Is Christ in the Meeting?
2 Corinthians 4 says: Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practicecunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servantsfor Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Being able to serve in ministry is the greatest honor, at least I think it is. People willingly follow even when you get too big for your britches and say the wrong thing because you just don’t know how to say it compassionately, even after praying and wracking your brain for the inspirational appeal. It hurts when you let someone down because your vision of truth is different than theirs and all you want to do is desperately inspire. Yeah, that’s me. On multiple occasions.
And that is St. Paul’s world as well. He didn’t always agree with those he did ministry with. He had sharp disagreements that are recorded in Scripture. But he didn’t lose heart. There were things he dealt with that made the journey rough and grieved his soul. There were people who did not want him to succeed in what he was doing. There were people who did not want to see the churches that he helped plant and grow succeed. He got frustrated.
Sound familiar? For you? We’re all in ministry together, whether you’re reading this as a member of Zion Lutheran Church or part of another church somewhere on this planet. All of us need the encouraging mark of Jesus Christ to get us through those times when we want to call it quits. All of us need those reminders of the faithful work of people that willingly invest more than just the seen hours of a ministry event; we don’t see the commute time, the prayer and angst time, the thoughtful reflection time, or the “I want to quit” time. But they are there. I’ve lived it, I’ve seen it, I’ve counseled people through it.
What I would like to pretend is that I always focus on the mercy of God so that I don’t lose heart. In the heat of the moment, that thankfulness should cause me to just shut up. We want ministry to succeed if only everyone else saw it our way.
Sound familiar? For you? If you’ve been in ministry and you’ve sat around the table hashing out ideas, listening to other people give their opinion and felt the rush of disagreement, how have you reacted? Is the same fellowship you share on a Sunday morning present in the meeting room? Is the same potluck joy there when you are trying to figure out the budget? Have you distorted the image of God for the sake of winning an argument? Might we be blinded like those who are perishing? Are we being the glory of Christ?
I wish it were for me. But those meetings are their own monsters and they can sometimes bring out the worst in us, even when we try to do the right thing. Maybe it’s a good thing that outsiders don’t see the inside of our board meetings. Maybe we’d act differently if we invited the outside world to join us for one of those meetings as we try to figure out how to best minister to those around us. Would the irony of our heated words in regards to doing ministry remind us of why we join each other for worship and fellowship in the first place?
Paul’s wrong. I’m the chief of sinners. Well, maybe we all are. I’ve got no more right to lead than what the Lord allows. So, I guess I’ll let the mercy of the Lord remind me of that today and hopefully as I prepare for the next meeting, and the one after that. That blessing of mercy can give us the insight to not be disgraceful even when we try to speak our version of truth. It can help with the frustration we have at the hands of another. It is the truth that should cause us to really seek the welfare of our neighbor, even the one sitting next to us at the table who lives across town.
Join with me as we think on our shared ministry in Christ, even in the meetings. Let the light of Christ shine in even that place where we all want a piece of the pie and we all seek to win. When we want to shush people for the sake of time or devalue their vision or source of inspiration for a future project, think on the message we commonly share for our salvation. Christ unites us in all circumstances of life, and He should be invited to witness how we conduct ourselves in those closed meetings. Amen.
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