I enjoyed this sermon, even though it is a very difficult text to preach (at least in my opinion). it would have been powerful to have played the song from Hamilton instead of just quoting it. The song has such a frenetic pace, it would have been a good example of the sense of urgency I was describing.
I had originally thought about working more with the "as though they were not" aspect of these verses but will save that for another sermon.
“Running Out of Time” January 24, 2021 ; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp; I Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1: 14-20
I mean, brothers and sisters,[a] the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
Introduction: We continue reading Paul’s letter to the church Corinth, learning about the development of the early church, and hopefully learning a bit about ourselves and our calling as well.
Move 1: Paul may have missed the mark in this section of his letter - that is, his foundation premise may be wrong.
a. Before we get to that, let’s back up a bit and look at what Paul has already advised these early Christians to do.
1. Remember, Paul is typically answering questions that have arisen in their church community.
2. They have asked, “should Christians stay single or get married?” and Paul’s written that the single life is better, but recommends marriage to help prevent sexual immorality (7:1-9).
3. they have asked, can we get divorced? and Paul has advised that believers not divorce one another, although he concedes that divorce might be necessary in some cases (7:10-16).
4. they have questions about freedom and how it connects to their place in life, and Paul has counseled that those who become Christians not to make changes. For example, slaves should not think that they must become free, but accept freedom if it is offered (7:11-24).
5. Now, in the passage we read this morning Paul write “those who have wives be as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.
b. Foundational to Paul’s response and teachings is his the last line of the passage: for the present form of this world is passing away.”
1. Paul believes Christ will come again, and it will be very soon.
1. In this limited time before Christ comes again, Paul does not want the Corinthians to waste their time worrying about advancement in life, or the trappings of their lives, but instead give laser-like focus to their calling as disciples of Christ.
2. I do group workouts some days with a trainer leading the workout. I’ve noticed that one of the things trainers like to say is, “you only have to do this for 30 secs. You can do anything for 30 seconds.”
3. Well, maybe I can, or maybe I can’t.
4. But that is Paul’s point - they can hang on to wherever they are in life and give all their focus to their discipleship because Christ is coming back soon.
c. Clearly, Paul did not have the timing down.
1. Nearly 2,000 years later we read Paul’s letter and recognize that his admonition for what they should do in the short-term might need to be modified as we live out our calling in the longer-term.
2. But it does not mean we dismiss or ignore Paul’s teachings.
3. Rather, we reclaim his words in our context.
Two thoughts on discipleship from Paul’s letter.
Move 2: Entangled in the world or disentangled in the world.
a. When we evaluate Paul’s teachings without the time element, we still see Paul’s call for the Corinthians to disentangle themselves from the world.
1. Five times in the three verses we read this morning Paul tells the Corinthians to live “as though not:” as though not married; as though not mourning; as though not rejoicing; as though not making purchases; and (in summation) as though not dealing with the world in general. ( Alrland J. Hultgren, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Luther Seminary; St. Paul, MN; https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-after-epiphany-2/commentary-on-1-corinthians-729-31-2)
2. Paul is calling the Corinthians to disentangle themselves from the ways of the world.
b. this calling speaks to us today, even as we live long after Paul expect Christ to return.
1. Discipleship calls us to a new way of understanding the world and living in the world.
2. An understanding that begins with Christ crucified and God’s power to resurrect.
3. We are not called to try and interpret God through the ways of the world, but to bring our faith to bear on how we understand and approach the world.
4. Do you see the difference?
5. I am reminded of the old adage that “if the God you are praying to agrees with everything you believe before you prayed, you might not be talking to God.”
6. Int reminiscing about Steve Plunkett’s tenure here at St.Andrew, I was reminded that Steve loved to share Karl Barth’s image of a Christian living with a newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other.
7. Too often, we are tempted to use the newspaper to interpret God, instead of turning to God to figure out how to respond to the headlines in the newspaper.
8. But we should remember that Barth finishes his image with these words: “But interpret newspapers from your Bible.” (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/668096-take-your-bible-and-take-your-newspaper-and-read-both)
c. Paul, fo course, in calling the Corinthians, is calling us to disentangle from the world is reflecting what Christ had done.
1. Christ called people to repent, to change their ways, to turn around, and return their focus to God.
2. And then, to follow him into the world.
3. In other words, pull ourselves back from the worldview that focuses on things like worldly power and might and looking out for one’s self first and engages the world as disciples of the crucified one, as disciples who believe that God is calling us to be new creations who seek justice, who love mercy, who care for the hungry, clothe the naked, who give hope to the hopeless in ways that the world chooses not to do.
4. how we disentangle ourselves may be different than how Paul called the Corinthians to disentangle themselves, the trajectory is the same - moving from God’s call to give up the ways of the world and then engaging the world as followers of Christ.
Move 3: Paul also gives a sense of urgency to discipleship.
a. Paul tells the Corinthians they are living in “the appointed time,” or some translations translate is as a season.
1. The Greek language offers two concepts of time - chronos, which is the literal time of day, or Kairos, which is an appointed time, or a specific moment, often a moment appointed by God.
2. Paul builds on this sense of kairos by telling the Corinthians that now is the appointed time, now is the particular moment God has called them to live out their discipleship.
3. No waiting for the next day, or the next week, or month, or year to start living out their calling as followers of Christ.
4. there is a sense of urgency to start now.
5. This is the moment.
5. Now.
b. We see this urgency as Jesus calls the disciples in the Gospel of Mark.
1. Jesus arrives at the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
2. The fishermen are used to immediate changes because of the geography surrounding the Sea of Galilee means sudden changes as winds blow in from the Mediterranean Sea and over the all country. One moment the sea is calm, the next there are treacherous winds and threatening waves. Fishermen learn to act in the moment. ( Professor Emeritus of New Testament Luther Seminary St. Paul, Minnesota, United States; https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-after-epiphany-2/commentary-on-mark-114-20
3. Here comes Jesus. First, to Simon and Andrew he calls out, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”
4. their response as the Gospel of Mark tells it: “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
5. no finishing up what they had been doing; no going to make plans to join him later;
6. Immediately. A sense of urgency.
7. The same thing happens with James and John.
8. Immediately.
9. Following Jesus is an urgent matter.
b. I am reminded of the “Justice delayed is justice denied”
1. Most of us associate it with the Civil Rights movement. The urgency brought to ending segregation
2. But the roots of that phrase go back farther - it was part of the legal tradition, but even before that, it was part of the rabbinic tradition.
3. Mentions of justice delayed and denied are found in Pirkei Avot: "Our Rabbis taught: ...The sword comes into the world, because of justice delayed and justice denied...".[2][4] Nachmanides understands the advice given by Jethro in Exodus 18:22, to judge the people at all times, as suggesting that Israel needed more judges because potential litigants would otherwise suffer injustice due to their inability to find a judge to hear their case (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_delayed_is_justice_denied)
4. Jesus lays claim to that same sense of urgency.
5. The world needs God’s presence now.
6. As disciples of Christ, we are called to act now.
c. Musical Hamilton tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, both his flaws and all the things we did and set into motion.
1. As the musical tells his story, it gives the impression that Hamilton is propelled to action by his being orphaned at an early age, by being something of an outsider in the formative years of the United States.
2. In the song “Non-Stop” the lyrics describe Hamilton’s non-stop way of living.
3. part of the song goes like this:
How do you write like you're running out of time?
Write day and night like you're running out of time?
Everyday you fight like you're running out of time
Like you're running out of time
Are you running out of time?
How do you write like tomorrow won't arrive?
How do you write like you need it to survive?
How do you write every second you're alive?
Every second you're alive? Every second you're alive?
4. If you hear the song, the lyrics and the music create this frenetic sense of urgency for how Hamilton lived his life and accomplished so much.
Conclusion: Paul writes to the Corinthians, Paul writes to us who are newly alive as new creations in Christ and calls us to a life of discipleship that begins now, in this moment.
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