A Reflection for Thursday, March 27 by Rev. Elizabeth Jones
Lectionary reading for 3/27/2025: Psalm 32; Joshua 4:1-13; 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5
Selected passage for reflection: 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5
Read
2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5 New Revised Standard Version
4:16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For our slight, momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen, for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
5:1 For we know that, if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to be further clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 for surely when we have been clothed in it[a] we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan under our burden because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 The one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a down payment.
Reflect
Often when I was a teenager, and a number of times in my twenties and thirties, I went camping in state forests and with the Girl Scouts. This wasn’t camping in a recreational vehicle, but real camping. In a real tent, with sleeping bags on the ground, where we would cook over a campfire. So, as I read what Paul says here in 2 Corinthians 5:1, I have some idea of what he’s talking about.
Our frail human bodies are very much like tents – earthly tents. Yes, they can be knocked down, even flattened or ripped apart. I also serve as a hospice chaplain, so I see our dear patients on a regular basis, with their frail earthly tents becoming weaker, more and more dilapidated. I feel such tenderness and such pain for our patients and for their families as I watch over, and pray for, and journey with them. Week by week – our patients become less verbal, their cognitive impairment growing. Sometimes their physical bodies become more constricted and stiff, and finally enter transition. Into another world. The next place.
Yes. I very well understand what the Apostle Paul – a tentmaker, by trade – is talking about when he mentions that the earthly tent we live in will be destroyed. This happens to each one of us, sooner or later, and is part of the circle of life. And yet, in the next breath Paul speaks of the building from God, a house (a heavenly house!) not made with frail human hands.
Even though I have much respect for Habitat for Humanity (and I greatly honor the people who work on those houses, including the recently deceased President Carter, in his nineties!), the heavenly houses Paul talks of here are as different from these earthly dwellings as night is from day.
Just as each of us lives in a frail, earthly tent right now while we camp out on this earth, it won’t be forever. No, when each of us dies, or expires, or passes over, we will be in a whole new world. A heavenly realm, where each one of us will inherit a custom-made building not made with human hands. I don’t quite know what this structure will look like, but I’m not worried about it. I don’t need to know. God knows, and God has it prepared and waiting for me. And, for you, too.
Respond
What is God calling you to do as we come to realize our earthly tents are temporary? Yes, we can look forward to our heavenly dwelling places! And, we can reach out right now with helpful hands and thankful hearts to each other. Many people in this world are having difficulty with their physical bodies, and need a helping hand. How can you help? How can you come alongside, and journey with our sisters and brothers in need? God willing, God will give you ideas and connect you with organizations and ministries that are already doing this helpful, God-honoring work. And, God bless you richly as we wait to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling.
Rest
Dear Lord, gracious God, we cannot thank You enough for the hope, for the promise of our future presence with You in heavenly places. We look forward to moving out of these frail, earthly tents into Your buildings, eternal in the heavens. And, help each of us to honor You, to do something in Your service, to help those who are the least of these, the people who are already experiencing the frailty of the earthly tent they are living in. We praise You for Your love, Your care and Your mercy bestowed on each of us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
About the Author
The Rev. Elizabeth Jones is a hospice chaplain in Chicago, pastor of a tiny UCC congregation in the Chicago suburbs, and holds a certificate in Alcohol and Drug Counseling (CADC). Elizabeth loves to read, preach, do yoga, and putter about on the computer. Website: www.pastorpreacherprayer.com
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