Sunday, February 15, 2009
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Minister of Discipleship
About a year and a half ago I had to opportunity to visit the ancient ruins of Corinth. We learned about what the city would have been like at the time when Paul visited there and later wrote his letters to that group of Christians. One of the most interesting things that we got to see was a small museum filled with artifacts from the Greco-Roman period. In one room we came across a number of beautifully sculpted full-sized statues with bodies, but no heads! Our guide asked us if we knew why these statues looked as they did. The answer was quite unique and quite revealing about the people of that time…..you see, these statues were from a “body shop.” The people of the time liked to have statues of themselves so they would be remembered. They would go to a shop where they could pick out a body and then have them carve your face to place on your selected body.
If only it was that easy!! If only I could select what I wanted to look like by shopping for the perfect body! Apparently the people of the Roman Empire were as interested in having the “perfect body” as we are today. This would seem to be true, especially in Corinth, in the days of Paul. People found great status from having a beautiful appearance or a perfectly sculpted athletic body. Paul struggled with the fact that the “beautiful people” of Corinth seemed to give certain things such as looks and wealth status even in the Christian church. Paul recognized that people would go to great lengths and spend great amounts of time and money to discipline or train their bodies for athletic competition. And, he questioned if people would go to such lengths to train themselves spiritually so they were top condition for running the race of discipleship.
Things haven’t changed that much over the millennia…..people still find a way to discipline themselves and work hard for those things they care about the most. It’s true isn’t it? I have known people who took weeks and weeks of dancing classes to impress a date. Or studied and studied to learn the details about a certain sport or the statistics of a certain athlete to be able to hold a conversation with someone special in their life. I still remember buying a Julia Child Cookbook and studying and practicing French cooking. I even spent a good part of a day at the gourmet grocery store trying to learn about the proper ingredients to impress someone special in my life. Parents make sacrifices and discipline their spending so their children can have special lessons or go to special schools. Children work hard to save up their allowance or money from cutting lawns or babysitting to get a special gift for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. It would seem that when we care enough, we find the time and the discipline to do things that are not always easy.
I have learned something about myself over the years. I love to watch a good athlete or a fine dancer or listen to a great musician, but I don’t care enough about becoming a great athlete, dancer, or musician to put in the amount of practice they put into reaching their goal – daily practice, monthly commitment, years of studying and learning! If I could walk into the “body shop” and pick out a “body” that could already dance or already play the piano beautifully, I would love to do that. But, that isn’t the way it works. God gives us the basic building blocks and then expects us to do the hard work of building something.
The same can be said of our spiritual life. Have you ever heard about a great missionary and wished you could have that much faith? Or have you ever read a beautiful prayer and wished you could pray like that? You hear someone teach or speak about the Bible and wish you had that kind of Bible knowledge. Perhaps you have sensed the call to give more generously of your time or your money and said, “I would do that if only I had more to give….” Spiritual gifts don’t come fully made ready to be picked up at the local spiritual gifts shop any more than the perfect body can be bought and your head placed on top. Only when we care enough, only when we discover what it is we want enough, do we begin to dedicate ourselves to reaching that goal.
Paul understood this very well. He had spent many years studying rhetoric and religious philosophy. Certainly God changed his plans as to how he would use all that hard work. But even with God’s calling on his life, Paul could not have become the great teacher and evangelist he was without all those years of preparation and discipline. Just like the great Olympic athletes Paul met when in Corinth, he knew that striving for a goal takes time and dedication.
This week I was reminded of the story of a young man named Antonio who lived in Italy during the mid-1600s. This was a time of great artistic creativity in Italy and Antonio was particularly moved by music. From the time he was a little boy he told people he wanted to make music. Antonio tried learning to sing like some of his friends, but he was told his voice sounded like a creaking door hinge. He considered learning to play an instrument, but his sense of rhythm was not very good. So, he found himself tagging along when one of his friends would go to choir practice and he would just sit in the hall and whittle with his little knife as he listened to the beautiful music. As he grew up he became more and more upset because he still had this great desire to make music, but people just made fun of him. They called him “the boy with the squeaky voice who was always busy whittling while others made music.”
Finally one day his friends heard about the great Amati. “Who is that?” Antonio asked. His friends replied, “Why, he is the greatest violin carver in the world! You spend so much time with that little knife of yours, maybe he can use your talent.” So Antonio got up the courage to go and knock at the door of the great Amati. When Amati came to the door Antonio emptied his pockets and showed him the many things he had created and then said, “all I can do is whittle, but my heart wants to make music! Can you help me?” Amati examined his workmanship and after a short visit he replied, “well, Antonio Stradivari, you do seem to have some talent for carving. If you will work hard and learn the craft of violin making from me, perhaps some day you will be able to make music as your heart desires.” [based on story in More Sower’s Seeds – Second Planting by Brian Cavanaugh]
Anyone who has ever played or heard the incredible beauty of one of Stradivari’s violins knows that Antonio’s desire did become reality. And, he still provides the world with beautiful music hundreds of years later! But, please note it took two important components for this to happen: First, he had the deep desire to make music, and Secondly, he was willing to work very hard for a long time to develop his skill. When we care enough, and we work hard enough, amazing things can happen.
This is the message Paul wanted to convey to the church of Corinth. This is still the message for the church today. Just like an athlete can see the goal ahead and does whatever it takes to get there, so we must see the goal of the spiritual life and develop a workout plan to live such a life to the fullest. Here at First Church we have tried to help this process along with our 3D Christian Map – the creed we often repeat on Sunday mornings. In this creed you will see a vision of the Christian life…a goal towards which to strive. But, you can only reach the goal of abundant, fulfilling life if you care enough: If you care enough, you can have a deeper prayer life….If you care enough you can live each day more aware of God’s presence around you….If you care enough you can understand the Bible as a tool for growth and discernment….If you care enough you will take good care of your body……If you care enough you will see the opportunities for helping others through works of mission…..If you care enough you can be more generous…..If you care enough you will find the way to share your faith story with those ready and eager to hear it.
It can happen, if you care enough and if you are willing to put in regular discipline to move in that direction. The first thing we must each determine is the thing about which we care the most --- for Antonio Stradivari it was making music; what is it for you? Is there some aspect of the spiritual life about which you care so much that you are willing to do the hard work to develop that area of your life?
I want to give you an opportunity to ponder upon this important question for a couple of minutes this morning. We will now have a time of quiet prayer/reflection. I have included in the sermon notes the question and some possibilities for you to consider during this time of prayer. If one of these items seems to stand out for you this morning, I pray you will take your sermon notes home with you and begin to further reflect upon how you can begin to grow in that area – develop a discipline, a plan for how you will make that area a deeper part of your life journey. If you need help with developing your plan, call David or me or find a spiritual friend who can help you.
Remember, even the great Stradivari needed Amati to help him discipline his desire! Do you care enough to discipline your greatest spiritual desire?
QUESTION FROM SERMON NOTES:
“Do I Care Enough To……..