FIRST READING Isaiah 9:1–4
1 But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. 4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
PSALM Psalm 27:1, 4–9
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
4 One thing I ask of the LORD; one thing I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life; to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek God in the temple.
5 For in the day of trouble God will give me shelter, hide me in the hidden places of the sanctuary, and raise me high upon a rock.
6 Even now my head is lifted up above my enemies who surround me. Therefore I will offer sacrifice in the sanctuary, sacrifices of rejoicing; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear my voice, O LORD, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me.
8 My heart speaks your message? “Seek my face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek.
9 Hide not your face from me, turn not away from your servant in anger. Cast me not away you have been my helper; forsake me not, O God of my salvation.
SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 1:10–18
10 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. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. 12 What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. 18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
GOSPEL Matthew 4:12–23
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Removing Obstacles
One of the things we face in our everyday lives is obstacles. Whether it’s having the resources we need to acquire necessities, limitations in abilities or skill or outside forces preventing us from achieving our objectives, we face difficulties that need to be dealt with. Most often, at the heart of the difficulties we face, is the people that surround us. Sometimes it’s family and friends, other times it’s people in society. We have convictions and values about how the world should operate and behave and at times we face opposition to those beliefs and principles.
In the past, one of the things that we, as a society, prided ourselves upon was the notion of free speech. We believe that we have the ability to openly express our opinions and views without fear of recrimination or retaliation. The First Amendment of our Constitution gives us this freedom and for centuries we engaged each other in discussions with respect. However, I believe we’re losing this right to those groups who choose to use socially stigmatizing language against anyone who believes differently from them. Phrases like prejudiced, bigot, hater, left wing, Tea Party, and the like, are used to alienate people who disagree with the perceived general opinion of society. I say perceived opinion, because the use of these types of labels often times prevents people from speaking up for fear of being seen as intolerant. And even when none of the labels apply, these days we find it difficult to disagree with someone because as soon as the conversation gets to a point of passion, people resort to labeling and using this stigmatizing language as a way of dividing a group and ultimately silencing the opposing opinion.
This practice of dividing and name calling serves no useful purpose, since it prevents meaningful dialogue and divides people along moral, social and spiritual lines. And this practice isn’t limited to our secular world; these tactics have even invaded and ultimately divided our churches. Yet we find that this problem isn’t new, even the early church suffered from divisions from within as evidenced in our Epistle reading for today. The problem is, when a church is divided, its ability to fulfill its calling becomes difficult if not impossible.
Very few will argue that our church has an important mission. The church was called into existence to witness to the good news of God’s love that was shown to us in Jesus Christ. The church exists to share God’s love, to bring people into a fellowship in which God’s love is shared, and to help people grow into followers of Jesus. There are people, perhaps many people, within the reach of our church who are hungry for God’s love that we were given to share. Our church has been commissioned and sent forth to show God’s love which is the hope of the world.
Most of the people of the world probably don’t yet realize how urgently they need God’s love and mercy, but the need is great and urgent. And we as the church have been commanded, by Jesus Himself, to go and make disciples of all those around us. And we fulfill this mission first through our personal witness and second through our social ministry programs. For the follower of Christ, the church’s mission is just about the most important thing going on in our community and in our world today.
That being the case, doesn’t it make sense that we should organize the whole life of the church around the accomplishment of that mission? And, doesn’t it make sense that we should be careful not to let anything go on in our church that would hinder the accomplishment of that mission? Therefore, with this call to go and make disciples in mind, we need to ask ourselves often, if we can think of anything that could go on in our church that would appear to contradict the good news of God’s love that we’ve been called to share. Can we think of anything that could go on in the church that would turn people away rather than drawing them to God’s love and the new life that we’re supposed to offer them? Is there anything we say or do that contradicts the gospel we share and in turn causes people to turn away? We know we have a wonderful, Christ centered congregation, but do those in the community see that?
Paul wrote his letters to the Corinthians, in part, because he had heard that some things were going on in that church that contradicted the gospel and that were a hindrance to the mission of that church. In his letters, Paul tried to bring those things to the surface and to set them in the context of the Christian faith so that the Corinthian Christians would know what to do about them. And these letters are important to us, since the things Paul said to the Corinthians can help us either examine and correct ourselves, or to educate us so that the same kinds of problems don’t end up happening here. For Paul the problem was obvious. He had heard that there were divisions in the church and that the people were quarreling with one another rather than being united in the same mind and purpose.
At first glance, it appears that something like denominations were emerging as the churches, meeting in different houses in the city, chose to give their allegiance to one or another of the leaders of the church with whom they were familiar. Some were still dedicated to Paul, the one who had organized their church and brought many into the Christian faith. Others were attracted to another leader who had come after Paul, an attractive young man named Apollos, who had received an excellent education in Alexandria, one of the greatest centers of learning in the ancient world. Apollos would have been an expert in relating the Christian faith to popular Greek philosophies. Still others had been in contact with Cephas, or Peter, the one who had been the leader of the followers of Jesus and who represented a more conservative kind of Jewish Christianity. And then there seems to have been some who took a superior attitude and said, “We belong to Christ,” just to get above the other divisions.
These could indeed have been divisions along the lines of significant theological differences – or they could have been divisions based on the personal attractiveness of the several leaders. But, in fact, it eventually became apparent that neither of these was really what was dividing the church. Differences don’t necessarily have to cause divisions. Differences of opinion can normally be lived with in a community of loving people who are committed to one common purpose. What Paul suspected was that something else was going on in Corinth.
There were lots of other variances in the church in Corinth. There were people of different races and national origins, people of different religious origins, people of different socio–economic classes, and people of different dispositions. These social differences were simply compounding factors in what was dividing the church. The real problem had to do with social factors affecting the theology and teachings within the church. And these socially affected theological teachings were causing a sort of class warfare within the congregation.
Some seem to have been incorporating some kind of Greek “wisdom” philosophy into their faith and claiming to be superior to others. Some were interpreting Paul’s teachings about grace as an excuse for moral laxity. Some were using their Christian freedom in ways that were causing problems for other Christians. Some who had received the gift of speaking in tongues were claiming to be superior to other Christians. All of these were significant issues – but none of them was the real problem that was dividing the church. They were just the excuses for acting out the real conflicts. So what was actually going on in Corinth? Surprisingly, it was something very similar to what goes on in our society.
You see, Corinth was a major center of commerce, a business–oriented city. And it was a new city whose life was not built around any old aristocratic structures. Some people had become rich and some people were very poor and there were some people on each step of the ladder in between. And, it was a place where upward mobility was possible. People could climb the social and economic ladder. Many people were preoccupied with doing just that – and many others were trying to think of reasons for claiming to be superior to others in some other ways. There was competition for status and honor. There was lots of “networking” to form advantageous relationships. That was what was really going on in many of the conflicts that were dividing the church in Corinth. Funny how the problems we think are limited to today are the same problems people have suffered from for centuries.
If a person’s real religion is what shapes his or her life, then there are many whose real religion has to do with their commitment to getting ahead, even though they profess the Christian faith. It’s hard to keep the things that are really important to us from influencing the shape of our religion. The First Commandment tells us that we should have no other god (little g) before God the Father. And anything that takes our focus from God (big G) is an idol. Whether it’s money, electronics, things or social standing, if our personal desires becomes our focus in life than we’re serving the wrong god. And this competitive jockeying for positions of honor and status, that we see all the time in our society, had evidently invaded the church in Corinth.
Petty jealousies, snobbishness, and quarreling were being played out in the conflicts over real issues. Divisions were appearing within the church. People outside of the church could probably see what was happening better than those who were inside the church. The quarreling made the church unattractive to some who needed to be attracted to the Christian faith. And the snobbishness of some, probably made others feel unwelcome. All we have to do is look around at other congregations in the area and we can see the results.
How many times in the past have we heard stories about other churches? Something happens in a congregation and public opinion is formed and the congregation is labeled. How long does it take for that public attitude to change; months, years, decades? Some congregations never seem to recover. Even when the problem leaves or is corrected. This means we must be careful. Far too often it’s so easy to start pointing fingers at one another. Instead of discussing the problem it’s easier to pit member against member, congregation against congregation or do what seems popular, bash the denomination. And all these things are exactly the opposite of the results this sermon and Paul’s letter to the Corinthians hope to accomplish.
Instead, we need to heed carefully Paul’s letter and ask ourselves if there are any attitudes or ways of action in our lives that might contribute to conditions that could hinder the mission of our church. Now I need to be careful here. Some would take what I’m saying to mean that we all need to agree, that we need to change our teachings and beliefs. This isn’t the case. We believe and teach what we do because of the authority we place on scripture and tradition.
We do our best to let the Bible speak apart from the influences of society because God’s word doesn’t change, but society’s view does. And as long as our differences don’t come into conflict with traditional Biblical teaching then we need to take the time to listen. Jesus summed the Commandments up into to just two. Love God, love your neighbor. We need to show God’s love by genuinely listening to each other with respect so that personal conflicts don’t come between us and any other members of the church. And if conflicts do come between us, we need to lovingly and respectfully resolve them as quickly as possible so that hurt feelings can be avoided.
Once feelings are bruised, they can quickly become grudges which can lead to againstness. Personality conflicts can be exacerbated causing old arguments to resurface instead of allowing them to be laid to rest. Friendships can become strained and the sense of family broken which can impact the quality of life in the church. All these things can influence how we deal with the real issues that must be decided in the church rather than thinking them through in terms of the really relevant factors. Sometimes the things that happen between us impact how we see ourselves within the church.
If we’re life-long members of the church, or major contributors, or prominent citizens, or people with some other kind of status in the church, we might expect that we should be honored. We might feel like a little more attention should be paid to our opinion than to others when decisions are being made. We might come to the conclusion that the church ought to organize its life to meet our needs more than to meet the needs of new people who should be attracted into the church. Sometimes it’s something small that causes problems like someone sitting in our favorite pew. Or we view those around us as being part of the “in crowd” and if we’re not part of that group we might find that we resent those who are. And if we find that we begrudge others in the church, how does that affect the way we participate in the life and fellowship of the church?
I’ve been in churches where some members of the church wished that others would go away. They thought that there were certain types or classes of folks that shouldn’t come to their church. Surprisingly, I found that these attitudes many times were very subtle. And these subtle attitudes had a way of working in their lives without them ever recognizing them for what they were. And these underlying outlooks had a way of playing havoc with the ability of the church to witness to the love of God and to bring people into a loving relationship with God and God’s people. This is why Paul’s message to the Corinthians can be helpful for us to prevent or keep these types of attitudes from creeping into our church lives.
First, Paul reminded the Corinthians – and us – that we all have our status in the presence of God as a gift of grace. None of us can claim any standing in the presence of God because of who we are in the community or because of what we’ve done or because of our goodness or our wealth or our education or even because of our faithfulness. We’re all saved by grace. Paul said, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise … so that no one might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:27, 29). Paul didn’t say this to cut us down. After all, we’ve been freely given the role and status of beloved children of God which is far better than anything we could achieve or claim for ourselves. We should find great joy and self-confidence in that. But, since the best thing that we have is something that has been freely given to us and to others, none of us ought to feel superior to others. We’re all part of one family, the body of Christ.
Second, Paul reminds us that the real sign of Christian maturity isn’t some kind of intellectual or spiritual or cultural sophistication, but the ability to love. The most beautiful chapter in this letter is chapter 13, the chapter that starts with the words, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). Later in the chapter, Paul gives one of the best descriptions of love that can be found anywhere. “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” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7). Paul has a wonderful way of stepping on our toes doesn’t he? Paul draws his picture of love and then says, “That’s what’s supposed to be going on in the church.”
In another place, when an issue came up about the Christian’s freedom to do certain things, Paul said, “Yes, we ought to claim our freedom. But we ought to use our freedom in loving concern for others and be careful not to do anything that will be a hindrance to others” (1 Corinthians 9 and 10). Again and again, Paul reminds the people that they should put their mission first and be of one mind and purpose.
Paul provides us with three beautiful images of what it means to work together in the service of the Lord. He insisted that he and Apollos, far from being competitors, were actually partners in ministry. He uses one image drawn from farming. He said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6). A little later, he draws an illustration from building, saying, “… like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it” (1 Corinthians 3:10). But perhaps the most beautiful image of all comes when he compares the members of the church with different spiritual gifts to different members of one human body. He says, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Paul makes it very clear that he believes that diversity will strengthen the church if people will love each other and live in a shared commitment to one purpose.
We need to ask ourselves often, what will people find when they come to visit our church? Will they find us sharing in God’s love with one another and working together in the service of one purpose? Will they find us eager to welcome them into the fellowship and to make a place for them? I think they will if we simply remember Jesus’ answer to the teacher of the law; love God first and love others as ourselves second. When we love each other, there is no conflict that we can’t resolve, even if the answer is to disagree, agreeably.
Amen