"God Gives the Growth" - Sermon, February 16, 2020
Community UMC, Quincy
“God Gives the Growth”
Rev. Andrew Davis
February 16, 2020
1 Corinthians 3: 1-9
I don’t get sick very often, although when I do, it hits me like a ton of bricks and this last week has been one of those weeks. On Monday, while taking a sick day and being bored out of my mind, I was laying on the couch and came across a movie from 1941 on Turner Classic Movies called One Foot in Heaven, which is about a Methodist minister. Obviously, I was captivated!! While I missed the first half-hour of the movie, I was able to see most of the movie and it really hit home. The minister, Dr. William Spence and his family go on a journey through ministry as they serve several different appointments in different cities and face different situations along the way, including the various personalities and dynamics of each congregation. Especially in an appointment in Denver, where Dr. Spence pushes to build a new church building much to the dismay of some of the patriarchs and matriarchs of that congregation, showing people’s attachment to things of the flesh and not necessarily of the Spirit. At the same time, Dr. Spence experiences his own personal growth through his children, such as when he tries to teach them a lesson about sin or the Book of Discipline, he realizes that he himself learned a lesson and can adapt. A common thread in One Foot in Heaven was seeing how God gives the growth. Each time that Dr. Spence would be angry about something, he grows in humility and love in each appointment he serves and each parishioner he calls on.
As we conclude our series, “Somos Del Señor/We Belong to Christ,” we come to where Paul is really getting in-the-faces of the Corinthians, calling them a bunch of babies because of their bickering, jealousy, and elitist attitudes that is tearing the church in Corinth apart. Back in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul questions the Corinthians on who they belong to, citing conflicting loyalties to Paul and to Apollos, and in this week’s lesson, circles back to that same question in verses 4-5. Because of their conflicting loyalties and attachments, there has been jealousy and infighting which Pastor Paul has been called on to nip in the bud. As a constant reminder, Paul tells the Corinthians and us that it’s Christ who we need to put first, then tells the Corinthians in verses 6-9 that Paul planted the seeds, Apollos watered those seeds, however it’s God who ultimately brings the growth.
When we begin the journey of faith just like the Corinthians did, it’s as if we start out like infants, receiving the word of God, teaching, and encouragement like it is milk or the abc’s and 123’s of faith, then move to more substantial food as we grow in faith and Christ. As I look around our congregation here in Quincy, we’re all on different stages of the Christian journey which is awesome! Some of us are still young in the faith, some of us are just beginning to eat solid food, others are going through their growth spurt, and others are fully grown and mature in the faith. More importantly, we need each other on this journey, as Christ is the foundation we can build on.
While studying the text this week, I’ve been reflecting back on my own faith journey that began around age seven or eight when my parents decided it was time to start going to church. I had only been to church a few times in my life, except would read stories in The Children’s Bible, so had an idea of some of the basic stories. At first, I was not happy about going to church and was often a poop about it. After my grandmother’s death thirty years ago, my family returned to Rio Linda UMC and I immediately connected with our pastor at the time, Rev. Lori Sawdon. Pastor Lori was always more than happy to answer the million questions my nine-year old mind had and was nice to reconnect with her a couple weeks ago and reminisce a little while at the Gathering of the Orders in Livermore. While Pastor Lori planted and watered many seeds when she was my pastor, it was God who ultimately gave the growth and church became an important part of my life to sustain that growth.
Ever since those seeds were first planted by my family, church family, and Pastor Lori, has that journey of faith been perfect or smooth? Not at all. There have been and will still be good days, and bad days, and there have been a couple times I’ve started over and be fed milk. Nevertheless, I know that I’m still on that journey towards spiritual maturity, but as I will hopefully get to answer at ordination in June, I am continuously doing my best to move onto perfection in love. I am thankful for the many who have been a source of spiritual nourishment, along with God’s word through study, worship, and action.
As we consider what Paul is saying to the Corinthians and the church today, it is easy to become attached to people, buildings, or worldly goods. Like the Corinthians, Paul is saying that when we are attached to people, buildings, or things of this world, they can be a distraction if we allow them to be and we might not be attached to the right thing, as we belong to Christ first. When we come together, we are
servants together in fields of the Lord. Paul argues that our attachments are often to the wrong things: to a human pastor, to a position, to a building. No pastor works in a vacuum, but builds on ministry and mission that others directed long before arriving on the scene. And, that will continue long after the pastor departs.[i]
When I really became involved in church, I had to learn the lesson of not getting attached the hard way. Two years after my family returned to Rio Linda UMC, it was announced that Pastor Lori would be going to another church. That year became a valuable learning opportunity about what it means to belong to Christ, that the church is not the pastor, but the people who are the body of Christ, whether we’re still infants in the faith, mature in the faith, in between, and continuously growing. In all of the churches I have been involved in, I am blessed to have had pastors and congregants who have planted and watered the seeds of faith.
When Paul talks about planting and watering seeds, each pastor does that in the churches we serve, which in the UMC is an itinerant system. In the UMC, clergy take a vow of itinerancy, meaning that we are moved around periodically by the bishop, which can bring some anxiety. Back in the early days of the Methodist movement in England, John Wesley would assign clergy to multiple churches, which the clergyperson moved around the circuit by horseback. Itinerancy has changed a lot since then, although we don’t always stay in one place forever. One of the things I was told by my former district superintendent is to teach the Methodist Way, so that way we don’t feel blindsided when the bishop decides it’s time to move. I want us to be prepared for the time when it does happen, by reminding us that we belong to Christ and that Christ is our foundation. The pastor can plant the seeds, but it’s up to the body of Christ to water them and work the mission field.
In our own church, we have had many pastors through the years who have planted and watered the seeds of faith. If you have a chance to visit the heritage room upstairs, I encourage you to talk with Kathy Peters and arrange a time to have her take you up there, as it is a rich resource of how God has given the growth here in Quincy. You will also see pictures of the many pastors who have served this church through the years. Like Paul and Apollos did with the church in Corinth, each pastor who has served this church has planted seeds and watered them, seeing God give the growth. Each pastor has done some pruning too. I’m sure whoever comes after me will plant new seeds, help you water them, and even do some pruning, yet it’s God who will work through each of us when we trust God and the Holy Spirit to fully embody the teachings of Jesus Christ and demonstrate it when we live out our faith in our everyday lives.
All of this is the opportunity to really engage, as we connect, grow, and serve in many ways. Worship, study, and action is the milk and the food that we feed our soul as we grow in faith. For our young people or anyone who is new to the faith, we all can share and discuss the abc’s and 123’s of faith, lending support and encouragement too!! As we grow in faith and grow in Christ, there will be times we will be stretched and challenged, maybe even end up back at square one. There will be times when growth is painful. Regardless of where we are on the journey or what we believe as individuals, “Paul argues that our unity is in our shared mission – the mission given him by Jesus Christ, to love God and love neighbor. [Any sort of] divisiveness handicaps our ability to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”[ii] It’s why we belong to Christ before we belong to anything else.
That’s when we trust in God, allowing God to give the growth from the seeds that are planted, then we in turn can go out and water the seeds of faith, regardless of where you are on the journey. With Christ as the foundation, we are the body of Christ. We are the church together. As we go into this new week, how are you allowing God to give you the growth? What are some challenges to growth?
Offered to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
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