"It's the Contents, Not the Container"    2011

1 Corinthians 1:9-17                  Philippians 3:15-4:3

 

1 Corinthians 1:9-17

9God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10Now 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. 11For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. 12What 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.” 13Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so 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.) 17For 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.

 

Philippians 3:15-4:3

15Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. 16Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.  17Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 19Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.  4Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. 2I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

 

One Saturday morning,

            when I was still   a fairly new and inexperienced pastor,

                        one of the recently-ordained elders came to see me.

     She wanted to go over some of the stuff that she saw

            going on in the church, that I didn't seem to be noticing.

 

She described how some of the original charter members

     were not letting the newer church members have their fair say

                 and how certain groups of people were trying

                        to run the church and were making all the decisions.

 

Her words were harsh, they crushed by spirit and broke my heart.

            She was so focused on detecting

                every defect and failing  of everything and by everyone,

                                    yet she had never discussed

                                        any of these problems with the people involved.      

 

After about two hours of this destructive and crushing onslaught

            there was a quiet   – hesitant knock on my office door …

 

            … it was another church member, who was upset and in tears,

                        and had been out in the hallway waiting,   and waiting,

                                    but then had finally interrupted with a knock.

 

With a sense of relief I sent that first visitor on her way,

            though still grumbling, complaining and disgruntled…

… while the other sobbing parishioner sat down in my office.

 

She came to tell me that her mother's surgery had done awry,

            and she was lying in the intensive care unit in Wilmington…

                   … and wanted me to come and pray with her in the hospital.

           

            The memory of the vivid contrast  between

                        these two Saturday morning visitors has never left me.

 

The first had been

            totally focused and upset over institutional matters;

                        self-first motivated and ego concerns   mostly about

                                    who was in charge and in-power  making decisions --

            -- minor issues which I could see little difference from

                        the petty rivalries and silliness of a social club,

                                    or spoiled children arguing out on a playground.

 

Her issues were

            minor distractions away from the true mission of the Church…

                        … mostly about resentments, anger and jealousies -----

- all very intense,   yet to me, disheartening and disappointing.

 

      They were all about the organization, the human institution,

                and more focused on the 'container' , than on the content.

 

There was precious little about God's grace, compassion,

            or recognizing that Jesus is the head of the Church.

It felt like she had squandered two hours of my life,

       wasting those hours of my time and energy for  doing ministry.

 

On the other hand, the second visitor,

            and her mother's request for prayer and a hospital visit;

                        that was huge part of why I become a pastor,

                                                and a task during which I felt

                                                      the most faithful and useful to God's call.

 

The truth is, it is so easy to be

            distracted away from the things in life that really matter.

That was really the same issue in play when the Apostle Paul

   wrote the passage we read earlier to the Christians in Corinth.

 

vs. 11b-13

            … it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.  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.”   Has Christ been divided?  Was Paul crucified for you?  Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

 

It appears that groups within the community of faith in Corinth

            were splitting into factions ----

                        the Greek word here is literally refers to when

                                    something whole  is being ripped or torn apart.

 

Paul also uses a particular word for 'rival political parties'

            to describe these groups of rival factions in the church,

                        who were arguing and competing for primacy and control…

               … based upon misguided loyalties to particular leaders.

 

Actually, the details and the specifics of those divisions

            are of little relevance or consequence to us, today.

                        The reasons and causes behind their disagreements

                                    were not really the issue to Paul   as much as

                                       the destruction inherent in their divisiveness.

 

The problem was really their spiritually immature theology,

            and ingratitude that failed to live in faithful response

                        to God's grace and mercy   given through Jesus Christ.

 

Their problem was really a subtle form of idolatry, i.e.

            putting something else in our life's place of prominence

                our ultimate loyalty, that rightly,   belongs  only to God.

 

In claiming superiority by following one leader over another,

            rather than focus on God, who is Lord over all things,

                        they were worshipping the institution of church;

                                    the human-organization  part rather than the Lord,

                                                the container    more than the contents.

     They were distracted away from the grace & lordship of Christ.

 

The first woman, ranting and raging in my office was so focused

           on the details and personalities of the church organization

                       that she lost tract of the church's mission & proclamationà

 

            à that we are all   entirely dependent upon God's grace alone,

                        for we all do fall  way short of the glory of God,

                             yet we are all equally loved and precious to our Creator.

 

As Paul pointed out to the Christians living in Corinth,

            we can so focus on the church as a human institution

                        that we devalue and distort the power of the cross …

            … as if the details of the human organization matter more

                        than what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.

 

We are all  wonderfully and uniquely   gifted and made,

            for our God creates in amazing and magnificent diversity.

    We are however, also unified by God's saving gracious love,

            so that our diversity   gives us voices to sing in harmony.

 

But if we lose or shift our focus off of Jesus Christ,

            if we don't pay close attention to the Holy Spirit,

                        who as our Conductor, brings our voices into harmony,

                                    then our diversity degrades into dissonance…

             … such as I endured in my office  that Saturday morning.

 

That's also what happened among two Christian women in Philippi.

            So Paul wrote,  vs. 4:2b-3b

                        "I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. … for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life."  

           

These two women had been serving well, together,

            but there must have been a falling out, a destructive disagreement;

                        and Paul writes, urging them to make peace ---

--- and interestingly,

               Paul associates reconciliation with spiritual maturity.

vs. 3:15-16

            Let those of us then who are mature  be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you.   Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.

 

It is not that we Christians always agree on every detail,

            but our call is for

                        our lives, our relationships and fellowship together

                                    to be constantly guided and shaped by

                                         the grace of God and what Christ has done for us.

                                                            "Only let us hold fast to what we have attained."

 

In his letters to the Philippians and to the Corinthians,

            Paul uses the phrase, "the same mind and the same purpose";

                        which means far more and deeper than just

                                    a matter of people getting along or uniformity.

            It means living as those knit together by God's grace

                        in a way that bears witness to the significance

                                    of the Gospel and what God has done for us; à

  and demonstrates before the world that we all belong to Christ,

            because Jesus is  in truth and in practice  our Lord over all.

 

It is in faithfulness to the body of Christ,  choosing à

            to handle our disagreements, differences and conflicts

                        with Christ-like integrity, truthfulness and grace,

                                    in healthy, gentle ways  that are not destructive

                                                to the fellowship and life we share in Christ…

            … it is placing Jesus first in all that we do or say.

 

It is also not blind compromise in order to avoid any conflict,

            for sometimes

                        disagreement is appropriate, faithful and necessary.

 

 

One time I was part of a community-wide Thanksgiving service,

  and I really wanted to get along & be liked by the other pastors.

 

But when it came time the Scripture reading and sermon,

           the preacher that night read a passage

                        from Walden Pond, by Henry David Thoreau

                              preached on it, without any reference to Scripture…

            … and  I realized that I was in a place where I didn't belong

                        and that sometimes compromise   clearly goes too far.

           

Now I've read and I found helpful insight in Walden Pond,

            but it hardly rises to the level of God's word in Scripture.

 

I'd say that silence and compromise have gone too far

            if they fail to honor the truth, the way and the life,

                        the revelation, the grace and lordship of Jesus Christ.

 

Our call is to focus on the Gospel & grace of Jesus Christ alone,

            being willing to compromise on the human and lesser things…

 

              … to focus on the contents, and not so much the container,

                        and be willing to grapple with making that distinction.

 

When I envision the final kingdom judgment in the end,

            and when I will stand fully exposed before my God, à

 

            I do not expect that Jesus will ask me,

                        if I was a perfect pastor, an effective administrator,

                                    leading a perfectly balanced congregation

                                        that got every detail of our mission just right;

 

                        or if as a scholar and preacher

                                    I figured out and fully comprehended

                                                every truth and mystery of the Bible .

 

 

I expect, that the two questions Jesus will probably ask me,

      will be more about grace,  and my response to God's blessings;

 

1)        did you in your life and ministry,   love the Lord your God

                        with all your heart, mind and soul?

 

2)        and did you love your neighbor, your sisters and brothers,

                        in the same way that you loved and served yourself?