Although he had a law degree, he had no prior experience of politics.

Instead, he had spent most of his adult life as a comedian and an actor…

ironically…

most notably portraying a man with no political experience who…

somewhat accidentally…

had been elected president.

So, when Voldymyr Zelensyy was elected the president of Ukraine…

few people took him too seriously.

At times, he looked like a rabbit caught in headlights––

like when Trump tried to manipulate him into finding “dirt” against Biden.

And, apparently, his approval rating among Ukrainians wasn’t great––

he hadn’t delivered on his promises to clean up corruption;

and he was seen as too timid in his approach to Russia.

In the lead up to the Russian invasion…

he appeared out of his depth––

alternating between criticising Western leaders for fearmongering over an invasion;

and criticising them for not doing more to prevent one.

But, since the invasion began, that’s all changed.

Zelenskyy’s response has truly been statesman-like.

He has been in constant contact with European leaders…

pleading, exhorting, and cajoling.

His speeches have been powerful and emotive…

eliciting responses that few cynical European commentators thought possible.

And, with calmness and courage, he has spoken to his nation…

bolstering their morale and urging them to resist.

Rather than speaking to them while holed up in some secure bunker…

he has filmed messages on his smartphone…

as he has walked the deserted streets of the capital…

reassuring them that he is there with them… 

and that he isn’t going anywhere.

Indeed, it’s been widely reported that…

when President Biden offered to evacuate him and his family to safety… 

Zelenskyy replied, “I need ammunition, not a ride”.
Through his courage and tenacity, he has inspired the Ukrainian people in their struggle.

 

Persevering in adversity is not always easy.

When you’re faced with pain, suffering, and hardship…

when there are difficult decisions to make and few options…

when the way ahead looks dark and bleak…

it’s easy to become despondent…

to surrender…

to give up.

But when you’re not alone––

when you know that you don’t face it alone––

it’s easier to hold on…

to keep going…

to endure…

to find a way through.

And, for many of us, it helps to know that God is with us––

no matter what we face.

Indeed, Martin Luther King jr speaks powerfully of how…

in the midst of his most intense struggles…

hearing an inner voice say, “Lo, I will be with you”…

and knowing that God was with him…

was able to transform “the fatigue of despair into the buoyancy of hope”.

 

In our reading this morning…

from the so-called “Second” Letter to the Corinthians––

which is, in fact, a compilation of several letter fragments that Paul wrote to the Corinthians…

after his First Letter––

we get a rather long litany of everything that Paul has endured:

conflicts, hardships, and calamities;

caught up in riots and being beaten by mobs; 

possibly beaten by the authorities as well…

and imprisoned;

enduring hunger, poverty, and sleepless nights;

having his reputation smeared;

treated as a fraud or an imposter;

shunned as a disgrace and disowned;

yet, all the while, trying to act with honour and integrity…

and seeking the goodwill of others.

Given what we know from the tradition, he probably wasn’t exaggerating.

And…

on one level…

he’s probably trying to engender some sympathy and support from the Corinthians.

After all, his relationship with them had been––

and still was––

rather rocky.

His first letter to them wasn’t well received.

Then some other Christian preachers arrived…

who were more eloquent, more presentable, more in keeping with how the Corinthians––

especially the wealthy and well-to-do Corinthians––

saw themselves.

They offered a version of the gospel that smoothed over some of the cultural rough-edges;

a version of the gospel that would have been more ‘palatable’ to the wider Corinthian society…

and especially to those in authority.

In so doing, they exacerbated the tensions between the Corinthians and Paul.

So Paul is feeling hurt.

He’s feeling somewhat abandoned and let down by them.

But some of what he says here is quite pointedly aimed at the Corinthians.

As much as he wants to have a good relationship with them––

and to know their support––

he knows that he has to call them to task;

to help them to realise that…

by the way that they are behaving…

they are effectively denying the gospel that they claim to have accepted.

So, here, he offers this litany of hardships as evidence of his genuineness and integrity… 

in the exercise of his ministry.

In effect…

what he’s saying is…

that that’s what you should expect if you’re authentically living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Indeed, he prefaces this litany of hardships with:

“as we work together with Christ, we urge you not to accept the grace of God in vain”. 

‘If you are authentically “working together” with Christ—

as I am––

then you would recognise that… 

in my life and ministry… 

I am honouring the life and ministry of Christ’.

For Paul…

if you’re authentically living out the gospel…

then you will experience suffering because of it.

 

Now…

of course…

it’s easy to brush that off as a product of the particular worldview…

and circumstances…

of the first century world.

After all, they took religion deadly seriously.

Our world is very different.

 

But is it?

 

As Martin Luther King jr sat in a gaol cell in Birmingham Alabama––

having been arrested for his work for civil rights…

a group of moderate, white clergymen wrote an open letter to the media…

distancing themselves from him and his ministry…

and criticising him as an “extremist”.

In the midst of a scathing response, King wrote:

“Though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love?… Was not Amos an extremist for justice?… Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel?… Was not Martin Luther an extremist… and Abraham Lincoln… and Thomas Jefferson? So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be”.

King––

like Paul––

did not believe that you could be faithful to Jesus…

and who he calls us to be and what he calls us to do…

without evoking criticism and opposition.

It is––

they all suggest––

of the essential nature of the gospel…

which confronts and contradicts so much of what our culture…

our society…

and our world…

takes for granted.

 

As we begin another Lent…

and we look once again…

toward Jesus hauled high on an implement of state torture and execution…

we’re challenged to consider how we understand the gospel…

and its message to our world.

In a world that always looks for religion to be a force of unity and cohesion…

and a means of maintaining the status quo and blessing its values and aspirations…

do we need to think again?

And in a religious tradition that has…

so often…

thought of Jesus as the solution to all of our religious problems…

do we need to reconceive of Jesus as the problem to all of our religious and social solutions?