Jesus at the center

Jesus at the center

Spirit of the living God

2 Corinthians 2:14-3:6 (NRSV)

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many;but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; 3 and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Spirit of the living God

2 Corinthians 2:14-3:6 (NRSV)

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many;but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; 3 and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

From Three Rivers Episcopalian Blog: The life of the Rev. Canon William Barnwell

From the Washington Examiner, posted on "Three Rivers Episcopalian":

From Washington-

The life of the Rev. Canon William Barnwell, a crusading, liberal, Episcopalian priest who died March 27 of (suspected) coronavirus in New Orleans, could teach lessons we all should apply as we respond to the current contagion.

Barnwell was my friend, just as he was a friend to many other conservatives despite political disagreements. He had a rare ability, as described by journalist Jed Horne in a March 29 obituary: “He could read a room — and immediately begin putting together people he thought might be good at energizing each other in common cause.” 

He could quickly discern which subjects were ones on which you and he would never agree and push them aside forever. He could figure out which things were negotiable disagreements and bank them in his mind for later, cordial discussion. But with just a few probing questions or suggestions, he would find common ground on other topics and immediately home in. How could that agreement be turned into concrete action — and how quickly? And crucially, how could it be organized and leveraged to be most effective? He wanted discernible results, not merely feel-good fulminations or worthless wheel spinning.

More here-

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/one-priest-who-died-of-the-coronavirus-could-have-helped-us-cope-with-it