Do and Be It while Becoming It

 

Today is the day, 21 days into the New Year – it is a determining day for those who made New Year resolutions; if one has made it to day 21 still working on their resolution, whatever that resolution was, it is well on its way to becoming a habit. Until recently it was said that 21 days makes a habit. Research presented June of 2023 found that it takes 66 days for a habit to be imprinted and a permanent part of a person’s lifestyle.

 

In his letter to the Corinthians, Apostle Paul reprimands and encourages the Corinthian church about the lifestyle they are choosing to live. Paul identifies divisions in the community, practices of ‘old religion’ that remain, acts of immorality, and the non-uniformity of belief within the Corinthian church. His call to the community is to become of one mind and will, to be imitators of Christ.

 

Consider the resolutions of losing weight, lowering blood pressure, controlling diabetes; all are related to the person becoming healthier.  To become healthy, one needs to commit to live as if already healthy. One needs to put things in place to attain health; one practices living a healthy lifestyle by walking, eating more vegetables, drinking less wine, no smoking, getting more sleep, reducing stress- all this gets put in place before one is healthy. The motto for this new life to take fruition: Do and be it while becoming it.

 

Paul writes: From now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none. Those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealing with it.

Each of these phrases that confront us in the letter to the Corinthians are not for us to parse and figure out. Paul is making a point in his argument, suggesting that everyday individual matters are inconsequential, life is not about the individual but rather the unity of the Christian community, and the lifestyle of that community. Paul’s letter continues with emphasis on living as if the kindom of God where at hand, as though the kindom were here. He posits that time – in its present form is running out, that the present form of this world is passing away. He passionately preaches that the return of Christ -the day of the Lord- although expected far off in the future is extremely close at hand. Paul has hinted at this previously in this letter - the day of Christ’s coming is soon.

For Paul, being prepared for Christ’s return and living as though it were already so, requires that the Christian community choose to live – in their everyday actions, habits, and patterns- a lifestyle exhibiting Christ already present.

Be imitators of Christ. Do and be it while becoming it. Live in such away as your actions imitate Christ’s, becoming, not just imitators, but more and more like Christ.

 

Columnist Jeff Poor wrote: The CHURCH is like a GYM. It exists to train, equip, and challenge the body of Christ – to live in the light of the Gospel. But many treat the church like a restaurant that exists to feed and serve regular patrons.

 

An interesting thought, isn’t it? Do you come to church to workout?

Or do you come to the church to be served? Do you come for ‘the soup of the day’ and to pick and choose from the menu? --- Asking for what you want, the way you want it, in a timely and convenient manner; leaving on your plate what you do not like. And depending on how you rate your experience you decide what tip (offering) the server receives.

 

Considering church as a gym, conveys the passion and emphasis of Paul’s letter… The church exists to train, equip, and challenge the body of Christ to live in the light of the Gospel. Working out as a community we are about building faith muscles, strengthening hope, growing capacity for grace, forgiveness, and love to work through us. We learn and train, disciplined in hearing and wrestling with challenging teachings from God’s word and discerning how to apply them to our community and our lives in 2024.

We come to the gym, we come to church – not because we are Christ but because we are passionate to share God’s message to a hurting world and need to be as Christ-like as possible to do it. Changing the world to open up into God’s kindom in this time, - anytime- , requires fitness, balance, unity and health of the faith community. It takes determination, practice, consistency.

 

There has been a national non-profit organization in Canada called ‘ParticipACTION’ (action is written in capital letters for emphasis). Their mission statement is “encouraging people living in Canada to get healthy by getting active since 1977.” They promote physical activity as a vital part of one’s everyday life – as their web-site says, physical activity is “a necessity of life and one of the most important things you can do for your overall health and wellbeing.”

Christ-activity, be imitators of Christ: Christ-activity is a necessity of life and one of the most important things you can do for the overall health and wellbeing of the world.

 

Do and be it while becoming it.

This motto has been interspersed throughout the sermon, and refers to the way Paul phrased his letter:

Now, those who mourn act as though you were not mourning, those who rejoice act as though you are not rejoicing…  Act as though…

 

Have you heard people say that they feel like an imposter or fraud? Have you heard the phrase ‘fake it until you make it?’ While I do believe in honesty, humility, and self-awareness, I believe that humans are always in the processes of becoming, meaning we all act as if we already are a finished product. I act like a leader, a parent, a problem solver, a long-distance runner, capable and put together – even in times when I have no idea what I am doing. I can not count the number of times I act as though I am fearless, as if I am optimistic, as though I have hope, as if I am not shy, as if I am happy, as if I can do it (whatever it might be)…

Over time, acting as though – my participation and action, working out- becomes a habit and part of who I am and how I live.

 

We are in the middle of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The theme passage is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I preach on Wednesday at First Baptist and am to focus on the question Jesus asks the lawyer, “who was neighbour” to the man who was robbed and left injured at the side of the road? The reflection included in the prepared resources for the day says:  As with the lawyer, we are challenged to reflect upon how we live our lives, not merely in terms of whether we do good or not, but whether, like the priest and the Levite, we are neglecting to act mercifully.

This week Christians are gathering in Ecumenical services around the world to reflect on Christian unity and what it is to live lives that imitate Christ. The global Christian community receives reprimand and encouragement, like that in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The Christian community is being called to one mind and will, working as one body of Christ; each community called to act mercifully in their place and time to open the kindom of God for the healing of the whole world. 

With the global Christian community let us workout in the gym called church, so that we be of one mind, one will, one body of Christ working together.

Let us be imitators of Christ.

Do and be it while becoming it.