claiming the church's power

November 28, 2007

Romans 3:7-13

“Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him. I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.”

Though there are many interpretations of Murphy’s Law, the one most known to us is that “whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” This negative mentality was well at work among the original hearers of these words. Most likely, this was being written to people in Asia Minor who perceived themselves as oppressed. Of course, oppressed persons are hardly bold and hardly confident.

This scripture is meant to speak to the power that exists within the church and a power that we all too often deny. The author uses Paul as the model. Here was a man who experienced the power of God and God’s grace and as a result became a vessel through which God could work. He became an evangelist—one who boldly and confidently told the story of Christ to people (especially Gentiles) who might not have had the chance to hear it had it not meant so much to him. The result was the formulation of groups of people who had personal experiences with Christ. These became known as churches and when these churches gathered they realized not only the enthusiasm that flowed from relationship but a sense of contagion. They were compelled by their experience to share with others, to encourage each other in that experience of relationship and the byproduct was the gift of God’s continuing wisdom granted to them.

If you were to study the history of Murphy’s Law and Edward Murphy himself, you might well determine that Murphy was actually a very positive person whose phrase has been reinterpreted through the years. It is thought that he possibly said something more to the effect of “if it can happen, it will happen.” This, by my thinking, has a much more positive slant to it. So if we apply that law to our scripture, we have to ask first of all, what is it that has gone so wrong with the church? How did we come to a state where church is so habitual, so rote, so mundane seeming? When did we forget about the EXPERIENCE of relationship with Christ? When did we start keeping our sinfulness to ourselves and stop being real with each other? (Maybe when we stopped offering forgiveness?) I think it is safe to say that whatever could go wrong did go wrong with the church.

And yet, by God’s grace and wisdom, the church goes on, in spite of the churchgoers. If it can happen it will happen. If we invest in that perspective, we have to ask, how? Are we committed to making the church different? Are we committee to having a personal relationship with Christ that we are bold and confident enough to share because it has changed us so profoundly? Are we willing to accept the changes that will inevitably come because of our courage to profess what Christ is doing in our lives? Are we willing to be REAL SERVANTS? Real servants do the good of feeding and sheltering but they have the courage to go beyond that to challenge people to change their lives and take responsibility by claiming their own personal relationship with Christ.

My hope for the church universal this day, is that we will move beyond the labels that are so dear to us; that we will move beyond our marriage to traditions especially those that stymie us; that we will have the courage to feel and experience intellectually and otherwise the profound movement of God in our lives. My hope is that “if it can happen, it will happen” will become our mantra simply because we know the power of God. May God’s power, wisdom and grace be known to us this day! Amen.