Wednesday 02 December 2020

Psalm 34.11-22

Background

There is something intensely personal about Paul’s writing at this point. Not for the last time, he feels the need to defend his integrity and to set out his vocation as a Christian apostle. This was an age when professional teachers and philosophers could set up schools and use their powers of oratory to earn a good income, rather like some motivational speakers (and some Christian evangelists) today. Because of this, Paul is sensitive to any suggestion that his evangelism could be a vehicle for self-promotion or a way of making his fortune at the expense of gullible hearers. In fact, his motivation is very different. Being an evangelist makes him vulnerable to suffering rather than turning into a successful celebrity. Nevertheless, he carries on with it because that is what God has called him to do. And he is not simply delivering words about God's love in Christ – however important they are; he is so passionately committed to his fellow-Christians that he is sharing his very self with them. There is an important truth here. The Christian message is much bigger than this or that personality, however powerful. Yet the good news of Jesus Christ only becomes real when we see it expressed through the lives of those who have become immersed in it.

To Ponder:

• Think of some of the positive and negative images of evangelists. How do you recognise authentic evangelism?
• How might your Christian faith make you vulnerable?