An Extreme Makeover

(This is an abridged version of the sermon preached on 7/24/11 at Epworth Chapel, Baltimore)

"If any person is in Christ Jesus, he/she is a new creation…" (2 Cor. 5:17)

This is the age of the extreme makeover. The images are clear – we’ve all seen them - where those who may be deemed to be physically unattractive, by society’s standards of beauty, are taken away, only to re-emerge a few short weeks later looking as though they are not the same person.

Yes, this is the age of Botox, lypo-suction, tummy tucks, tanning salons and face lifts. And we now see that the extreme makeover has been expanded to include the makeover of homes that may have at a time seemed to be virtually uninhabitable, and cars that may have appeared to be on their way to the junk heap. And thus we witness the burgeoning popularity of television networks like Home and Garden Television (HGTV) and television shows like “America’s Extreme Home Makeover” and “The Biggest Loser.”

This indeed is the age of the extreme makeover. Perhaps this fascination with makeovers speaks to our need to experience that which appears to move us toward the illusion of perfection. Perhaps it speaks to the vast materiality and exteriority of our culture, where the focus has been placed more upon style than substance – more upon outer appearance than inner depth. Whatever it is, the makeover has overtaken us.

And what we discover is that these makeovers that seem to be so extreme are not actually extreme at all. Regardless of how gifted the makeup artist, or how expensive the makeup, or how radical the diet plan, the makeovers that the world offers will eventually wear away. They will not last. Indeed, over time the makeover will disappear, and the old appearances will return.

Throughout the course of human history, it has been the case that we have needed to be made over by God. The nature of human sinfulness and brokenness in our world helps us to see our need to be made over. If sin is the condition of our separation from God, then there is a need for us to be renewed – made over - in the Lord.

• We recall that this was the case with David, who in his fallenness, prayed to God to “create (him) a clean heart, and renew in (him) a right spirit.” David was praying for a makeover.

• We remember St. Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, who prayed to God regarding our state of separation from the Lord, “Lord you have created us for yourself, and our souls are restless until they find their rest in you.” Augustine was praying about our need for a makeover.

• And the song-writer offered an affirmation of faith and praise to God when he declared: “Lord I know I’ve been changed, the angels in heaven done signed my name.” He was declaring that a makeover had occurred in his life.

And here in our text in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian Church, we are reminded of the new life - the makeover - that becomes a reality when we are in Christ. Paul says that “if any person is in Christ Jesus, she or he is a new creation…old things have passed away, and behold all things have become new.”

It appears that Christians in Corinth were dealing with a need to be made over. They had come to know about Christ, but it seems that many of them may not have known Christ.

You see there is a difference in knowing about someone, and knowing someone. I can know about you without really knowing you. It takes a personal encounter for me to really know you, and for you to really know me. Many Corinthians knew about Jesus, but they didn’t know Jesus.

How do we know? We know because their lives had not really changed. Although many in Corinth were now in the church, the church was not in all of them. Many of their behaviors and their attitudes, and the way many of them treated one another had not really changed. Although they knew about Christ, they really didn’t know Christ.

And so, Paul wanted to remind the Christians at Corinth that just knowing Christ was not enough. Paul wanted to encourage them, and let them know that they needed to be in Christ. They needed not only to know about Christ, but they also needed to be in Christ. They needed not only to be a Christian, but they needed to be in Christ. They needed not only to sing in the choir, serve as an usher, be on the board, but they needed to be in Christ.

They needed an extreme makeover. It’s good to know that God, in Christ, offers us a makeover that is really extreme. The makeover that the Lord offers us will last a lifetime. The very purpose of God sending Christ into the world was for the redemption, transformation, renewal and regeneration of humanity.

Indeed, God sent his son into the world to redeem us. In the gospel of John, we find words that speak to this redemption, “For God so loved the world, God sent his only son so that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) We recall that it was Paul in the Book of Romans who said, “We’ve been bought with a price.”

In other words, through his suffering and death on the cross – Christ has bought our freedom from sin and spiritual death. He’s paid the price for us.

Paul said, “If any person is in Christ Jesus, she/he is a new creation…”
Paul was talking about an extreme makeover, but unlike the makeovers we see on television this makeover is one will last for an eternity!