To Life!

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My focus is First Corinthians where we read, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit … Glorify God in your body.”

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”[1] Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court invalidated 50 state laws and made abortion legal and available on demand throughout the United States in the now-infamous decision of Roe v Wade.[2] Although main stream media under-report the story, nearly 100,000 people annually gather in the March for Life in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of thousands more march in San Francisco, Chicago and state capitals throughout the nation.

Next Sunday is Life Sunday in The Lutheran Church, and with that in mind, today I focus on three P’s – the people of Corinth, the passage we heard and a pro-life church.

First, the people of Corinth.[3] Our knowledge of early Christianity would be diminished considerably without Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. We find in them a portrait of a community whose life was a mixture of confusion, pettiness and ambition, combined with enthusiasm and fervor. The community struggled to define its identity as the church of God in a complex and sophisticated urban setting.

The letters also reveal Paul’s relationship with the beloved but stubborn community he founded. This relationship forced Paul to delineate his understanding of his mission and apostleship, and the implications of these for his authority.

Corinthians were the first to face the problems that proved to be perennial for all Christian communities: how to live in holiness and freedom within the structures of society. Here, we discover the difficulty of defining an identity within a pluralistic context. These days, we turn to the Letters to think about issues and rely upon principles to solve problems. In other words, these letters guide us as we struggle with issues and try to identify ourselves as a Christian community in a pluralistic world.

As a people, Corinthians were difficult.[4] Their faults came from their overenthusiasm for the powers of the Spirit. Spiritual elitism infected the community. Some were so awed by their knowledge, freedom and capacity for ecstatic speech that they considered themselves fully mature and perfect. They judged each other while neglecting the moral demands of Christ. This elitism led to factions that Paul addressed in the first chapters.

To know what kind of people Corinthians were, examine chapter 13, often read at weddings. They were not patient or kind, but thought only about themselves. Arrogant and rude, they sang their own praises. Irritable and jealous, they kept track of wrongs. They were happy with injustice and not the truth. Some stopped believing and hoping. Others gave up.[5] Nevertheless, Paul loved them so much that he spoke to them as a father speaks to his sons, “Act like men. Be strong.[6] Imitate me.”[7]

From people to passage, my second point. In chapter 6, Paul addressed the importance of the body. Corinthians believed that no physical action had any moral significance.[8] Their reasoning went like this.[9] The body has no permanent value because death sweeps it away. Because God permits the destruction of the body, anything done in and through the body has no moral value. If no physical act has a moral character, anything goes. Eat what you like. Do whatever you like with whomever you like.

That is not to say Corinthians denied the possibility of sin. Sin was possible but only on the level of motive and intention, and that you could not judge. This is why they said, “Every sin a person commits is outside the body.” … They did not consider themselves to be sinning because they did not intend to sin. They just did what they felt like doing.

Paul sought to convince them there is no such thing as purely spiritual Christianity. If Corinthians were to imitate Christ, they had to accept that the body is the sphere in which commitment to Christ becomes real.

Read verses 12-20 as a dialogue. Twice, society said, “All things are lawful for me.” Paul said, “Not all things are helpful. … I will not be dominated by anything.”

Society said, “A thing is good because I want it.” Paul said, “Untrue. Conflict is inevitable because at some point your desires encounter the needs or rights of others.” Paul pointed out not all things I want are good or helpful, and if you follow society, then, to quote the Eagles, “Somebody's gonna hurt someone.”

Some actions tore apart the community and destroyed the Christian’s freedom. When this occurs, Paul taught, the Christian returns to the state of enslavement to sin. We read in Romans, “You were slaves to sin. But I thank God you have become wholeheartedly obedient to the teachings which you were given. Freed from sin, you were made slaves who do what God approves.”[10] Do not return to the state of enslavement.

Paul then turned to the heart of society’s argument. The basis of his counterargument was that God raised Christ from the dead. Hence, God would raise those who are ‘in Christ.’[11]

Because the body is relevant to one’s faith, Paul rejected the thought of Corinthian society that said, “Every sin a person commits is outside the body.” Paul taught, “The sexually immoral person sins against his own body.”

Here, Paul based his counterargument on Genesis, where God’s creative creatures were to bring others to life. We read, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one flesh.”[12] To use the body for any other selfish gratification was wrong – is wrong.

Paul helped Corinthians make the connection between their acceptance of Christ as the risen Lord of Glory and the implications for their lives. What God achieved through Christ was brought about by his physical presence in the world. Humans needed to see living life that imitated Christ was a real option and not merely an ideal to be discussed. The physical presence of the bodies of individual believers was intended to produce the same effect as that of Christ – bring others to salvation through Him.

If they were committed to Christ through a confession of faith, and strengthened by Word and Sacrament, they had to show the world their commitment through their physical bodies. They had to show their commitment through their bodies.

Finally, from passage to a pro-life church. One reason I joined the Lutheran Church is its support of traditional marriage and human life. Our Biblical teaching of marriage – between one man and one woman – and the sanctity of life – from conception until God calls us home in His time – is God’s will for all people.

As Lutherans, we embrace the biblical teaching regarding the sanctity of human life, with a clear Law and Gospel approach according to the confessional witness of our church.[13]

When we talk about the sanctity of life, we include all stages of life, including abortion, euthanasia, care of the developmentally disabled, chastity, education, medical research, adoption and family life. As Christians committed to imitating Christ, we must educate others about the consequences of abortion, and encourage the spiritual, emotional and physical care of those experiencing post-abortion syndrome.

You know, next to my wife, the people who bring me the most joy are our grandchildren, Emma, Henry, Levi and Kinley. Fortunately, they are all healthy children. Unfortunately, not all children are as healthy as our grandchildren. You are aware that each week, we pray for Gage, who is a four-year-old boy affected by brain cancer. So, not all babies have the same opportunities.

Life is not always easy. Sometimes people struggle with complicated, messy choices. Expectant parents, who receive a prenatal diagnosis that their child will have an extra chromosome resulting in Down syndrome, choose to abort 90% of the time.[14]

Rayna Rapp, a former abortion clinic worker who aborted a baby with Down syndrome herself, surveyed women and couples who sought amniocentesis to screen for Down syndrome and other problems. All interviewees intended to abort if the baby had Down syndrome. Here are comments made by parents who intended to kill their babies if they turned out to be challenged.[15]

“… I couldn’t think about raising a child with Down’s. I’m something of a perfectionist. I want the best for my child. I’ve worked hard, I went to Cornell University, I’d want that for my child. I’m sorry I can’t be more accepting, but I’m clear I wouldn’t want to continue the pregnancy.

I couldn’t be that kind of mother who accepts everything, and loves her kid no matter what. What about me? Maybe it’s selfish, I don’t know. But I just didn’t want all those problems in my life.”

And finally, “If he can’t grow up to have a shot at becoming the president, we don’t want him.”

My friends, Bob and Ruth, are the parents of three adult children – a son and two daughters. Their older daughter, Liz, was born with Down syndrome. They chose life. Liz opened doors for them that most parents cannot enter. Through support groups and other activities, Bob and Ruth led rich, full, Christian lives.

Here is a story they told me. Bob and Ruth agreed to become lay ministers in their church. They assist with communion during worship and visit the homebound. When their pastor installed them as lay ministers, Liz and her sister attended church with them. After the installation, Bob and Ruth returned to their pew. Liz stood on the pew between them, put one arm around each of them, and exclaimed loudly, “I’m so proud of you two!” They told me it made them feel like a million bucks.

This should not surprise anyone who knows people with Down syndrome. 79% of parents report their outlook on life is more positive because of their child with Down syndrome.

Among adults with Down, 99% are happy with their lives; 97% like who they are; and 96% like the way they look. You do not find such numbers among the public. Down syndrome children grow up to be happy adults.[16]

As Christians, we are called to be happy adults. That is, we are to live joyful, blessed lives ‘in Christ.’ We are to be happy with our lives, because no matter our circumstances, we are ‘in Christ.’

We should be happy with our lives even when we, like Corinthians, face problems that prove to be perennial, for our problems are like those our grandparents and ancestors faced.

As Christians, we struggle to define our identity as Church in a complex and sophisticated world. We grapple to live in holiness and freedom within society’s pluralistic context.

Sometimes, like the Corinthians, we tend to be arrogant, rude and irritable. At times, we think only about ourselves; do whatever we choose, and do not consider ourselves sinners.

We may echo the parents quoted in Rapp’s survey, and accept society saying that physical actions have no moral significance. When we accept that reasoning, we must remind ourselves that God the Father, who raised Christ from the dead, will raise us who are ‘in Christ.’ Otherwise, we, Christians freed from sin by Christ, return to the state of enslavement to sin.

Brothers and sisters, our bodies will be raised. Therefore, glorify God in your body for it is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Glorify God through your worship of the Trinity and your love of neighbor. Love the least ones among you. Love the unborn.

Support Lutherans for Life and agencies that promote the sanctity of life. If you cannot March in Washington, mail a letter to your public servants. Send an email to your representative in the House and Senate. Let them know that we value life from conception to natural death. Let them know we do not accept everything society deems as good, lawful and right. Tell them you live ‘in Christ.’ Tell them you vote.

Friends, when you love the unborn, the least among you, you love God. You send the message that Paul sent to the Corinthians. “Act like men. Be strong.[17] Imitate me.”[18] When you send that message, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.[19] Amen.

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[1] Psalm 122

[2] http://marchforlife.org/about-us-2/

[3] Luke Timothy Johnson, The Writings of the New Testament. Minneapolis: Fortress Press (2010). 261ff.

[4] Johnson, 263.

[5] 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

[6] 1 Corinthians 16:13

[7] 1 Corinthians 4:16

[8] Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, 1 Corinthians. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, Inc. (1979). 39ff.

[9] Murphy-O’Connor, 51f.

[10] Romans 6:17-18.

[11] Murphy-O’Connor, 52.

[12] Genesis 2:24.

[13] See LCMS Life Ministries strives to achieve the following goals at http://www.lcms.org/life

[14] http://liveactionnews.org/if-down-syndrome-parents-wont-defend-their-right-to-life-then-who-will/

[15] http://liveactionnews.org/pregnant-couples-who-plan-to-abort-down-syndrome-babies-defend-their-choice/

[16] Ibid.

[17] 1 Corinthians 16:13

[18] 1 Corinthians 4:16

[19] Philippians 4:7