September 10, 2013
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, "Morning, boys, how's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, "What the hell is water?"
- David Foster Wallace [1]
After sixteen years of ministry, I have discovered several reoccurring quirks in my writing and preaching. I improperly begin too many sentences with the words And and But. I have a long-term, first-order habit of over-hyphenating words. I am also an alliteration addict. When I preach from the pulpit, I point with an open hand, leaning forward with my right foot in front of my left. When I preach in front of the altar, I stand on the precipice of the chancel, my toes peering over the top step like a parrot on a perch. These are all things you’ve probably noticed. I’m sure you’re aware of many more.
A few months ago Grace peered over my shoulder as I was typing a sermon on the computer. “Daddy,” she said, “I’ve memorized your whole sermon plan. You do the same thing every week. You read the scripture, then you talk a little bit, then you compare it to a real life thing, then you crack a few jokes. Then you say, ‘Now we’ll take up an offering.’”
She knows me all too well.
PAUL’S FAVORITE WORDS
I’d like to think that I’m not the only preacher with idiosyncrasies, which is why I was happy to spend some time with yesterday’s daily scripture bookmark reading the book of Ephesians, the next stop in our sermon series on Paul. Paul had a favorite phrase that consisted of two little words. And there is no better example (there I go again, beginning a sentence with And) than in the opening chapter of Ephesians:
From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will. To the holy and faithful people in Christ Jesus in Ephesus….God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in God’s presence before the creation of the world….This is what God planned for the climax of all times: to bring all things together in Christ, the things in heaven along with the things on earth. We have also received an inheritance in Christ….We are called to be an honor to God’s glory because we were the first to hope in Christ. You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ.
Throughout his epistles, Paul uses some form of the phrase “in Christ” 165 times, and it occurs more often in his letter to the Ephesians. It appears 36 times in that book, ten times in the first chapter alone.
What did Paul mean by that phrase? Many scholars, from the great Albert Schweitzer in the early twentieth century, to contemporary scholars like Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, believe that Paul used that phrase to describe his ongoing, mystical relationship with Jesus Christ. It was, first of all, ongoing: it began with his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, but it continued throughout his life and ministry.
PAUL, THE MYSTIC
Second, his relationship with Christ was mystical. Granted, that word, well, mystifies us. We often associate the practice of mysticism with some eccentric set of gestures and incantations designed to elevate ourselves to oneness with the divine. According to German theologian Gustav Deissmann, that is a “proactive mysticism,” in which following strict, regimented behavioral patterns guide an ascent toward God. That is the opposite of Paul’s mysticism. His spirituality was not proactive, but reactive, which depended not on right works to get to God, but on a faith that leads to an awareness of God’s presence already in and around him through Jesus Christ. [2]
Like a fish becoming aware of the water that was the very source of its life, Paul described his awareness of Jesus Christ to the people at the Areopagus as the one in whom we “live and move and breathe and have our being” (Acts 17:28). For Paul, living “in Christ” meant nothing less than surrender and submission to the person and work of Jesus Christ, fully participating in his life, death, and resurrection.
And if you look closely at Ephesians 1 (there I go with And again), Paul used the words in Christ to describe more than a private, individual experience of Christ, but a communal, corporate experience within the body of believers. Whereas many religious mystical traditions require complete isolation, practicing transcendence in hermit-like seclusion (notice the hyphen), Paul believed that a mystical relationship with Christ was best experienced with fellow Christians, in a mutually caring, refining, and serving community. Borg and Crossan describe that relationship in this way:
For Paul, life “in Christ” was always a communal matter. This was so not simply because “it’s important to be part of a church,” but because his purpose, his passion, was to create communities whose life together embodied an alternative to the normalcy of the “wisdom of this world.”[3]
As we continue in this journey through the wonderful words and witness of Paul (another alliteration) let us grow in our awareness of God’s constant love and strength that surrounds us in Christ, and seek to live out our faith in community with each other.
In Christ,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVegaSt. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org
[1] “David Foster Wallace on Life and Work.” The Wall Street Journal, September 19, 2008.
[2] Stewart, James. A Man in Christ. New York, Harper and Row Publishers.
[3] Borg, Marcus J.; Crossan, John Dominic The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon. HarperCollins, 2009.
WEDNESDAY YOUTH GROUPS START THIS WEEK
Attention, all 5th through 8th Graders! We are eager to announce three new youth small groups throughout the school year:
5th-6th Graders, 6:30-7:30pm, with Nicci Lundquist in the 5th-6th grade Sunday school classroom at the church. A light supper (pizza and drinks) will be served.
7th-8th Graders, 6:30-7:30pm, with Diane Rochleau in the Chapel at the church. A light supper (pizza and drinks) will be served.
9th-12th Graders, 6:30-8:00pm, with Craig and Monica Schmidt, in their home. Dinner will be served.
Come and join them, and bring a friend!
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