1. The fragrance of the frangipani
As soon as you get off the plane in Hawaii at Honolulu Airport, you smell the beautiful fragrance of the frangipani. It just lingers in the air, and drifts gently on the breeze from place to place. Wherever you go through the islands of Hawaii, you smell frangipani, so much so, that the frangipani and the Hawaiian Islands are synonymous with each other – the two are connected as one.
Imagine then, the stunning potential of the “aroma of Christ” on a whole neighbourhood! Picture a group of people completely sold out to the notion of following Jesus ... collectively in a largish group, then in various relational small groups, also in families and pairs, even on their own, wandering around their local neighbourhood ... living and acting in ways where people smell the sweet ‘perfume’ of Jesus. Over time this just must have a positive effect, both on the community itself, and then as a result, on the building of the Kingdom of God.
2. Church planting in Corinth
Paul was the greatest church planter and missionary in history. Maybe we could come up with some other strong examples, but what Paul has in his favour, is that nobody had done this before – Paul was the pioneer of strategic church planting. So he had to make it up as he went; or more to the point, Paul had to be acutely in tune with God’s Holy Spirit to be able to successfully spread the good news of Jesus across modern-day Europe and Asia. Paul would plant churches, and then, guided by the Holy Spirit, move on to the next area. One such locality was Corinth.
Following planting the church in Corinth, a tenuous relationship developed between Paul and the church there. Certain behaviours in the church did not fit the Jesus pattern. Other people (referred to as ‘false teachers’) sought to bring their own influence according to their own agendas (and were having some negative effect). In an earlier letter Paul had had some strong things to say to the Corinthians in response to some of the information that had been fed back to him. Paul’s strong letter, of course, came out of his immense love for the church that he had initiated; he wanted the people of God in that locality to be the best witnesses that they could be to the availability and transforming power of God’s grace. And when he looked at that church, there were many areas in which they were falling short; many areas from which you could see no appreciable difference to the general society around them.
Paul wondered how that letter had gone down. He was very keen to meet up with Titus and find out; so much so that it seems from verses 12-13 that Paul was a bit preoccupied by this desire to know how he stood with the Corinthian Christians. Much like recent political debates in Australia, Paul was aware how he was being character assassinated by his opponents. A feeling of unease had developed, and we might even say that Paul was suffering anxiety about all this. So much so, that he left another “open door” in Troas to seek to find Titus over in Macedonia. Paul seemed overwhelmed and his decision-making was under pressure.
This all shows how a church planter and missionary can see their work like a parent sees a young child. The early moments of nurturing have a significant effect on how things will turn out. We shouldn’t see this in any way as a weakness in Paul, rather a natural outcome of following Jesus on the edge, and continually grappling to experience the peace of Christ. And Paul, I feel, rather than being self-focussed, was genuinely most anxious for the well-being of the Corinthians, both those inside the church, and also those yet to embrace this church. A good outcome meant a lot to Paul.
3. Never fear, God is working!
But, as Paul relates these concerns, thought processes and changed itinerary in a later letter (that we call 2nd Corinthians), there is now a shift in the narrative, to a statement of optimism and positivity. [Paul will return to his focus on finding Titus and hearing the Corinthians’ response to him at 7:5.] Perhaps this new mindset (from verse 14) is exactly what Paul needs to have every time his confidence is rocked, or every time it seems that nothing good is happening. God is working!! God’s Spirit is out front opening doors and using the most meagre human efforts to build an enduring witness to Jesus. And as Paul says, “thanks be to God [for that]”. Paul gives himself a talking to, which we can beneficially tune in to. Let us not get bogged down by disappointment, or let frustration get the better of us, for God is calling us forward.
Now you might see how this would be an encouragement to me, and this is something I seek to share with those who are part of our small church beginnings in Tarneit. “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”. For me this is a grand vision of the followers of Jesus making a difference for good in every place they go, from the local supermarket to the community centre, from each person’s workplace to their place of recreation, from the doctor’s surgery to the restaurant, from their home to the school and back again. This is also a grand vision of investing yourself thoroughly in the neighbourhood in which you live.
Verse 14 offered the original readers a picture of a Roman general leading his victorious troops in procession through the city before a crowd that is applauding and burning incense and spices and lavishly sprinkling perfume (in thanksgiving to the gods who gave them victory). In view would also be their captured prisoners (from the defeated army), brought up at the rear, facing public ridicule and enslavement.
Where would we see ourselves in such a procession? With the victors? Or with the captives? I asked this question some time back with our group at Tarneit, and they wisely answered ... we could be seen in either place at different times. Sometimes our creative witness to Jesus and practical service of others will be well responded to and a sweet “fragrance” will emanate from this. On other occasions, when we are in a much less happy or advantaged place, the sweet “fragrance” will emanate from how well we deal with our disappointment, frustration or trial.
This “triumphal procession” is not ‘triumphalist’ in the sense of denying the pain we and others often carry, but rather joyful and peaceful in the knowledge that God goes with us through both good and bad. It is a “triumphal procession” because it is based on our faithful and sacrificial service to our neighbour, following the example of Jesus. At the end of verse 16, Paul asks the rhetorical question, “Who is sufficient for these things”? In other words, this question could read, “Who can possibly pull this off”? Well of course the answer is ‘none of us ... in our own strength’, but ‘all of us ... through God’s work in us’!
4. The aroma of Christ
Verse 14 states that If we know Jesus, we inherit his “fragrance” – which can be experienced by others in a variety of situations. It is worthy to note here that to know Jesus means to be in relationship with Jesus, and to accept Jesus as both our Saviour and our Lord ... the one we daily follow.
Verses 14-16 go on to depict this sweet “aroma of Christ” being noticed right across the public sphere. Such a “fragrance” should create some level of interest. In a way, such a ‘perfume’ would be wasted unless it was given an opportunity to be smelt by others. This sweet “aroma” will be appreciated by those who are already on the journey towards God. This sweet “aroma” could also be a new injection of hope for those who are struggling, and for those who Paul says are “perishing”. Some will continue down a negative path (“from death to death” v.16), but this will not lessen the quality of the perfume! And while the sweet “fragrance” doesn’t necessarily work for everyone, it still remains available to everyone.
Larry Richards writes on this point, “The Gospel message stimulates conflicting reactions. Some who hear respond like a child who smells his mother’s chocolate chip cookies baking. [On the other hand,] some who hear react with wrinkled noses and expressions of disgust, as though a skunk had just passed by”. While some people will remain in their experience of “death”, others will be well and truly illuminated in their experience of “life”.
Some people will remain disinterested and perhaps even laugh or become aggressively resistant, and some will show interest for a while but then drop off; yet there remains the great possibility of many who will stick and join in the “triumphal procession” (and move from “life” to “greater life” through their growing contribution and emerging leadership).
So, as I said in my introduction, imagine the potential of the “aroma of Christ” on a whole neighbourhood! Picture a group of people completely sold out to the notion of following Jesus ... living and acting in ways where people in their local neighbourhood smell the sweet ‘perfume’ of Jesus.
5. What could our particular sweet-smelling “triumphal procession” look like?
What could our particular sweet-smelling “triumphal procession” look like? How could this be experienced by others? In a wide variety of ways I suspect. And I say these to the man in my mirror first and foremost.
· Followers of Jesus hold true to their commitments and become well-known for their well-founded priorities.
· Followers of Jesus who are suffering duress, doubt or confusion, will be prepared to seek and accept help (rather than bottling it up).
· Followers of Jesus are more likely to work collectively for the common good through sharing their giftedness in the church community (rather than individualistically focus on personal agendas).
· Followers of Jesus will be neighbourly and community-minded (rather than forming tight boundaries around themselves).
· Followers of Jesus will bring companionship to those, both close to us and in the crowd, who cannot cope and are showing signs of caving-in.
· Followers of Jesus will be more interested in simply sharing the wonderful grace of God (bringing freedom), rather than defending old traditions (like the Pharisees of old).
· Followers of Jesus will be more inclined to share their resources, rather than celebrate how successful they have been.
In conclusion, I float another question: What is the mark of a church’s success? I have read recently a report of how the church planting scene is going in Europe. It was interesting how the church planters were evaluating their effectiveness. There was a remarkable lack of consideration for one of the most important questions they could ask ... ‘what does the local community think about you’? As verse 17 goes on to say, as we genuinely seek to follow Jesus, the “fragrance” that we emit will bring a very public integrity to the positive words we wish to express about God.
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