Day 447 - On Being a Servant

A sermon given at First Presbyterian Church, Soddy-Daisy, TN., March 02, 2014

OT Lesson: Isaiah 49:8-16

NT(Epistle) Lesson: 1 Cor. 1: 1-9; 4:1-5

Almost always I follow the revised common lectionary for my preaching. The method keeps the pastor from always preaching his or her favorite texts, and it forces the pastor to read and more intimately understand texts that might not be regularly read. We also believe all teaching is inspired by the Holy Spirit and suitable for instruction. It is quite remarkable that the lectionary recommends these particular passages from the Corinthians over these last few Sundays. Following the Holy Spirit’s challenge I’m going to preach this week’s text; but next week is Philippians 2:1-16, perhaps my favorite text.

The Gospels unlike Paul’s letters were written for specific purpose, for example Luke said his purpose was to set down an orderly account of the life of Christ. Paul was a missionary responsible for the spiritual life of many congregations and by necessity he wrote his letters for the specific purpose of instructing his congregations concerning a matter of spiritual importance. There are at least two beauties of his letters, first they were read to the congregation in worship, and that human behavior is timeless. We are not honest with ourselves if we do not admit that the events and behavior Paul wrote about within his congregations are the same ones we find in modern congregations. Our challenge is to read Paul’s history to inform our actions today.

If you have been here the last several weeks you know that the history we have been following in 1Corinthians is of a church whose congregation had fallen off the tracks.  To remind you and to give the ones here who may have missed some of the last three weeks, let me give you a short recount of events up to this point.

Corinth was a city of hard living, hard drinking, sexually promiscuous and unruly people.  Paul spent about a year and a half with them teaching them about the Way of the Gospel and the nature of the Christian life. The Lord opened many minds who formed a congregation. Then he left on his missionary journeys leaving his helpers and congregational leaders behind to continue the work.

When he was in Ephesus (probably), he receives reports from some members of the congregation, and from his helpers, of the troubles in Corinth. The problem facing the Corinthians - and us - is the reality that conversion to Christianity does not automatically give a person the manners and morality of the Christian life. Wearing a cross doesn’t signify a sanctified Christian life, only actions from the heart do that. And if our heart is to follow the Holy Spirit we must be still and quiet and listen for it.  Paul is going to show us today listening and following the Holy spirit may make us really uncomfortable at first because it often challenges our Greek logic and knowledge.

The weakness of the Greek Corinthians is their admiration of education, knowledge, a finely turned argument and admirable personal appearance. They formed this idea that their Christianity has raised them to such a high level of spirituality they are immune from sin so they can go back to their old ways without consequence. They place more importance on the person who baptized them than on Christ’ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection that their baptism honors - to the point they are worshipping the one who baptized them, and not the One who saved them. They value preaching more than what is preached.

What is implied but unstated until now, is there is a challenge to the meaning of the call for Christian service and the folly of judgment. This crisis in Corinth bears directly on what it means to serve as a leader in the congregation and avoid judgment.

They have judged Paul and each other to be an inferior to Peter, Apollos and who knows who else. Paul by his own admission was short, had a straggly appearance, a large nose, was not an eloquent speaker (2 Cor. 11:6), was timid face to face and bold away (2Cor. 10:1) and had some kind of physical disability. Some Corinthians must think Paul’s ministry in Corinth is a failure because of this. Their reason and logic blinds them to his message: they already have this wonderful gift of everything through this grace of of salvation Paul and Apollos brought to them. They have forgotten that they are now ministers of Christ’s church. They are arguing and fighting like children, visiting pagan temples, and judging the spiritual worthiness of each other by who baptized them and splitting the congregation. Paul is beside himself. This has to stop because good Christians are damaging the body of Christ.  

Paul’s difficult problem is to disabuse them of their mistakes and keep them in the fold. His strategy is to begin in his salutation where he reminds them of his love and their blessings, and then go to the troubles.  Before Paul says a single critical word to them he makes sure this congregation knows he loves them dearly. (This is the reason I include the 1^st 9 verses of the letter in the reading).  He tells them (v4), “Every time I think of you – and I think of you often! – I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There is no end to what has happened to you – it is beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives. Just think about it – you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. You have chosen life not death. And not only that, God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until Jesus wraps up all things. God, who started you in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus Christ. He will never give up on you. Never forget that. That message is so personally humbling to me that I want to state very clearly it is also my message to you today. Terry and I treasure you all for your faith and love.

Having reminded them of his compassion, Paul takes on their attitude towards service and judgment. He tell the them that the Lord has made the plans of wise people useless. Logic and knowledge are folly to find your way to Christ. They will only get you in trouble. Faith is the key that opens up the door . And in the sentences before our reading today he tells them again they have all the tools. This life, the world, death, the present and the future, everything, belongs to you and you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

When we start reading Paul’s take on the issue of serving and judgment in 1 Corinthians 4:1 – 5, it is tempting to say we know Paul is a human and he is protesting too much. He is really just defending himself and his ego. 

But that is not what Paul is about. He has never been the same since his profound experience on the road to Damascus when Jesus Christ confronted him. He called by faith to say to his congregations, “If they want to know how to behave as a Christian they should model his behavior.” Jesus has given Paul no choice to make this commitment. It is the only way he can raise the ante for his flock. “If you want to know how a Christian should behave, copy me.” Are you and I ready to say that? What pastor in the world today can we point to that can honestly and faithfully make that claim to his congregation? I suspect none. As we lead, remember when Paul preaches (or writes) he is preaching with fear and trembling as much to himself as he is to his congregation. Is Paul starting to humble you yet?

Paul eliminates any criticism of a self-serving defense when he explains the duty of the pastor. Paraphrase extraction  from The Message (ref 1) “Don’t imagine us leaders like security guards or bosses. We are servants of Christ not his masters.”  For the word “servant,” he switches from his usual word that means “deacon” to one that means the slave who manned the oars on a warship in the lowest part of the filthy bilge, where the rats live.”  Then mid-sentence he switches his metaphor, “No, We are stewards (or guides) to God’s mysteries.” The steward is the highest-ranking slave in a person's household who is responsible for the buying and selling with food and items of the house, the care of the children and generally all the daily household affairs of the Master.  The household steward is a beautiful example. I think it is a question. Do you know anyone from personal experience that you would trust as absolutely trustworthy and reliable with your affairs? Paul continues, “The pastor serves to guide the congregation to God's most sublime secrets. No one can force a change of heart to Christian behavior and faith.” The pastor can only lead the willing heart to it. Paul says he can sow seed, Apollos can water, but only God can grow the seed.

The pastor is responsible for the spiritual life of the congregation, but the pastor is absolutely and ultimately the servant responsible to Jesus Christ, who is the Master. trivia: Presbyterian polity actually reflects that idea. Your pastor is not a member of your congregation but is a member of the presbytery.

After Paul defines his role and responsibility as steward and servant, he can say with confidence in verse (3), “… it matters very little to me what you think of me and less of where I rank in popular opinion.” When he says, “I don't even judge myself” he is leading the Corinthians who are judging Paul down a primrose path to emphasize the low value of human judgment. He springs the trap forcefully, “I am not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but so what? That does not make me innocent.” Human judgment is pointless; irrelevant and mostly destructive. Only the Master is able to judge and we will all face Him.

Then he reminds them not to be so quick to make a judgment about themself or about their fellow Christians before they have all the information, (which they know they will never have it).  Don't make a judgment before the time to make a judgment.

What time is that?....It is the time when Jesus returns; when everything will be brought out into the open, our motives, our prayers, our purposes and our desires. That is when we will hope to hear “Well done, O good and faithful servant!” rather than, “Get over there with the rest of the goats.”

What does Paul’s lecture about being a servant and judging have to do with us? Paul is talking about all the leaders of the church. Remember we are all ministers of the church, the elders elected to manage the operation of the congregation, the members of committees and teachers, the people who sing and play musical instruments, or act in a play. Each member of the congregation is a minister proclaiming the Good News to the world according to their ability. Paul knows he is preaching to every minister in the congregation, both the pastor and the flock. His point is inescapable. Because our actions preach to the world how Christians should behave, we should always ask, every day, am I serving the Master as a guide to Christ. Am I making room for God in my lives? Am I leading by following the Holy Spirit, or am I trying to force God’s hand? Am I loving and hugging my fellow Christian who is just as good and valuable as I am, or arguing with them?

In closing, I pray this thought rests on each of us: We will be judged at the proper time, not by humans but by our Master; and while we may be so judged Christians at that time, I cannot but wonder with fear and trembling what pain we may feel in those fleeting moments before we finally know the joy and solitude of divine forgiveness and love to realize 
that we have done less than our best, 
that we have lost one sheep from our flock, 
that one child in our family who no longer wants to come to church, 
that one person in our midst who had their feelings hurt in an argument and left, or 
that lost that one person walking down the street that we will never even saw because we were to busy arguing to see the holy Sprit pointing him out, or 
that they heard us misbehaving and said, “That isn’t for me.” 

Will we feel all that pain because we judged when we should have served? Will we feel the pain because we lost the patience and courage to exercise forbearance and humility admitting that there is no way for the human mind, not even our own mind, to lead us, admitting that the Holy Spirit can lead only when we listen and only serve our Master?

ref 1: Eugene Peterson, The Message The New Testament in Contemporary Language, Colorado springs: Navpress, 1993