“A Call for Authenticity” 2013

Isaiah 29:13-16 1 Corinthians 10:1-12

Isaiah 29:13-16

The Lord said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote; so I will again do amazing things with this people, shocking and amazing. The wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden. Ha! You who hide a plan too deep for the Lord, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay? Shall the thing made say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of the one who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

1 Corinthians 10:1-12

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.

In the movie, Godfather III, a mafia chief meets with a cardinal,

and tells him about an emerging scandal, that an Archbishop

has been involved in a massive case of banking fraud.

Hearing this news, the cardinal moves to a flowing fountain,

picks out a small stone and says: "Look at this stone.

It has been lying in the water for a very long time, but the water has not penetrated it."

Then he breaks the stone in two,

shows the inside of it and continues, "Look. Perfectly dry.

The same thing has happened to men in Europe.

For centuries they have been surrounded by Christianity,

~ but Christ has not penetrated.

Christ doesn't live in them.

Christ doesn't breathe within them."

* Yes, it is possible to be surrounded by God’s grace & Spirit,

and yet, not allow it to penetrate into the human heart.

When God freed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery,

~ the Lord gave them religious rituals and forms of worship

to symbolize their special relationship with God,

and help remember the amazing things God did for them.

But over the generations of God’s blessings in the Promised Land,

the Israelites began to live more like their pagan neighbors,

& their worship became increasingly empty and meaningless.

~ They complied outwardly,

going through the motions as memorized ritual,

but not really honoring or even listening to God.

For Israel it was no longer about any heartfelt connection;

and having no sense of an authentic relationship with the Lord,

it was meaningless, dishonest, and offensive to God.

It was worship that treats Almighty God like a vending machine;

just insert the coin of a well-performed religious ritual,

and expect to receive God’s acceptance and blessings.

But just going through the motions without integrity or heart,

such insincere worship does not fool or impress the Lord God.

As the prophet Isaiah wrote, vs. 13-14

The Lord said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote; so I will again do amazing things with this people, shocking and amazing.

God knew they were not focused

on worship or their faith and relationship with Him;

but rather, perhaps they were texting on their cellphones,

maybe more concerned about who they were seated near,

or how much time was left in the worship service

and their plans for after the benediction…

… and so God had a shocking and amazing surprise for them;

~for their insincere worship was just an outward symptom

of their rejection of God

in favor of their neighbor’s pagan ways.

God send the prophet Isaiah to announce the coming disaster;

that the nation would soon be defeated, Jerusalem destroyed,

and the people taken in chains into captivity in Babylon.

In arrogance, they assumed their worship rituals would save them,

and that God wouldn’t notice their sin and insincerity,

but externally religious does not make us righteous inside.

The Corinthians passage also deals with religion that’s all show,

religion that doesn’t really penetrate or change our hearts.

This section of Paul’s letter deals with the question

of eating meat that had been sacrificed before idols.

In those days, most any meat for sale in the marketplace had been

leftover from sacrifices previously made in pagan temples…

… and for some Christians, the idols tainted such meat.

For others,

since idols were inanimate, only representing false gods,

then an idol had no power that could change the meat.

While Paul did agree that the meat from idolatry was harmless,

in this passage,

he warns that there was more to the issue than just that.

Some of the Christians living in Corinth saw the question of

eating meat that had been previously sacrificed to idols

as a way to express their theological sophisticationà

and understanding that through the sacraments…

… they were safe and secure from the ravages of human sin.

So in their arrogant self-assurance & self-righteous confidence,

they were quite comfortable accommodating their culture,

and even sharing a cultic meal at a pagan temple…

… claiming that they could handle any temptation…

… which Paul saw as foolishly dancing at the edge of a cliff. vs. 12

warning, So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.

Like the Israelites warned by God through the prophet Isaiah,

some of the Corinthians were also so focused on externals,

and feeling safe & secure in the sacraments as rituals,

they assumed that by grace,

God wouldn’t notice their sin and insincerity.

So Paul describes a connection between the Exodus journey

where the Israelites were blessed by God in countless ways,

and the Christians of Corinth on their spiritual journey

also blessed by God in countless and abundant ways.

The Apostle’s first example or historical illustration

was to remind them of the story about when God parted the sea,

and rescued them from Pharaoh’s pursuing chariots & army

as the people passed through the sea on dry land.

Paul explains & interprets this event as being a type of baptism…

… being claimed and rescued by God’s mighty act of grace,

just as in the sacrament of baptism

we pass through the water to a new life in Jesus Christ.

Paul also made a theological connection between

the Israelites receiving and eating manna, bread from heaven,

and the sacrament of Communion,

when we receive and eat the bread of life. vs. 2-3, 5

all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food… Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

Paul’s point is that the ancient Israelites

obviously received tremendous spiritual blessings and gifts,

yet they died in rebellion against God,

and their bones, left strewn across the Sinai Desert.

So too for the Christians of the church in Corinth,

despite all of their spiritual advantages

of having been baptized and sharing the Lord’s Table;

they were not guaranteed immunity against temptation or sin

nor that their lives would be pleasing before the Lord.

They needed to hear and consider the stories from the Exodus

as a warning against smug complacency and overconfidence.

vs. 6, 11-12

Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did… These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, … so if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.

Just because we’ve received the sacraments – baptism, Communion,

just because we’ve had some wonderful worship experiences

and we have felt the gracious love and intimacy of God,à

- that does not mean that we’re spiritually all done and all set.

** The point is, we still need to be on guard

against any spiritual smugness or complacency.

When I was learning Greek in seminary and wanted to practice it,

I attended a Greek Orthodox church service one time,

since they did their whole worship liturgy in Greek.

It was a long and very confusing worship service for me,

and just before they got to the bread and wine part,

lots of men suddenly came in an sat with their families.

And afterward I asked the priest about all the latecomers.

With some frustration he explained that some so focus on the deed

they treat the Communion sacrament like it’s somehow magic,

and yet have little concern about what it really means,

or that our relationship with God is what matters…

…their hearts & lives impenetrable to God’s transforming power.

The Christians in Corinth had a similar misunderstanding.

Paul’s message is that it’s not about

having had some incredible experiences of grace in the past,

but, the authenticity & joy of our walk with God, today,

in which

we are drawn nearer to God all the days of our lives.

* What they didn’t understand or appreciate,

is that the faithful Christian life has so much more to offer

than just trying to collect

spiritual experiences like charms on a bracelet.

** And neither

those spiritual experience nor even the sacraments

make us immune from a willful or stubborn hardened heart,

that even God’s gracious love

cannot easily penetrate, heal and change.

~ The goal and gracious gift we seek

is to develop such an authentic & growing intimacy with God,

that penetrates and makes a real difference in life…

… empowering us to survive and thrive growing deeper

through all the challenges, difficulties, hurts,

disappointments, losses, and trials we may face.

I want to be clear,

that this isn’t a message that we’re not trying hard enough;

but that if we are afraid, or hiding behind a pious façade;

then in the quiet of reflection and thought during Communion,

ask the Spirit to reveal any obstacles getting in the way,

so we don’t miss out on the true blessing our God intends.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed are those who take refuge in him. (Psa 34:15,8)