Putting the A&M In A&M UMC Rev. Kip Gilts I Corinthians 1:1-8

 When was the last time you wrote a letter?  I don’t mean an e-mail, though they are quite convenient, and I don’t mean a phone call, though it is always nice to hear a friend’s voice, I mean a letter.  Let me illustrate through a show of hands on the importance of this almost forgotten medium.  How many of you print out an e-mail and keep it in a file to be read again and again?  How many of you record phrases spoken in a phone call and reflect on them on rainy days?  How many of you have at least one letter from someone who is no longer on this earth and periodically pull it out or stumble upon it while cleaning out a drawer?

The Apostle Paul wrote a lot of letters; in fact, most of our New Testament is a collection of letters written by a person to a person or persons in a particular place.  I’m glad they did not have access to e-mail or telephones.  We may just be reading a stack of, “While you were out” messages or e-mails that begin “FW:”.  Instead we have beautiful words that not only spoke to the people of the 1^st Century, they speak to us in the 21^st Century.  Listen to the beginning of one of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians.  It is found in I Corinthians 1:1-8 on page 165 of your New Testament.  Hear now the Word of the Lord:

 

The Word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God.  In this passage Paul praised God for the uniqueness of the Corinthians who had been used by God in extraordinary ways.  Let us pray.

There was a standard form of letter writing in the first century that was followed by Paul and yet this was anything but a form letter.  It was written by a particular person to a particular people in a particular place for a particular reason.  In short, it is as unique as were the people to whom it was written.  The 1^st Century form was to identify the writer, recognize the readers, offer a greeting and express gratitude. 

Paul did just that in these eight verses, but he did it in a unique way.  When he identified himself as the writer he did so in a particular way. The Corinthians were starting to challenge Paul’s pastoral authority and wanted to do things their way.  Paul in his identification of himself as the writer cited that he was called to be an apostle by the will of God.  When he recognized the readers he expressed that they too were called by God and set aside for a holy purpose, sanctified, as utensils in the temple were sanctified for a holy purpose.  We would not think of taking the bread on this Table and throwing pieces of it for persons to catch in their open mouths.  We would not consider picking up the cross and pretending it was a sword.  They are on this Table, sanctified, set aside for a holy purpose.  So too were the Corinthians.  Paul offered a greeting, but instead of using the Greek word, chairein, which means “greetings”, he used the Greek word, charis, which means “grace” and then added “peace”.  Gordon Fee in his commentary on I Corinthians wrote that this greeting sums up Paul’s theological outlook.  Grace, God’s unmerited favor, was the sum of all God’s activity toward all those who would call on his name.  Peace, an internal assurance of positive blessing more than the absence of strife, was the sum of all the benefits experienced by the recipients of God’s grace.  This is much richer than, “Greetings.”  Paul also expressed gratitude for the Corinthians’ gifts, which come from God and are to be used for God.  He assured them that these were just of taste of the glory that was yet to come.  It is a beautiful beginning to a powerful letter, a beginning that followed an ordinary form, but expressed extraordinary grace, gifts and glory. 

When was the last time you wrote a letter?  I went on-line to see if I could capture the rules of 21^st Century letter writing.  Instead, I discovered an essay written by one of my favorite authors, Garrison Keillor, entitled “How to Write a Letter”.  Allow me read an excerpt from this essay:

      Probably your friend will put your letter away, and it’ll be read again a few years from now – and it will improve with age. And forty years from now, your friend’s grandkids will dig it out of the attic and read it …You will then have created an object of art.  Your simple lines about where you went, who you saw, what they said, will speak to those children, and they will feel in their hearts the humanity of our times.

      You can’t pick up a phone and call the future and tell them about our times.  You have to pick up a piece of paper. 

When was the last time you wrote a letter? 

Today we begin a three-week sermon series entitled 20/20 Vision.  It is a series designed to highlight the vision of A&M United Methodist Church.  This vision is printed in our Vision Path Brochure and reads as follows:

I thought about connecting this vision to the opening words in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and speaking about the unique grace, gifts and glory given to this church.  I thought about repeatedly affirming to this church that there is not, has never been, nor ever will be a church with the potential of A&M United Methodist Church.  In short, I thought about preaching a typical sermon this morning.  But now I feel like writing a letter.

 Kip Gilts, blessed by the opportunity to serve as the senior pastor of A&M United Methodist Church; to the church of God at A&M UMC, established as all churches are, by the power and grace of God.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (There are some phrases that simply cannot be improved upon or need any updating.  This is one of them.  Can you imagine what would happen in our lives and this church if we grasped just these two words?  Grace and peace.  Forgiven and whole.  Accepted and well rested.)

Wow!  I am amazed by what I have discovered in this church.  There is a richness here that is hard to put into words.  On the one hand, you have so many young people filled with energy and the dream to make a difference in this world.  On the other hand, you have so many seasoned members who are capable of mentoring these young people through efforts like our Adopt an Aggie program.  You yourselves have not lost the desire to make a transforming difference in this world.  All of you, young and old, know that this world and even this community is not where God longs for it to be.  We could be so much more attentive to the needs of others, so much more committed to God’s kingdom principles. 

I have witnessed a giftedness and generosity that is uncommon here.  There are artists, interior designers, chemists, engineers, architects, homemakers, computer geeks, teachers, administrators, human resource consultants, musicians, lawyers, doctors, marketing experts, athletes, counselors, yell leaders and so many more.  I have yet to sit in a finance committee meeting without the members of that committee saying with confidence, “This church can do more and they will when they are asked to do so.” and you have.  You have recognized that what you have been given in terms of talents and resources is a gift from God to be used for God and I have been inspired as I have watched you put that into motion.  I have seen you bag rice for those in need and when you ran out of bags you raided the supermarkets until you found enough to complete the effort.  I have seen children set a goal of purchasing one sheep for impoverished people in a foreign land.  The cost was estimated at $120.  Our children raised over $1,000.   I’ve received calls and cards that state earnings have surpassed your estimates and you want to return a portion to God.  I cannot tell you how often those cards and calls have come immediately after an unfunded ministry need has been expressed.

Paul claimed that the Corinthians themselves were a testimony of Christ.  That is as people saw the difference Christ made in the lives of those Corinthians, they had clear evidence of the power of Christ active in their world.  I have watched my 15-year-old son improve dramatically in his performance as an offensive lineman in football.  This has convinced me of the effectiveness of the football program at his school.  I pray that your presence in this community convinces people of the effectiveness of Christ in this church and in your lives.

You are a great church, tasting frequently the grace of God, given just the right gifts by God to be used for God, and this is only a taste of the glory God has promised.  There is so much more as we actively wait for Christ’s return.  Last Saturday I had the opportunity to wait for two hours in the rain for an Aggie football game to start.  Many of you were waiting with me.  I saw you and I saw others waiting – lots of others.  Several in front of me were waiting by taking turns going to the corner market to refresh their supply of beverages.  I’m not sure how aware of the football game they were by the time kick-off occurred.  I prefer the way my son decided to wait.  As we sat down on the hard concrete he said, “Have a seat, Dad.  Let’s talk.  We don’t talk enough anymore.”  Then he smiled.  It was a great wait.  We wait actively doing what God wants us to do, knowing that even at it’s best it’s just a taste.

A week and a half ago I had the opportunity to go on a study retreat where I spend time in prayer and try to envision next year’s sermons.  This year I was struck with the profound need to write a letter to God on that retreat.  Part of that letter included the following:

Friends at the church of God at A&M United Methodist Church, you are loved deeply by Jesus Christ who thinks of you always, prays for you constantly, and chose rather to die for you than live without you.  Amen.