West Milford Presbyterian Church

Ordinary 6APsalm 119:1-8

February 16, 2014I Cor. 3:1-9

By Rev. Dr. Janet Macgregor-Williams

People print all sorts of things on T-shirts, from advertisements to obscenities to affirmations of faith. Have you seen the one that says: "Christian Under Construction." We can all appreciate what that means. We can talk about the difference faith in Christ is supposed to make in our lives and about how it is supposed to work and even about the samples of the new life in Christ that we have already experienced. But, most of us know that we are not yet what God wants us to be. At our best, we are Christians under construction. And, that is all right. That is a good way to be. The changes that God will make in our lives don't happen all at once. It is a good thing to know that we are in the process of becoming what God wants to make us and to participate in that process very intentionally and joyfully.

In our scripture lesson for today, Paul wrestles with the fact that the Christians at Corinth, are still Christians under construction. He has been talking about new life in the Spirit. Then he reminds them of a basic truth, that they are still under construction, as he says, "But, you folks obviously aren't there yet. If you were, you wouldn't be arguing about petty little things like which pastor you like best." He says, "I could not talk to you as spiritual people. I must speak to you as people who are still in the flesh, as infants in Christ." Paul seems impatient at this and disappointed in the Corinthians. The Christian faith is a journey, a process, and they were still under construction.

The Corinthians are not unique, if you really get to know a congregation, you may have an experience very much like Paul's. When you first visit the church, you may look around at the friendly, attractive people, and think, "This is a fine-looking group of Christians." But, as you get to know the people and learn what is really going on in their lives, you will discover that things are not always as they appear to be. You may hear some people expressing some attitudes that do not seem to you to be compatible with the Christian faith, some social snobbishness or clicks, some prejudices, some impatience and lack of sympathy with the poor of the community and the oppressed of the earth, some in-fighting. You may begin to suspect that some people's lives are being shaped by the pursuit of money and affluence rather than the love of God. You may discover someone struggling to overcome a drinking problem and the whole family having to cope with the effects of that. A family that seemed at first to be everybody's ideal may turn out to be a blended family made up of the leftovers from two painful divorces and the parents may be working very hard to put something good together under difficult circumstances. Still another family may have an teenager who is using drugs. Others may be trying to rebuild their lives after being devastated by some catastrophe like a business failure or the death of a spouse.These are real people, with real issues, they are human. We are reminded that the church is a community that considers the forgiveness of sins as its first entry point.

When you first discover that the church members are not all what they first appeared to be, your initial reaction may be to think that they are all hypocrites -- and some of them may be. You may be ready to walk away, but look again. You will discover that many of these same people actually are taking the Christian faith seriously, as they strive to be different. Each of their lives is a story that is still being written, and God is one of the participants in the action that is going on. They are Christians that are still under construction. And if we are honest about ourselves, who we are and what we have accomplished; we see that we are no different or better, for like them we are still Christians under constructions.

Another tee shirt I remember bore the initials P.B.P.W.M.G.I.N.F.Y. They stood for: Please Be Patient With Me God Is Not Finished Yet. We are all works in progress. God is still at work in our life shaping and molding us, transforming us.

So, it's okay to be a Christian under construction. As a matter of fact, a little later Paul uses that very image to describe what is going on among the Corinthian Christians. In this construction project, God is the builder, but there are certain things that we need to do to participate in the process. Let's talk about what we need to be doing to be "Christians under construction."

First, you need to remember where you already are in the process. You are not an outsider trying to work your way in. You do not have to qualify for anything. That is not what this is about. You are already a child of God. You are already part of the family. God has adopted and welcomed you in, God has reached out in grace and love. If you remember that, it will completely change the way you will feel about what is happening as you grow in faith.

Second, accept yourself as someone who still has some growing to do. God knows all about you and God still accepts you as you are and loves you just as you are. You must learn to accept yourself and to love yourself in spite of all you know about yourself. Now there is a big difference between accepting yourself as you are and deciding that you are as good as you need to be. You need to be very aware that you still have a lot to learn. It is recognizing that we have not arrived, but rather that we are in a journey and we are on the right road, but as Frost would say, there are still “Miles to go before I sleep.” Knowing that God already accepts you and loves you and being able to accept yourself and love yourself as you are will actually make it a lot easier for you to be honest about who you are and face the things that are wrong. It is this love, which supports us and helps us let go of the things that you need to let go of. Acceptance takes the threat and the shame out of the process and sets you free to get on with the construction project.

It is good to look forward to all that God still has to give to you. But it is best not to be tied to any particular notion of what that is. Our perception of the goal may change as we move along. Just keep looking forward to the new visions that God will show you and to the new fulfillments into which God will lead you.

Be careful to do your part. Growing spiritually is something that God helps you do, but you have to do your part. Though God first reached out to us in love, our relationship with God is not meant to be one sided, it is a relationship, which means we must do our part. Keep on practicing spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible study and participation in the worship life of the church. Sharing with Christians helps us discover who God wants us to be, community is important, for together we are the body of Christ. Keep on asking what God is doing in your life and in the world around you. Keep on asking how you can become a participant in what God is doing. That will keep a growing edge on your relationship with God.

There is even a theological word for this process of growing, of being under construction. The word is "sanctification." It is part of the process of salvation. The first step in our salvation is called "justification." That is the joyful discovery that God loves has been poured out for us in Jesus. As we discover God’s grace and what it means to live in the shadow of the cross, we are justified in Christ. The process of sanctification moves us on from there as God works in our lives to help us learn actually to live like children of God. Both of these are very important.

We are all under construction, works in progress. The experiences that show us that we are not yet what God wants us to be sometimes feel like unhappy experiences to us. But they should not. They are just the experiences that remind us that we are still Christians under construction. They teach us to keep looking forward, to rely upon God to shape us, as we remember that we are still under construction.

This fits with our Church School theme, because we are God’s children at work, building a better world, both in who we are and in our world around us.
A reading from Psalm 119:1-8

Listen to the word of God.

Happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
Happy are those who keep his decrees,
who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways.
You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
O that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous ordinances.
I will observe your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
This is the word of the Lord.

I Cor. 3:1-9

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely human?
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building.