Sermon
In his new, expanded edition of his book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion,” Bob Cialdini expounds on the seven elements of persuasion. The seven are 1) reciprocity, 2) likeability, 3) social proof, 4) authority, 5) scarcity, 6) commitment and consistency, and 7) unity. In his Freakonomics Radio podcast interview the author discussed each of these and their uses in various ways in the world. Of the seven elements, Cialdini added the element of unity most recently in the newest edition of his book. He says that he always thought that the concept of unity was an underlying driver for all of the other elements, but now sees that unity is an element of persuasion of its own.
Based on my rudimentary understanding of these elements, I would say that the apostle Paul used at least five of these throughout the letters that we find in the Bible. Paul doesn't just tell a good story for the sake of a good story. In each of Paul's letters his goal is to persuade. He wants to persuade people to follow Christ, to listen to him (Paul), to stay away from false apostles, to think of others, to change, to be closer to God through Christ. He does this by writing about authority – of the law, of Paul, why someone has it. He writes about reciprocity – look what is in it for you, what Jesus has done for us. He uses the concept of commitment and consistency – I am committed to you, I am still here for you, I have been consistently here.
Unlike Cialdini, who decided only later to work more closely with the concept of unity, Paul has always known that unity was the goal. In his first letter to the Corinthians, the first thing he says after his greetings, is “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.” And his final line to the Corinthians at the end of 2 Corinthians, “Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
Agree with one another. Be in agreement and let there be no divisions among you. Be united in the same mind and the same purpose. From the beginning of Paul's first letter to the last lines of his last letter to the Corinthians, Paul is interested in unity. We all know that there does not have to be agreement in order for there to be unity. Paul knew that too, and was better able to express his concept of unity for the church later in his ministry. But in this letter, written to a factioned city of Corinth, agreement was what was needed.
In the portion from 2 Corinthians that we are looking at today, Paul is continuing his method of using comparisons in order to show how to reach that unity. The comparisons we read about in this text include being at home in the body vs. being at home in the Lord; faith vs. sight; outward appearance vs. inner heart; beside ourselves vs. being in our right mind; living for oneself or living for Christ.
Paul recognized the tension between living a human life and trying to live with spiritual ideals. That's where our lives happen, in the tension somewhere between our best day and our worst day. The tension between our best intentions and our worst actions. The tension between confronting an issue and the safety of letting something lie dormant in order to avoid conflict. The tension between how we want others to perceive us and who we truly are. The tension between keeping a stiff upper lip and oversharing.
Do you remember the storyline of the book called A Picture of Dorian Gray? A man buys a painting and soon discovers that he has made a deal with the devil. As Dorian Gray goes through his days he finds that every time he does something negative, he is not affected, but instead the painting deteriorates. Soon he is letting himself get away with terrible things and enjoying life, yet the painting hidden in the attic decays into a grotesque version of him.
It doesn't end well. I don't recommend it. Paul would not have approved. Paul knew that if we try only to maintain our outer life without even a glance at our interior world the sin in us still lives and will add to our decay, from the inside. If we want a better outward life we should focus on the inward heart.
Focusing on the inward heart is the only way to true transformation. Transformation is change, but it's not the same as change.
Founder of the Social Justice Project, Dr. Robert Gass describes it this way, in this case about a butterfly: “This metamorphosis is the classic example of transformation. Transformation is profound, fundamental change, altering the very nature of something. Transformational change is both radical and sustainable. Something that is transformed can never go back to exactly what it was before.”
Paul wanted the people of Corinth to transform their society, first by transforming their hearts. By living for Christ, which he calls being in Christ, everything is new. Everything. Not just new looking, or seeming new, or like new, but actually new as in never before existed. When one is in Christ, that new creation is from God.
Paul believed that in order for the Corinthian community to be united in Christ there must first be a reconciliation between the divided factions, and the only path to reconciliation was through transformation.
One can work toward personal transformation by making changes, but the changes themselves don't bring about the transformation. Personal transformation usually comes unbidden, we fight against it, takes a long time, is lasting and irreversible. That's not to say that once transformation happens things stay the same. Transformation then continues and brings us to yet another place. As unfortunate as it is, tragedy leads to the deepest transformations. It is often through pain that we are forced to pay attention to parts of life that we may usually leave unattended. Often through pain we are forced to pay attention to parts of life that we didn't even know existed. Often even a small discomfort is a sign that a transformation is beginning. That conflict we avoided by keeping silent? The discomfort is still there though isn't it? Like Dorian Gray's decaying photo in the attic. There is such a thing as good conflict, but it's difficult and it's a skill that needs to be practiced.
On the printed bulletin I often put a quote that has something to do with a theme for the day. Today I chose a few lines from a short prayer. It says, “You are more than the softening touch placed upon our calloused hearts. You are the constant tumbling waves slowly smoothing our roughened stones.” 1
That's how I think of transformation. A constant shaping of us by the constantly moving force that holds us as we tumble through life. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge writes, “The ongoing process of hardship and suffering has its resolution in the transformation or new creation.” “The remade creation is the image for a community of people transformed in Christ. Their relationships with one another in the community of Christ's body are reshaped toward mutual concern, grounded in confidence in God.”2
When it comes to relationships, and especially relationships in community, transformation of this kind requires forgiveness and reconciliation, two extremely complex and difficult concepts. Transformation happens in healthy communities as well as communities that are stuck in unhealthy places. It can be awkward to think about transformation because we get defensive, or lazy, or happy with the status quo, or don't want to fix something that's not broken. That makes sense. But with transformation just become something is not broken doesn't mean that it needs to stay the same. Think about things like improvement, innovation, creativity, and growth. They all start with change. And when something is broken, repair requires change. That's the kind of change we don't want to approach. Because the thing that's broken might be me. Because the thing that's creating the dysfunction might be something I'm doing. Because the way things are work in my favor so I don't want to change.
This would be a perfect place to remind us of white privilege and the system we live in. The Black Lives Matter movement. The struggles of the LGBTQ community. The immigration question. The crisis of our planet. Gun violence. Those are some of the big things.
What about things closer to home? What kinds of things are going on in our local civic communities? What about relationships in our families, with school friends, with partners? What about in church communities? I was at a leadership workshop many years ago where we all participated in an exercise about perceived power in a church. Each table had an envelope with about 8 index cards inside. The people at each table were supposed to put the cards in order according to who had the most to the least perceived power at a church. The index cards had words describing the variety of people at a church. Who has the most power, who has the least? The church secretary; the pastor; the clerk of session; the person who donates the most; the person who has been a member the longest; the pastor's spouse; the person who volunteers the most; the person with perfect attendance; the person who makes the most noise – speaks up first, speaks up most, complains most; plays the flute the best.
There is no one right or wrong way if you consider why the community may have their way of doing business, and if you consider that the kind of power we're talking about is not usually visible or intentional. In a healthy church some of those considerations sound ridiculous. But in a conflicted church some of those things make sense. There is no such thing as a church not in need of transformation. A church that is too static may also be too stagnant. Churches are just like any other place made up of imperfect humans trying to be humans with each other. I used to spend a lot of time at the Mercy Center and thought at one time of looking at the idea of living in an intentional community someday. The nuns used to talk to me sometimes, and one said, don't romanticize it. You can't get away from each other. There are major differences of opinion. Just like any group. Basically, you can run but you can't hide.
Being in Christ is an inner journey for an outward purpose. The outward purpose is any of the variety of communities you find yourselves in. The 13th century theologian and mystic Meister Eckhart said, “The spiritual life is not a process of addition, but rather of subtraction.” That reminds me of something I heard in a talk at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago once. Chicago theologian Martin Marty and his grandson Micah Marty both shared the pulpit for a talk. Martin Marty is a theologian and Micah Marty is an artist. They spoke in litany fashion, one speaking followed by the other, on the same subject but from two different perspectives. In a book they co-authored called “When True Simplicity is Gained,” Micah Marty included black and white photographs and his grandfather wrote a meditation. At the talk, describing this book, Micah said that often life asks us to get more, add more, be more, etc. to be considered doing well. But in taking these black and white photos he found himself eliminating things from the photo in order to consider them finished. In the book the photo are primarily of nature in winter and images from the Shaker lifestyle which focuses on a life of simplicity. 3
The same is true of a spiritual life, of seeking a life in Christ – what will we subtract? “What we subtract in our lives depends of course on what initially fills it – ambition, addiction, suffering, even our misgivings. In the face of all of our trials and tribulations Paul reminds us transformation is possible when we invite Christ into our lives and enable him to make us a new creation from the inside out, subtracting our anxieties, doubts, and fears.”4
We have been in the midst of our own transformation for this past year-plus, just like everyone else. Now there were some trials and tribulations unlike any we had seen before. But we know that with Christ at the center, whatever our new creation looks like, it will be of God.
Let us pray,
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1 Fragments of Your Ancient Name
2 Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, p.134-9, Feasting on the Word commentary series
3 For a picture and description of the book see this link. If you'd like to purchase the book I'm sure it can be ordered at a local book store that you can support.
4 Mark Barger Elliott, p.134-9, Feasting on the Word commentary series