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Morning Devotion for the Season After Pentecost

October 6, 2023 

The Invitatory

The mercy of the Lord is everlasting: O come, let us adore him.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe betide me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones

A week ago, as we awaited Congressional action or inaction on a budget and potential government shutdown, the Administration had to consider and plan for the continued operation of essential services for which the government could spend money. Those people who provide these services are regarded as essential workers, such as employees in public safety and national security. These workers would report to work without pay. Each federal agency decides which services and employees are essential, typically including law enforcement officers, national security agents, active duty military personnel, and federal prison guards. Members of the military and federal law enforcement would continue working, while civilian personnel working for the Defense Department would be furloughed. It is understandable that some decisions must be made to keep critical operations going, but one can imagine what it must feel like to be regarded as not essential. One could almost feel worthless, invisible and even disposable. What a dehumanizing effect that might create. Fortunately, this outcome was temporarily avoided, but its possibility looms large over us now.

Even without the prospect of a government shutdown, human beings have established all kinds of social structures and behaviors to signal the “worth” of everyone. This has been true since the beginning of time. And once established, the assessments of one’s worth become very difficult to dismantle and to dispel whatever importance, both for good and ill, that is attached to them.

Paul calls attention to similar stark contrasts in status in Corinthian society. He has submitted himself to the needs of others for the sake of the gospel. While he might demand much from those who have heard the good news through him he gives priority to those coming to him to hear of the gift God has granted. But so that many might hear, Paul makes himself “a slave to all.” Again, therefore, he returns to the central exhortation of 1 Corinthians: “…be united in the same mind and the same purpose.” He is focused on the preservation of Corinthian unity. And above all else, Paul seeks to connect the gospel of Christ to a particular way of life in the community of faith. This way of life is a paradox of freedom and indebtedness, strength and weakness, boasting and humility, obligation and reward.

These are the difficult tensions which these verses address. Our freedom, treasured as it is, can never be absolute, for we are called to recognize and respect all. Our strength is neither earned by ourselves or for our own sake. Real strength is solely a gift of grace. In the end, Paul does not imagine the unity of Christians as an optional component of faith but a direct reflection of what God has done for us in creation and through Christ. He understands these seemingly clear divisions between Jew and Gentile or weak and strong as false dichotomies that are superseded by the far greater reality of the gospel. Indeed, Paul says as much for he collapses typical identity markers into an identity in Christ.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom, the power

for ever and ever. Amen.