Isaiah
40: 21–31; Psalm 147: 1–12, 21c; I Corinthians 9: 16–23; Mark 1: 29–39
This is the homily given
at St. John’s; Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday, February 4, 2018 by Fr. Gene
Tucker.
“GOD’S CALL
AND THE HUMAN RESPONSE”
(Homily text: I Corinthians 9: 16-23)
“I
have become all things to all people,” St. Paul says in his first letter to the
Corinthians. He had prefaced this remark by categorizing some of the ways in which
he has shown himself to be one with others:
To the Jews, he says, I am a Jew; to those outside the law (of Moses); I
became as one outside the law; to the weak, I became weak.
I
do it, he says, “that I might be all means save some.”
Is
Paul being disingenuous in his comments by listing the ways he has identified
himself with others? No, not at all. In fact, Paul’s background and history
demonstrate that he has shared in each of the specific categories he
mentions: Raised as a pious and
observant Jew, a “Pharisee, and the son of the Pharisee”, he says in Acts 23:
6. Paul can rightfully claim to identify with Jews. To those outside the law
(that is, Gentiles), Paul can genuinely claim that heritage, also, for Paul is
a Roman citizen, raised in the city of Tarsus in Asia Minor. Paul can also
claim to be weak, having been emptied by the Lord Jesus Christ of any pretext
for self-importance in his conversion experience on the road to Damascus.
Paul
is, therefore, outlining the ways in which he seeks to find common ground with
those he wants to share the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ.
But
in the early Church in Corinth, there was little common ground to be found
among its members. Paul is dealing with a very problematic bunch of Christians.
They are separated from one another by factions: In chapter one of his first letter,
Paul directly addresses this party spirit, saying that he is dismayed to learn
that some of the Corinthian Christians are claiming to be of the “Peter party”,
while others are claiming to be member of the “party of Apollos”, while still
others are claiming to be part of “Paul’s party”. And still others (presumably
in an attempt to top all these other groups) are claiming to be in the “Jesus
party”.
Furthermore,
these divisions aren’t limited to the claims of discipleship to follow Paul,
Apollos, Peter, or Christ. The Corinthians celebrations of the Lord’s Supper
have, apparently, descended into chaos. If we read chapter eleven of the
letter, we discover that some of the more well-to-do members of the
congregation come to the Church’s Eucharistic celebration with picnic lunches,
which they then proceed to eat. Meanwhile, poorer members of the congregation
sit nearby with nothing.
Paul
certainly had his hands full with the Corinthian congregation.
In
response, Paul reminds these early believers that – in order to win some for
Christ – it is necessary to seek out some common ground with others. Oneness by
virtue of shared, common experience and identity, is the goal, and it is the
entryway into building a relationship upon which the Good News (Gospel) can be
shared. That’s the entire idea, he says (if we may summarize his argument).
Tracing
Paul’s own spiritual journey, we can see the following steps:
- God’s common ground with humanity: God establishes common ground with us by sending Jesus Christ to take up our humanity to the full. In sending Jesus in human flesh and form, we see that Jesus came to fully experience our human existence, sharing in our trials, tribulations, sorrows, disappointments, triumphs, and so forth. Jesus comes to even share in our experience of death.
- The world is, therefore, forever changed: The coming of God in the second person of the Holy Trinity changes the course of human events forever. Now we know, as we look back at the “Christ event”, that God truly and deeply loves each and every one of us.
- Paul’s life is forever changed: Jesus reaches out to Paul as he makes his way toward Damascus, calling out to him, saying, “Saul, Saul (Paul’s former name), why are you persecuting me?” He answers, “Who are you, Lord?” and the Lord replies, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” We can read two accounts of Paul’s encounter with the Lord in Acts: 9: 1–9 and again in 26: 12–18.
- Paul’s radical change of life compels him to share this Good News with others: “Necessity is laid on me” to proclaim the Good News. “Woe to me” if I do not do this, he says.
Now
this mantle of proclaiming the Good News has passed to us. Our journey with God
parallels Paul’s journey:
- We realize that God has established common ground with us in Holy Baptism. God has taken the initiative, reaching out to us in the person of Jesus Christ, just as the Lord reached out to Paul as he made his way toward Damascus. In Baptism, we acknowledge our own helplessness, our own inability to save ourselves, and we accept Christ’s power to rescue, redeem and save us (from ourselves).
- Our lives are forever changed as the result of this encounter with Christ.
- We are called to proclaim, “By word and deed (as our Baptismal Covenant maintains) the Good News of God in Christ”.
- To do this, we find some common ground with all persons, persons who share our humanity, with whom we share the disappointments, trials, tribulations, and triumphs that the human experience inevitably brings.
- In all these human experiences, we proclaim that – in Christ – things are different, entirely different, than they were before we came into relationship with God through Christ.
AMEN.
