Reflections on "Prove It" 2 Corinthians 4: 3-6; Mark 9: 29-39

The sermon title was determined when I planned the sermon series.  Originally, the sermon was supposed to tie Valentine's Day, Transfiguration Sunday, and the last sermon in the sermon series on Paul's letters to Corinth.  My thinking then was to start with how Valentine's Day often feels like a "prove it" day, we are supposed to prove our love.  Then, I was going to segue into the resurrection as proof of how Christ is the light in the darkness.  In doing the sermon prep, I dropped the Valentine's Day part of the sermon and ended up with a sermon that has little to do with the title.

Due to weather issues, this sermon was also preached on Zoom from my house.  Knowing that, I tried to shorten and simplify the sermon to just a couple of images.  I think it tightened up the sermon and improved it.

 “Prove It” February 14, 2021; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp; 2 Corinthians 4: 3-6; Mark 9: 29-39

2 Corinthians 4: 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Introduction: 

An image from the mountaintop; and a couple of images from Corinth on Transfiguration Sunday and the final Sunday of our sermon series from Corinth.

Move 1: Glorious transfiguration

a.  Amidst the shining glory, the mountaintop has it all.

a.  Moses and Elijah are often thought to represent the law and the prophets; 

1. Let’s face it, Moses ascending Mt. Sinai to encounter God and receive the Ten Commandments and Elijah being swept up God on a chariot of fire are two of the lasting images from the Old Testament

2.  WE might also note that and in Jewish tradition the mysterious circumstances of Moses’ death on Mount Nebo (Deut 34.5–6) and Elijah’s being taken up to God on a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2.11) earned them the title of ‘the deathless ones’. (https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/what-is-transfigured-in-mark-9/; February 10, 2021 by Ian Paul)

3.  On the mountaintop described in the Gsoepl fo Mark today, add the image of Jesus transfigured before the disciples very eyes.

4. A hint of what is yet to come for Jesus, who has just been declared God’s Beloved Son.

5. An image of glory, revealing from the heavens the truth of whom Jesus is and setting the stage for what was yet to come - crucifixion and resurrection.

b.  First, Peter suggests they remain the mountain.

1.  Build some booths and stay awhile amidst all the glory.

2. But Jesus takes them down the mountain, back to the world that must be served and saved.

c. Surely, the disciples cannot wait to share with everyone what has happened on the mountaintop.

1. But Jesus commands them to remain silent until….until after his death and resurrection.

2.  the disciples do not understand his words in the moment, but after the resurrected Christ appears, they will have their “aha” moment.

3. The glory of God in Christ’s resurrection outshines Moses and Elijah.

4. The glory of God transforms the law and the prophets into grace and salvation.

5.  The glory of God in Christ Jesus shines light into the darkness of the world.

Move 3:  Back to Corinth, where Paul is trying to help these early Christians understand what God has done.

a.  God has shone in our hearts the light that cannot be overcome.

2.  In Christ, we see God’s glory as never seen before. 

3.  Paula Works, a New Testament scholar, gives us the image I shared with the Young Disciples.

4.  The law, the rules, the things the Jewish tradition put forth that needed to be done as God’s people was like a flashlight shining in the darkness.

The law gave some light; the law revealed some of who God is, but in the darkness of the world the flashlight was just a single beam of light.

A single beam of light easily kept out by the veils the world puts over our eyes.

5.  But the light of Christ is like all of daylight, transforming the darkness of the night into the glory of God.

6. Suddenly, the single beam of law is seen for its limitations, its fading light that cannot sustain itself in the darkness of the world.

7. But the glory of God in Christ lights the darkness of the world with a light that cannot be overcome.

8.   The light of Christ that grows as witnesses like those Christians in Corinth, like we today, who are being transformed into Christ’s likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18).) (Carla Works

Associate Professor in New Testament

Wesley Theological Seminary

Washington, D.C., USA; https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/transfiguration-of-our-lord-2/commentary-on-2-corinthians-43-6-3

Move 3:  Our obligation once we have seen the light of Christ?  To proclaim the gospel in the world.

a.  Speak the truth of light in the darkness.

1. The world has many who are blinded by the veils.

2.  We can name numerous veils:  

the lust for power the sees others as tools to be used

the concern for only ourselves

the inability to believe we can be loved

the racism and prejudice that separate us from others

the refusal to accept God’s grace

the unwillingness to believe that God has enough love for everyone, so we do not need to keep it to ourselves

3.  We see the shadows and darkness that arise in our world.

b.  And to the darkness we invite the light of Christ.

1.  The light of Christ fueled by the power of God to resurrect and God’s power to transform us into new creations.

2.  We proclaim not ourselves, but Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the resurrected one, whose glory still shines.

Conclusion:   As we sang in our first hymn, “now is the kingdom, and now is the day.”

Reflections on "Freedom" I Corinthians 9: 16-23; Mark 1: 29-39

Still working through Paul.  I am noticing how Paul shares his own personal commitment and response with the Corinthians.

 “Freedom” February 7, 2021; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp; I Corinthians 9: 16-23; Mark 1: 29-39

 16 If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.9 For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Introduction:  Two more weeks in Corinth, although next week is Transfiguration Sunday, so we’ll spend some time on the mountaintop with Jesus as well.

Move 1:  What do you think of Paul’s marketing strategy for sharing the gospel?

a.  Can you see Paul sitting around with the other leaders having sort of a conference on how to share the gospel.

1.  “What we need to do is connect with everyone where they are by being like them”

2.   If dealing with Jews, then become like a Jew.

If the people are under the law, then act like your e under the law.

to the weak, become like the weak.

3. Summary statement of the marketing strategy:  Become all things to all people.

4.  What do you think of that plan?

b. To us, it might seem a bit ego-centric.

1. It all revolves around Paul and what he can do.

2.  But, in the context of first century Greco-Roman culture that would have been expected.

3.  leaders were supposed to trumpet their virtues and proclaim all the reasons people should listen to them and follow their advice (Frank L. Crouch, Dean and Vice President Moravian Theological Seminary Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fifth-sunday-after-epiphany-2/commentary-on-1-corinthians-916-23-3)

2.  Otherwise, in that culture, the question was, why should anyone believe or follow Paul, or any other leader?

5.  Still, even if we give Paul a pass for making it about him, it goes against our sensibilities that Paul, or anyone, can be all things to all people.

c.  But as we read Paul’s words, we recognize that this idea of being all things to all people grows out of his understanding of freedom.

1. The gospel frees Paul freed to be anyone, to do anything.

2. Paul is no longer constrained by class or identity, or societal expectations - he is free.

2. in his context, Paul has a lot of privileges - he is a Roman citizen, a free man, well-educated, a person with leadership skills, and a history of serving as a Pharisee.  He is in some ways a Presbyterian demographic!

3. and now he is free from the law.

2. Freed from rituals.

3.  Free to act in the assurance of God’s grace.

d.  But, Paul is not living out a marketing strategy.

1. he is describing what it means to follow the resurrected Christ.

2. Receiving God’s grace means Paul is free to act as he chooses.

Move 2: But how does this freedom connect to the call to discipleship?

a. As we have seen, Paul makes much of the freedom followers of Christ have.

1. . One of the ways our faith resonates with our lived experience in a democracy is the importance of freedom.

2.  We love laying claim to living in the land of the free.

3. We trumpet our freedom loudly and often.

b.  But, notice how Paul  juxtaposes the freedom he finds in the gospel with the obligation the gospel imposes on him

1.  “If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!”

2. We are reminded again that Paul is not developing a marketing strategy;  

he is living out the gospel.

3.  He must reach out to others, even if doing so means he gives up some of his freedom.

4.  we read in the gospel of Mark about Jesus’ beginning his ministry - Jesus heals the sick and casts out demons.

5.  When Jesus slips away to be by himself, the disciples find him and tell him, “Everyone is searching for you.”

6. Such is the power of the gospel and the needs of the people.

7.  Paul recognizes the obligation he has to share that gospel the a hurting and hungry world, even if it means giving up some of his freedom to do so.

Paul reminds us that our primary obligation is not to freedom, but to sharing the gospel, whatever it take.

Move 3:  this obligation becomes a conscious choice.

a. Paul thinks through everything, or so it seems.

1. He is not talking about some instinctive response to being freed by the gospel.

2. he is describing a decision he makes on how he wants to live out his calling as a disciple of Christ.

3. He calls us to make a conscious choice for how we live out our calling.

b.  Craig Barnes, President of Princeton Seminary, and friend of this congregation who preached from this pulpit a few years ago as part of our Fall Festival of Faith, tells a story about Saint Benedict’s Rules for Monks. 

When Benedict wrote his rules for monasteries in the sixth century he included specific instructions for how a novice would be received into the monks’ community of prayer.

The new and presumably young novice would enter a room called the oratory and vow stability, fidelity and obedience. Then he would say, “Receive me, Lord, as you have promised, and I shall live; do not disappoint me in my hope” (Ps. 119:116, Rule of St. Benedict). Benedict would then instruct the novice to pull off his street clothes and put on the habit of the monks. We would expect this.

But the next thing is surprising: the old street clothes were to be placed in the monk’s closet.

I discovered these instructions when I was in graduate school. I was puzzled by Benedict’s concern to preserve the street clothes. I told my medieval church history professor that I thought that Benedict should have demanded that the old clothes be burned, making the vow to become a monk permanent.

The professor told me I was “exactly wrong.” By leaving the street clothes in his closet, the monk confronted two habits every morning for the rest of his life. He could put on the habit of the monk or return to the habit of the streets and leave the monastery. He had to keep choosing what he had chosen. “This,” my patient professor explained, “was the only way the monk could fulfill his vow—in freedom.”  (M. Craig Barnes is president of Princeton Theological Seminary and author of The Pastor as Minor Poet.

Aug 15, 2013 issue; “Boxed In” Christian century)

Conclusion:  Paul is freed by the gospel to be anyone he wants to be.  he chooses to be a follower of Christ who willingly gives up some freedom for the sake of sharing the gospel.

who do you choose to be?

Reflections on “A 'C' on the Back” I Corinthians 8:1-13

The sermon was originally going to focus exclusively on Paul's personal example, but when studying the Scripture, I found the issue of the class divide to be really interesting.  This sermon could also have focused more on not being a stumbling block, but next week's sermon on Christian freedom will speak to that more.  I will probably reference the stumbling block passage in next week's sermon.

 “A 'C' on the Back” January 31, 2021; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp; I Corinthians 8: Mark 1: 21-28

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3 but anyone who loves God is known by him.

4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 “Food will not bring us close to God.”[a] We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11 So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed.[b] 12 But when you thus sin against members of your family,[c] and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling,[d] I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them[e] to fall.

Introduction:  Another week in Corinth; 

another attempt by Paul to challenge some of the things being said by some in the church community (reminder - the quotes in the text are probably direct quotes from those making arguments in Corinth)

Another example of how Paul believes that their Christian faith, that our Christian faith, speaks to specific issues Christians face in the world.

In this case, the specific issue is meat sacrificed to idols.

Move 1: As we might expect, the food issue represents a bigger issue - divisions in the church between different groups.

a.  For the community in Corinth, the food problem is as follows.

1. There is a lot of pagan worship in Corinth.  Corinth at this time was a quintessential pagan town, which meant there was lots of meat being sacrificed to the idols during pagan rituals.

2.  Much of this meat was then sold in the markets. 

3.  As a Christian living in Corinth,  could you buy and eat this meat?  (https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany-2/commentary-on-1-corinthians-81-13-3; Valerie Nicolet-Anderson, Faculté Libre de Théologie Protestante, Paris, France)

b. the approach to this question reveals a divide in the community between those in the upper class and those who 

1.   the well-educated, well-to-do Christians have the opportunity to eat the food offered to idols because they find it at the upper-class social gathering they attend such as feast and celebrations or other public events where the meat offer to idols was sold for food (Feasting the Word, 302, V. Bruce Rigdon).

2. they also can use their education to develop arguments to rationalize the eating of this food.

3. We can see their thought progression in Paul’s letter:  they begin with “all of us possess knowledge”

which leads to we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” because “there is no God but one.” 

which culminates with, we can obviously eat meat offered to idols since we know that idols do not exist so the sacrifice has not really happened.

4.  From a rational point of view, I see the logic in the argument.

5.  But, Only those with access to meat need to figure out a way to justify it.

6.  For those without money to afford the meat, without the educational chops to make the argument, it is much simpler - if you eat the meat, then you are worshipping idols.

7. Now, the community is split over this issue.

c.  Paul determines that the relationships in the community, the need to be together in their Christian community matters more than which side they are on in the food issue.

1.  Paul sets up knowledge in contrast to love.

2.  perhaps we find this ironic - Paul, who always seems to be developing theological concepts and calling on Christians to think through their actions seems to be suggesting knowledge is less important than love.

3.  I think Paul would say (hard to speak for Paul) that we are still called to be thoughtful and theological, but when deciding on how to act, love should be our guide.

4.  As Paul does in fact say, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”

5.   Or, as new Testament scholar Mark Allan Powell notes, Paul argues that “Love must trump knowledge as a guide to Christian behavior” (Mark Allan Powell, Introducing the New Testament)

6.  in other words, when we think about how to act as Christians, it is not what we know, but how we love.

Move 2: We also see in Paul’s argument his own call to lead by personal example.

a.  I don’t know about you, but when I think about Paul, I think about rules he gives for Christians to follow.

1.  But notice, how Paul finishes this discussion about eating food sacrificed to idols.

2.  No command for how the Corinthians should act.

3.  Paul does not issue a mandate on what they should do.

4.  he simply tells them that since eating food sacrificed to idols might cause someone else in the community to stumble, he is not going to eat meat. 

5.  He offers his personal example.

b.  We see in Paul’s choice how he understands Christian leadership.

1. If you want people to understand what it means to be a Christian, then act in ways that reveal love and help others instead of becoming a stumbling block.

2. It as if Paul has put a big “C” on his back and said, here is what it means to be a Christian.

3.  It seems to me that he knows that all the arguments in the world for believing in christ or understanding resurrection or the power of the  Holy Spirit need concrete expression in the ways Christians live their lives.

4.   the story is told about a Civil War chaplain who encountered a wounded man on the battlefield.  “Would you like to hear a few verses of Scripture?” he asked.  “No sir, but I am thirsty.  Could I please have some water?”  After giving him some water, the chaplain again asked about reading a few verses of Scripture.  “No sir, not now, but could you put something under my head.”   The chaplain did so and then asked again about reading Scripture.  “No sir, but I’m cold.  Could you cover me up?”   the chaplain took off his overcoat and placed it over the wounded man.  This time he did not ask about reading scripture and started to walk away.  But the soldier called after him, “Look, chaplain, if there’s anything in that book of yours that makes a person do for another what you’ve done for me, then I want to hear it.”  Carlos Wilton, “A Witness for the Defense,”  Theological Web Publishing, LLC

6. in our world today, a world in which people make claims about God and Christ and argue how their beliefs reflect Christ,  the most compelling argument for Christ is when we act in love and care more about the community than about satisfying our own personal needs.

Conclusion:  Join Paul in sharing your Christian faith in the way you live