One Untimely Born
A Sermon Preached by
The Rev. Mike Elliott
February 7, 2010
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Do you know what a euphemism is? It’s a word or phrase used to make something rude or offensive sound nice. A figure of speech to provide a way to avoid taboos or unpleasant conversations by skirting around the real issue. Many euphemisms are so common, that we don't even recognize them as such. Take for example the work “downsizing” or “rightsizing.” That’s just a euphemism for being fired. Or the phrase “if something happens to me” which really means…in case I die! And there are, of course, the million euphemisms for vomiting, such as “tossing your cookies!”
Your test this morning is to spot the euphemism that the Apostle Paul uses as he writes to the Church in the city of Corinth these words. So hear the Word of the Lord....
Moreover, brothers and sisters, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the Apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as one untimely born.
For I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believe…The Word of the Lord
So did you catch Paul’s euphemism? I hope so, because in addition to being the title of my sermon, it has become one of my new, best, most favorite euphemisms of all….It is “one untimely born” found in verse 8. It sounds rather nice, doesn’t it? Until we really unpack it and think about the impolite sentiments it means to express. Untimely born is a polite way of saying, in Greek, the language of First Corinthians, that one is a miscarriage of birth. Not necessarily literally, but that one was born in the wrong time, the wrong place and the wrong way!!! Someone born prematurely and immaturely. One born not fully formed or developed, especially spiritually or emotionally.
What I love about the Apostle Paul is that he is not one to use soft gentle pastels in his language. For Paul, faith is a matter of stark and contrasting black and white with an occasional punch of screaming hot red. “One untimely born” is one of those screaming red punches that draw us up short and dares us to sit up and take notice. To think about what the phrase means in our own lives and not just in Paul’s life. You see, Paul is giving bold and uncompromising voice to exactly the same sentiment that every person in the Bible before him has said in their own way. Though Paul, I think, says it most distinctly though!!! And in a way that resonates deeply and more truly for my own life. How about yours?
Moses claimed to be unable to speak well. Isaiah claimed to have a dirty mouth. Jeremiah claimed to be only a child. They and so many other characters in the Bible each have their own reasons for not wanting to accept God’s call in their lives. While I understand the reluctance that Moses and Jeremiah and Isaiah have in answering and obeying God’s call, they do not resonate with my life story. Do they with you? Or has God’s call in your life and your walk with Christ followed a much different path? Maybe a path more like Paul’s? Maybe your faith journey has been more of a gradual discovery of what was missing in your life and discovering where God wanted you to be than one of radical confrontation and conversion?
Not that Paul, formerly known as Saul, didn’t have a radical confrontation with the risen Christ and dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. But he best expresses how his new life slowly unfolds under the grace and love of Jesus Christ in ways that speak more deeply to me than any other. How about you?
What I think Paul is really trying to say as he writes to the Church in Corinth is that he, the former Christian hater, knows, perhaps better than anyone, the need for a “do over,” a rebirth. That he, better than anyone can relate to the feeling that their life had been totally out of sync with God‘s purpose for them. That he had gotten very far away from where God wanted him to be. That Paul knows what it feels like to want to stop everything and yell “do over!” You do remember that childhood cry of “do over” when you needed to reset a situation? Too bad real life never seems to have one of those reset buttons!
More often than not, when we realize that we have made a mistake in our public or private lives, in our social or intimate relationships, it is far too late to try and start over again. But in our spiritual lives, thanks be to the grace and mercy we have found in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we do have a reset button. And that is exactly what that screaming fire engine red exclamation point that Paul euphemistically expresses for us is all about…
“Then last of all He was seen by me also, as one untimely born. For I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.”
A miscarriage of birth is what we have all been at one time or another. Born out of time and place. Born spiritually immature and unable to comprehend the grace of God in Jesus Christ offered to us.
Given Paul’s words, maybe we can hear the sentiment that John expresses in his Gospel when he talks about the need to be “born again” with fresh ears. You know that troublesome passage that has driven us Christians to battle with each other!!! Paul, I think, would have no problem understanding John…
“Jesus said to Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."”
Indeed, Paul will use that same contrast over and over again. Earlier in First Corinthians Paul will write, when I was a child I thought like a child, I acted like a child. But thanks be to the grace of God in Jesus Christ, when I grew up I became an adult and put aside childish ways. I was like one untimely born, but thanks be to the grace of God in Jesus Christ I am now “timely born” (if there is such a phrase!).
So, anyone here want to confess having that feeling of being “untimely born?” Any one want to confess to having those moments when we see and experience the glory and the grace of Christ at work in our lives or in the lives of those around us and we feel so totally spiritually inadequate and unworthy. I won’t ask for a show of hands, but let me just tell you, that sentiment crops up too many times to count in my own life!
In Luke’s Gospel, when Christ calls his first disciples, Peter will have just such an Apostle Paul miscarriage of birth moment. So hear the word of the Lord from the 5th chapter of Luke’s Gospel…
“One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the Word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” The Word of the Lord…
Don’t you hate when someone shows up and tries to tell you how to do your job? How to live your life? How to improve yourself? How does that make you feel? I don’t know about you, but it makes me defensive and angry. And very, very resentful. You can almost hear those same sentiments in Simon’s voice as Jesus the carpenter tells Simon the fisherman how to fish. And yet, he listens and does as Jesus suggests. And the result is amazing. And revealing. And disheartening.
Simon was fine as long as he could go on living the way he always had. Happy to keep moving forward without looking at where he was going. Happy to not think about what might not be so good about his life. Happy to be ignorant. When Simon’s tidy little fisherman world is broken open by this carpenter from Nazareth, he realizes just how unworthy, just how “untimely born” he was. And it terrifies him. And he begs Jesus to leave him alone in his sin and misery. But Jesus calls him into ministry instead. He pushes that born again “reset button” and gives Simon a new life and a new vocation…fisher of men and women. Jesus gives Simon a timely rebirth.
On the Damascus road, Paul encounters Jesus and has the same scared sense of inadequacy. Of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Of having too much bad water go under his bridge with nothing good to show for it. And yet, Jesus’ words are the same. You can be born again. Born correctly. Born anew. Timely reborn. There is a reset button. My grace and my mercy and my love are sufficient for you. So don’t be afraid. I believe in you. I know your heart. I know what you are capable of. And I will remake you into something beautiful.
In the temple, God pushes the reset button on dirty-mouthed Isaiah and sends him out filled with the Spirit to prophesy to Israel.
So are you and I ones untimely born? Maybe or maybe not. Who can really answer that? Oh, we may feel like it sometimes, and our lives may bear witness to our untimely birth, but God certainly doesn‘t.
Come to the table. The table of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Come to the table where we who were untimely born come to celebrate. To celebrate our new birth. Our timely birth. Our new lives and new freedom and new hope in Christ.
Look long and hard at where your life has been and then come with joy to the table leaving what was behind. For you and I are no untimely born but reborn in the fullness of God's time. Come to the table in thanksgiving and leave with joy. Ready to answer God’s call. As someone who has been timely reborn.
Amen.
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