Becoming
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I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.
1 Corinthians 9:22
When I was younger, I was no fan of Paul. In every letter he wrote I found something personally distasteful. This section was a particular touchpoint. I’d wonder: How does he even think that one can become all things to all people? And why would anyone except a raging narcissist want to? He seems to be proud about how he acts like a chameleon in order to win over. Isn’t that manipulative? Or at least pretending he’s something he’s not? Paul - what are you trying to say?!
This verse is a great example of how sometimes the very scripture passages that have made my skin crawl most have ended up revealing to me some of the deepest matters of faith over time. But I had to stay open minded and willing to change my mind in order to get there. I mean - if Paul is considered the original Christian theologian, if his letters comprise the largest category of our Christian Scriptures, if my ancestors in faith found something deeply compelling in him, and if he was somehow able to share his faith in Christ so enthusiastically throughout the Mediterranean world, ge often gets the credit for making Christianity a world religion, I guess I’d better try to get down to the bottom of what he’s all about.
Of course, the whole story of my relationship with Paul is too long for a blog post, but he’ll come up for sure in my preaching this Sunday. And I suppose that over time, as my perceptions of Paul have changed, it is a sign of myself changing, too. My faith and my perspective have grown as I get older and spend more time in prayer, study and service myself. I am no longer as quick to judge, and I accept the reality of human limitation more than my young, eager self did. I pray that what is happening as I go on is that I am becoming more who God made me to be. And I hope that is what is happening for each of us - and all of us together as a church, too.
2024 marks the 160th year of our church’s founding. This Sunday, as we celebrate our life together on Annual Meeting Sunday, let’s celebrate the deepening of our collective faith, and the many ways we together have become more and more what we are called to be over these past 160 years as a church.
