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The
title of our message this evening is “Followology:
Spotting the Illusive Spirit.” It needs to be said
right up front that yes, “Followology” is a made-up word.
“Follow-ology: to look at; to study; following in the
Christian sense; following Jesus Christ.” In other words, it
boils down to being a disciple. Sure, we could just say:
“Tonight we’re going to talk about discipleship.” But
that sounds about as exciting as the creamed vegetables we
used to have in school, warmed for the second time. So
Followology it is.
Now, about
the Holy Spirit. I suspect that if we took a straw poll, few
of us have ever seen the Holy Spirit. Apart from a few tongues
of flame painted above the heads of the apostles in icons of
the ancient church, the Spirit is not something we see, so
much as something we see the evidence of.
Bron’s
mom hates mice. She can handle just about anything. But
mice—no way. When she goes to her place up north, she may
never actually see a mouse. But guess what’s on the counter?
Evidence that they have been there.
So, too,
with God’s Spirit. No one will ever see the Spirit come
walking into town. But a fellow by the name of Paul said that
in knowing Christ, the effects of that relationship—the
fruits of God’s Spirit in our lives—will stand out. And he
said to the Galatians (5:22) that those fruits—like love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control—could be spread around the
counters of our lives all we want, because they point back to
God.
Admittedly,
the tracks along a countertop up north may seem like a strange
place to start this evening. But just as trails are the
tell-tale sign of mice, these traits that Paul talks about are
the overarching marks of God’s Spirit.
As I read through the list of those traits
this week, making sure I didn’t forget an item or two, I
found myself caught in a moment of depression. Who’s able to
do all this? Who really lives this way?
Love
and joy are pretty easy (or so it seems). This Friday
is Valentine’s Day. Guys, mark it on your calendar. Do
something special. Then do something special next week, too.
Every day is a great day to show someone what they mean to
you.
But peace, patience, gentleness,
self-control? All the time? There are days I’m doing
good if I’m holding on to any two. But before we start
beating ourselves up, look around. Look to the right. Look to
the left. Look in front. Look behind. Look at everyone sitting
around you. There is not one person here who makes it 100% of
the time. Not one. The Gospels tell us that even Jesus had
those days when he just wanted to throw some tables around.
When Paul speaks of love and joy, peace, patience and
kindness, he’s telling us: “Hey, look for the evidence.”
We’re
starting here because Paul’s in trouble. He’s in another
fight (which is not all that uncommon for Paul). This time
it’s with the Christians in Corinth. They’re upset. On the
surface, it has to do with what Paul has been seen doing. But
what is really driving things is how Paul understands what
being a follower of Jesus Christ really means, you might say
his “Followology.”
In
cosmopolitan Corinth, the church is made up of mostly
Gentiles—Greeks who never were part of the Jewish community,
who don’t see themselves as Jews. In fact, they have drawn a
firm line between themselves and the Jewish community which,
in their minds, Paul is messing with. It’s the old question
of boundaries and what makes us followers of Jesus Christ. We
can only presume they have voiced their objections to Paul,
because in our text this evening he responds with the
following words:
For
though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a
slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I
became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law
I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under
the law), so that I might win those under the law. To those
outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am
not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so
that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became
weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things
to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it
all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its
blessings. (I
Corinthians 9:19-23, NRSV)
The hardest thing in the world is to stand with integrity, and pretend
to be something you’re not.
We can be
sure some in Corinth heard Paul‘s words and thought he was
advocating deception as a tool in sharing the faith. But this
would be wrong. Deception never furthers the cause of Christ,
it undermines it. Any time the focus is on hiding from
those around us, we are also hiding from God. No, Paul is not
advocating deception. Quite the opposite. He’s acknowledging
how, in his own life, God has used every experience he has
had. All that makes him who he is, that makes up his history,
is a tool that, in the light of Christ, God can use.
To the
Jews, Paul became a Jew. To those who found their identity in
their ethnicity, Paul spoke from his ethnic character. He was
a Jew. He knew the sensibilities of the Jewish community. He
recognized the issues that resonated in their lives. Today
we’d say, “He knew their buttons,” so he could talk with
them and be accepted by them. The Jewish faith was not just
about ethnic identity. There was also identity in keeping the
Torah, the law. Paul had been a strict observer of the law,
one of the most pious of men. And even though he was now
completely free in Christ, he knew what the law meant to those
who observed it and how important it was to them.
On
the outside, it looked strange. Here’s Paul, the one who’s
always talking about freedom, about Christ being the
fulfillment of the law. Here he is eating with devout Jews,
following all the old customs and traditions. The problem is,
a casual observer only sees the action itself. They don’t
necessarily see the underlying reason for it. Paul’s old
friends are abstaining from certain foods or actions because
of the law. Paul, himself, is abstaining because he loves
those under the law and wants to win them to Christ.
There is an important difference there.
Finally, to the weak, he becomes weak. Of all he allowed God to use,
this is the most telling part of Paul. This is where he is
most human. In a world that rewards confidence and strength,
that prizes ambition and position, Paul becomes the
antithesis. He becomes weak. He steps off the pedestal. Comes
down from the soap box. Sets aside the images of having it
together. To be weak. To acknowledge that his struggle in
following Christ was no different than any other. And he
shared that weakness, so that some could be reached. All a
reflection of love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
Years
ago, mining was still done underground. If an accident took
place, there were two kinds of people up on the surface. Both
were caring, concerned and good. But when the call went out
for those who would reenter the mine to look for survivors,
there were two responses. There were those who knew what it
would be like, the danger it represented, and who simply
couldn’t go. Then there were those who knew the danger and
went anyway.
As
Christians, we struggle with the same kinds of questions. Do I
go back in? To the clubs that wear down my faith, my
connection with God? To the places that tempt? To the work
environments where integrity is under siege? Do I hang with
those who are sure fun to be around, but know nothing of the
living God? Do I play on their teams, sit on
their boards, accept their invitations? Put another
way: Do I go to the reception, eat the hors d’ouevres, laugh
over cocktails? Do I abstain? Paul would tell us to go, to go
walk with those who know nothing of God.
But in the
end, it all comes down to risk. Do we risk going back into
those places from which we escaped, from patterns that
threatened to destroy our very lives and the lure they
represented? Do we risk the condemnation of those who would
look at us and fail to understand? Or do we keep ourselves
clean, have the respect of all those around us, and live a
life safely out of God’s reach?
Paul is
telling those who would follow Christ, as he told the
Corinthians. He’s doing what he’s doing because he really
believes that Jesus changed his life. What others think is not
his motivator, nor does it really matter all that much, if the
Spirit’s fruits are shining through.
Do
you see the fruit? Can you follow the tracks? Followology:
it’s about focusing on Christ every step of the way.
Amen.
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