By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
May 31, 2026
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2 Corinthians 13:11–14 (ESV)
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The past few weeks I feel like I have been being fairly preachy. We have been using the lectionary since I have been a pastor here at Willow Creek. If you feel like I am being preachy, just know that the verses that I have chosen to speak with are verses that are on a three-year repeating cycle. I have not purposefully gone to the trouble of seeking these out, it is the scripture on the list. And that list of scriptures are based on a calendar that was established a thousand years ago, which was based on a calendar that has been used for over three thousand years.
This calendar uses the seasons of nature, to remind us of the goodness of God. It uses the cycles of light and darkness to tell us about judgment and hope. It uses the growing season to teach us about life, and what is most important about life.
We are now in the season of Pentecost or the first fruits. This season of the liturgical calendar falls at the harvest of the first crop. This first crop sets the stage for the entire year. When the first crop is good, the second crop will likely be good. If the second crop is good then we will survive through the winter.
But this season is interesting religiously. It is place near the beginning of what would be wheat harvest in that part of the world. Harvest is a stressful time of year. You have a short window of time to bring all the crops into the storehouses. If you do not get it done within that window of time the grain falls out of the head and to the ground. Or even worse the grain begins to sprout while still it remains unharvested leaving the grain unfit for human consumption. Yet right as the grain matures and harvest begins, God demands that all the righteous bring their offerings to the temple. He does not say put aside the offering to bring later. The practice is to harvest the tithe, load it up into baskets, pack up the entire family, and travel across the nation to the temple to present your tithe and sacrifices to the priests.
We live in the city here, we may not fully grasp how stressful this requirement is for someone whose entire existence hinges on moving the grain from the field to the storehouses. We get paid once or twice a month. Likewise, we know exactly how much we will get paid. We know that on payday we will get a check, go to the bank, and we will have money available to us to use for the expenses we face. It is probably not enough money, but we know we have it. A farmer does not get paid once or twice a month, they have one payday and that is harvest. They work the entire year, not knowing what the future will bring. For months, they watch the plant grow, they worry about the rain, the temperature. They worry about the birds, and storms. Each day the watch the plants grow, and then they begin to harvest. And at the time when just about a tenth of the harvest is brought in, they are encouraged to make a decision. They before God and their community must make some declaration. They announce that they have faith that God will provide, or they physically show their community their concern.
Once a year they get paid, and before that payday comes, they must declare their faith.
That is just one aspect of Pentecost. It is a public declaration of faith. It is declaring to the community that you will trust God. You will trust that God will provide for you, your family, and your community. You make that declaration not after the crops are in, but right as harvest begins. You enter into the most crucial time of your year, you begin, you stop, and you praise. Then you go home to finish.
Then second aspect of Pentecost is the giving of the law, or as the church recognizes the giving of the Holy Spirit. The law is the wisdom of God. We often look at it from a western mindset of law, but to the Hebrew mind it is not as ridged as we make it out to be. For them, it was a conversation starter. It was teaching that we were use and apply to everyday life. The Rabbi would ask the students what God meant by do not covet your neighbor’s ox and the disciples would begin to discuss it. Then the Rabbi would probe a bit deeper, “Does this only apply to an ox? Could it apply to a chicken?” They would then circle around that aspect, how the teaching provided through Moses would or would not apply. This law, or teaching, became the framework upon which they built their society.
There were times when the teaching of God were the primary focus of their thoughts, and there were eras where they fell away from that teaching and chased after the things of the world instead. This falling away lead Judea into exile. They lived in captivity for an entire generation, and during that time they had a reformation. The temple was gone, how do we remain God’s people when we no longer have his temple? This is where the teaching of the prophets became more important. They saw the teachings about God writing the law on their hearts, so they began to read and study. They became a people that embodied the wisdom instead of a people that just went through the actions.
While in exile they became scholars, it was in exile that the Rabbinical methods of faith emerged. And when they returned to Jerusalem this rabbinic tradition did not end. It actually expanded. But one tradition that was added to the Pentecost celebration was that the evening prior to the feast of first fruits, they would read the entire Torah. They would do this to remind themselves that they were a sanctified people, set apart from the rest of the world. They needed to remind themselves that they were the people of God.
But there was a problem. They looked forward to the advent of Messiah, but in their understanding of scripture, the Messiah would not come until all of Israel returned. The missing tribes were dispersed among the nations, how would they find those lost tribes? The Pharisees as much as we tend to dislike them, were active missionaries. They went to the dispersed areas teaching, because in their mind they were bringing the dispersed tribes back in. Along with those dispersed children of Israel, they also had Gentiles that were convinced in faith. This activity did not stop with the followers of Jesus, instead they too joined in the activities. They joined and expanded it. They were convinced that not only were the dispersed children of Israel to return to God, but all people. Scripture taught that they, the children of God were to become the light to the nations, that they were to bring all people back to God. They were to participate in the restoration of Eden.
This idea of Pentecost, is necessary for us to understand the fullness of today’s scripture. Paul, this former Pharisees that was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah they were looking for, made it his mission to go to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel. God had inspired in him a desire to take the Gospel all the way to Spain, which they believed was the edge of Earth. They did know of places like America, or Australia. In their mind the earth consisted of Africa, Asia, and Europe. And Paul had this unquenchable desire to take the message of Christ to the edge of the world.
He says to the people of Corinth, “Finally, brothers, rejoice.”
In this first verse of today’s passage there are six commanding verbs. There are six imperatives. Six things we need to focus on to be able to experience the life that God has for us. That first thing is Joy. Rejoice Paul says. This is an emotional response to stimuli. I want us to consider that. Paul is encouraging, not merely encouraging, but commanding us to rejoice. He is commanding us to override every emotion coursing through our body to reformat it to joy.
This is ridiculous. This church was a church of division. It required not one but two letters to be written to it, because it was messed up. Some scholars even believe that there might have been a third letter. The narrative within the two letters at times has a disruption to in flow, and their theory is that maybe there was a third letter that somehow we only have a portion of. Either way multiple letters were written to this church. It is divided. It is filled with people that have different understandings of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Every time they get together, it seems as if the division only increases instead of decreases.
Yet as Paul closes the final letter to them, he commands them to rejoice. Rejoice in the trials, rejoice in the divisions, rejoice in the suffering.
It is ridiculous. How can I be filled with joy when I know that there is someone saying something I believe is wrong? How can I be filled with joy when there is someone out there questioning my devotion? How can I be filled with joy when there are people within this community that seem to actively be working against the very things I believe God is calling us to?
Yet Paul commands us to rejoice anyway.
This does not change the reality around us, but it changes our attention. We are commanded to rejoice, so that means we must actively find something to be joyful about. If I am going to rejoice amid the chaos of division I need to find that singular bright spot of hope and direct my attention there. We need to actively redirect our attention away from the negativity or the stresses that are pressing in on us and find something that we rally around.
This is not easy. It is difficult to see find joy when the world seems to be falling down around us. It is just as difficult to do that, as it was for a farmer on Pentecost to load baskets up with grain, at the beginning of harvest before they had full knowledge of what harvest might yield. It was hard for them to begin the harvest and then drop everything to go to a party, a feast, and a worship service. It is hard to trust that God will take that seemingly minuscule ember of joy and allow it to burn brightly.
Paul does not leave us there with that seemingly impossible task. He says, “Rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
In this verse Paul is telling us how to find joy so that we can live into the mandate to rejoice.
If you were to go to any therapist today what is the most common advice you might be given? Take care of yourself. If you want joy they tell you to find that joy in yourself. Even Christian counselors might give this advice. I am not saying it is completely bad advice, but it is incomplete. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, what the most important teaching of the entire Torah was, he said it was, “Love God with all that you have available to you, and to love your neighbor as yourself.” The world teaches us that to find joy, we must find in ourselves. Jesus’ teaching would say yes sure, but there are a few more steps. We need to take that self-love, that self joy, and extend it to others.
Both Paul and Jesus are telling us, that it is not about you. It is not about what you think is right, it is not about whom you think is right. It is not about your argument winning or losing. In fact, it has very little to do with you. If you want to find joy, if you want to truly find the things you desire, you must get outside yourself. And that begins with restoration.
The idea of restoration is fascinating when we begin to look at it deeper. On the surface we might look at this to simply be a healing of sorts. If there is division then restoration would be talking through those things that are causing division and finding a way to bridge the gap. But as I began looking into this a bit deeper, I found that this word was often used in a mathematical sense to indicate balance.
I want us to think about this for a moment. Paul is telling us to balance the equation. Equality.
Restoration is about balance and allowing each member of the society to have the opportunity to contribute to the community according to their ability. To aim for restoration means that we need to become aware of various barriers that have been placed in the way of participation. Examine why they are there, and then remove those barriers when we recognize them as hindrances instead of protective guides. Should there be barriers? Yes absolutely. There are times when it is necessary to have some barriers because without specific training one can cause harm. We need regulations to ensure that those practicing medicine know the arts and sciences of medicine. We need to make sure that those that prepare our taxes understand the tax laws so that we do not go to jail because of their mistakes. There are times when barriers are necessary. But are these barriers being applied ethically, are they being enacted morally and justly. Are the regulations and barriers of entry being applied equally? This is what aim for restoration is point toward. Are we working together to make our society reflect the mind of Christ where there are no slaves or free, no Jews or Greeks, no males or females, but we are equal image bearers of God?
Comfort one another is the third command or teaching. There are basically two senses to this phrase. The first is to encourage. It was the type of encouragement given to soldiers before they entered battle, like in the movie Braveheart. The second sense of the word is to provide encouragement to those suffering grief or loss. Generally we tend to focus on the second aspect of the word, but we need to remember that the primary command is to rejoice, so really both apply. If we are facing injustice we need encouragement to continue to stand through the persecution. When we have loss we need comfort from those within our community to tell us and show us that hope remains.
The fourth command or teaching is to agree with one another. This seems about as ridiculous as rejoice. I command you to agree with me! The point here is to come to an agreement, seek unity or to find a fitting compromise. The command is to agree with one another, not agree with me. No one person is greater than the other. Some might carry a bit more weight or clout within a community, but we are all image bearers of God. We are all equal in God’s sight. This means that even though I might be seen as a leader among you what I say is not the law. We must come to an agreement with each other. We should be mindful that as we make decisions we are taking the entire community’s best interest into account, not merely what is best for myself. The more proper understanding is to be of one mind, or in unity with each other.
The fifth command is to live in peace. This is a difficult concept, all of these are difficult. They are difficult because to fulfill these commands or teachings, we must participate with the community. We cannot do any of these things on our own. The idea of peace though is to live without conflict. How is it possible to live without conflict? This really goes back to the core teachings of God at Pentecost. God spoke from within the cloud as the people of Israel gathered at Mount Sinai and gave them the ten words, sayings, or commandments.
When you look at those ten teachings four focus on our relationship with God and six deal with our relationships with each other. And at the center of the ten is honor your father and mother, which is the only command that carries a blessing. To live at peace we need to recognize that, I do not have the right. I do not have the right or authority to extinguish the life of someone. I do not have the right to fulfill my carnal desires with someone’s spouse. I cannot take your property without your permission. We could go on, but the point is made. I do not have the right, but we think we do. I want money, so I am going to try my best to convince you that my inferior product is of greater value so that I can have more. That product breaks, you are mad, and you come after me to demand a refund. I am unwilling to listen.
When we think of peace we often only associate it with warfare, but it is so much more than that. Peace begins with each of us. It begins with us realizing that I do not have more or less rights than the person next to me. And we should recognize that if I want my personal rights preserved I need to make sure that my neighbor is also being treated with the same human dignity. And when conflict does arise we need to make every effort to resolve that conflict while respecting the dignity of all parties involved.
The person yelling at the customer service counter is not living in peace. The person being yelled at may not be right either. I know that this happens because when I was in college I would always ask my sister to return items to the store for me, because they would always tell me no. I could have the receipt be within a reasonable window of time, and they would still say no, yet they never questioned her. Living in peace is resolving conflict, it is respecting the dignity of other, it is applying the rights you have to everyone around you. To live at peace means we need to actively aim for restoration, comfort and encourage one another, find a path forward together, and to respect each other as fellow image bearers of God’s image even when we might have a difference of opinion.
Paul commands these things. He commands us to rejoice even thought we are not currently living in these things. He says this because they do not just happen. If you do not have joy today what are you doing to resolve that? Are we pursuing a lifestyle where we can find joy or are we living within a framework where we are instead focusing on everything wrong around us?
This brings us to our query this month. Do you abstain from the abuse of alcohol, drugs, and any other substance or behavior that might lead to addiction or dependence? Do you intelligently and lovingly use your influence to minister to those already damaged by such abuses?
We often look at these questions as legalism. We look at them from a context of organized religion seeking to suck the enjoyment out of life, but this is not the case at least for Friends. Our abstention from the use of alcohol began long before the work of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. We began to encourage those within our scope of influence to abstain from alcohol because it was an industry that often opposed the very things we promoted, particularly slavery. But there was something more than just slavery involved. There was a three part aspect to this industry. The first part was that Europeans would take manufactured goods, clothing, alcohol and weapons to Africa so that the various leaders could continue their wars. And they would trade humans for these good. They would then take these slaves to America where they would force them to produce the raw materials, and then they would take those raw materials back to Europe. This entire triad of trade, was dehumanizing.
It dehumanized the African’s, it dehumanized the factory workers that they forced to work in inhumane conditions, and it dehumanized the Americans. And who profited? The Africans were seen as less than human, the factory workers we kept drunk so they would remain compliant, and the colonies were not being enriched but the resources were being pillaged so that others could profit. This triad of trade is dehumanizing, and aspect of it continue to this day.
The point of the query is not to keep you from having fun, it is instead to encourage you to be mindful of your actions. Your dependence on things to allow you to cope or numb our awareness of the surrounding injustice instead of actively working to overcome and bring true peace within your life. The point of this query is to encourage us to recognize those areas within our life where we have not dealt with things in a healthy manner, to seek help, to be willing to offer assistance.
Paul commands us to rejoice. He commands us to aim for equality or equal opportunity. He commands us to seek resolutions together, and to honor the dignity of those around us. And then he gives us one final command. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
I have heard a lot of debate as to what this means. I actually find it humorous. I have heard people explain it away as just a culture greeting, likening it to a handshake in America. I laugh at this not because it is inaccurate. I laugh because there is a reason behind this cultural tradition. What is required of us to give and accept a kiss? We need intimacy between each other, a closeness where someone entering into our personal space is allowed. Then there is another thing, we have to be willing to breath the same air as they breathe for a while. We have to endure their bad breath, their perfume, their skin, and whiskers. We do not do this. We cannot do this unless there is true friendship and love for one another. For Paul to be able to greeting one another with a holy kiss is the sign that we are in a position to rejoice.
I have been preachy for the past few weeks, maybe months. I have been preachy because we are allowing division to occur. We are justifying things within our community that we have spent a great deal of time and energy to overcome. Friends have had equity as one of our core tenants for centuries, and that is now being questioned. Peace has been part of our testimony from the beginning and many want us to stop being so dramatic. Our decision-making methodology requires us to seek out the spirit and to come to a sense of the meeting, and so often we abuse that to grand stand on our own personal agendas or pet projects. We have forgotten who we are in so many ways, and it grieves my heart.
Yet there is hope. We have been in this place before. And we have found a way forward. We have found that way because of the grace of God. We have come together time and time again, seeking the will of God, and the Spirit been our guide. I may be grieved, but I still rejoice. I rejoice because I know that the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is available to us. I rejoice because the same Spirit that preserved the saints of old through persecution is still active today. And that same Spirit is empowering us for the common good. I know even in my grieved heart that there is hope. I have faith that even in the darkest periods of disunity that we will once again be able to live in peace. And I pray that the peace will begin with us.
Previous Messages:
Gifted for Good
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 24, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Corinthians 12:3–13 (ESV) 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one…
In Your Hearts Honor Christ as Holy
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 10, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 3:13–22 (ESV) 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for…
Living Stones
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 03, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 2:2–10 (ESV) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have…
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