1 Corinthians 2:1-12
The people of Corinth had a reputation among first century cities of being hard living, hard drinking, and unruly. Paul had lived in Corinth for a year and a half, talking to people there about Jesus and how Jesus’ followers lived in community. He taught them to care for each other and to get along. Then he moved on to other towns and things in Corinth fell apart. He got reports of infighting, misbehavior, and general chaos among community members. This letter is his attempt to put things right.
Paul reminds the people that he didn’t come to them with high-minded philosophy – with big words and bigger ideas. There were plenty of philosophers in his world, but he chose a different approach. He brought them straight-forward teaching about practical things. Above all, he brought them Jesus’ own teaching about how to live the best life possible in difficult circumstances. He taught them ”nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
From a 21st century mindset, Jesus crucified sounds like fancy theology and complicated thinking. We have 2000 years of philosophy about what crucifixion means, most of it about ways God is manipulating the world to accomplish cosmic things. In the first century crucifixion carried none of that baggage. Crucifixion was a daily reality in the lives of ordinary people. It was excruciating and bloody. At one point Roman soldiers executed so many people in and around Jerusalem that they caused a shortage of wood. This wasn’t a justified execution of real criminals who deserved to die. It was the way Rome frightened people into obedience. Jesus did nothing illegal. His message was nonviolent. Even Pilate who tried him found no evidence to convict him. Yet he was crucified because Rome could do anything they wanted to anyone they wanted. It was a pure abuse of power and it happened every day.
What can we compare first century crucifixion to that gives us a sense of how horrific it was? Maybe black men stopped for a traffic violation which leads to their death. There’s no reason for it. Usually there’s no crime and certainly not one worthy of execution. Yet day after day people die because their skins are darker than ours. What words describe that reality? Futility? Despair?
When Paul preaches Jesus crucified he’s preaching the daily reality of life under Roman domination. He’s talking about injustice, domination, crushing taxation, dying for the crime of breathing the same air as a Roman soldier passing by. His audience understood the hardships of that life because they lived it too. Surely they knew people who had been crucified for less offenses than Jesus. Maybe they would be next.
And yet…and yet Paul tells them that Jesus taught another way of living that brought peace and joy and justice right under the noses of the Empire and still remained invisible to them. In spite of the horrors of their lives, they could live in community, care for each other, and find goodness among themselves. Paul taught them this way of life by teaching them the words of Jesus as he knew them. Love your enemies. Share your bread. Do unto others what you would have others do to you. Overcome evil with good.
Rome kept the pax romana, the Roman peace, through violence and domination. They used fear to keep people in line. It meant you could travel and do business across the whole Empire in relative safety, have good roads and clean water, pay your taxes and be left alone – unless you were one of the unlucky ones. The unlucky ones were crucified on a whim, carried as slaves to far places, brutalized as an example of what Rome could do just because… In contrast Jesus and Paul and others taught a different kind of peace. Theirs was a peace built of compassion and mercy. They valued human life and dealt kindly with one another. They made sure no one went without food, clothing and shelter. They healed disease and healed relationships. Without confronting Rome, they made it possible for people to experience life in a very different way. They made it possible to know that life can be good in spite of what Empire is doing around you.
Jesus and Paul taught that no matter what Rome does – even taking your life – they can’t change your heart unless you let them. You always get to decide what kind of person you will be, and you can always choose to do good and be good.
There are some things about living in our time that are like the first century and many things that are quite different. We talk often about what we want to change in our world. We long for more justice, compassion, and equity. It’s important that we pay attention to those things and that we use the considerable power we have to work for change.
But it’s also important to start with the basics and one of those is what Paul tells us today – you get to choose how you are and who you are. And God sees you as amazing.
In a world where most people simply didn’t matter, Jesus brought a much different message: you are infinitely loved and valued by God. You are loved. You are a treasure. God notices you and cares what happens to you. You don’t belong to Rome, you belong to God.
In its own way, our time can be as difficult as any other time. There are messages around us every day that try to tear us down. We don’t look as good as we should. We don’t make as much money as we should. We don’t have the perfect family we should have. We aren’t as athletic as we should be, or as healthy, or as funny, or as smart. All of that may or may not be true. This IS true: God loves you. God believes in you. God will never give up on you.
Paul was teaching the folks in Corinth that it’s possible to form a community which treats people well and values them just because the exist – before they do or say anything at all. They had formed a community like that. Then they lost it. They began arguing and treating each other badly. Paul doesn’t give up. He starts teaching them from the beginning how to do it again, and they remember and start over.
The church is the community of Jesus Christ where people always matter. It’s the place where you count just like you are and where folks believe in what you can be. Sometimes we get it right. Sometimes we don’t, and we have to ask for forgiveness and try again. We intend to be folks who don’t just long for a better world, but we create it. Right here. Right now. We can live into a better way. Each and every one of us is essential in that effort. Thank you for who you are.