“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.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Paul says to the Corinthians, “Consider your own call, brothers and sisters…” Why would Paul say this to the church in Corinth? Because of the issue between the wealthier and poorer members of the church, status was an issue that could possibly infiltrate the church. The wealthier members could be considered wiser — because of their wealth — but this did not represent the majority of the members. Most were poor.

Just before these verses, Paul was making the case against wisdom as being the only defining essence of true knowledge.

“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.” (Verses 21-25)

No matter if you are wealthy or poor, have you considered today your calling in your faith and your calling in the life of the church? Has it changed? Are you following where G-d is calling? Paul says that G-d does not only call the wise, or the noble or the powerful to action – but also calls those who are just regular people. Of course, in the eyes of G-d we are all precious, and valuable. We often think that G-d only calls those who have special talents, unique gifts, or unusual offerings. But, Paul says, G-d chose what is low, what is weak, what is foolish by human standards to show G-d’s power – which is the righteousness found in Jesus Christ. Consider your call, my brothers and sisters. Where is G-d calling you today?

Pastor Dave

“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.” 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, the one that we call 1 Corinthians is not his first letter to this troubled church. We learn in 1 Corinthians 5:9 – 12 that he had previously written to the Corinthian church to deal with an issue around sexual immorality. Unfortunately, we don’t have the first letter. Paul most likely arrived in Corinth in circa 50 CE shortly after he established churches in Philippi and Thessalonica. This letter called 1 Corinthians most likely was written sometime around 53 or 54 CE. The makeup of the Corinthian church is quite complex – most of the members were poor with only a few people having some wealth or status.

Now, it was the fact that only some of the people had wealth and status that created some of the most pressing problems Paul needed to deal with. It seems that the wealthy were able to adjudicate matters in court; possessed homes and staff large enough to host the church including services, meals and Eucharistic celebrations; and were able to be the first to arrive for dinner to get the best food and drink.

The poorer members, however, arrived late because they were working and did not have the same privileges. This imbalance between classes caused many of the struggles between the Corinthian believers. Paul’s opening to the Corinthian church is a call for unity – to be in the same mind and purpose. I think this is an excellent letter to refer to when the church is split and suffering because of disagreements. It also reminds us that since the beginning of the church, members have had a difficult time being “of the same mind”. As humans, this is one of our biggest struggles — which we see so often today in many aspects of life — and the church. It reminds us that we must be diligent in seeking unity.

Pastor Dave