Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Last Sunday, though we didn’t preach on it, we heard the Apostle nonetheless exhort us to unity and he does so in the Name of Jesus Christ, thus underscoring its vital and imperative nature (1 Cr. 1:10-18). This is really no different than what our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ yearns for and prays for and expects in what has come to be known as His High Priestly Prayer on the night of His betrayal: “’that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me’” (Jn. 17:21). This unity, this oneness, this lack of division and fragmentation, bears testimony to the divine unity of which the Church partakes in the Holy Spirit. The unity and oneness the Holy Trinity experiences and possesses by nature is bestowed upon the Church by grace. Thus, it becomes a down right scandal and an offense when the world sees the Church divided and fractured. But, moreso, it offends God Himself! So, St. Paul exhorts and admonishes us, let “there be no divisions [quarrels] among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cr. 1:10). Here, as in other of his apostolic writings, St. Paul urges the Church – that’s us! – to be of one mind, have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rm. 15:6; 1 Cr. 2:16; 2 Cr. 13:11; Pp. 1:27; 2:2, 5; 3:16; 4:2). Likewise, St. Peter joins his fellow worker and Apostle in the Lord’s vineyard urging upon us this same unity or oneness of mind for the sake of Jesus Christ (1 Pe. 3:8; 4:1). This, then, beloved, is how we are “to walk worthy of the calling with which [we] have been called, . . ., endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” For “there is one Body and one Spirit, . . . one hope . . .; one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism; one God and Father of all, . . . .” (Ep. 4:1-6).
And so, what the Apostle has to say to us today is a continuation of what he has already set forth last Sunday. It is set within the context of the Corinthian Christians playing favoritism and pitting their personal choice against that of their neighbor so that disunity among the believers was growing and threatening the health and wellbeing of the Body of Jesus Christ. Because, ultimately, as St. Paul says, who is Paul? Who is Apollos? Who is Peter? Who is Fr. David? Who is Dn. John? Are they not but instruments in the hands of God through whom God has planted and watered and cultivated His field? Are they not but builders alongside of God, working together with Him and with each other for one purpose and goal – the building up of the Body of Jesus Christ which is the Temple of the Spirit of God? It is God Who gives the increase to the faithful labors of His co-workers. It is God Who supplies the very foundation of the Church which is His Son’s Flesh and Blood upon which alone God’s sub-contractors build!
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the Temple and Body of His Son. All who are called to labor in the Church and on the Church are to build wisely using the finest materials available and to spare no expense. And, we are not to try and re-invent the wheel since there is and can be only one foundation already laid – and that is Jesus Christ Himself. Foolish are those who try otherwise. Foolish are those who seek to make this holy work about themselves, putting the emphasis upon themselves, seeking to erect the Church around their giftedness instead of uniting all who come to the Faith to Jesus Christ Whose Body it is and Who alone is “’the Way, the Truth, and the Life’” (Jn. 14:6). We all have seen parishes built on the foundation of a particular pastor, upon that pastor’s winning personality or intellect, and charisma, rather than on Jesus Christ, and we’ve seen the disastrous results of doing so. And, we’ve seen churches built around politics or ideologies or ethnicities or some other alien thing, and we know these do not stand the test of time. They have built on the world’s foolishness instead of on the wisdom of Jesus Christ.
The Mystery of Holy Baptism drives this point home, in my thinking. After exorcising the catechumen four times who is coming to the waters of Baptism, the catechumen then renounces three times “Satan, and all his works, and all his angels, and all his service, and all his pride,” answering boldly three times, “I do renounce him!” They are then asked by the priest three times, “Have you renounced Satan?” to which they give the reply with equal boldness, “I have renounced him!” Then, having renounced the evil one and all he represents, they are commanded, “Breathe and spit upon him!” which they do.
Then, having renounced the devil and divested themselves of his wickedness, they unite themselves to Jesus Christ with the same daring boldness as they had renounced Satan. “Do you unite yourself to Jesus Christ?” and three times they answer, “I do unite myself to Him.” Then, three more times they answer in the affirmative the question, “Have you united yourself to Christ?” “I have united myself to Christ.” They then confess their faith in Jesus Christ as “King and God” utilizing the catholic Creed, “I believe in one God the Father Almighty, . . . .” (Nicene Creed), after which they are yet again queried three times, “Have you united yourself to Christ?” answering each time as before, “I have united myself to Christ.” Then, they are commanded to bow down before God as they had once bowed down before the evil one to serve him. There is no question in this Mystery just Who the Boss is (to quote a children’s song). It’s all about Jesus Christ, and the priest and deacon are but instruments in the hands of God to do His saving and sanctifying work. In the spirit of the glorious Prophet and Forerunner, John, Jesus must increase and we must decrease (Jn. 3:30).
Because the Church as Temple is no ordinary building, but the House of God, we typically strive to use the best and finest materials we can afford that are beautiful and glorify God. Mundane, ugly, run-of-the-mill, cheesy, and cheap are not in our vocabulary when it comes to building a physical church, nor are they in the Apostle’s vocabulary when it comes to building the Church – the Body of Jesus Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit. As God’s sub-contractors, we are warned against using inferior materials or of cutting corners to get the job done! Too many structural failures and collapses have occurred in building projects when sub-contractors do shoddy work and have a shoddy attitude! The same applies to our spiritual work of building the Church. There is no other foundation to be laid than that which has already been laid – Jesus Christ! Again, there is one Lord, one Spirit, one God and Father, one Baptism, one Faith. This is what we build upon and not to try to substitute or replace. Clergy, monks, nuns, missionaries, evangelists, catechists, Sunday School teachers, Council members, musicians, and all laity – all of us together – are responsible to glorify God with labors and materials and attitudes of gold and silver and precious stones. Unity is a sign that we are doing so, while division is wood and hay and straw which will not survive the testing and trial of fire which is to come. For how we build this Body of Christ will be revealed in the end when fire will test and try our works. Were they of the gem of faith or the stubble of unbelief? Were they of the glory of Jesus Christ or of our own? As I have said to you before, I will say again because it's worth the repeat: I’m not interested in members here; I want disciples for Jesus Christ who put Him first and foremost in their lives, who seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness before anything else (Mt. 6:33), who yearn so deeply that it hurts because they want to be full of the Holy Spirit and so become vessels of God’s grace. There is a distinct difference between membership and discipleship: disciples are members of Jesus Christ’s Body; members, however, may not necessarily be His disciples.
The Church as the Body of Jesus Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit is taken very seriously by God and is not to be seen by us as less than how God sees her. The Apostle is pretty clear in his closing exhortation, warning us, “If anyone defiles the Temple of God” with shoddy workmanship and inferior quality, thus causing disunity and division, “God will destroy. For the Temple of God is holy, which Temple you are,” he says.
What we have heard the Apostle say regarding the Church as a whole, applies even to us on a personal and individual level because we have been united to Jesus Christ and made members of His Body. The Church is – we are – holy because God dwells in us, in our midst. Indeed, even in our flesh and blood bodies (1 Cr. 6:19-20)! We are to glorify God in our bodies and in our souls, says the Apostle elsewhere. Thus, we are to likewise build our spiritual lives out of gold and silver and precious stones which bring God honor and glory and praise.
But, what does it mean to build our lives out of gold and silver and precious stones? Well, Origen, an early Father of the Church, might help us here. He says that we should seek to always be in harmony with the building, that is, with the Church of Jesus Christ of every time and every place, which is the same as saying, we should be of one mind and spirit in the Lord Jesus Christ by having the mind of His Church. Thus, we build our personal lives on Jesus Christ alone because Jesus and His Church are one. “I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my foundation, my refuge, and my deliverer,” declares David the psalmist (Ps. 17 [18]:1). These are the words prayed by the priest at the Altar following the Great Entrance. There is no better or greater foundation already laid than Jesus revealed in His Church. This is the gold standard of our spiritual life and wellbeing.
But, how do we do that? We do it by recognizing that we do not nor cannot live on bread alone, that is, the transient things of this world, “’but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Dt. 8:3; Mt. 4:4). For every Word that flows from the mouth of our God is Spirit and Life (Jn. 6:63). “’Lord, to whom shall we go?,’” Peter once asked Jesus. “’Thou hast the words of Eternal Life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Jn. 6:68-69). Thus, if Jesus Christ is our foundation, we live by faith in the Son of God (Ga. 2:20), and we seek to do what He has said in His Holy Gospel, especially in His Sermon on the Mount, which sets forth humility as a most precious stone. “’Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven’” (Beatitudes). If we wish to find humility, we must learn obedience.
Next, we imitate the saints of God for whom nothing was greater than the love of God and love of neighbor (Mt. 22:40). We seek to bring forth, like them, works of faith, hope, and love that are worthy of repentance, and radiate the glory of God (Mt. 3:8; 5:16; Ac. 26:20). This includes frequenting and receiving the Holy Mysteries – especially Confession and the Eucharist – along with the other services of God’s House. The saints loved the Church, and her saving and sanctifying Mysteries.
Finally, prayer. We pray – another hallmark of those glorified ones who have gone on before us. Everything is buoyed up by prayer, immersed in prayer, wrapped with prayer. Prayer is the air we breathe and the ocean in which we swim like fish. Prayer is the umbilical cord to God. Let all things be done in prayer. “Pray without ceasing,” in the words of the holy Apostle Paul (1 Th. 5:17).
If we build our spiritual lives with these things, we build-up the very Church herself. For one affects the other.
Beloved, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise” (1 Cr. 3:18). “[T]he foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. . . . .” (1 Cr. 1:25).
Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
PROPERS:
1 Cr. 3:9-17
Mt. 14:22-34