I Corinthians 9:19-23
Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever.
I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-led life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be part of living it!
The words above are from St. Paul, written in his first letter to the people of the Greek city of Corinth. Since that moment on the road to Damascus, when Saul, the accuser of Jesus followers, was struck down by a Voice that called him to serve instead of seek out and persecute, Saul had become Paul, the most fervent servant-follower of the living Christ. This new calling would direct Paul for the remainder of his life and drive him to become all things to all people.
The reading today is taken from the Message translation. I found this version to be very helpful in making clear that our calling is to show others the love and grace of Jesus — and to do so using whatever language our hearers might best understand.
Our calling is not to bring others to a specific form of worship or any dogmatic belief. It certainly isn’t to drive them to Jesus through making them fear him. Our calling is to show them Jesus — period. Paul puts it this way: “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews ... to the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I became all things to all people so that by all possible means I might help some.”
Nothing mattered to Paul except to show Jesus to as many people as possible, so that they might also find themselves living in his love. When dealing with Jews, he became as they, in order that they could see and understand his words and his heart. When dealing with non-Jews – those not under the Law as he called them – he became as they, that his words could be heard. When dealing with the weak, he became weak, for the same reason. But, he makes it clear that he himself remains – always and above all else -- under Christ’s Law.
Madeleine L’Engle, the author of the Wrinkle in Time books (among many others) is quoted as saying something very similar, but I love the words she chose: “We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, or by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.” Paul would absolutely get this.
Everyone seems to want to argue about everything these days. Arguing has rarely changed anyone’s mind. Paul could certainly be as argumentative and abrasive as anyone, but he clearly understands, here, that this is not the way to turn people toward the love of Jesus. The way to do that is to live the love of Jesus, to be the love of Jesus — and do it in a way others can see and comprehend.
We can do this. As Paul put it, whether we are talking with the religious, the nonreligious, the meticulous moralists, the loose-living immoralists, the defeated, or the demoralized, we must speak and act so they can see and hear us speaking in a language they themselves understand and can begin to hear. If our desire, like Paul’s, is to reach people so they can come to know the Jesus we know, then we must reach out to them – not sit back and expect them to first come to us.
We are created to do just this. Our Creator made us to love one another, to care enough about each other to do this, to shine God’s light for one another — just like Jesus. Doing it so all can see.
We can, you know. Yes, we can.
The reading today is taken from the Message translation. I found this version to be very helpful in making clear that our calling is to show others the love and grace of Jesus — and to do so using whatever language our hearers might best understand.
Our calling is not to bring others to a specific form of worship or any dogmatic belief. It certainly isn’t to drive them to Jesus through making them fear him. Our calling is to show them Jesus — period. Paul puts it this way: “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews ... to the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I became all things to all people so that by all possible means I might help some.”
Nothing mattered to Paul except to show Jesus to as many people as possible, so that they might also find themselves living in his love. When dealing with Jews, he became as they, in order that they could see and understand his words and his heart. When dealing with non-Jews – those not under the Law as he called them – he became as they, that his words could be heard. When dealing with the weak, he became weak, for the same reason. But, he makes it clear that he himself remains – always and above all else -- under Christ’s Law.
Madeleine L’Engle, the author of the Wrinkle in Time books (among many others) is quoted as saying something very similar, but I love the words she chose: “We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, or by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.” Paul would absolutely get this.
Everyone seems to want to argue about everything these days. Arguing has rarely changed anyone’s mind. Paul could certainly be as argumentative and abrasive as anyone, but he clearly understands, here, that this is not the way to turn people toward the love of Jesus. The way to do that is to live the love of Jesus, to be the love of Jesus — and do it in a way others can see and comprehend.
We can do this. As Paul put it, whether we are talking with the religious, the nonreligious, the meticulous moralists, the loose-living immoralists, the defeated, or the demoralized, we must speak and act so they can see and hear us speaking in a language they themselves understand and can begin to hear. If our desire, like Paul’s, is to reach people so they can come to know the Jesus we know, then we must reach out to them – not sit back and expect them to first come to us.
We are created to do just this. Our Creator made us to love one another, to care enough about each other to do this, to shine God’s light for one another — just like Jesus. Doing it so all can see.
We can, you know. Yes, we can.
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