1 Corinthians 3:1-9<\/p>\n\n\n\n
February 13, 2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of life\u2019s joys for me is to spend time with our grandchildren. Now that we have 6 of them, I look forward to spending time with the three in North Carolina or the three we have here in California. One of the things we always like to do is to go to the playground. Their parents would often spell out \u201cp-l-a-y-g-r-o-u-n-d\u201d hoping that the kids can\u2019t spell yet but often it\u2019s me who\u2019s too slow to figure it out what is being said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we get to the playground, there are more and more SAHDs\u2014\u201cstay-at-home-dads\u201d with their kids. They are carefully watching the kids on swing sets and slides. Gone are the days when a child\u2019s birth automatically resulted in mothers quitting their jobs or drastically reducing their hours at work while fathers headed back to the work routine. Although stay-at-home-dads are still the minority, parents increasingly view having a SAHD as a popular option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fathers are sharing the joys and frustrations of being responsible for a young, often needy, life. Not surprisingly, they\u2019re discovering what mothers have known for years. For every heart-warming, rewarding moment that glows with endearingly cute potential, there\u2019s an equally frustrating, messy, sleep-interrupting moment that seems brain numbing and endless. What\u2019s a parent to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SAHD Paul<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If the parent is like the apostle Paul, it\u2019s time to write a letter. You can see the strain in Paul\u2019s relationship with the Corinthian church since the middle of the first chapter. Paul finds himself in a nurturing role, responsible for the care and feeding of newly formed churches and baby Christians. Much to his dismay, their growth doesn\u2019t always proceed according to a neat, orderly plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Corinthians accused him of providing them with only \u201cmilk,\u201d whereas they were entitled to solid food. Paul\u2019s response was that they simply \u201cwere not ready for solid food\u201d\u2014either when he had ministered among them or later, when he wrote this letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But behind this frustration about their lack of progress, you can hear Paul saying, \u201cI can\u2019t believe it! You still need milk! I\u2019m ready to offer you so much more.\u201d Just like the father who\u2019s eager to introduce the shiny new two-wheeler while his child clings to training wheels, Paul\u2019s disappointed that the Corinthians aren\u2019t moving forward with their spiritual growth. Paul is done with baby steps and is ready to pack away the diapers. His impatience is apparent: \u201cI\u2019m ready to move on, why aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents, grandparents, child-care workers, caregivers of every stripe know that watching over another human being is a frustrating business that requires vast patience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Child rearing isn\u2019t so much a linear exercise in which a youngster progresses neatly from one accomplishment to the next, as it is a circular pattern in which there\u2019s one step back for every two steps forward. Just think about all the accidents after you\u2019ve thought your child is toilet-trained! Paul is like a stay-at-home-dad apostle who discovered that tending to a person\u2019s needs and encouraging physical, emotional, and spiritual growth is a challenging undertaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul, of course, wants only the best for his new churches:<\/p>\n\n\n\n *He envisions the day when his young churches will gain some maturity and grow in independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *He dreams of the time when there will be less-sibling rivalry and more unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *His goal is fewer arguments about status and more willingness to work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *He yearns for less whining and more appreciation for their blessings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *He would like less self-centeredness and more outward awareness, along with compassion for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, Paul wants his children to put aside their childish ways. Much to his dismay, it isn\u2019t a smooth transition from infancy to childhood to adolescence to young adulthood to adulthood but rather a gradual process filled with fits and starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at the newborn church, Paul is frustrated that the people are not responding to his lessons; they aren\u2019t learning as quickly as he thinks they should. Like any good parent, he has noticed the warning signs of bad and risky behavior. He\u2019s concerned about the company they\u2019re keeping. Their choice in role models doesn\u2019t meet his approval. These young Christians are allowing themselves to be influenced by the newest fads and the flashiest speakers. Instead of relying on the constancy of God, they bend to the latest ideas they hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Milk or Solid Food<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the past couple of months, our church has experienced growing pangs. We may not be a newborn or infant church with a history of 130 years, but nonetheless, as a living church, the Body of Christ, we are still growing and maturing in the faith. The differing perspectives that we have heard in recent weeks are more about how each of us understands the purpose and the mission of our church rather than whether we believe in the oneness in Christ. Unlike the Corinthians who may have loyalties to other gods and idols, we all affirm Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think we have long ago been eating and thriving on solid food. But when it comes to our understanding of whether we are a single-cell church or becoming a multi-cell church, we sometimes act like we still want milk. As a church that now has over 500 members, we are no longer a single-cell church when it\u2019s possible for everyone to know everything all at the same time. It\u2019s no longer feasible to decide everything in a membership meeting but rather we trust our elected church officers, board and committee members to accomplish their responsibilities according to the church constitution. This is what Paul dreamt about\u2014a time when there\u2019ll be less rivalry and more unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our church has proudly proclaimed in our vision\/mission statement that we are a multi-generational congregation. We don\u2019t want to be a church that is just made up of only young people or only middle-age people or God forbid, only senior citizens. We want and pray for a church that has people from all ages and all backgrounds and from all stages of the lifecycle. And because of our commitment and desire to be multi-generational, we will undoubtedly have people who need milk, others who are ready for solid food. I pray that we would see in each other the good and faithful intentions in the opinions that we have; acknowledging the reality that some are still drinking milk while others are already on solid food. Paul wishes that his young churches would have less whining and more appreciation of the blessings that they have from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have heard me say that I feel very blessed beyond words that can describe the blessing of having 6 grandchildren after only having 2 children. That\u2019s a 300% increase! I think the reason why I enjoy being with our grandkids is because they remind me that there\u2019s another generation that\u2019s coming of age. When I saw Evi our 8th<\/sup> year-old granddaughter who can now read a book by herself, I am encouraged that there\u2019s another enlightened person who will teach me some new things that I never knew. When I get a new drawing from our almost 5 year-old granddaughter Sage who creates these beautiful and fascinating images of hearts, planes, people, and flowers, I am confident that there\u2019s another creative person who will bless me with works of art to enjoy. While I might be eating solid food, I can also enjoy and appreciate those in our midst who are still only drinking milk. When it comes to the life of our church, I see that Paul is telling us to be less centered on our own needs and become more aware of those who will grant us the assurance that there\u2019s a future generation ready and able to carry on the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working Together<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Paul\u2019s letter, he was admonishing them for dividing themselves into cliques. Rather than seeing themselves as Christians and gathering together as one body under the one head of Jesus Christ, the church members were comparing themselves to one another. Some were boasting that they were superior because they had been led to the Lord by Paul who founded the church in the first place. Others had been converted through the Holy Spirit by the teaching and preaching of Apollos and were boasting about that. What\u2019s more, they were disagreeing about which was better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul reminded them that he and Apollos were the means to the same end, not the end in and of themselves. They had tasks given to them by God, but God is the one who produced the fruit. The Corinthians were trying to give glory to their ministers, but Paul was pointing them back to Jesus. It was not about the servants, but the one in whom we all serve. They are under God\u2019s authority and join in the work that God is doing with the Corinthians. It is God who gave the growth, it is God\u2019s field in which they are growing and it is God\u2019s building into which they are being constructed. The only one who is anything in this relationship between Paul and the people is God who gives the growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul is calling his readers to rethink their relationship not only with him but with all those who lead as servant workers in God\u2019s field, as contractors in building up his people. We are all called to serve in a common purpose which isn\u2019t building up personal followings but rather \u201cworking together\u201d to labor as God\u2019s servants on behalf of all those who are God\u2019s field, God\u2019s building in the world. We can only achieve this when we gain the maturity to take responsibility for ourselves as we labor with others rather than expecting them to labor for our benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love for One Another<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The late Fred Rogers, of PBS\u2019s Mr. Roger\u2019s Neighborhood<\/em> fame, once said: \u201cIn the giving of help, a parent experiences one of the best feelings that any of us can have: that life has meaning because we are needed by someone else. Watching a baby grow with our help tells us other things we like to feel about ourselves: that we are competent and loving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a mature church community, we certainly have experienced this best feeling that life has meaning because we are needed by someone else. Everyone here is special because you have been helpful to those who needed your help. Everyone here has watched our church grow numerically, financially, spiritually, and dynamically because you helped it to grow in maturity in these different ways. Now you can also feel competent and loving because you have been patient and able to encourage the next generations of people to learn to eat solid food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul, like any SAHD parent or, indeed, any parent anywhere, frets that his young churches aren\u2019t keeping up or making adequate progress. His tasks, like any parent\u2019s, is to help prepare these young Christians so they\u2019ll have the tools necessary to face the dangerous world\u2014even when Paul isn\u2019t present to help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents\u2019 jobs are to put themselves out of business, to make themselves superfluous so the child has the tools needed to conquer challenges and fight temptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our church has recently experienced some growing pangs and we shouldn\u2019t be surprised about that. As the living and growing Body of Christ known as the First Chinese Baptist Church, it\u2019s expected that we have fits and starts, some joys and frustrations, some pushing and some pulling as we dedicate and commit to one another to becoming the people of God whom we are created by God to be. If the Corinthian church had some challenges, it\u2019s perfectly normal and okay for us to have some too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we head out to lunch today, some of you may have some milk and others may have some solid food. It\u2019s not the kind of food that we are capable of eating at this time that\u2019s important. What\u2019s important is that all the nourishment that we need comes only from God who gave us the Bread of Life in Jesus Christ our Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gracious Lord God, continue to feed us holy milk and solid food in Jesus Christ as life-giving nourishments to be your church in the world. Remind us that all the fruits from our labors have only been made possible by your guidance and plan. Teach us to plant good and faithful new ideas to bring Good News to your broken world. Show us how to water the plants so that they will produce wonderful results of a more unified and committed church in Chinatown. And lead us to respect and to honor one another with reverence knowing that you have redeemed us all on the cross of Christ Jesus. In his holy name, we pray. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 February 13, 2011 Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco. One of life\u2019s joys for me is to spend