The Power of the Cross
Scripture:
1 Corinthians 1:18–31
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” (Isaiah 29:14) Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Reflection:
1 Corinthians is a letter to the church at Corinth written by the apostle Paul in about 54 A.D. Paul had established the church just a few years earlier and now, during his absence on a missionary journey, the newly converted Christians were floundering in the seaport city full of sin. There were reports of division within the church and confusion about leadership. Worshippers were divided over who they were to follow; Paul, Appollos, Cephas or Jesus. There were lawsuits between them, conflicts over sexual immortality and any practices not specifically forbidden in the scriptures. At the center of all of this controversy was intellectual and racial pride. (Source: learnreligions.com)
Easterners are proud of their ancestry and race. The Jews were the children of Abraham, the founder of their race, and Abraham was a servant of God. Even though their racial glory had passed and they were living under foreign oppression for hundreds of years with little hope of restoration, the Jews looked down on their rulers. Some men would rather starve than do any manual labor. Even when they are poor and uncultured, people let their pride reduce them to poverty and destitution. To console themselves, the Pharisees, priests and scribes dwelt on the glory of Israel in the early days. They tried to make other people believe they were too good to be ruled by or take orders from the Romans and too holy to copulate with other races. (Source: Gospel Light by George M. Lamsa)
Public schools and colleges were unknown in the East at the time. “Education consisted almost exclusively of sacred literature.” (pg. 354, Gospel Light by George M. Lamsa) There were very few books. Men and boys would take turns reading from the book and a few of exceptional ability would be trained more fully by priests and rabbis. Some acquired an education by constantly attending religious services and committing portions of the Scriptures and liturgy to memory. Some people knew the writings by heart but could not read them. Even today, some bishops and priests can read but they cannot write. Writing is considered an artform all by itself and is done by professional scribes. Ironically, these scribes are recruited from the ranks of the poor. (Source: Gospel Light by George M. Lamsa)
Reading and writing are unpopular in the East amongst the rich. This is because until recent times, education had no value in the East for doing business or anything else. There were no banks or commercial houses. (Source: Gospel Light by George M. Lamsa) This was an unlearned population by human standards. In Paul’s letter he writes, “Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” For just as Jesus knew the Jews had to be humbled, so too did the apostle Paul know the Corinthians had to be humbled. But, Paul says, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” Paul wanted the Corinthians to stop arguing about what was specifically forbidden or not and get back to concentrating on the message of the cross and be united in Christ.
He reminded the people of Corinth right in the beginning of today’s scripture that as it was written by the prophet Isaiah, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” (Isaiah 29:14)
This, Paul says, is why God chose what is “foolish in the world to shame the wise” and what is “weak in the world to shame the strong.” Perhaps this is why God chose us. In his infinite wisdom, through the message in the cross, God says that all one needs to be saved is to believe in him and nothing else. Our proclamation of salvation through Christ crucified is a stumbling block for all who require signs or wisdom. It is still a stumbling block today for all who disbelieve based on their “intelligence” or superiority. The message is simply something that simply cannot be disproved. Perhaps even more so now, two thousand years after Christ died for our salvation.
This my friends, is the beauty of Christ and the infinite wisdom of God. By believing in the message of the cross, we have the power of God. We do not have to argue or prove our faith. We have simply only to believe that Jesus died for us; that God loves us so much that he gave his only begotten son in order that we may have eternal life. Belief in this message of the cross wields the power of God.
Personally, I really like this reminder from Paul. We live in a culture that is very prideful of its “intelligence”. Education often times equates to financial prosperity. Simple things in life are often picked on. For example, not too long ago I saw a television commercial were, through an actor, the advertiser made fun of an individual who used a pencil and paper in a board meeting instead of a laptop. They likened the individual to a caveman. Even one of my favorite television sitcoms, The Big Bang Theory, has made fun of a Community College Degree. It seems that nothing is ever “good enough” and society keeps raising the bar higher. So, while Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian worshippers nearly two thousand years ago, his words are still relevant today.
I find the message of Paul’s letter and the message of the cross uplifting. They give me hope as a writer and ministry student that in spite of the fact that I lack a graduate degree, I might still accomplish all that I aspire to be through the power of my belief. In fact, today’s message really resonates with me because of something that happened a few years ago. I was working for a person who had a Master of Fine Arts degree when I foolishly decided to share a little of my writing with her. Now it was a draft, and I told her it was a draft, and had in fact asked her for feedback on the piece thinking that with her education, she might be able to help me refine my work. As difficult as it is to believe this could happen in our town and to a person of my age, she didn’t give me any feedback but afterward seemed to begin to nitpick my grammar in the text messages I sent her.
Not long after I got done working there, I bumped into one of her friends on the street who knew that I am in a ministry program and we talked about how that was going. Then the woman said, “How’s your grammar?” So apparently, it had been a topic of conversation between them. That was a little demoralizing at the time, but because I have faith I kept right on trucking. I kept writing. I kept studying. In fact, I have worked even harder to improve my grammar and my punctuation. I stayed in my ministry program and here I am.
The good news is, that after preparing today’s message, I can even laugh about what happened now. Its kind of silly, isn’t it? For grown women to act this way. I don’t let the fact that I do not hold a Master of Fine Arts Degree stop me from writing. So, what if I get picked on about grammar and spelling. Why should it bother me? I have the power of God which was distributed to me through the cross. I don’t need any person’s permission, approval or a certificate to write or to accomplish what God wants me to do. I may even use a pen and paper from time to time if I so choose.
I wouldn’t be standing here today if I did not have the power of God through my simple faith that destroys “the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning.” And so my friends, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” Amen.
