21^st February 2012

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 12 February 2012

Lessons -- Isaiah 6:1-13; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:35-59

'For if I proclaim the gospel [of Christ] that gives me no ground for
boasting. For an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not
proclaim the gospel'. (NRSV 1 Corinthians 9:16)

Preaching is a peculiar business! A person stands, not to give an opinion, but to speak the Word of God. A preposterous task! It is easily abused by preachers seeking to glorify themselves, held in contempt by parishioners who do not share their opinions, dismissed by educators committed to dialogue and widely regarded as an outdated and dangerous form of authoritarianism.

Things were not so different in Corinth. Paul defends his authority as a 'preacher of the gospel' in the face of criticism that he speaks because there is something in it for him. He points out that he does not take money, his reward being the privilege of preaching God's free grace (v18).
Nor does he boast about himself. As one who has been given a 'commission'
(vv 17,16) he is 'under obligation' to obey Christ. His preaching is a 'service' to fellow Christians among whom he worships (v19).

What Paul says is good news to parish treasurers! He does not take payment for sermons -- earning his keep from tent-making. His point is well made.
When preachers are paid, they can be tempted to say only what those who employ them want to hear. Who in their right mind would risk losing their job by upsetting people? Such is the mindset of anxious ministers, as well as mega-church preachers keen to maximise their wealth and fame.

In contrast with such self-serving approaches, Paul does not compromise!
He is a 'preacher of the gospel' -- not a spruiker of his own opinions.
'Necessity is laid on him' to speak the truth. He is accountable before God to preach the gospel of Christ. Being an integral part of his being -- like a fire burning within (Jeremiah 20:9) -- it is unthinkable that he should be silent. If such a thing were to happen he would be grief-
stricken: 'Woe to me' if I should dishonour God.

The same obligation is laid on all ministers ordained to the Ministry of the Word. In the Basis of Union of the UCA, ministers are committed to 'preach from the Scriptures' so that 'Jesus Christ shall be proclaimed'
and 'the Word of God's saving grace, embodied in him, will be heard and known in the worshipping and witnessing life of the Church'. (Paragraphs 5 & 4, Basis of Union.)

Preaching is an awesome responsibility -- not a platform to spout personal opinions or indulge in self-centred stories. It is a vocation that is to
be shaped continually by the unsettling awe and majesty of God's grace.

Consider Isaiah. In an unforgettable vision he answers the call to preach by saying, 'Here am I, send me!' (Isaiah 6:8). His bold response has been a popular rallying cry to enlist ministers and missionaries. What is usually ignored is what he is told to preach. He is 'under obligation' to go to a complacent and ungodly mob to proclaim the good news of God's holiness and mercy (vv 3,5) in such a way that they will not understand (vv 9-13).

This vivid, unsettling story deserves fuller elaboration. However, the basic point for us is this: when, like the Hebrews, a community of faith takes for granted the unsurpassable glory of God's goodness and grace, the preaching of the Word of God must not be dumbed-down -- even if it means that people can no longer hear or understand what is said.

The situation is not so different at Corinth -- although Paul does take time to get beside people to engage them with the Gospel (vv 19-23). But he certainly does not dilute the Gospel to curry favour with popular opinion and save his reputation. Like Isaiah, he acknowledges his own unworthiness and commits himself to speak the truth no matter what the response. Because what God has done in the crucified-and-risen Christ is the magnificent fulfilment of Israel's vocation to be 'a light to the nations', this Word must be proclaimed! It is the truth about our human destiny -- a word of freedom.

Therefore as a preacher of the Gospel, Paul must say that 'God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting our sins against us and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation' (2 Corinthians 5:16).
'The cross is foolishness to Greeks and a stumbling block to Jews' (1 Corinthians 1: 18ff). We all shall be 'raised from the dead with Christ'
(para. 1 Corinthians 15:16).

Anything less would mean not preaching the Gospel -- something he cannot do! Yet the 'necessity' to preach is not a joyless duty or the result of a desire to be popular. It is an inner compulsion to speak about what God has done so magnificently for all of us in Christ. It is a Word of hope for flawed individuals (like us) who are part of a strife-torn world in desperate need of hearing the good news that sin, evil and death do not have the final word.

Wherever it is preached this Word is hotly contested -- in the Church and the wider community. This good news is bad news to those who mock God's
self- revelation in Christ (incarnate, crucified, risen, ascended), who resent being under obligation to anybody (let alone God), and who think that freedom of opinion (rather than freedom to live in the truth) is the benchmark of a diverse, pluralistic and tolerant society and Church (like ours).

The preacher is duty bound to identify such powerful beliefs and speak the truth uncompromisingly so that we will be dissuaded from embracing opinions hostile to the Gospel. This can be very unsettling, especially if we want our diverse opinions, values, faiths and needs and desires affirmed and applauded. The splendour of the Gospel lies in the fact that, in Christ, God does not endorse what we want or do or think. The Word of God is counter-intuitive and counter-cultural -- not what we expect.

The American theologian, WH Willimon, describes preaching as 'Peculiar Speech'. [See his book Peculiar Speech: Preaching to the Baptised (1992).] Preaching does not appeal to what we know from everyday experience. It does not fit in with the prevailing outlook about what is acceptable. It does not square with the popular idea that it is 'normal' to believe that all world-views are relative, that 'truth' is in the eye of the beholder ('it is my truth') and that, above all, we are obliged to be 'tolerant'.

It is very 'peculiar' today to preach the Gospel of Christian uniqueness.
It is far better to speak of Jesus as 'one way into the realm of God' and a model of all-inclusive acceptance. This is language that we all understand and warm to. It fits with what is very familiar.

Our circumstances are not so different from the Roman culture in which Paul and the early Christians lived. The State was very tolerant of diverse beliefs and practices. But it was intolerant of the claim that God had uniquely revealed 'the way, the truth and the life' in a crucified and risen man. Similar hostility to Christian belief is widespread today, in the community and the churches.

In our situation Paul is very helpful. He does not opt for easy compromise but uses what must have seemed to be 'peculiar speech' to his pagan and Jewish neighbours. The strange and liberating Word of Christ's cross-and- resurrection continues to be the focus of his preaching, even when it lands him in prison. He does not separate himself from his detractors
(v22) but insists that the 'Gospel' of God's grace must be 'preached' so that some may be 'won over' (vv 20,21) to the truth.

'Preaching the Gospel' is fraught with difficulties -- and filled with promise. It should be highly valued and supported because it is one of the characteristics of a Church that has heard God's incomparable word of grace for all in Christ. Failure to uphold the integrity of preaching is a serious dereliction of duty. So, when preachers stray from the truth, criticism is necessary!

But when critics are not concerned about the truth, the magnificence of the Gospel of grace in Christ must not be dumbed-down to suit the wide range of opinions that exist within churches and our society. When people say, 'Woe is you for upsetting us,' preachers must say that it is only 'Woe to me if I should shrink from my calling' (1 Corinthians 9:16). At the same time, they must acknowledge their own unworthiness: 'Woe is me for I am a person of unclean lips' (Isaiah 6:5), and be ever mindful that they are called to boast about the Gospel -- not themselves (1 Corinthians 9:15,16).

Preaching can be discouraging -- both to preachers and congregations!
Challenges to communicating the Gospel are daunting, especially when opinions seem stronger than truth and preoccupation with small concerns deafen us to speech about the splendour of God. But we may take heart. In Isaiah's grim picture, he tells us that a 'sprig of hope' shall sprout from the stump of a tree (6:13): a small community shall keep alive the memory of God's awesome mercy. So, when preachers and congregations are faced with what seem to be insurmountable barriers to proclaiming and hearing the Word of God, we are assured that what we say is not in vain! --

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.