One in Christ

Toward a New Creation
A World Gone Wrong

God Set Things  Right

1 Corinthians 1:10-17  The Message

The Cross: The Irony of God’s Wisdom

¹⁰ I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common.

^11-12 I bring this up because some from Chloe’s family brought a most disturbing report to my attention—that you’re fighting among yourselves! I’ll tell you exactly what I was told: You’re all picking sides, going around saying, “I’m on Paul’s side,” or “I’m for Apollos,” or “Peter is my man,” or “I’m in the Messiah group.”
^13-16 I ask you, “Has the Messiah been chopped up in little pieces so we can each have a relic all our own? Was Paul crucified for you? Was a single one of you baptized in Paul’s name?” I was not involved with any of your baptisms—except for Crispus and Gaius—and on getting this report, I’m sure glad I wasn’t. At least no one can go around saying he was baptized in my name. (Come to think of it, I also baptized Stephanas’s family, but as far as I can recall, that’s it.)
¹⁷ God didn’t send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him. And he didn’t send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words.

For Reflection

From the beginning of Christianity, followers have developed multiple points of view regarding the Christ event.  I suppose the adage, "where little information exists, people will invent it!" applies.  The  Gospel then, as it is now, was counter-intuitive.  It was difficult to believe.  In many ways it was irrational.  Following Christ in response to a story of a Jew who preached counter to the Jewish law, befriended the outcasts, raised people from death, loved his enemies, and defeated death left many with unanswerable questions.

But because of the life of Christ the truth is knowable.  It requires, however, a willingness to study scripture, open and free discussion of the meaning of scripture, a willingness to alter beliefs when God speaks to you through many sources, and above all focus on justice, forgiveness, compassion, love, and most importantly prayer.

Pray

that you will live as though you were in the presence of God.  Pray so that your life is a holy witness the the resurrection.  Pray so that you may bathe in the wisdom and creativity of God.