September 15, 2013
Sermon Text: I Corinthians 12:27-13:7
SERMON: “Does Our Church
Thunder? Or Does It Clatter?”
Rev. Peter Hofstra
As we begin to
interact with the ideas from the Journey, our time together is going to
consider things that get in the way of the church carrying out its vision in
joy and wonder. As we become aware of
them, can we find, in Scripture, Jesus’ leading to overcome what gets in our
way.
Here is the
hypothesis: “We come to church and church activities weary, rattled, and empty
from hectic, out of balance lives. We
come with little left to give. We are
free to choose in every area of our lives, but what we fail to realize is that
our choices then bind us. Often our
choices block meaning participation in the church.”
One church’s
self-description expands from this idea.
They are “overwhelmed, over-committed, and burnt out. We have learned from our culture that all our
time must be filled with activity. It
seems the church adds to this problem by demanding more of our time and
energy. We no longer take the time to
listen and discern how God would have us full our time.”
Very quickly,
the governing council of the church responded by asking “How can we get more
members to do the work of the church?”
Instead of recognizing how overwhelming the demands are on the lives of
our members, instead of recognizing that the role of the church is to provide
an oasis in the midst of the chaos of life, this response treats the problem of
being overwhelmed as a symptom of an operational problem to be solved, looking
for ways to enlist more volunteers in order to relieve the overburdened few
that carry the load.
The members of
the church community suffer from a mindset of scarcity. “I just don’t have the time.” And the Christian life gets pushed to the
margins, an hour a week when “we go to church.”
Here are the
questions based on this hypothesis. Do
these paragraphs describe our church, in your estimation? Do you have a ‘for instance’ that you can
share? Secondly, what forces in the
culture around us do you feel this church is contending with as it seeks to be
faithful to its ministry and mission?
The questions are up on the screen and there is room for them to be
written in to your connection card.
Now, a biblical response, so here is our Scripture reading once
again:
“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second
prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of
assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all
work miracles? Do all possess gifts of
healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still
more excellent way.
If I speak in the tongues
of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. And if I have prophetic
powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all
faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so
that I may boast, but do not
have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient;
love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable
or resentful; it does not rejoice in
wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.”
There are two
pieces of Scripture here that not usually joined together in preaching. The more famous is 1 Corinthians 13, the
exposition of love. It is the most
selected passage for weddings and its power is undeniable, fundamental to the
lives of all Christians.
The verses from
Chapter 12 are also very important to the life and structure of the
church. In talking about the body of
Christ, Paul is explaining to the people of Corinth that there are many gifts
from the Spirit, there are many roles for people in the church, it is the diversity
of a church that is being explained.
But, in fact,
they connect in a very fundamental way.
The first verses are about what goes into the creation of the body of
Christ, apostles, prophets, teachers, power-doers, healers, the list goes on. And the warning is to respect the diversity
of gifts, is to know and understand that there is a place for everyone and
there is work to be done by everyone.
The church is charged with figuring that out.
But then, as we
go into chapter 13, there is something even more at stake for those of us who
know and love Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
You can have faith ‘to move mountains’, you can have all wisdom and
knowledge, you can speak in the tongues of mortals and angels, but if you do
not have love, you have nothing.
When I started
preparing for this sermon, when I started to reflect on these words, I thought
Paul was warning against those entering into the work of the church going in
with a big ego, or grand personal ambitions, or the desire to be numero uno. The warnings seem to fit. Don’t go for the top job, do the job from
love.
But the more I reflected,
the less certain I became. Consider how
people move into the work of the church.
It begins at their loving relationship with Jesus Christ. Each person comes to a place where they know
that Jesus loves them, loves them so much that he gave up his life for them on
the cross at Calvary.
Coming to a
church home is the next natural step in that process, finding fellow Christians
around whom you can build a loving community that is in God’s image, not the
image of the world around us. From that
community, as experience grows, so does involvement. As involvement grows, the words of Paul take
on better meaning. What are we called to
do in the church? How do we participate
in its growth, drawing more of God’s power to ourselves against a world that
would seek to tear us down?
I believe Paul
is speaking to us about people who have their roles in the church, who have
been working at it for so long, that they have forgotten why they began. I think Paul is talking about burn out, just
doing the job because that’s what you’ve always done. But even if you are the best in the world,
world-moving, if you don’t have love, it means nothing.
And if the
hypothesis is to be believed, we come to church and church activities weary,
rattled, and empty from hectic, out of balance lives. Is that your truth? Is that your reality? Has the schoolwork overwhelmed you? To my people in school, you have been in
class for a week, anybody feel like they are already three weeks behind?
Or how about those
of us who work? How many of you who have
a whole new week of work to look forward to next week wouldn’t trade places to
be back in the classroom in a heartbeat?
And I will not
forget those of us who are retired. Most
of you are busier now than when you held down jobs.
The purpose of
church is not to add to the burden and time demands. This is the place of relief. You come here on a Sunday to worship because
of what Jesus has given to you. You take
the rest of the tools out into the week with you, prayer, Scripture, measuring
in your life how the Lord would want you to act, helping others when and where
you are able, to build upon the spirit of the Living God found here.
This is the
place where we are reminded that love is patient; love is kind, that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things. We are reminded that these
are not just abstract platitudes, nice things to say because Christians are
nice people.
We are given
the living example of love in the person and life of our own Lord Jesus
Christ. We see him in his ups and downs,
in celebration and persecution, in times of joy and times of sorrow. It was his life, his teachings, his
leadership, his faithfulness unto death, even death on the cross; this
knowledge of Jesus is what Paul writes from.
So the church
is not about filling the jobs because we have to. It’s not about setting the agenda of what a
church is ‘supposed’ to do, then endlessly worrying and begging and pressing
for people to get the work done.
The agenda that
we set, the jobs we seek to fill, what church is supposed to do, is to bring us
into the love and grace of our Lord Jesus, to be an oasis in the world that
surrounds us with its demands. Here is
where we are anchored to live the life of love out there.
So go back to
the questions. Do we come here weary,
rattled, and empty from hectic, out of balance lives? Secondly, what forces in
the culture around us do you feel this church is contending with as it seeks to
be faithful to its ministry and mission?
Finally, are you willing to work with this body of believers, to take
this journey, to overcome what stands in our way that we may live the love of
Jesus Christ in our neighborhood in God’s kingdom?
I invite you to
answer those questions for yourselves.
If you wish, include them on the connection card and return them to us
when we receive those cards in the offering in just a few moments.
Amen.
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