1 Corinthians 9:16-23
16If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe betide me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. 18What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. 19 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. 20To 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. 21To 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. 22To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Some of you may remember the name Paul Harvey. For some of you that name brings warm memories and a longing for a much simpler time–at least it seemed simpler. Paul Harvey was a radio news man who was famous for storytelling. Millions of people, including yours truly, would tune in to hear his, “The Rest of the Story.” Fortunately, you can find many of his stories collected on YouTube and throughout the internet. And one of his most famous stories was told over and over again on Christmas.
I will not go into all of the details of the story, but it is titled “The Man and the Birds.” At its core, it is a story about a farmer who was staying home one Christmas Eve instead of going to church with his wife and kids. As he sat warm and comfortable in his home, snow began to fall. As he sat he began to hear a repeated thump against his house. He investigated and found that a flock of birds had gotten caught in the snowstorm. They were trying to fly through his picture window to get out of the snow.
Of course, the farmer was not going to let the birds into his house, but he thought of the barn where the kids kept their ponies. That would provide a warm, safe spot for the birds. He went out and opened the door to the barn, and then proceeded to try and get the birds to go to the barn. He brought bread crumbs out of the house and made a trail. It didn’t work. He circled around them and tried to drive them to the barn. It didn’t work. He tried to catch them and carry them to the barn. They flew away. Nothing he tried could work. The birds were simply too scared of him.
And pausing, the farmer thought, “If only I were a bird. If only I were able to be among them and communicate with them. If only I were able to show them to safety because they understood me.”
It doesn’t end with that, and I am not going to give the ending to you just yet, but even the portion that I have shared with you thus far is very powerful. And at this point, what I would like to invite you to do is put yourself into the place of the farmer, except I want to change the parameters. I want to change the story a bit and invite you to believe that instead of a flock of birds that needs to be brought to safety in a barn; I want to invite you to believe that you have discovered the answer to some of the major problems that humanity faces. Imagine you have discovered the answer to poverty; to hatred; to racism, sexism, and all other isms. Imagine you have discovered the answer to greed, self-righteousness, and even self-loathing. Imagine you have discovered the answer to despair and hopelessness. Imagine you discovered the answer to the questions of “Why am I here?” and “Does my life have a purpose?” Imagine that this answer could bring an end to war and division bringing complete and total transformation to individual lives as well as entire societies. What would you do to try and get people to understand? What would you do to try to communicate that answer?
If you can understand this; if you can imagine this; you have just stepped into the mind-set of the disciples who saw Jesus’ raised from the dead. If you can understand this; if you can imagine this; you have just stepped into the mind-set of St. Paul to whom Jesus appeared on the road to Damascus. If you can understand this; if you can imagine this; you have just stepped into the mind-set of Martin Luther who was grasped by the Gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. These things were absolutely earth shattering; they were absolutely mind blowing; they were absolutely transformational, and once these folks experienced these things–once the Gospel grasped them, they were compelled to spread the news. And I use that word compelled on purpose. When you are grasped by the Gospel, you don’t feel like you have a choice in the matter. It has such a hold on you, that you must spread the news.
This is Paul’s point in our lesson today from 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Paul is explaining to the Corinthians why he does the things that he does. He wants them to understand his calling as an apostle. Now, Paul tends to get rather wordy. He is also very logical and tedious. So, when we read him today, we are oftentimes scratching our heads. Therefore, I am not going to read through this text step by step, I am going to explain the teaching and then give the application for our lives.
Now, we need to begin with Paul’s understanding that because of the Gospel; he is radically free. You see, one of the consequences of the Gospel is that you no longer have to justify yourself to anyone. You get your justification from God alone. You don’t have to prove your value. You don’t have to prove your worth. You don’t have to bow at the feet of anyone for approval. God has already given all of this to you, so you don’t need to go seeking such things from anyone. The downside of this is that you could get a big head; you could get arrogant thinking that God loves you so much and approves of you so much that you don’t have to care about anyone. But not so fast. You see, Paul knows this danger, and that is why he tempers his writings with a couple of other notes. He knows that he has no room to boast. Why?
Well, because he knows that he was not justified by his actions. He knows he was not accepted because of anything he did. He knows that he was a major sinner. He knows that he persecuted the Church and persecuted Christians. His actions had led to the deaths of Christians. He knows that there is no way Jesus should love him, and yet, Jesus died for him. Remembering that he was a sinner kept Paul humble. That applies to each and every one of us too, folks. We have our ultimate freedom and approval because of Christ and yet are absolutely humble because we are sinners.
But not only this...not only this. With St. Paul there is something more. The Gospel is so life changing; the Gospel is so compelling; it is something that Paul knows will reshape the world, that he feels absolutely obligated to share it. This isn’t like adding sprinkles to your ice cream down at Clear River. This isn’t like fixing dessert for a meal. The Gospel isn’t an add on. It is central and core to Paul’s life so much so that he now is obligated to share it. He doesn’t sense that he has a choice in its proclamation. He has to preach the gospel. He somehow has to communicate this marvelous; wondrous; amazing; beautiful; transformational news to the world. It has become his sole purpose in life: to share what God has done in Jesus Christ.
Now, here is the question? How is he going to do this? You need to understand, the Roman empire was not an empire with uniformity. It was composed of a wide diversity of people. It was composed of a wide variety of thought and practice. There were all kinds of differences in cultures; in people; and in belief. How could Paul possibly share the Gospel amongst so many different folks?
Paul’s answer: I became a slave to all of them.
At first this comment might take us aback. The idea of slavery leaves a bad taste in our mouths given the situation that our country faced, but we also need to know that the slavery Paul is talking about is nothing like the slavery that our country went through. For you see, slavery in the New Testament was almost always voluntary. If you went into debt and could not pay your debt, you would sell yourself into slavery. Your master would purchase your debt, and then you would work your way out of it. You were not owned. Your debt was. Once your debt was worked off, you were free. This is the type of slavery Paul was talking about.
But here is the question: why would Paul talk like this? Why would Paul say he would become a slave when he did not owe any debt? Just this: when a slave became a part of a household, then that slave would be expected to learn the customs; the traditions; the way that household functioned. He or she would have to learn the culture of that household to be able to function within it with the aim of doing one’s job and pleasing the master.
And here is where the rubber hits the road for Paul. This is where his obligation to spread the gospel comes into play. This is where living in the Roman empire with all of its diversity comes into play. Paul says I became a slave to everyone:
To those under the law, I became as one under the law–even though I am not under the law. In other words, I moved within the Jewish culture. I made sure I understood how it functioned. I grasped its logic and its nature. I understood its people’s hopes, dreams and aspirations. I am absolutely free from all of those things, but I put myself under them so that I could win some Jews.
To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law, even though I am under Christ’s law. In other words, I moved within the Gentile culture. I made sure I understood how it functioned. I grasped its logic and its nature. I understood its peoples hopes and dreams and aspirations. I stuck to my principles as a follower of Jesus–I did not compromise my faith, but I rubbed elbows with folks who didn’t know Christ so that I could win some Gentiles.
I became all things to all people–I became a slave to all people to learn what makes them tick; to learn their language and their culture; to learn their reasoning and hopes and dreams and aspirations. I will not compromise my Christian faith. I will not seek to sin or bring dishonor to God, but I will do whatever it takes to spread the Gospel. I will spend as much time as it is needed so I can find points of entry; points of connection; points where I can communicate how their hopes and dreams and aspirations can only be fulfilled by Christ. I will show how their culture falls far short and how their culture can never deliver what it promises. I will make sure I know the language, customs, and traditions so that I can gain some credibility; some trust; some authority, so that at the very least, I may bring a few to the salvation of Christ. I may bring a few into this reality of the Gospel–this reality that is absolutely life-changing.
I hope that the application of this text is not hard to see. The application has momentous consequences for our lives and for the life of the church. And it is wrapped up in this question: are we willing to become slaves to everyone? Are we willing to learn the language, culture, traditions, hopes, dreams and aspirations of all the groups in society? Are we willing to learn the language culture, traditions, hopes dreams, and aspirations of Democrats and Republicans? Are we willing to learn the language culture, traditions, hopes, dreams and aspirations of liberals and conservatives? Are we wiling to learn the language, culture, traditions, hopes, dreams, and aspirations of social justice warriors and alt-right wingers? Are we willing to learn the language, culture, traditions, hopes, dreams, and aspirations of atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others? Are we willing to learn the language, culture, traditions, hopes, dreams and desires of Hispanics, African-Americans, Germans, Norwegians, and other ethnicities? Not with the thought of absolutely affirming all of these things, but with the understanding that by doing so, we can make connections in order to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.
“But Pastor Kevin, why? Why would I want to do such a thing? Why would I want to think about and learn the culture of some of these groups that I absolutely cannot stand? Why would I want to subject myself to these horrendous thoughts and ideas?”
Remember the story about the farmer and the birds? Remember how I told you the farmer had skipped going to Christmas Eve services with his wife and children? Well, it was because he couldn’t bring himself to believe the Christian message. Why would God, if there were a God, become human?
Let me tell the story in the words of Paul Harvey:
“If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safety, warm…to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand.”
At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells – Adeste Fidelis – listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.
And he sank to his knees in the snow.”
You see, Jesus looked down at humanity. He saw our sinfulness. He saw how far from God we truly were. He saw our hatred and envy and self-righteousness and anger. He saw what we hoped; what we dreamed; what we aspired to. He saw our inability to find safety, and security, hope and fulfillment. Despite our ugliness and horrendous thoughts and ideas, he loved us. “If only I could be one of them. If only I could communicate with them. If only I could show them the way and give them a hope and a promise and a vision of the Kingdom of God.”
And so the word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Son of Man entered into the world not to be served but to serve. He did not sin. He did not compromise what it meant to be holy, but he lived the life that we were supposed to live. Then he died the death that we deserved. He took our sin upon himself, and gave to us his righteousness. He gave to us an everlasting hope as he was raised from the dead.
Is that hope alive in you? Is that hope alive in this church? Has your heart been claimed by the grace of God? Have we seen the glory of God and seen the beauty of the Gospel? Do you believe that this Gospel is the hope of the world? Do you believe that this Gospel has the power to transform both individual lives and society at large? If so, then let us join the disciples; let us join St. Paul; let us join Martin Luther and all of the saints who also believed. Let us venture forth to become all things to all people telling the old, old story, that we might save some. Amen.
