Sermon: A Portrait of Authentic Christian Ministry

A Portrait of Authentic Christian Ministry

Text: 2 Corinthians 6:3-13; c.f, 5:11-6:2, 7:2-4
Lectionary Year B, Proper 7

Just a Christian "Image Problem"?

What does "Christian" look like?

With increasing frequency, I cringe whenever Christian or Christianity is mentioned in the media. There are “pastors” who invoke divine will in securing a private jet for themselves. Racism and misogyny are found too often among those who self-identify as “Christians.” Domestic violence and sexual assault are being uncovered increasingly among those who for years have proclaimed “family values.” Church and denominations leaders are eager to secure civil powers and seemingly will compromise anything to retain their hold on authority and privilege.

The watching world sees Jesus and his teachings but cannot reconcile the public display of so much of what passes today for Christianity.

I think all of us here today would want to rise in protest, “But that’s not real Christianity!” Yet the reality is that some of the most prominent and vocal presence in modern Christianity only reinforces the notion that there is little to commend it. And all our arguing and protests seem to have little or no effect.

Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest who is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico frequently says, “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.” So, what does “better” look like?

Paul and the Corinthian Church

We can find one possible answer in one of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. In our Bibles it is found in 2 Corinthians 6:3-10. But first, a brief discussion of the context in which this passage is to be understood.

An ancient Corinthian ruin

The Corinthian church had many issues, among which was that it was divided along ethnic, racial, social, and class lines. They seemed to be drawn to power and privilege and a tendency to marginalize those who the larger society saw as outsiders. There seemed to be factions within the church, each with its favored apostle. Paul was not on any of their lists, apparently.

In the chapter 5 of 2 Corinthians, Paul describes his ministry to them: a ministry of reconciliation.

Paul appeals to the Corinthian church to not look at outward appearances and accomplishments but to the motivations of the heart: “We are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us so that you could answer those who take pride in superficial appearance, and not in what is in the heart.” (5:12b)

Paul writes that Christ died for all – not just some favored few – and adds how Christ followers ought to live: “He died for the sake of all so that those who are alive should live not for themselves but for the one who died for them and was raised.” (5:15)

Paul writes how Christians are to view one another with a brand-new perspective: “So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!” (5:16-17)

Paul begs the Corinthians to set aside their differences and be reconciled in Christ: “We beg you as Christ’s representatives, “Be reconciled to God!” God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God.” (5:20b-21)

Paul's Ministry Credentials

It is in this context that Paul writes what we find in the first part of chapter 6. It can be read as a listing of his credentials describing why he should be accepted by the Corinthians as a genuine minister of Christ.

³ We don’t give anyone any reason to be offended about anything so that our ministry won’t be criticized. ⁴ Instead, we commend ourselves as ministers of God in every way. We did this with our great endurance through problems, disasters, and stressful situations. ⁵ We went through beatings, imprisonments, and riots. We experienced hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger. ⁶ We displayed purity, knowledge, patience, and generosity. We served with the Holy Spirit, genuine love, ⁷ telling the truth, and God’s power. We carried the weapons of righteousness in our right hand and our left hand. ⁸ We were treated with honor and dishonor and with verbal abuse and good evaluation. We were seen as both fake and real, ⁹ as unknown and well known, as dying—and look, we are alive! We were seen as punished but not killed, ¹⁰ as going through pain but always happy, as poor but making many rich, and as having nothing but owning everything.

Paul writes that “we don’t give anyone any reason be offended about anything so that our ministry won’t be criticized,” yet in the very next sentences he describes how people turned against him. So, what does he mean? Based on what follows, it appears that Paul is saying that he has done nothing to attempt to secure for himself power, privilege, wealth, or attempted self-promotion. He has disavowed any kind of self-aggrandizement.

The examples he follows with shows the very opposite of the kind of “success” that the world expects. There is nothing easy about genuine Christian ministry. Paul doesn’t say that he went seeking problems, disasters, beatings, and imprisonments, but the result of his ministry was that sometimes these things happened. Persecution is not a sign of genuine ministry, but persecution is also not a disqualifier. I think that is an important distinction to point out since I’ve heard from time to time how persecution is either necessary for genuine ministry, or that encountering persecution means a Christian is on the right track. Neither of these is what Paul writes. What he does imply is that ease of life and prosperity is not what the Christian life guarantees. This is in contradiction to perhaps what some of the Corinthians expected and what some Christians today proclaim.

Paul lists four uncompromising characteristics for himself as a Christian and a minister.

First, purity. This should not be confused with doctrinal purity, but a purity of character. Synonyms that could be used include integrity and honesty.

Second, knowledge. For Paul, having accurate knowledge, as far as it was possible, was an important part of Christian ministry. In a time when Christians are sometimes accused of being anti-science or placing theological belief over demonstrable facts, it is important to know where Paul would likely stand on this issue today.

Third, patience. This can be read as not rushing too quickly to judgment, and willing to suffer wrongs without seeking retaliation and revenge. It is a lesson that Christians continually need to learn and practice, including those of us here today. Christians are too often known for their quick condemnation against others rather than their openness to listening and hearing the stories that need to be heard.

Fourth, generosity. Other translations use kindness. The Greek dictionary shows that the word used here is derived from another word that can mean useful. In other words, Christian ministry has practical usefulness. It is not merely theoretical theology, or just waiting to be taken up to heaven. Our Christian ministry must be of benefit to the world in practical ways, or it isn’t good news, the gospel.

The next four items reinforce and amplify what Paul has already described and adds the divine source of power: “We served with the Holy Spirit, genuine love, telling the truth, and God’s power.” Perhaps in reading between the lines, it might be said that if any other source of power is involved in ministry, love and truth end up compromised. Paul’s ministry had no objective to secure any kind of power from civil authorities, from other Christians, or for himself. As important and valuable as denominations and church governance is, they are ultimately secondary to the Holy Spirit and to God. When a denomination or church authority becomes the proxy for God’s authority, they are on a dangerous path. When popularity or size of ministry is seen as a sign of God’s favor, the ministry is treading on dangerous ground. A large, popular ministry is not an indicator of God’s favor. On the other hand, a small church or ministry does not follow that God’s favor isn’t with them.

Paul continues, “We carried the weapons of righteousness in our right hand and our left hand.” The word “righteousness” carries theological connotations often involving personal virtue and possibly sinlessness. A better way of understanding righteousness is to see it as being in proper alignment with God’s priorities. Seen in this way, how we treat one another becomes vitally important, even more so than having correct doctrines or attempting to uphold and even enforce what we believe is correct theology. Remember that all of this is being written in the context of the ministry of reconciliation, of bringing dissenting factions back together in Christ.

Paul ends his C.V. with a list of paradoxes and contradictions: “We were treated with honor and dishonor and with verbal abuse and good evaluation. We were seen as both fake and real, as unknown and well known, as dying—and look, we are alive! We were seen as punished but not killed, as going through pain but always happy, as poor but making many rich, and as having nothing but owning everything.” This is additional evidence that external appearances and response do not signify the genuineness or success of Christian ministry. It is also a warning to expect the complete gamut of responses to our ministry.

Becoming an Authentic Christian

Christian history is littered with the unfortunate results of individuals and groups who become enamored with power: associating with power, acquiring power, and then hanging on to power.

Genuine Christian community seeks to give away power. It seeks to empower the disenfranchised. It seeks to raise up the wounded and welcome the outcast.

Genuine Christian ministry “reverses the traditional categories of power and weakness according to the model of Christ” [Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 3] whose death, death which traditionally is seen as ultimate defeat, turned out to be God’s ultimate power of victory over death. Christians who follow Christ’s pattern of letting go of their own power to serve others, are showing the ultimate source of power in God through the Holy Spirit.

Genuine Christian ministry has authority precisely because it doesn’t attempt to seek it.

Considering how Paul has evaluated his own ministry and those of his close associates, how would he evaluate Christian ministries today? Using the standards noted this morning, how should we judge ourselves?

Is our ministry one of reconciliation, of bringing together diverse individuals and groups together for a common cause in Christ?

Is our focus on building up our “brand,” or are we most concerned about properly representing God to the world?

What is our relationship with sources of power? Are we placing preservation of our entities over authenticity and truth? Are we tempted to compromise authentic Christianity so that we can grow and maintain an audience?

The Corinthians apparently had difficulty accepting Paul and his Christian ministry because it upended so much of traditional ideas about successful ministry. So, he closes this part of the letter with an appeal:

“Corinthians, we have spoken openly to you, and our hearts are wide open. There are no limits to the affection that we feel for you. You are the ones who placed boundaries on your affection for us. But as a fair trade—I’m talking to you like you are children—open your hearts wide too… Make room in your hearts for us. We didn’t do anything wrong to anyone. We didn’t ruin anyone. We didn’t take advantage of anyone. I’m not saying this to make you feel guilty. I’ve already said that you are in our hearts so that we die and live together with you. I have every confidence in you. I’m terribly proud of you. I’m filled with encouragement. I’m overwhelmed with happiness while in the middle of our problems.” (6:11-13; 7:2-4 [skipping a large portion because it is not seen as part of the original letter])

So much of Christian ministry through history, including today, is consciously or not, based on a “power over” attitude. From missions to church hierarchies, it isn’t difficult to find control over others as a key component. But this easily leads to manipulations and abuses, and is frankly, unchristian.

We rightly should speak out against bad forms of Christianity. But it is more important to be the kind of authentic Christian and Christian community that Paul described in his letter to the Corinthians.

“The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.”

May we have the courage to practice a better, more generous, more loving, more inclusive Christianity.