagine

how beautiful

and glorious

heaven will be.

Think about

all of the best

experiences

and pleasures

that you have experienced

in your body.

Think about

the best meals

that you have

ever eaten.

Well,

heaven is described

like a great feast,

a wedding supper,

the wedding supper

of the Lamb

between Christ

and the church.

Think about

the most beautiful

experiences

outdoors

in nature

that you've had,

whether it's

a sunset

or a hike

in the mountains

or a day

at the beach.

Our future

is the renewal

of all creation,

the marriage

of heaven and earth.

Think about

the best night's

sleep you've ever

had.

Heaven is

the ultimate

Sabbath rest.

Think about

the best experiences

of art

or music

that you've

ever experienced.

Heaven is described

as a place

of beauty

and glory

beyond all

comparison.

The point is

that the promise

of future glory

isn't a glory

apart from our bodies,

but an embodied

glory

that transcends

all our best

bodily experiences

in this life

and fulfills

the deepest

longings

that we have.

And this is why

Paul is

filled

with hope.

This is why

he repeats

multiple times

in this passage,

we are always

of good courage,

we do not

lose heart

because the promise

of future glory

is more beautiful

than any of us

could possibly

imagine.

And this not only

gives us hope

for the future,

but it transforms

how we think

about our bodies

in the present.

On one hand,

the hope

of the resurrection

of the body

gives us

the greatest

possible affirmation

of the dignity

of what it means

to be human

and to have a body.

But on the other hand,

it also cautions us

not to place

our ultimate hope

in these bodies,

in these tents.

We might not be

billionaires

like Brian Johnson

with $2 million

a year

to spend

on our physical health

and reversing

our aging process

and hosting

don't die dinners

with celebrities.

But we all

to some degree

experience the temptation

to treat these bodies

as our home

and not as a tent.

It's easy for us,

I think,

that we live

in the culture

that we live

in this culture

to base our sense

of self-worth,

to base our ultimate

source of hope

in our physical beauty,

in our health,

in our fitness.

We're surrounded

by images

in marketing

and media

and TV

and movies

that offer

a vision

and a particular

vision

of what it means

to be human

that can lead us

to a certain

kind of idolatry

where we give

physical beauty

and health

and fitness

a place of worship

in our hearts

that only God deserves.

One of the main problems

in a culture like that,

in a culture

that worships beauty

and physical fitness,

is that it has

little to no resources

to help people

face the realities

of physical weakness

and suffering.

The solutions

we come up with

are only for the elite

and for the rich.

See,

if you worship

physical beauty

or health

or fitness,

you'll never be able

to see how physical

suffering

or weakness

or even death

could make you

more beautiful,

could make you

more glorious,

could make you

into a person

of greater spiritual beauty.

Instead,

it will always drive you

to despair

and discouragement.

But if you see

Jesus Christ,

what you see in Jesus

is that you see

a God

who took on a body.

Think about

what it means

for our weak,

frail,

suffering,

dying bodies

that are outwardly

wasting away.

Think about

what it means

that God

took on a body,

a body that was weak,

a body that was frail,

that had limits,

a body that suffered,

a body that died.

Think about the fact

that because God

himself experienced

in his body

all the weaknesses

and frailties

that we experience.

He can use

those things

in our life

to transform us

to be more like him,

to become

more glorious.

And what can bring us

more hope

for our bodies

than the fact

that we are promised

the same transformation

that Christ experienced

in his own resurrection,

a transformation

far beyond

what supplements

and skin treatments

and gym memberships

and mascara

could ever achieve,

a transformation

that doesn't

downplay

or minimize

or ignore

our suffering

and our weakness,

but that in comparison,

in comparison,

makes our suffering

look like

what Paul calls

a light

and momentary

affliction.

And far from being

a hope

that is only

available to the rich

and the elite

and the healthy,

the hope

of the resurrection

of the body

is a hope

that is available

to everyone.

And this is why

Paul is full

of optimism

and hope

in the midst

of his own mortality.

This is why he says

we are always

of good courage,

we do not lose heart.

In these tents

we groan.

But in our groaning

we are always

of good courage

because we have

the hope

of present transformation,

that by God's grace

we can be transformed

by the Holy Spirit

to live lives

of moral beauty

this side of heaven.

And that this

present transformation

is evidence

that we also possess

the hope

of future glory.

And our groaning

is evidence

that one day

our groaning

will end.

That our earthly tent

will become

a heavenly dwelling.

That our tattered rags

will become robes

of splendor.

That what is mortal

will be swallowed up

by life.

as I was reflecting

on all this

this past week

I couldn't help

but continue

to think about

Brian Johnson's

don't die dinners.

Partially because

I thought it was funny

to imagine

the Kardashian family

sitting around the table

with their makeup

and Botox

eating cauliflower

telling each other

to not die.

but more so

because I couldn't

help

but connect it

to the meal

that we receive

each week

at this table.

Now maybe that's

because I'm an

Anglican priest

and because I think

about these things

a lot.

But also I think

there is something

that is connected

to this universal longing

for what is offered

and made available

in the Eucharist.

That in our decaying

frail

mortal bodies

we have this longing

for present healing

and transformation

and also this longing

for future glory

and immortality.

And somehow we know

on an intuitive level

that what we eat

and what we drink

is where we find assurance

that those longings

will be fulfilled.

And if I was there

at that dinner table

at Brian Johnson's house

if you can imagine

me and my collar

sitting next to Kim

and Courtney

what I would want

to invite them

to

and what I want

to invite us to

is this

that the hope

of healing

and immortality

that they are longing

for

that we are all

longing for

isn't in what

we do

to our bodies

it's in what

Jesus does

to our bodies

and nowhere

are we assured

more of this

than in the Eucharist

where Christ

gives us

his own life

his own

body

broken for us

his own blood

shed for us

offered

mystically

and sacramentally

in bread

and wine

the hope

of healing

and transformation

both now

and forever

given

and offered

freely

to bodies

that are

frail

and weak

and sick

and suffering

that through

the suffering

and weakness

of his own body

through the

indestructible glory

of his resurrection

Jesus is the one

who reverses

our aging process

forever

through the power

of the Holy Spirit

and to the glory

of God the Father

and I'd want

to remind

the people

at this table

of these words

therefore

we do

not lose

heart

though our

outer self

is wasting away

our inner self

is being renewed

day by day

for this light

momentary affliction

is preparing

for us

an eternal

weight of glory

beyond all

comparison

as we look

not to the things

that are seen

but to the things

that are unseen

for the things

that are seen

are transient

but the things

that are unseen

are eternal

let's pray

God and Father

we thank you

that in the midst

of the weakness

and frailty

and mortality

of our own bodies

that we have

this hope

that we have

this embodied

hope of the

resurrection

of the body

Lord I pray

that that hope

would fill us

with faith

right now

in the present

to know you

and trust you

and worship you

thank you

that you promise

healing to us

both now

and forever

and thank you

that you offer

your own body

to us

at the table

we pray this

in the name

of the Father

the Son

and the Holy Spirit

Amen