1
Corinthians 1:3-9
Advent
1, 2011
“As
You Wait”
I give thanks to my God always for
you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all
knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among
you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the
revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end,
guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by
whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our
Lord.
We Americans don't like waiting.
Waiting on the phone, waiting in line at the store, waiting in the
doctor's office where they even have a room for waiting. But the
church is always waiting. And Advent reminds us of this clearly.
The waiting has begun. Advent is a
season of preparation, of expectation and even somewhat of penitence.
But it is also a season of waiting. Waiting for Christmas, of
course. Waiting to celebrate. But we also remember that Christians
are waiting, still, for our Lord's second coming. We wait then, as
they waited back then, in the first century, when St. Paul wrote to
the Corinthians.
They waited for the revealing of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Revealing, perhaps, because in a way he is still
with us, though, hidden. He is hidden in the word, in the water, and
under the bread and wine. He is with us always, even though he has
ascended to heaven. And so his second coming isn't as much of an
entrance as a revealing, of him who was there all along. Christ as
he truly is – all eyes will see him.
They waited. They waited for the
bridegroom, thinking he'd return soon. And as they waited, especially
in those early years of the church, you'd expect they were on their
best behavior. Eagerly awaiting and expecting that day – and
knowing that it would be soon – and knowing that it could be any
day. You'd think they'd live holy lives and love one another and
flee from sin, and act like Christians, etc, etc. But that's not
really how it went.
By Paul's greeting here you'd think he
was writing to a bunch of super-Christians. He thanks God for them.
He says they've been enriched in speech and knowledge. That Christ's
testimony was confirmed among them. That they lack no gift, and that
they share in the fellowship of Christ. Sounds great. But
something's rotten in Corinth.
They wrote to Paul about some of these
problems: Questions about marriage, food sacrificed to idols, and
spiritual gifts. Other problems Paul had heard about: Divisions in
the church, boasting, immorality. Doctrinal problems - people the
resurrection of the dead. And to top it off, they were taking each
other to court. If you read all of Paul's letter to the Corinthians,
they sound like a deeply troubled congregation. Not a church that
you'd want to join. Not a place you'd expect when you hear Paul's
greeting. Not a bunch of people waiting patiently, with their eyes
fixed on Christ, and their hands busy serving one another.
And so, with us, even as we wait. One
might look at Grace Lutheran Church, and see our congregation for who
we appear to be. A gathering of people – various ages and
backgrounds, but one thing in common. We aren't super-Christians
either. We break the rules, we forget what's really important. We
live like God doesn't care what we do, like Sunday is the only day he
matters, but only for an hour or so. In fact, I bet for many of us
it would be hard to tell, just by looking at our everyday life, that
we are a “royal priesthood” and a “holy people”. We probably
don't give the impression that we're eagerly awaiting Christ's
revealing, and the conclusion of history. And we're certainly no
super-Christians.
That may be who we appear to be, but
that isn't who are. That's not how St. Paul would see us. And
that's not what the Lord says about us. We're not too different from
the church in Corinth, in its troubles, or in its gifts.
They weren't lacking any gift. And
neither are we. But here Paul doesn't mean speaking in tongues or
healing or miracles. Those were actually the lesser gifts. The
greater gifts, given to all Christians, are found in Word and
Sacrament, as the Spirit works faith and sustains faith. They had the
gifts that mattered, as do we.
They were enriched in speech and
knowledge. We too, have the treasure of God's word, and many
opportunities to study it. The better we know that word, the better
we know Christ. The more we hear his promises, the greater comfort
and peace we have. And the more our speech is conformed to his will,
as his words are on our lips, enriching them.
They knew the grace of God in Jesus
Christ, and that's our greatest treasure, too. They were sustained
by God, they were held guiltless by God, as are we. No sins are held
against the sinner who trusts in Christ. No guilt can bear upon
those whose savior has born all guilt. When his day comes, we will
stand with them, stand before our Lord together, and stand on his
merits alone.
They were called into the fellowship of
God's Son, Jesus Christ, a fellowship of saints into which we also
have been called. We participate in that same fellowship, that same
communion, here at table, here in his gifts of himself. Here we
gather with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, that
is, all the saints who have gone before us. Even those troubled, yet
gifted Corinthian Christians.
For the testimony about Christ is
confirmed among us, again and again, as we hear his Gospel. That
Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried, and that on the third day he rose
again from the dead. And all this, for us.
And so they waited, and so we wait.
They looked forward to the fulfillment of all the promises, and so do
we. They hoped in a God who is faithful, our very same Lord. And
so they waited with hope, they waited in peace, they waited eagerly
for the revealing of Christ who has done so much for us, and will do
so much more. A blessed Advent, as we wait together.
In Jesus Christ, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment