Second Sunday after Epiphany

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

So this weekend, our congregation council and I were on retreat at Lutheridge with a half-dozen other congregation councils from the Carolinas, to focus on congregation vitality. And as Pastor Mike Ward was facilitating the retreat and talking about how we inspire others to participate in our shared ministry he played a clip from the Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger movie “Jerry Maguire” where Jerry has stayed up all night in his hotel room pouring his heart and his passion into a twenty-five page mission statement. You’ll be happy to hear that was an example of what not to do.

But I also remember another scene from that movie, where Jerry’s wife stops him in the middle of a speech, and says,
“You had me at hello.”

Well, today begins the first of five weeks in the revised common lectionary, the three-year cycle of readings that we follow in worship, when we are reading through the epistle, or letter, written by Paul to the church in Corinth.

Now, Paul can be verbose or wordy - he doesn’t get right to the point -  so perhaps it isn’t a complete surprise that this letter is divided into sixteen chapters in the Bible. This year, the lectionary only takes us through the first three.

Today we begin at the very beginning, with the salutation, or where, essentially, Paul says, “Hello.”

We believe Paul began the church in Corinth around 50 CE, almost twenty years after the crucifixion. And now he’s writing from Ephesus, responding to letters he has received. It becomes clear in later parts of this epistle that there have been divisions within the Corinthian church and Paul wants to address those schisms.

But he doesn’t begin there. He first reminds the people in Corinth who they are:

They are the “church of God” (v.2);

They are “sanctified (or made holy) in Christ Jesus”;

and they are called to be saints. And here it becomes clear that saints are not just those who have died. (v.2)

Instead Paul reminds this church that they are called “with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 2)

This week in the Church, really beginning yesterday on the 18th, is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Remembering we are called with all who call on Jesus helps us recognize that

1. The Church is not ours at all, but Christ’s; and
   
2. Christ’s Church isn't Lutheran or Episcopal, Baptist or Methodist, or whatever other tradition or denomination you may encounter. I converted to Lutheran theology and I treasure it, so I want to say both that the differences in our theology and our practices are meaningful and that what matters most is that we are following Christ.

So far in his greeting, Paul has said, “I see you; I know you Christ-followers are trying to live as church together.” But he doesn’t just tell them “good luck with that” and leave them, wondering how they will ever figure it out. Instead, he offers them encouragement, writing, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (v.3)

Paul uses this same greeting in many of his epistles and sometimes we reachers will echo him at the beginning of our sermons. But these words aren’t just a churchy way to say “hello.” These words help us remember everything we Christians need to know:

Jesus has come into this world,
Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed One, and
Jesus has come to offer grace and peace to you, and you, and you and everyone. [i]

And then Paul ends with thanksgiving, naming all the ways God is present for the church in Corinth. He writes:

The grace of God has been given to you, or as Eugene Peterson wrote in his paraphrase The Message: “you have free and open access to God.”

Your lives bear witness to Christ’s presence – you show forth Jesus.

And you are not lacking in any spiritual gift.

I have to stop there and wonder if people could hear Paul’s words…really hear them and believe them for themselves.

I think there were probably some skeptics who doubted. Maybe they snickered and said, “Huh, he must not have been talking about me!” or “he wouldn’t say that if he knew me!”

But here’s the thing. He did know them and he was talking about them. And perhaps even more importantly, Paul knew first-hand what it is to be a sinner who encounters Christ and how Jesus changes our lives.

These same Christ-followers were trying to be church together in their corner of the world probably share more in common with our congregation today than we might guess.

But Paul looks at the church and sees abundance. Abundance of grace. Abundance of love. Abundance of giftedness.

And if doubts or fears linger, Paul’s last words are ones of promise and assurance that our faithful God will strengthen the church, not just for one day or one trial, but to the end. God has called us to be church and God gives us the gifts we need to respond to the holy calling on our lives.

Let us pray….
Good and gracious God,
We give you thanks for the saints before us like Paul and the saints around us who call on your name in neighboring churches and worshiping communities.
Thank you for the grace you have given all who call on you, that nothing separates us from You.
Teach us how to show your mercy and love in our words and actions that others may see Jesus through our lives.
Alert us to the gifts you have given us and give us courage to use them for ministry.
We pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

[i] Anna Madsen. “Know Your Home: If Necessary, Go Another Way to Get There.” OMG: Center for Theological Conversation. http://omgcenter.com/2020/01/06/know-your-home-if-necessary-go-another-way-to-get-there/, accessed 1/18/2020.