1 Corinthians 9:1-16
Am I not free? Am I not an apostle?
Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2If I am not
an apostle to others, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my
apostleship in the Lord.
3This is my defense to those who
would examine me. 4Do we not have the right to our food and drink? 5Do we not
have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other apostles
and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6Or is it only Barnabas and I who have
no right to refrain from working for a living? 7Who at any time pays the
expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any
of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk? 8Do I say
this on human authority? Does not the law also say the same? 9For it is written
in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the
grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10Or does he not speak entirely
for our sake? It was indeed written for our sake, for whoever plows should plow
in hope and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of a share in the crop. 11If
we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material
benefits? 12If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more?
Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather
than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13Do you not know that
those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple,
and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar? 14In
the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get
their living by the gospel.
15But I
have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may
be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that—no one will deprive
me of my ground for boasting! 16If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no
ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not
proclaim the gospel!
Paul’s ministry was not easy. He met with opposition from outside the
Christian community as well as inside the community. Paul begins to address these with some
arguments.
In spite of all these things Paul
claims, he ends with I have made no use of these rights. I wave all these rights, but here is why I
proclaim as I do! Paul proclaims because
it is his duty.
When I think of duty I often don’t
think of it as some I would enjoy or “want” to do. It is something I have to do because of
outside forces. Looking up the
definition of duty, Miriam Webster defines it as something that is done as part
of a job or something we must do because it is morally right or because the law
requires it. Does duty need to be
something we sense we have to do, grudgingly?
In the ELW (the red/cranberry hymnal
in our pews), the Eucharistic prayer (the prayer that could be said as we
prepare for communion) begins like this, “It is our duty and our joy that we
should in all times and in all places give thanks…..” Duty and joy go together. Yes, some things in life are a duty that we
simply have to do. However, proclaiming
Jesus in word and in deed can and is a duty and a joy!
I have the privilege to have been
called by God and by this congregation to proclaim in a very public way. I have the opportunity to walk with people in
their most joyous of times and the most difficult. I can’t imagine an opportunity or a duty that
brings me such joy. Joy meaning
satisfaction, a deep feeling, a peace beyond what I can imagine; even in the
most trying times of life.
We all have this opportunity, this
duty. Martin Luther said the church is
the “priesthood of all believers.” This
means that we all have the duty to share in the proclamation of the
gospel. We walk with each other,
daily. We are part of a community,
called to witness and to proclaim with each other and to encourage and invite
others to be part of this joy.
With your devotions today, how would
you respond to this call of duty? Is it
out of obligation? Joy? Experience?
Gratefulness? Fear?
May the Lord grant us the joy, the
courage, and the faith to live out our duty in joy, now and forever. Amen.
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