Resolutions For A New Year
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series VI, Cycle B
Object:
Happy New Year! No, the calendar is not one month off. Today is New Year's Day ... at least as far as the church is concerned. Today is the first Sunday in Advent, which is the beginning of the church year.
True, most folks think of the season of Advent as simply preparation for Christmas -- a time to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus, to make room for him in the "inn of our hearts" -- and, of course, Advent is that. But it is more, as well. Advent is the time we prepare our hearts for another year of study and service as a part of Christ's church. For the church then, today really is New Year's Day.
And, since it is New Year's, what could be more appropriate than some New Year's resolutions? New Year's resolutions. Do you bother with them? "I'm going to quit smoking," or "I'm going to lose some weight," or "I'm going to spend more time with my family." I sympathize with the fellow who was working on his resolutions for the New Year. One was to clean up his desk -- he did ... and found last year's list of resolutions. Mark Twain offered one of my favorites -- "This year I'm going to live within my means ... even if I have to borrow money to do it."
Look at the passage from 1 Corinthians, the lectionary epistle lesson for the first Sunday in Advent, and use it to begin our work. What is the first thing we run into? Paul's greeting to the church: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:3). If we take those words and then consider the verses immediately following, we find some fruitful direction for resolution building.
Of course, the place to begin is at the beginning. What is the very first word? Grace -- good word -- it is one around which we can, not only build a New Year's resolution, but an entire theology ... grace! "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound...."
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.1
There is something extra special in knowing that the new year begins with grace ... God's unmerited favor. We have grown up in a society that tells us, "You get what you pay for. There is no such thing as a free lunch." But grace is never paid for, never earned. It is just there.
A Pennsylvania fellow traveling in the south stopped by a mom-and-pop restaurant for breakfast. He ordered eggs, bacon, and toast, only to be surprised by an amorphous white mass on his plate when the food was served. "What's this?" he asked.
"Grits," replied the waitress.
"I didn't order grits," said the traveler.
"No matter," said the waitress, "they just come."
Grace is like grits. It just comes.
If the church can remember that God's first word to us is grace, then any number of other problems would disappear. We would never have bloodbaths in the name of Jesus Christ. We would never have had the Crusades, we would never have had the Inquisition, we would never have had the Salem witch trials, and we would never act in an ungracious manner toward anyone.
You have heard, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Then, in terms of our New Year's resolution, the thinking would be that more people are loved into the kingdom than are argued or intimidated into it. Our first resolution then might be, "We, as a church, and we as individual Christians, will be gracious -- no fault-finding, no backbiting, no pettiness. We will be gracious in the way we treat each other and the way we treat those outside the faith." Let us resolve to show God's grace!
Next? "Grace to you and peace ..." (1 Corinthians 1:3). As we move into this special season when we think of "peace on earth," it would be most blessed if we could enjoy real peace, certainly in our violent world, but most especially within the fellowship of the church. Of all places on earth, the one that claims to serve the Prince of Peace should be expected to be the most peaceful. Unfortunately, peace in the church is more of a dream than a reality.
Over the course of ecclesiastical history, there have been some incredible church fights. Should infants be baptized or only adults? Should children be allowed to take communion before confirmation? Do women have the same standing as men in the church? How literally are we supposed to understand the Bible? What do we say about human sexuality, abortion, capital punishment, and so on? The fight goes on. In local congregations, there have been some terrible battles and even church splits over crucial questions like whether to get the old heating system fixed or buy a new one, whether the new sanctuary carpet should be red or blue, whether the offering should be taken before the sermon or after. Those are wonderful issues to go to war about, aren't they? But Christians do. No, there does not seem to be a great deal of peace in the church. As a matter of fact, I wonder how much good a New Year's resolution about peace would be -- sinners that we are, it may be doomed before it starts.
Perhaps we would be more realistic in trying to make any resolution about peace by considering what the apostle Paul does as he gets beyond this greeting in the letter to the church at Corinth. Listen again to what he says: "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way -- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge" (1 Corinthians 1:4-5). Paul starts off with something nice.
What do we find next? "Grace and peace to you from God our Father ..." (1 Corinthians 1:3). How do we make a resolution about God? What do we know about God that would lend itself to preparing for a new year? Well, we have learned since childhood that God is love; that God is all-powerful and all-knowing; that God is the source of everything. The list could go on and on. But if we are giving ourselves some good direction for the coming year, perhaps it would again be helpful to note what Paul talks about as he continues his letter. The apostle says, "You do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed" (1 Corinthians 1:7). Well, if we have been given spiritual gifts, we know where they came from ... from God! Okay, how does that become a New Year's resolution?
First of all, there is something in Paul's statement that is really a little surprising. He says the church is not lacking in any spiritual gift. Paul explains a bit later on in the letter: "And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues" (1 Corinthians 12:28). Then Paul goes on at length about the most important gift of all ... the gift of love. That is quite a list, but what is most surprising is when Paul says that even a church as messed up as the one at Corinth had them all. The implication is that the church in our own day continues to have them all.
We begin to get into something about which we can make a New Year's resolution. If we indeed do have all the spiritual gifts ... if there really is nothing we are incapable of doing spiritually ... then the resolution is to take those gifts and put them to work. Of course, one of the things that Paul took pains to point out to the people in Corinth was that every individual did not have every gift. We only have them all as we come together in the worshiping community. For the church, the task is to seek out the spiritual gifts among the individual members; for you and me, the task is to make ourselves available so that the church can put those gifts that God has given to use in the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaking of Jesus, that leads us to the final note of Paul's greeting to the church: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:3). We have come up with resolutions concerning grace and peace and God. What do we resolve about the Lord Jesus?
Perhaps we get a clue from how often Paul refers to Jesus in these few verses at the beginning of his letter -- in the opening ten verses, the name appears ten times. That's a lot. If the apostle Paul would come to us today and have anything to say about New Year's resolutions for the church, he would say, "Please, please, please, resolve to be a Christ-centered church."
New Year's resolutions: To show grace to each other and the world at large; to seek peace by being as positive with one another as we can; to honor God by putting our spiritual gifts to use in God's service; and to be genuinely Christ-centered people, both as individuals and a church. God grant us the strength and the resolve to follow through. And, oh yes, Happy New Year.
____________
1. "Amazing Grace" words by John Newton (1725-1807). In the public domain.
True, most folks think of the season of Advent as simply preparation for Christmas -- a time to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus, to make room for him in the "inn of our hearts" -- and, of course, Advent is that. But it is more, as well. Advent is the time we prepare our hearts for another year of study and service as a part of Christ's church. For the church then, today really is New Year's Day.
And, since it is New Year's, what could be more appropriate than some New Year's resolutions? New Year's resolutions. Do you bother with them? "I'm going to quit smoking," or "I'm going to lose some weight," or "I'm going to spend more time with my family." I sympathize with the fellow who was working on his resolutions for the New Year. One was to clean up his desk -- he did ... and found last year's list of resolutions. Mark Twain offered one of my favorites -- "This year I'm going to live within my means ... even if I have to borrow money to do it."
Look at the passage from 1 Corinthians, the lectionary epistle lesson for the first Sunday in Advent, and use it to begin our work. What is the first thing we run into? Paul's greeting to the church: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:3). If we take those words and then consider the verses immediately following, we find some fruitful direction for resolution building.
Of course, the place to begin is at the beginning. What is the very first word? Grace -- good word -- it is one around which we can, not only build a New Year's resolution, but an entire theology ... grace! "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound...."
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.1
There is something extra special in knowing that the new year begins with grace ... God's unmerited favor. We have grown up in a society that tells us, "You get what you pay for. There is no such thing as a free lunch." But grace is never paid for, never earned. It is just there.
A Pennsylvania fellow traveling in the south stopped by a mom-and-pop restaurant for breakfast. He ordered eggs, bacon, and toast, only to be surprised by an amorphous white mass on his plate when the food was served. "What's this?" he asked.
"Grits," replied the waitress.
"I didn't order grits," said the traveler.
"No matter," said the waitress, "they just come."
Grace is like grits. It just comes.
If the church can remember that God's first word to us is grace, then any number of other problems would disappear. We would never have bloodbaths in the name of Jesus Christ. We would never have had the Crusades, we would never have had the Inquisition, we would never have had the Salem witch trials, and we would never act in an ungracious manner toward anyone.
You have heard, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Then, in terms of our New Year's resolution, the thinking would be that more people are loved into the kingdom than are argued or intimidated into it. Our first resolution then might be, "We, as a church, and we as individual Christians, will be gracious -- no fault-finding, no backbiting, no pettiness. We will be gracious in the way we treat each other and the way we treat those outside the faith." Let us resolve to show God's grace!
Next? "Grace to you and peace ..." (1 Corinthians 1:3). As we move into this special season when we think of "peace on earth," it would be most blessed if we could enjoy real peace, certainly in our violent world, but most especially within the fellowship of the church. Of all places on earth, the one that claims to serve the Prince of Peace should be expected to be the most peaceful. Unfortunately, peace in the church is more of a dream than a reality.
Over the course of ecclesiastical history, there have been some incredible church fights. Should infants be baptized or only adults? Should children be allowed to take communion before confirmation? Do women have the same standing as men in the church? How literally are we supposed to understand the Bible? What do we say about human sexuality, abortion, capital punishment, and so on? The fight goes on. In local congregations, there have been some terrible battles and even church splits over crucial questions like whether to get the old heating system fixed or buy a new one, whether the new sanctuary carpet should be red or blue, whether the offering should be taken before the sermon or after. Those are wonderful issues to go to war about, aren't they? But Christians do. No, there does not seem to be a great deal of peace in the church. As a matter of fact, I wonder how much good a New Year's resolution about peace would be -- sinners that we are, it may be doomed before it starts.
Perhaps we would be more realistic in trying to make any resolution about peace by considering what the apostle Paul does as he gets beyond this greeting in the letter to the church at Corinth. Listen again to what he says: "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way -- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge" (1 Corinthians 1:4-5). Paul starts off with something nice.
What do we find next? "Grace and peace to you from God our Father ..." (1 Corinthians 1:3). How do we make a resolution about God? What do we know about God that would lend itself to preparing for a new year? Well, we have learned since childhood that God is love; that God is all-powerful and all-knowing; that God is the source of everything. The list could go on and on. But if we are giving ourselves some good direction for the coming year, perhaps it would again be helpful to note what Paul talks about as he continues his letter. The apostle says, "You do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed" (1 Corinthians 1:7). Well, if we have been given spiritual gifts, we know where they came from ... from God! Okay, how does that become a New Year's resolution?
First of all, there is something in Paul's statement that is really a little surprising. He says the church is not lacking in any spiritual gift. Paul explains a bit later on in the letter: "And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues" (1 Corinthians 12:28). Then Paul goes on at length about the most important gift of all ... the gift of love. That is quite a list, but what is most surprising is when Paul says that even a church as messed up as the one at Corinth had them all. The implication is that the church in our own day continues to have them all.
We begin to get into something about which we can make a New Year's resolution. If we indeed do have all the spiritual gifts ... if there really is nothing we are incapable of doing spiritually ... then the resolution is to take those gifts and put them to work. Of course, one of the things that Paul took pains to point out to the people in Corinth was that every individual did not have every gift. We only have them all as we come together in the worshiping community. For the church, the task is to seek out the spiritual gifts among the individual members; for you and me, the task is to make ourselves available so that the church can put those gifts that God has given to use in the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaking of Jesus, that leads us to the final note of Paul's greeting to the church: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:3). We have come up with resolutions concerning grace and peace and God. What do we resolve about the Lord Jesus?
Perhaps we get a clue from how often Paul refers to Jesus in these few verses at the beginning of his letter -- in the opening ten verses, the name appears ten times. That's a lot. If the apostle Paul would come to us today and have anything to say about New Year's resolutions for the church, he would say, "Please, please, please, resolve to be a Christ-centered church."
New Year's resolutions: To show grace to each other and the world at large; to seek peace by being as positive with one another as we can; to honor God by putting our spiritual gifts to use in God's service; and to be genuinely Christ-centered people, both as individuals and a church. God grant us the strength and the resolve to follow through. And, oh yes, Happy New Year.
____________
1. "Amazing Grace" words by John Newton (1725-1807). In the public domain.
