I Always Thank God for You

This morning’s (second) scripture reading is 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, verses 1 – 9; and can be found on page 806 of your pew Bible.
Listen now for the word of God.
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – their Lord and ours:
Grace and peace to you from God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I always thank God for you because of the grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him we have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge – because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God, who has called you into fellowship with the Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon
I had the honor of serving one of our denomination’s finest churches as an intern in the summer after my second year of seminary. One of the flagship churches of the PC (USA), hosting General Assemblies, having had more than one of their senior pastors move on to become moderator; this place was perfect for learning about our denomination because this church, with its illustrious heritage and breathtaking cathedral-like sanctuary, had been losing members since the 1950’s and the end of this loss seemed to be no where in sight.
Across the street from this fantastic church stood another church undergoing renovations; not so that it could expand to accommodate their growing congregation, but so that the sanctuary, Sunday School rooms, and offices could be converted into apartments to accommodate the growing number of young professionals who could see the value in a fine apartment, but didn’t have the time to stop and see the value in attending a fine worship service.
The fate of this church-turned-apartment complex was a looming omen, casting a shadow of fear over the congregation that I served.
They looked to the past, remembering the days when the sanctuary would fill to the point of bursting, Christmas Eves with folding chairs filling up the aisles to accommodate all those who wanted to worship God in this place that meant so much, and Sunday school rooms with the audible laughter of children being nurtured in the faith where now only a few small voices remained. They would remember the times with both joy and shame, for it seemed as though they had failed, or might fail, in keeping the church alive, and when it came down to it, if the church were to close, whose fault would it be?
Surely, they would not be the kind of church who, like that church in Corinth, inspired Paul to write, “I always thank God for you because of the grace given you in Christ Jesus.”
Surely, they would be the kind of church that Paul would be too ashamed to write, the kind of church who would fade away into history rather than be remembered in scripture.
The Corinthian church was a big wealthy church, because Corinth was a city conveniently situated for imports and exports between the Aegean Sea and the Ionian.[i] An attractive place, and a wealthy place, that surely nurtured a church who didn’t worry about budgets or mortgages, but who was able to rest secured in the promise that their church would be there for their grandchildren, would stand the test of time, establishing its place in Corinthian society – a church that would not need suffer the anxiety of a future as an apartment complex.
However, success often breeds its own sad set of problems, and as Paul is that kind of a person who you only hear from when something is gone wrong, not the kind of boss who drops in to say, “hey, looks like your doing a great job – keep it up,” but the kind who, should you be called to the office or find a letter at your door, you know to expect the worst.
Such is the case with the Corinthian church, for, according to John Calvin, “during Paul’s absence false apostles had crept in, not… to disturb the church openly with wicked doctrines…but priding themselves in the splendor and magnificence of their address, or rather, being puffed up with an empty loftiness of speech, they looked upon Paul’s simplicity, and even the Gospel itself, with contempt.”[ii]
Like any pastor, outgrowing his or her humble position by growth in ambition rather than growth in faith, leaders in the Corinthian church, seeking the credit for the church’s success, split the congregation into factions rather than be unified by Christ. To use Calvin’s words again, they were “promoting their own honor, rather than Christ’s kingdom and the people’s welfare.”[iii]
But Paul’s criticism of these problems does not begin with anger or insult, but with the words, “I always thank God for you because of the grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge – because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
Paul’s words are kind, and might almost seem to give the ambitious leaders of the Corinthian church more reason to boast - but Paul’s words are not focused on the leaders, they are focused on God. No, pointedly, Paul takes the credit and acclaim that has been misplaced on the heads of the leaders and that has caused factions and divisions, and gives it right back to its rightful source.
It is not uncommon for any leaders in the church to take credit for success – lifting them up, applauding their own efforts, taking credit for what God has done. But Paul knows that the source of their speaking or knowledge does not lie in the goodness of their own character, but is able to do such good because of the grace given in Christ Jesus.
And likewise, it is not uncommon for church members to take credit and responsibility for what they perceive to be failure, placing blame for smaller attendance or lacking programs, on themselves or their leaders, assuming that if things are going wrong that they are at fault –but Paul also speaks to this concept of responsibility, for placing blame for what seems to be going wrong is equally self centered.
We deserve Paul’s rebuke whenever we take credit for success or failure, believing that the future wellbeing of the church lies in our hands - because the future of this church does not lie in our hands, but in the hands of God, “who has called you into fellowship with the Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is faithful.”
I want to rejoice in this day, because today we are surely oblivious if we cannot see God working in this place – though we must remember that we are no doubt fools if we think that God is working in this place because of what anyone of us has done.
The inflated egos represented in the Corinthian Church, and the inflated sense of responsibility represented by the church that I served as an intern, are two sides of the same coin, both sides which seem to doubt the power of God, lacking the faith to trust that it is God who is at work all around us.
So Paul calls us to a different sense of purpose and responsibility – to a place of trust, trusting the sure truth that God is setting all things right in Jesus Christ.
While we are called to trust, and to watch, we are also called to be actors within this great healing of the world – acting, not because of our own merits, but using our gifts for the glory of God, knowing that it is because of God that we are here in this place at all.
According to Bible scholar Richard B. Hayes, God invites us to participate in this healing, and because of this invitation, “on the one hand, the stakes are raised. Our actions belong to a larger pattern of significance than that of our own lives, and the church’s obedience to God’s will matters urgently, because it is part of God’s strategy for the eschatological renewal of the world. On the other hand, at the same time, we can gain a better sense of proportions about our own striving and failures, for God is faithful, and it is God who is at work in calling and preparing us.”[iv]
We are all called to this place, and we must not allow our complaining, our disappointment, our egos, our successes, our triumphs, our shortcomings, to hinder God from letting this church be a great voice, shouting the good news in our actions and words, through our presence in this community, and despite the flaws that make us one people in need of the same savior.
-Amen.
[i] John Calvin, Corinthians Volume 1, p. 37.
[ii] Ibid. p. 38.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Richard B. Hayes, First Corinthians, p. 20.