Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-october-6-2023
I Corinthians 9:19-27
Paul’s Use of His Freedom
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
This passage from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians deals with two main subjects, each of which could be the basis of a day’s Reflection in its own right.
First, Paul writes about ‘becoming all things to all people’ in his mission to proclaim the good news about Jesus in the world. You might remember that Paul’s specific role was as the leader of mission to the parts of the eastern Mediterranean where gentiles were in the majority. You might also remember from our recent Reflections on the Acts of the Apostles that Paul believed that Hebrew religious customs like circumcision and eating kosher were not required for gentiles who became followers of Jesus. In other words, you didn’t need to be a Jew to be a follower of Jesus. Of course, this was deeply disturbing to Jewish Christians, who believed those traditions were the law of God.
Some followers of Jesus find it surprising that Paul himself did actually observe those Hebrew traditions. And in today’s reading, he explains why. Paul says he strictly followed the Law of Moses so he could tell the story of Jesus to Jews without causing them to be distracted by his way of life. But in his ministry to the gentiles, Paul apparently made a point to set aside Hebrew customs so he could deal with those gentiles as equals. It seems that Paul was willing to do things like eat gentile food and enter gentile homes – things observant Jews would not do.
But Paul isn’t saying that followers of Jesus are free to do whatever we want. The point he’s making is that in Jesus, the true law of God had been revealed as somewhat different from the traditional Hebrew understanding. So now Paul is striving to live according to that true law of God he calls “Christ’s law.”
For us as contemporary followers of Jesus, the challenge is to figure out how to be “all things to all people” without compromising our role as followers of Jesus. The example I’ve sometimes used in the past is that of followers of Jesus who do ministry among motorcyclists. Those ministers ride with the bikers and get to know them so they can share faith with them. All good. But some biker gangs drink too much and abuse drugs and get in brawls. Obviously not a way of life Jesus would approve of his followers ‘fitting into.’
So when we set out to be all things to all people, the lines between what’s acceptable and what’s not can get blurry. Not all followers of Jesus agreed with Paul on that matter, and we still don’t all agree today.
Bikers are just one example. You could probably think of lots of other subcultures where the values being lived out might be inconsistent with the life and teachings of Jesus. The business world, sometimes. Sports fans. Hunters. Car buffs. Political groups. In each case, it’s easy to think of occasions when ‘being all things to all people’ could be tricky if we’re trying to live in imitation of Jesus.
I wish I could give you a hard-and-fast rule to divide what’s OK for followers of Jesus and what’s not. But the best I can do is to suggest that if you can’t imagine Jesus doing something, then his followers shouldn’t be doing it, either.
The real point Paul is making is that as followers of Jesus, we should be looking for chances to engage with people rather than looking for reasons to stay apart from them. Because it’s only when we really enter the lives of people, when we get to know them and let them know us, that they’ll be willing to listen when we share the story of what God has done through Jesus in our lives.
The second major idea in this passage is that discipleship has something in common with physical training. (It’s one of several places in his letters where Paul uses sports metaphors for the life of discipleship.) He says that those of who follow Jesus should regard ourselves as being in “strict training.”
James K. A. Smith touches on this idea in his excellent book You Are What You Love. Smith writes that spiritual disciplines like worship have a formative influence on us. Worship isn’t just about expressing our feelings about God. Rather, it’s a discipline in which our beliefs about God, and our relationship with God, are formed by what we do and say and sing and pray.
And of course, like exercise, the spiritual disciplines aren’t going to do much for you if you practice them once every couple of months. Or twice a year on Christmas and Easter. Now that I think about it, I suppose if you only exercise twice a year, it’s more dangerous than helpful. You could probably make a case that’s true of worship on a spiritual level as well. If people show up on Christmas and Easter and tell themselves they’re Christians because they do, it reflects a sad – and maybe dangerous – misunderstanding of what Jesus has in mind for his followers.
But when we approach the spiritual disciplines – worship and prayer and study of scripture and service – with the same dedication an athlete brings to “strict training,” then the Holy Spirit can be at work in us, establishing the spiritual version of “muscle memory.” And the result is that our relationship with God in Jesus is enriched, and we become more useful to the kingdom he’s working to establish.
Let’s pray. Lord, we pray that your Spirit will enable us to foster relationships with others to make your love known to them, and also that the Spirit will guide us in sharing those relationships without compromising the standards of behavior Jesus calls us to. And we pray also that you will move in our hearts to strengthen our commitment to the disciplines of faith, so we can know you better and serve you more faithfully. Amen.
Have a great weekend, and practice the discipline of worship joyfully on Sunday!
Henry
(The other readings for today are Psalms 27 and 28; II Kings 19:1-20; and Matthew 8:1-17. Our readings come from the NIV Bible, as posted on Biblica.com, the website of the International Bible Society.)
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