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SERMON for AUGUST 23, 2020
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TRANSFORMED
Text: Romans 12: 1-8; Matthew 16: 13-20
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When the Apostle Paul writes about the ways of this world, he is writing about the world under the reign of the Roman empire. He writes letters to the first Christians who are worshiping in newly formed faith communities, churches, established in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, and other locations around the Mediterranean Sea. When Paul writes these letters, he writes to teach the churches how to be the body of Christ in the world. Paul does not write about how to follow the Lord Jesus from a serene and comfortable setting where he can explore the depths and mysteries of faith without consequence or inconvenience. Paul and the first Christians are struggling to survive – literally. Roman officials wielded authority over the conquered subjects, and Roman troops and representatives of the empire were in place to enforce Roman law and order among the conquered peoples.
Paul and the first Christians faced life and death challenges whenever they took a knee for Jesus and refused to pledge allegiance to Caesar and the military state. Let us never forget from the comfort of our homes and places of worship, in a country where freedom of religion is protected by law, let us never forget that we follow in the steps of disciples who were marginalized, oppressed, and persecuted for professing Jesus as Lord. In some parts of the world, still, to this day, brothers and sisters in Christ are facing persecution and death for professing the faith we share.
Paul was once on the other side of the line drawn in the sand. The man known as Saul of Tarsus before his conversion to Christianity, this one and the same man was a highly influential and respected religious leader who fell under the spell of the empire. Seduced by power, privilege, and wealth – one assumes – Saul used his network of influential people to locate where these disciples of Jesus were gathering in community in order to arrest these insubordinate enemies of the empire. Saul wanted to crush and destroy these misguided disciples of our Lord. Saul was complicit in the arrest and execution of Stephen, the first disciple known to be killed by the empire for professing allegiance to Jesus Christ. Like a bounty hunter, Saul of Tarsus had a focused mission: track down and rat out the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, so they could stand trial. Though the scriptures do not say so, it is reasonable to assume that the Romans rewarded Saul handsomely for his work.
On his mission from Jerusalem to Damascus to track down and arrest the disciples of Jesus, a blinding light from heaven knocked Saul off his high horse. Saul heard the Lord speak, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what to do.” [Acts 9: 1-9]
Let me encourage you to read Acts, Chapter Nine, for yourself, to learn what happens next to the man who took the name of Paul – the Apostle Paul – the man responsible for writing the majority of the letters in the New Testament, letters written to churches that he had visited and inspired. Let us never forget that before his spiritual transformation, known as the Damascus Road experience, Saul who was a powerful and privileged Pharisee who rubbed shoulders with the religious aristocracy and served as a puppet of the state. Saul of Tarsus betrayed his own people when they became followers of Jesus. Prior to knowing our Lord and Savior, Saul condoned the persecution and killing of brothers and sisters in Christ who preceded us. The facts are sobering and shocking. If we forget, ignore, or minimize what Saul of Tarsus did prior to his encounter with the Risen Lord, even as he was on his way to Damascus to snuff out the light of the Christians establishing a faith community in that ancient city, if we forget the context in which the transformation happened, we fail to grasp the power of Paul’s written word.
Both the context and the content of Paul’s letters matter. Taken out of context, his words can still have impact, yet so much more so when we grasp that Paul spoke from a life-changing, dramatic transformation, when he penned these words:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” [Romans 12: 1-2]
Paul was radically transformed by meeting the Lord on the Damascus Road and by heeding His call to proclaim the Gospel. He had indeed presented his own body as a living sacrifice. Paul endured persecution and imprisonment, hardship and suffering, for proclaiming the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean. This forgiven and redeemed sinner became an amazing vessel of the Lord. Nevertheless, Paul was, after all, a human being, a vessel of the Lord which was always at risk of being broken, wounded, and destroyed.
Paul considered his human body as God’s temple in which God’s Spirit lives – a place of spiritual worship - a body in which the Spirit of the living Christ took up holy residence in order to produce gifts of faith and fruits of the Holy Spirit to glorify God. Paul’s human body was consecrated for the Lord’s kingdom purposes, subject to God’s will, while at the same time, still vulnerable to destruction and death in this world.
After the Damascus Road conversion experience, the Apostle Paul crossed a line; he is on the other side of the line drawn in the sand. He is transformed – from persecutor to apostle – from pledging allegiance to the empire to surrendering to Christ – from complicity in the principalities and powers of evil and darkness to freedom in the life, light, and love of Jesus Christ.
Once transformed, Paul knows that he stands for Jesus, whatever it may cost him, whatever it takes to follow Him, whatever might happen to his physical body – even persecution and suffering unto death for following the Lord Jesus. So, when we hear readings from the letters of Paul, like the reading from Romans today, let us sit up straight and give undivided attention. These words are not the cozy reflections of a comfortable devotional writer. Paul suffered greatly for the faith we profess. Let us do our best to grasp the profound truths that Paul is conveying, insofar as it is humanly possible for us, insofar as we are open to the power of the Holy Spirit to illumine God’s Word and reveal God’s truth to us.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds…”
Let us stop right there for serious self-examination so we can think with sober judgment. How are we conformed to this world? In what ways are we complicit in the world’s value system? How do we perpetuate the ways of this world that Jesus came to transform – and that Jesus calls us to transform for the glory of God? Power, privilege, and wealth seduced Saul of Tarsus, blinding him to injustices like persecuting and killing innocent believers whose faith and politics differed from those holding power and authority over them. Are there ways in which we are tempted by power, privilege, and wealth?
We are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. As the Apostle Paul writes, not all the members of the body have the same function. Nevertheless, we are still members of the body of Christ, blessed and equipped with different gifts. The Apostle Paul lists different gifts in Romans 12 as well as in I Corinthians 12. Among the gifts of the Spirit are prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, generosity in giving, leading with diligence, cheerfulness in the compassionate.
Sometimes people in the church struggle with understanding what their gifts are. What is most important is understanding that everyone in the church, every member of a congregation, has a gift to contribute to the functioning of the body of Christ. Everyone’s gifts are needed for the living body of Christ to function in the world – today and tomorrow – as it has been from the beginning of the church. Perhaps your gift is prayer, making calls to people who are feeling alone, sending cards of encouragements, sharing resources, making music. Whatever your gift is, everyone’s gifts are needed.
This present pandemic is forcing the church to be transformed into a new creation - from old routines to new avenues of ministry. A year ago, we could not have imagined that we would be gathering for worship as we have been for the past five months: from in-person worship to virtual Zoom worship and outdoor services.
Truly, I, as well as you, long for this pandemic to be over. We all eagerly await the day when it is safe for us to gather for worship and fellowship in the sanctuary and church building. When this pandemic is behind us, though, I imagine that we will see ways in which we have been transformed. In contrast to the ways of the world, my prayer is that on-going spiritual transformation will lead us to new ministries for building up the body of Christ, to ways of connecting and being engaged with one another for the health and vitality of our congregation, for standing with the marginalized, oppressed, and persecuted among us – especially when they are threatened by empires
Jesus of Nazareth, the Apostle Paul and other disciples of the Risen Lord, including us, have faced defining moments in which there was a choice: conformity to the ways of this world, or transformation for the glory of God.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, may the good Lord help us to “discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect” – as we, the body of Christ, press forward in faith – as we offer ourselves - as places of spiritual worship – in these vulnerable bodies in which the Spirit of the living Christ takes up holy residence – in us - in order to produce gifts of faith and fruits of the Holy Spirit to glorify God – in a broken world longing for Christ’s grace, mercy and peace. “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds” – today and always – for the glory of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Text: Romans 12: 1-8; Matthew 16: 13-20
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the Apostle Paul writes about the ways of this world, he is writing about the world under the reign of the Roman empire. He writes letters to the first Christians who are worshiping in newly formed faith communities, churches, established in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, and other locations around the Mediterranean Sea. When Paul writes these letters, he writes to teach the churches how to be the body of Christ in the world. Paul does not write about how to follow the Lord Jesus from a serene and comfortable setting where he can explore the depths and mysteries of faith without consequence or inconvenience. Paul and the first Christians are struggling to survive – literally. Roman officials wielded authority over the conquered subjects, and Roman troops and representatives of the empire were in place to enforce Roman law and order among the conquered peoples.
Paul and the first Christians faced life and death challenges whenever they took a knee for Jesus and refused to pledge allegiance to Caesar and the military state. Let us never forget from the comfort of our homes and places of worship, in a country where freedom of religion is protected by law, let us never forget that we follow in the steps of disciples who were marginalized, oppressed, and persecuted for professing Jesus as Lord. In some parts of the world, still, to this day, brothers and sisters in Christ are facing persecution and death for professing the faith we share.
Paul was once on the other side of the line drawn in the sand. The man known as Saul of Tarsus before his conversion to Christianity, this one and the same man was a highly influential and respected religious leader who fell under the spell of the empire. Seduced by power, privilege, and wealth – one assumes – Saul used his network of influential people to locate where these disciples of Jesus were gathering in community in order to arrest these insubordinate enemies of the empire. Saul wanted to crush and destroy these misguided disciples of our Lord. Saul was complicit in the arrest and execution of Stephen, the first disciple known to be killed by the empire for professing allegiance to Jesus Christ. Like a bounty hunter, Saul of Tarsus had a focused mission: track down and rat out the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, so they could stand trial. Though the scriptures do not say so, it is reasonable to assume that the Romans rewarded Saul handsomely for his work.
On his mission from Jerusalem to Damascus to track down and arrest the disciples of Jesus, a blinding light from heaven knocked Saul off his high horse. Saul heard the Lord speak, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what to do.” [Acts 9: 1-9]
Let me encourage you to read Acts, Chapter Nine, for yourself, to learn what happens next to the man who took the name of Paul – the Apostle Paul – the man responsible for writing the majority of the letters in the New Testament, letters written to churches that he had visited and inspired. Let us never forget that before his spiritual transformation, known as the Damascus Road experience, Saul who was a powerful and privileged Pharisee who rubbed shoulders with the religious aristocracy and served as a puppet of the state. Saul of Tarsus betrayed his own people when they became followers of Jesus. Prior to knowing our Lord and Savior, Saul condoned the persecution and killing of brothers and sisters in Christ who preceded us. The facts are sobering and shocking. If we forget, ignore, or minimize what Saul of Tarsus did prior to his encounter with the Risen Lord, even as he was on his way to Damascus to snuff out the light of the Christians establishing a faith community in that ancient city, if we forget the context in which the transformation happened, we fail to grasp the power of Paul’s written word.
Both the context and the content of Paul’s letters matter. Taken out of context, his words can still have impact, yet so much more so when we grasp that Paul spoke from a life-changing, dramatic transformation, when he penned these words:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” [Romans 12: 1-2]
Paul was radically transformed by meeting the Lord on the Damascus Road and by heeding His call to proclaim the Gospel. He had indeed presented his own body as a living sacrifice. Paul endured persecution and imprisonment, hardship and suffering, for proclaiming the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean. This forgiven and redeemed sinner became an amazing vessel of the Lord. Nevertheless, Paul was, after all, a human being, a vessel of the Lord which was always at risk of being broken, wounded, and destroyed.
Paul considered his human body as God’s temple in which God’s Spirit lives – a place of spiritual worship - a body in which the Spirit of the living Christ took up holy residence in order to produce gifts of faith and fruits of the Holy Spirit to glorify God. Paul’s human body was consecrated for the Lord’s kingdom purposes, subject to God’s will, while at the same time, still vulnerable to destruction and death in this world.
After the Damascus Road conversion experience, the Apostle Paul crossed a line; he is on the other side of the line drawn in the sand. He is transformed – from persecutor to apostle – from pledging allegiance to the empire to surrendering to Christ – from complicity in the principalities and powers of evil and darkness to freedom in the life, light, and love of Jesus Christ.
Once transformed, Paul knows that he stands for Jesus, whatever it may cost him, whatever it takes to follow Him, whatever might happen to his physical body – even persecution and suffering unto death for following the Lord Jesus. So, when we hear readings from the letters of Paul, like the reading from Romans today, let us sit up straight and give undivided attention. These words are not the cozy reflections of a comfortable devotional writer. Paul suffered greatly for the faith we profess. Let us do our best to grasp the profound truths that Paul is conveying, insofar as it is humanly possible for us, insofar as we are open to the power of the Holy Spirit to illumine God’s Word and reveal God’s truth to us.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds…”
Let us stop right there for serious self-examination so we can think with sober judgment. How are we conformed to this world? In what ways are we complicit in the world’s value system? How do we perpetuate the ways of this world that Jesus came to transform – and that Jesus calls us to transform for the glory of God? Power, privilege, and wealth seduced Saul of Tarsus, blinding him to injustices like persecuting and killing innocent believers whose faith and politics differed from those holding power and authority over them. Are there ways in which we are tempted by power, privilege, and wealth?
We are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. As the Apostle Paul writes, not all the members of the body have the same function. Nevertheless, we are still members of the body of Christ, blessed and equipped with different gifts. The Apostle Paul lists different gifts in Romans 12 as well as in I Corinthians 12. Among the gifts of the Spirit are prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, generosity in giving, leading with diligence, cheerfulness in the compassionate.
Sometimes people in the church struggle with understanding what their gifts are. What is most important is understanding that everyone in the church, every member of a congregation, has a gift to contribute to the functioning of the body of Christ. Everyone’s gifts are needed for the living body of Christ to function in the world – today and tomorrow – as it has been from the beginning of the church. Perhaps your gift is prayer, making calls to people who are feeling alone, sending cards of encouragements, sharing resources, making music. Whatever your gift is, everyone’s gifts are needed.
This present pandemic is forcing the church to be transformed into a new creation - from old routines to new avenues of ministry. A year ago, we could not have imagined that we would be gathering for worship as we have been for the past five months: from in-person worship to virtual Zoom worship and outdoor services.
Truly, I, as well as you, long for this pandemic to be over. We all eagerly await the day when it is safe for us to gather for worship and fellowship in the sanctuary and church building. When this pandemic is behind us, though, I imagine that we will see ways in which we have been transformed. In contrast to the ways of the world, my prayer is that on-going spiritual transformation will lead us to new ministries for building up the body of Christ, to ways of connecting and being engaged with one another for the health and vitality of our congregation, for standing with the marginalized, oppressed, and persecuted among us – especially when they are threatened by empires
Jesus of Nazareth, the Apostle Paul and other disciples of the Risen Lord, including us, have faced defining moments in which there was a choice: conformity to the ways of this world, or transformation for the glory of God.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, may the good Lord help us to “discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect” – as we, the body of Christ, press forward in faith – as we offer ourselves - as places of spiritual worship – in these vulnerable bodies in which the Spirit of the living Christ takes up holy residence – in us - in order to produce gifts of faith and fruits of the Holy Spirit to glorify God – in a broken world longing for Christ’s grace, mercy and peace. “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds” – today and always – for the glory of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.