You Were Called

1st Corinthians 1: 1-9, page 155
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind – just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you – so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be as blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful; by God you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus our Lord.
Sermon
Discipline is a constant struggle – for parents, for teachers, for dog owners – for anyone entrusted with the care of another being whose behavior lies somewhat out of their control and is too often found to be lacking.
I know all about it – not only am I a father, but I’m also a dog owner – not just a dog owner actually; we have three dogs, two of whom are terribly badly behaved. And it’s not their fault, it’s mine. I’m the one who brought them into the house, so it falls on me to set the limits, but what can I say, I’m a push over. And when they bark at some kind person who has come to the house to say hello or drop off something nice, I can only hope that you can’t hear me threatening them over their barking.
Threats tend to be the last weapon in our arsenal – they’re our last resort – but while they feel effective coming out of our mouths I believe that they’re better for burning bridges then mending fences or getting bad dogs back on the road to obedience.
Maybe that’s why, in these first verses of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he doesn’t resort to threats but exhorts the church to remember who they are and who God is to them.
I don’t know that there’s another way to explain why he sounds so nice here – he’s not the kind to put on a polite face when he’s angry – and you can be sure of this – he is mad at the Corinthians. Not only have they divided themselves up into factions in the face of Christian unity, they have been guilty of graver debauchery than even the pagans of the time. Paul, having heard from Chloe’s people of the grave sins committed by some of the Corinthian congregation, is too far away to travel and lecture them to their face so he has no other resort than to write a letter.
But it’s not hate mail.
He doesn’t really begin by letting them have it, does he?
We are used to threats, because in our society, out of desperation maybe, people jump to threats so quickly.
When an article that offends us appears in the newspaper, we don’t write a letter to the editor that begins, “I give thanks to my God always for you” as Paul does, we threaten to cancel our subscription in the hopes that such a threat will get some attention.
When things aren’t going the way we like in some group which we hold membership, a team, a club, a church, we don’t write to the board or the pastor hoping that God “will also strengthen you to the end” as Paul does, we threaten to withdrawal membership, or worse, suspend our dues.
And when our government seems to have turned its back on us and our values, we don’t remind our representatives that they were called by God “into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus our Lord,” as Paul does, we threaten to kick them right out of office – while the worst of our society, upon hearing such threats, finds encouragement to commit the unspeakable.
Last week President Obama attempted to bring understanding to a cruel act of violence – a threatening act of violence towards all those who don’t think the way a young man thought they should. His violence that shocked Arizona and our entire country may motivate some to change the way they think and act, but I believe that any threat’s power falls short when compared to what people will do when they are inspired to act on behalf of one whom they love.
By President Obama, we’ve all been urged to live in a way that would make Christina Taylor Green, the 9 year old who was shot, proud.
I have no doubt that both Jared, the shooter, and Christina, one of his victims will leave their mark on our country, inspiring people to change the way they think and live – but those who change what they do and what they believe out of a fear of the likes of Jared will never be so powerfully alive as those who change what they do and what they believe in the hopes of making Christina proud.
In the same way, while the Russian army during World War II hurled themselves upon their enemy out of fear that they would be shot by their own countrymen upon retreat, it was the likes of one American, who upon seeing this sanctuary’s dome knew that he fought for something worth fighting for, fought to stop the Nazis in their tracks, defending his people and his country out of love.
Tomorrow, as we remember the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., we bear in mind one who heard more threats than most. But rather than shudder, rather than be intimidated, rather than keep the truth of his message bottled up, he championed one of the greatest movements our country has ever seen proclaiming the truth that all are worthy of full acceptance in the Kingdom of God, that God loves us regardless of race – and this was a message too strong, too true, to be stifled by threats.
While surely those threats were strong – and surely they were real – but they were powerless in the face of King’s defiant message of love, a message whose source is God our creator.
While threats of damnation may have inspired the conversion of many of you as they inspired me, I pray that for you your life as a Christian is not motivated by that same fear, but today is marked by a love for the God who first loved you.
I must have responded to 5 alter calls before I really heard the good news – God doesn’t call us to turn away from our sin so that we can avoid some impending judgment – God calls us to turn away from our sin because it is only in fellowship with his Son that our deepest joy will be fulfilled.
For while so many have turned their lives around when threatened by damnation, those of us who know the love that God has for you – who know the depths of compassion that God has poured out on your behalf – who know the truth, that the creator of the ends of the earth, the one who gives us breath and life, and who laid down his very life that you might know how to live – will go on living this way until the day of our Lord Jesus.
Do not be afraid, even in the midst of your greatest sin, deepest insecurity, harshest criticism, for Paul offers you words of love from God who is faithful. Once you come to know this love you will be amazed by what you will do for the one who loved you first.
For our God has heard your cry – has drawn you up from the desolate pit – and has called you to new life.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.