Stand Fast in the Gospel

St. Patrick Presbyterian

Stand Fast in the Gospel

April 7, 2024 • Rev. James M. Holland • 1 Corinthians 15:1–2

We are now in the season of Eastertide. It’s the season after the Resurrection and lasts until Pentecost so we have roughly seven Sundays. During Eastertide, we celebrate the Resurrection. This year we are really celebrating it as we will be talking about The Resurrection of the Dead for the next several weeks.

To do this, we are looking at the clearest teaching in the Bible on resurrection, I Corinthians 15. Why do we do this? Because what we believe about the resurrection of the dead affects how we live and view the world right now. N. T. Wright says that there are two questions that matter: “First, what is the ultimate Christian hope? Second, what hope is there for change, rescue, transformation, new possibilities with the world at present.” (N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope)

So join us Sunday as we look at why Paul says to “stand fast in the gospel” and basically, the gospel is resurrection! The implications are enormous, not only for eternity but for us right now. Hope to see you Sunday.

Remember, all Sunday school classes will meet at their normal time of 9:15am, and worship is at 10:30.

We Shall All Be Changed

May 19, 2024 • Rev. Joshua Smith • 1 Corinthians 15:50–58

No one is asking me for fashion advice. I’ve never really cared for clothes, and I became even less inclined to participate in style when I realized that it continually changes. You mean to tell me I need new clothes not just seasonally, but also according to the whims of teenagers and Frenchmen? No thank you. In fact, after a recent week among the monks of Christ in the Desert Monastery in New Mexico, I had almost resolved myself to radically simplify – maybe just jeans and a black t-shirt every day like Steve Jobs. Then I remembered that this would not be acceptable to my wife, as my outfit often serves as merely an accessory to her own. I have already made vows, after all. So, I don’t fuss over clothes. But over a decade ago I was teaching through Colossians and I got to the part in chapter 3 when Paul says we are to clothe ourselves with Christ. That sent me down a rabbit trail where I discovered that in some ways, the whole Bible is a better story about clothes! From nakedness and shame in the garden to the resplendent glory of wedding garments in the new creation, what characters wear (or don’t) often says something about the grace of God that is our everything. You can’t even feast in the Kingdom without the right robes! The thing I find most interesting about this theme right now is that the function of clothing has shifted in our little corner of history. There has certainly always been a sense of fashion and pride in appearance that is enhanced by a wardrobe, but the primary function of clothing has much more often been to communicate and even to aid in one’s vocation. I know what you do by what you wear; you’re able to do it better because of its cut and design, its features, and maybe even colors. These days, however, clarity of purpose has been eclipsed by the illusion of self-expression. As we wrap up this Resurrection of the Dead series, we will imagine together what it was like for the disciples to be “clothed with power from on high” on that very first Pentecost Sunday. Is there a connection to the end of 1 Corinthians 15, when we are all “changed,” having “put on” the imperishable? I have a hard time not seeing it.

Heavenly_ Bodies

May 12, 2024 • Rev. Joshua Smith • 1 Corinthians 15:35–49

In recent years, May has become a calendaring nightmare. The convergence of end-of-school, civic, and extracurricular events with beautiful weather means that even Mothers’ Day is far more frantic than she deserves. This is the month of end-of-year exams, graduations, performance recitals, dress up days, awards ceremonies, soccer tournaments, parties for kids unfortunate enough to have been born in this cruel season, crashing into Memorial weekend trips to the lake. Oh, and of course we also want to make sure we faithfully celebrate the Ascension so that we’re ready ten days later for all the Pentecost revelries. Of course, I’m joking about that last bit. We don’t live in a time or place where the liturgical calendar is a factor in this conversation. The number and range of obligations outside of that are staggering. How much worse it feels it’s gotten since all the lockdowns ended! In fact, I’m proposing a swift, orderly change in name: from “May” to “Must.” Stacked social obligations have always led me to dreaming of making my escape to a sleepy town in the Mediterranean and spending afternoons at the anti-Cheers, where nobody knows my name. Often the fantasy alone is enough to keep me going. I think a lot of us were taught to think of the afterlife in this kind of way – a sort of great escape of the spirit from the troubles of the body. A permanent vacation from life as a reward for surviving the harassment! But this week, as we transition from the historic fact and implications of Christ’s resurrection to the future guarantee of our own resurrections, we’ll be challenged again on that idea. The question of what our bodies might be like in the New Creation pushes us to reckon with both the physicality and immediacy of our ultimate state in the present day. Channeling N.T. Wright, “Resurrection is great, but it’s not the end of the world!” So, I hope to see you this weekend as we honor Christ (and mom, too!)

Living the Resurrection

May 5, 2024 • Rev. James M. Holland • 1 Corinthians 15:20–28

Eugene Peterson, surveying the religious landscape of his day came to this conclusion: "The word 'christian' means different things to different people. To one person it means a stiff, upright, inflexible way of life, colorless and unbending. To another it means a risky, surprised-filled adventure, lived tiptoe at the edge of expectation...If we get our information from the biblical material, there is no doubt that the Christian life is a dancing, leaping, daring life.” (Eugene Peterson, Traveling Light). I suspect most of us have seen this same thing. We have seen religious communities that reflect a joyless existence mainly committed to what they are against. Those communities have little draw to them and certainly are not telling a better story. Yet, sometimes we see people and communities that don’t take themselves so seriously and dare to risk, entering the fray of life in all its complexities and pitfalls. It takes a lot more courage to do the later. Paul writes about living in the power of the resurrection and I confess, it is a challenge. This week we will look at this in some detail. Because Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection of the dead, it means at his coming we will be resurrected as well. For most of us, the resurrection is merely a point of comfort against the day we die. For Paul it was the engine that drove him from one daring feat to the next. It was the power of another world that animated his existence and kept him going courageously from one beating to the next, one shipwreck to the next, and pushing the gospel to the ends of the world. Paul lived! Like Jesus in dying he lived. I dare say, his life was heroic. Armed with the gospel and in the resurrection power he rarely thought of safety, comfort or security. What makes this even more ironic is he was a rabbinic scholar, not someone setting out for adventure for it’s on sake or because he was bored. Can we do that? Does the gospel give us the same resources? Well, we will talk about it this Sunday. I hope to see you there!