Dr. J. Lawrence Cuthill

January 17, 2010

Winter Park Presbyterian

You’ve heard of Corinth before. If not the one that lends its name to the Epistle from which we get our Scripture passage, then the plethora of other places very similar to that Corinth. It was a commercial center; a robust seaport where most anything could be had for the right price. There was money to be made, but the competition was stiff, so there was money to be lost unless you mastered the art of wheeling and dealing. Or, put a bit more politely – negotiation.

There were, of course, the “haves” bent on increasing and protecting their lot. And the “have nots”, who wanted to remove the “not” from that descriptive term. That, or they were resigned to scratching out their meager existence. Corinth in 50 A.D. or C.E., was not unlike many (any?) city in today’s world.

Then in 50 A.D./C.E., a certain itinerant missionary of Jewish background came to town and, as was his custom, went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. There Paul reasoned with those in attendance in an attempt to persuade them that a certain Jesus was the long-expected Messiah, but they were a less than receptive group. Much less than receptive! Hostile and abusive to the point that -- in frustration -- Paul said, “Enough!” and began to direct his efforts to the Gentiles.

It was a rough crowd indeed . . . but there must have been a deep-seated hunger behind their street-wise facades. Many responded, believed, and were baptized. Quite a harvest in what would have appeared to be rocky, barren soil. Perhaps a lesson there for today’s church – appearances are deceiving and even where we are in a WASP country, the fields are “white into harvest.” (… but I get ahead of myself.)

What happens when Christians start popping up or being reborn in a missionary setting? Since the very beginning in what was a less hospitable environment, they gathered, grouped . . . formed a church. In retrospect, you would expect there would be the normal problems that accompany the formation of a new entity. Initially these were overshadowed, or better yet ‘paled’, in the enthusiastic response; the bright light of good news. God was not some whimsical demagogue who capriciously used humans as pawns to amuse himself … or one who must be appeased in some superstitious effort to assure good fortune … or who took delight in squashing the persons who crossed Him … All perceptions that linger powerfully – even today. That God was personal, loving, did not desire the destruction but salvation of humankind which had been provided for by grace through His Son Jesus, God Incarnate that came as stunning good news to the Corinthians.

So a church formed to which new believers flocked, but the euphoria at some point had a collision with reality. These new believers didn’t arrive at the doorstep as finished, mature, knowledgeable beings. They marched in; warts, flaws, faults and all … dragging some smelly baggage. This was the clientele Paul had to work with, and then -- after 18 months, he was driven out of town by the jealous Jewish community (Acts 18).

What do you suppose happened? Not rocket science, huh? Reports came to Paul of conflict, spiritual sensationalism, immorality and disorganization. I’m reminded, as an aside, of the common conversation pastors and lay-folk have with people who dismiss an invitation to church with, “I’m just not into organized religion.” One resourceful Christian responded, “Well, you’d really love our church! We’re about as disorganized as it gets.”

Much of Paul’s letter is addressed to the nature and practice of church. Did it beget immediate correction and produce an effective and smooth-running organization? From that point on, did the Corinthians do everything right, humbly, morally … to borrow Paul’s phrase (I Cor 14:40), which Presbyterians adopted and cherish – decently and in order? Clearly from Paul’s 2^nd letter, there were major improvements. Did they then do a 180 degree turn? Arrive at spiritual and ecclesiastic maturity?

These fall into the category of rhetorical questions. Another: After 2,000 years of experience, has any church arrived? That’s cause for us to remember and reaffirm our PCUSA slogan: Ecclesia, Reformata, Semper Reformanda – the Church Reformed, Always Reforming. It would imply the church is solidly grounded on the person, work and teachings of Jesus Christ, yet mobile – reforming, changing in faithful response to a changing world. There is this prevalent lingering notion of the church as a place; a building that describes itself as protecting God’s truth. It reaches back to ancient Judaism and their focus on the Temple and the Law – a building and doctrine. God is then static, not dynamic.

Instead, the church is a people, and has the marks of a movement. God defies efforts to tame and place Him in the proverbial box.

Still there must be some form … can we call it a model? That gives insight into who we are and where we’re going. I believe that is exactly why Paul wrote this letter, and why it is still central to our understanding of today’s church. God is using Paul to, in effect, describe a model of the church, and the church is intended to model for the world what the Kingdom of God is -- what it’s like.

Heaven knows we haven’t got this thing right yet … not by a long shot. But if we don’t have some model, we’ll just make it up as we go along and – as the eminent semanticist, Yogi Berra says, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else.”

Think about the idea of Model for a moment. Urban Planners do it. Architects do it. Engineers do it, all before they turn the first shovel. Construct a model. Why? It’s easy to figure. Does it work? How will it -- all the plans -- actually play out? Feasibility. Aesthetics and Practicality. Chicago, Sydney (Australia), and Shanghai have all contracted to have scale models built for urban planning purposes. In 1957, the Army Corps of Engineers built a scale model of San Francisco and Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. The model included a hydraulic system to flood it with water and simulate tidal movement. It helped test the proposal to build a dam, but once the model was operational the engineers quickly saw it would be disastrous. The project was summarily dropped.

The value of a model is to see in small scale what the real thing is like. The church Paul and others describe is, in one sense, to be a working, small scale model of something much larger – the Kingdom of God. In fact, in Revelation it is called a City, and it has a name – “the New Jerusalem.” Part of the intention is that in the church, we -- and those outside the church – can get a glimpse of an ineffable, profound and glorious reality. Having a model then provides not only a glimpse, but a goal – something to live into.

Admittedly we still have a long way to go. “I’d believe in your Christ,” said Gandhi, “if you’d just show me a Christian.” Within our own ranks, there are sometimes hard truths. My old teacher, the late Dr. Charlie Shedd, wrote, “The problem is not that the churches are filled with empty pews, but that the pews are filled with empty people.” Ouch! But here’s the good news and a few of the characteristics of that model church for us to live into. God doesn’t give up!

“The gates of hell shall not prevail against my church.” A few church gates may close, but watch them spring open elsewhere … elsewhere where the good news is embraced. God doesn’t give up … and waits until there is the church where:

1. Broken people of all colors, talents, financial status and ethnicities are welcome as brothers and sisters.

2. Where people use their gifts, not to simply elevate them selves, but for the common good … and in doing so find them selves elevated – lifted up.

3. That all blessings originate with one God, who is Lord of us all.

4. That diversity is a gift; that unity does not demand uniformity, and that the good news can embrace us all … taking us to that place modeled by the church, where all people can be safe, fully employed and fruitful … and all parts work together for the good of God’s creation and creatures – their very salvation.

AMEN