"WHO MATTERS?"
Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany
February 12, 2017
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
1 Corinthians 3:6, 7 (ESV)
Many years ago, when I was in another district, I was attending a pastors' conference at which an elderly pastor was being recognized on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of his ordination. As he was being helped up to the stage, the district president announced: "Let's honor this man, who has been in ministry for seventy years!" Of course, we all stood up and applauded. At this point one of the pastors who was next to me--a feisty sort of guy--leaned over and said to me: "He hasn't been in ministry for seventy years. He was in ministry for forty years. For the last thirty he's just been breathing!" As cruel and insensitive as that comment may appear to be, there is (as there always is) a nugget of truth in it. The ministry is not a status that is earned; it is an opportunity to serve. It is honorable, to be sure, but its honor comes not from the accomplishments of the man but from the call of God and from what God accomplishes in and through that man. The same could be said of the Christian service of laypeople.
In today's Epistle Saint Paul is addressing conflict and party spirit in the Corinthian congregation. He writes: "You are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not being merely human?" (1 Corinthians 3:3, 4). He is pointing out that their behavior betrays the fact that they being typically human--and being typically human is being sinful and self-centered. As the people of God in Jesus Christ, we are capable of doing great things to further the Lord's kingdom of grace, but apart from our union with the slain and risen Christ through Baptism and the call and power of the Holy Spirit, working through the Gospel, we are capable of nothing but sin and evil. To better understand ourselves and our mission, let's listen and pay close attention to what the apostle says in these two verses about what we do and what God does in and through us.
Because we are sinners, everything that we think, say, and do on our own is tainted with sin. Even our purest thoughts, our kindest words, and our noblest actions come out of mixed motives. No matter how sincerely and intently we focus our thoughts on the Lord Jesus Christ and His redeeming love, Satan is always there, trying his best to distract us--and, because we are sinners, more often than not he succeeds. No matter how lovingly and compassionately we measure our words when speaking to others, Satan is always there, trying his best to stir within us jealousy and anger and impatience toward the person with whom we are speaking--and, because we are sinners, more often than not he succeeds. And no matter how intentionallyand honestly we strive to do what is right and avoid what is evil, Satan is always there, doing his best to place before us every obstacle and temptation to frustrate our good intentions--and, because we are sinners, more often than not he succeeds. With our own strength alone we are not able to do the right things for the right reasons.
Because we are sinners, we are focused on ourselves. There is always a spirit of competition and conflict within us. And as sinners living in a sinful world, we are influenced by "the devil, the world, and our sinful nature" (explanation of the Sixth Petition of the Lord's Prayer) to always "look out for number one." This is the problem in the Corinthian congregation that Paul is addressing in today's Epistle, and it's still a problem in the Church today. In fact, it's has always been a problem in the Church. Even when the Church numbered only twelve disciples, those twelve were constantly disputing with one another over who was the greatest. This problem of competition and conflict severely hampers the mission of sharing the Gospel of Christ with the world. Instead of working in harmony toward a common end, many are so fixed on promoting themselves that the mission falters. Even worse than that, the unbelieving world that the Church is trying to reach sees in the behavior of the saints of God a contradiction of the unity that they confess.
But despite all of our failings and shortcomings, God is nevertheless able to work in and through the imperfect people that he calls to accomplish His will. First of all, He plants. By the power of the Holy Spirit He plants the seed of the Gospel in the hearts of those who hear it. He did this through Paul, as the apostle tells us in the text before us. He planted that seed in the hearts of many through the ministry of Paul. He planted it in our hearts as well, through those who first shared the Gospel with us. They may have been our parents or other family members, friends and acquaintances, or perhaps through a pastor or layperson's proclamation of the Gospel in word, in print, or in compassionate acts that opened the door for our receiving of the Gospel. And He continues to plant that seed today through us--perhaps not all of us, since not all of us have the gift of evangelism. But the seed must be planted, as Paul reminds us in another of his letters: "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).
But planting a seed is not enough. If that planted seed is to survive and grow, it must be watered and cared for. God waters the seed of the Gospel through the ongoing ministry of those who encourage and strengthen us in the faith. This is the ministry to which Apollos was called, according to the text. I received faith in Christ when the seed of the Gospel was planted in me through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, but that seed grew in me through the years because of the care that it received from my parents, pastors and Sunday School teachers, later on through college and seminary professors, and a host of other relatives, friends, and acquaintances. Over the past twenty years my faith has grown through the care and encouragement of many of you. Never underestimate the influence that you have over your brothers and sisters in the faith. Like Apollos, you may be called to the ministry of watering the seed of the Gospel that has been planted in the hearts of fellow believers facing various trials and crises that challenge their faith. It is through us that God waters the seed that others have planted.
Everyone has gifts and talents and, sad to say, everyone also has faults and an ego. Very often our faults and our ego get in the way of the wise and effective use of our gifts and talents. The Good News is that it is not we who accomplish great things for the kingdom of God; it is God Himself who does it, working in and through us by the power of His Holy Spirit through the Gospel. It is truly amazing what God can do with people and things that are severely lacking. He uses simple words and visible elements to give us the Gospel of His Son in Word and Sacrament. He uses fallible people like us to proclaim His infallible Word in the world. He even uses death--the final and worst consequence of sin--as the means by which He brings His saints into the glory of heaven. Because "nothing [is] impossible with God" (Luke 1:37), we "can do all things through Him who strengthens" us (Philippians 4:13).
Amen.
May the God who caused light to shine out of darkness cause you to increase and abound in love toward one another and toward all people, as His love abounds for us; and may the glory of His Son be manifested to you and in you, that you may be witnesses to all nations now and until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.