Sermon
The first church I joined was during a time when that church was enjoying the gifts of a particularly likeable, charismatic, smart, energetic leader named Lynn. In that church at that time, new members often formed small groups. Sometimes the new folks were in one small group, or sometimes a new member would be added to an existing small group. That small group that I was a part of was an incredible part of my spiritual path. I think we all were to each other. To this day, if one of us runs into another of us, and mentions our small group, we all know who we mean and share the same warm feelings for each other. That church at that time was bustling with creative people, struggling people, wealthy and not so wealthy, full of tragic stories as well as stories that were just plain fun.
One of our teens was convicted of a serious crime just as he turned 18 and was sentenced to time in San Quentin. One of our middle aged members died by suicide when jumped off of a bridge over a highway. He used to sing songs at our talent show and dedicate them to his mother. We would go on leadership retreats and play charades until 2 am. A 10 year old boy could mesmerize us on the piano playing any Bill Evans tune with more feeling than a 10 year old should have.
It would be understandable if someone then said, “I belong to Lynn,” or maybe not those exact words, but similar, “I belong to the time of Lynn.” -- Something to indicate that Lynn was the catalyst, the one responsible for that rich collection of stories and experiences that we have.
In Paul's time, in Corinth, everyone had a lord – someone to whom they belonged, perhaps were indebted to, someone over them. Not just slaves. Everyone all up and down the social ladder belonged to someone. Even one emperor said he belonged to the gods. It was not unusual for people to speak in the language of belonging to someone. People were always concerned that their patrons were happy, kept track of favors done and received, and sought appropriate thanks and return favors.
About three years before the setting for this scripture, Paul had come to Corinth and began to spread the message of the life and death of Jesus Christ, and set up some house churches. Only the wealthy would have had a home big enough to host these house churches, and would have had enough resources to host the Lord's Supper. At this writing, Paul was in Ephesis, writing to those back in Corinth to try to straighten out some problems that he was hearing about. He writes to encourage unity in the church and to discourage some of the divisions he was hearing about. The divisions he writes about in this passage refer to those who were baptized by one of the house church leaders, and then claimed that as their identity. There was a kind of comparison or hierarchy going on where some would say “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas.”
It wasn't saying I belong to _____ that was the issue. It was belonging to the one who baptized them. That would be like saying I belong to Lynn. The person or church who leads anyone to their faith doesn't have any hold on them. I don't owe my small group anything. But my gratefulness leads me to love them and appreciate them and show my feeling for them in various ways. Lynn, Paul, Apollos, Cephas, may have baptized people, and may have provided the setting, but they were only some of those witnesses we talked about last week. They were not Christ, they were just pointing to Christ.
Last week's definition of a witness was someone who points to Christ. Witnesses are people who respond to their own circumstances using their faith and thereby show to others, point to for others, Christ. Those witnesses don't just point to the person of Christ, but they point to the message of Christ. The message of Christ is far bigger than the man, the model, his life and his death. Christ is the one who died on the cross for us. The message of Christ is not something that can be shown in any one action. It is something that we glimpse time and time again. Or maybe not just a glimpse, but a full blown pie-in-the-face kind of experience! In a quiet ah-ha! moment; a group discussion; while singing; while crying; I assure you, the holy spirit really knows how to make even charades a spiritual experience!
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that everything is theology. A person of faith will ultimately ask themselves, what does what I am doing have to do with God? Sometimes that's an easy question. I am feeding a group of homeless families. It's just the kind of thing the bible mentions specifically. I experience the suffering of betrayal. That was Jesus' experience too. There's a specific type of theology, that I had never heard of before, called Cruciform Theology. It's a theology that puts the cross at the center of the message of Christ. Christ on the cross is a different person than Christ overturning the money tables in the temple. Christ on the cross is a different person than Christ sitting atop a mountain alone, looking over Jerusalem and weeping. Cruciform theology takes the person of Christ and the message of Christ as one and asks us to build our lives around the combination of person and message.
At the bottom of the bulletin, you will see a cross. If you have a pencil with you, I invite you to write two ideas or words, one on each of the arms of the cross. These may be two conflicting priorities that intersect. I invite you to consider how the cross helps those two conflicting priorities reconcile.
For example, I might write “Anxiety” on one arm and “Trust” on the other. While I can separate the two, some of the conflicts in my life occur when I feel anxious but I want to be trusting enough – in myself? In God? In others? In the future?. Or maybe you could write “generosity” on one arm and “self care” on another arm. Maybe a conflict arises when you want to be generous with time or ideas or money, but you also need to be careful not to overspend, or over commit, or become overtired. Some other words I might use would lead me to ask about the intersection between being vulnerable, and having healthy boundaries, both personal and professional. Or maybe my self interests, vs. considering others. How about work and rest?
What conflicting intersections can you think of? Can you find a way to use your thoughts about Christ on the cross, to help reconcile any conflicts that intersect on that cross?
It's important not to equate the witness to the light, with the light, or confuse one with the other. While Lynn was great, she was not Christ. When she wasn't great, people felt betrayed. If they left the church feeling betrayed, it would be important to know that Christ didn't betray them. The Church, capital C, betrayed them, through a single person. Not through Christ. The manmade Church will be disappointing. And it is amazingly forgiving and beautiful at the same time.
Through the next few weeks we will be working our way through 1 and 2 Corinthians. Paul's call for unity in the church of his day, just 50 years after the death of Christ, also speaks to unity in any of our divisions today, not just in the church, but in our daily lives,
Let's pray.