Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. – Galatians 5:2

Today's Scripture Reading (February 28, 2021): Galatians 5

There is a new currency that has quietly swept through the world. Unlike some cryptocurrencies, almost everyone has already been involved with this new monetary system, probably because it operates alongside our national economic practices. Some are quite good at using it, even becoming a little richer because they have recognized its potential. Others let the currency slip through their fingers, wasted, not even identifying its value. I have to admit that I actually belong more to the latter than the former, not a fact of which I am proud. The currency? Points. They are offered almost everywhere, which might be why some of us miss the importance of the points currency. But make no mistake, points are an essential currency in our contemporary world.

But, what if you had the opportunity to buy something on points. It is not just a discount, but the whole price of something that you really want, and all that it is going to cost you is some of the points you have worked hard to earn. But as you pick up the item, to you, it just doesn't feel right. As you walk out of the store, the article just doesn't feel like it really belongs to you. And so, you walk back into the store and give the cashier the cash that you would have had to part with if it wasn't for your points, on top of the points you just spent on the item.

Paying cash for something that you bought on points makes no sense. And that is precisely Paul's point, except that it is even worse. The second time you bought it, at the moment that you passed over the money, you actually disabled the item you were trying to buy. The item you just bought no longer works as it was designed to function.   

The Galatian church had bought into the heresy that to be a Christian, you had to accept the demands of the Jewish law, including circumcision. The Galatian men were being circumcised, not because they wanted to be circumcised for some personal or health reasons, but because they wanted to accept the Gospel of Christ. The problem was that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the demands of the law operate in different spheres. Circumcision was a placeholder for a reliance on all of the law or the rules that we think are necessary to be good Christians. J. B. Lightfoot makes the argument that "Circumcision is the seal of the law. He who willingly and deliberately undergoes circumcision, enters upon a compact to fulfill the law. To fulfill it therefore he is bound, and he cannot plead the grace of Christ; for he has entered on another mode of justification" (J. B Lightfoot.) Paul stresses that if we accept the law or try to prove ourselves according to the currency of the law, then we have made the sacrifice of Christ of no value. Jesus's sacrifice is worthless to us as a result of our desire to keep the rules. And Martin Luther, reflecting on this passage, remarked that "tongue cannot express, nor heart conceive what a terrible thing it is to make Christ worthless" (Martin Luther).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Galatians 6

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law … - Galatians 4:4

Today's Scripture Reading (February 27, 2021): Galatians 4

Matthew lied. Yeah, the author of the first Gospel. At least by contemporary standards, the first words that Matthew wrote down in his Gospel are untrue. Matthew begins his Gospel with a genealogy, and the genealogy is wrong. And to top it all off, it looks like that Matthew purposefully messed it up.

So, what is wrong with the genealogy? Part of the problem is Matthew's assertion that "Jehoram [was the] the father of Uzziah" (Matthew 1:8). Yes, Jehoram is an ancestor of Uzziah, but not his father. Jehoram is actually the great, great grandfather of Uzziah. Jehoram lived from 882 B.C.E. to 842 B.C.E. Uzziah was born in 799 B.C.E., over forty years after the death of Jehoram. Three kings are missing between Jehoram and Uzziah; Ahaziah, Jehoash, and Amaziah.

The second problem is that it appears that Jeconiah is counted twice. "And Josiah [was the] the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel" (Matthew 1:11-12). Jeconiah is counted both in the lineage from David to the Babylon Exile as well as in the line from the Babylonian exile to the birth of Jesus Christ. None of this would really matter if it weren't for this statement, which follows the genealogy "Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah" (Matthew 1:17). Except that that is just not true. At best, Matthew was wrong.

Well, okay. Not really. It is part of the problem with understanding a written document that originated almost two thousand years ago. Matthew wasn't interested in counting generations; he wanted to send his readers an important message. And to understand that message, we have to dissect the number "fourteen." Seven was considered to be the perfect number. It was the number of the days of creation, which included the Sabbath. Seven indicated completeness. And fourteen is the double of seven.

Understanding what Matthew saw in the number fourteen allows us to understand the apostle's message. The message that Matthew wanted to send his readers is that when the time was complete, God moved significantly in the midst of the Jewish people. When the time was complete, the reign of King David began. When the time was complete, the Babylon exile began. And when the time was complete, Jesus was born to Mary. This is Matthew's message, and it has nothing to do with the number of literal generations between one event and another. Matthew's original Jewish audience would have understood that, but we miss it.

But Paul understood Matthew's message and restated it to make it clear to the Galatian church. When the set time had fully come [when the time was complete], God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law (Galatians 4:4).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Galatians 5

So also Abraham "believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." – Galatians 3:6

Today's Scripture Reading (February 26, 2021): Galatians 3

Astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson argues that "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." It is true of anything that is based in reality. And the reverse is also true. Belief cannot make anything real that is not. Some might believe that there is life on other planets, that mathematically it would be almost impossible for life not to exist in the vastness of space. But, belief or a lack of belief will not change the truth about extraterrestrial life.

The same is also valid about our belief in God. Your belief or your disbelief in God cannot change either his existence or his absence. If God exists, that existence is not dependent on my faith in him. The idea that Santa Claus can only fly on the power of our belief in the Spirit of Christmas is a fairy tale. Belief is always impotent to change reality.

That is not to say that belief is unimportant. If we are willing to believe in something, really believe, then it is possible to change the world in which we live. Belief encourages us to act and makes us attempt the impossible so that the dream can be achieved. But, on the other side, the choice is still ours. We can choose to go against our beliefs. I firmly believe that debt is one of the things in our culture that has the potential to keep us poor. Paying interest in the high teens, or in some cases in the high twenty percent range, or even worse, on our credit cards, or paying 600% on payday loans when the bank will only give us a half percent on our deposited funds, is committing economic suicide. It is also making the rich richer. But regardless of how much we believe, many of us still choose to go into debt.

But there is also a tangible difference between "believing in something" and simply "believing." If I believe in something, I can still violate my beliefs and act in a different direction. But if I simply believe, then that also indicates a level of trust.

Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 to the Galatians; "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." But there is a qualitative difference between Abraham's belief, which Paul is recommending to the Galatians, and the belief in something that James condemns. "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder" (James 2:19). The difference? The demons believe in God but are unwilling to follow what their belief demands. Instead, they believe in God and will do whatever is in their power to oppose him. But Abram simply believed God. He believed, and he trusted. Whatever it was that God directed, Abraham followed. At a time when the law had not yet been given, trusting God was enough.

And at a time when the law has been fulfilled by the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus, trusting God is still enough.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Galatians 4

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my only granddaughter, Emilina.

Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. – Galatians 2:1

Today's Scripture Reading (February 25, 2021): Galatians 2

There are always people that we are indebted to, people who made us who we are. For me, my list includes parents, pastors, teachers, and significant friends who bothered to invest in me while I was young and some who decided to invest in me when I was much older. We all have a list. None of us became who we are all by ourselves, regardless of how big we might believe we have become. Someone saw something that others didn't see and encouraged us to become something that we often thought was impossible. And in the life of Paul, one of those people was Barnabas.

Paul's biography is an interesting one. He was a student at the school of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), a coveted place of study for any Jewish Rabbi. He is introduced to the Christian audience as the great persecutor of the church (Acts 8:3). But the plan that Paul had for his life was changed on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-7), as God personally issues his challenge to the disciple of Gamaliel.

Paul goes to Damascus, where he is educated in the Christian faith by a disciple named Ananias (Acts 9:10ff). Paul based his activities out of Damascus for the next three years before making his first trip since his encounter on the Damascus Road to Jerusalem. "Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:18-19).

And then Paul went home to Tarsus. No one is sure why, but for the next decade, the one who would eventually become the apostle to the Gentiles lived out his existence in obscurity in and around Tarsus, a city located in modern-day central Turkey. Approximately ten years passed before Barnabas, the son of encouragement, "went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch" (Acts 11:25-26).

And then, fourteen years after Paul's first visit, Paul returned to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas and Titus. But the question that burns in my imagination is, "what if Barnabas had not gone to Tarsus to find Paul." What if he had gotten busy with the gospel and the work at Antioch and had decided that he didn't have time to go and find the Rabbi he had met a decade earlier. What was it that after ten years caused Barnabas to decide that it was time to go Tarsus and find this disciple called Saul?

The answer is God. God had a job for Paul, and it was time to get the disciple of Gamaliel back into the game. Gentile believers were going to need to hear the gospel from him, as did the church in Jerusalem, who were beginning to follow a path designed by man and not a route ordained by God. They all needed to be shaped by Paul, even if Paul didn't realize it at the time.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Galatians 3

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. – Galatians 1:11

Today's Scripture Reading (February 24, 2021): Galatians 1

One of my first philosophy papers in college was a treatise on the subject of "How Do I Know that I am Awake." It is an interesting question. How do we know that we are awake, that all of this thing that we call life is not a dream or, depending on the moment, a nightmare? Maybe the best answer is the life has a different quality to it. Being caught in a dream feels different. But the problem with that answer is that, while I can recognize the dream when I am awake, I have had many dreams that I did not identify as a dream when caught in the midst of them. As long as I was caught in the grip of the dream, the dream felt real. I recognize that I am one of the lucky ones; I remember my dreams. But it may be that the only way that I can tell that I am awake is that I recognize the quality of the dream, something that I am not always able to do when I am asleep.

So, I am awake. Maybe. A foolish argument? Of course, but so are many of the philosophical questions imagined by humans. And the answer to these questions asked by the human mind can only be pondered and answered in human philosophies. And human philosophies are always fallible. After all, my answer to "How Do I Know that I am Awake" is likely very different from your answer.

Paul makes a very human play on words in his statement to the Galatians. The phrase "the gospel I preached" is literally "the gospel I gospelled to you" or "the euangelion I euangelizo." But this play on words is also where the interference of human thought ends. The gospel Paul preached was not a human philosophy; it was not highlighted by human efforts to answer the unanswerable questions that only we can imagine. This is not about "how many angels can dance on the head of the pin," or "can God create a rock that is too heavy for even him to move," or even "how do I know that I am awake." These are examples of human questions to which only humans care about finding an answer. Paul's message was a direct revelation from God; it was the things that God wanted his children to know. Paul's philosophy of the gospel was given its birth on the Road to Damascus as Jesus spoke directly to him. "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me'" (Acts 9:3-4)? It was a question that Paul, then called Saul, could only answer out of his human experience. The philosophy that had caused him to be a persecutor of the emerging Christian Church had grown out of the human mind.

It would be the last time that Paul would voluntarily follow a human philosophy. Now he walked a path that Jesus had laid out for him, and that originated in the mind of God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Galatians 2

My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen. – 1 Corinthians 16:24

Today's Scripture Reading (February 23, 2021): 1 Corinthians 16

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel argued that "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." Wiesel should know. He had a front-row seat to one of the most hateful, ugly, and heretical movements of history, a movement that caused the deaths of around six million Jews. And yet, at least for Elie Wiesel, it was indifference that was the real enemy. Maybe this was because he was a witness of what must have seemed, at times, like an indifferent world that allowed the Nazi's to kill so many of his countrymen and women during the Second World War.

Paul is closing his letter to the Corinthians. The word "Amen," placed at the very end of the letter, is actually uncertain because it does not appear in all of the manuscripts. It is quite possible that the "Amen' was added later. If that is true, and even if the last word is Amen, it is essential to note that Paul's last substantial word to the Corinthians was to say the name of Jesus. It matches the rest of the letter because Jesus is mentioned throughout the Epistle.

But here, the name of Jesus is invoked in the name of love. Paul's last statement was an assurance to the Corinthian church that the Apostle loves them in Jesus. The letter has been, at times, a stern rebuke of the Corinthian's sin. It is a treatise against division. There is very little that is redeeming in Corinth. But Paul wants the Corinthians to know that he loves them despite the rebuke present in the letter. He is in their corner supporting them, and he always will be. It is in love that the entire letter, both the encouragements and the rebuke, is written.

If Paul were indifferent, if he had given up on the church, or was finished with them, he would never have bothered to write the letter. But Paul loved them, and because of that, they were worthy of his rebuke.

It is the love of a parent for his or her children. The author of Hebrews states it like this.

Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:9-11).  

Paul loved the Corinthians like a parent. And his words had been given to warn them (1 Corinthians 4:14) and, sometimes, to shame them (1 Corinthians 6:5). But either way, the words were given to the Corinthians because Paul loved them in Christ Jesus.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Galatians 1

And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? – 1 Corinthians 15:30

Today's Scripture Reading (February 22, 2021): 1 Corinthians 15

On January 6, 2021, some American citizens illegally entered the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Amazingly, many of them didn't disguise themselves in any way. They proudly took pictures of themselves as they violated American law and proudly threatened the lives of prominent politicians who were hiding in undisclosed locations in the building. The images they bravely, or maybe stupidly, published on their social media pages. The question is, why would they do that? As the police began to arrest the perpetrators, admissions of guilt complete with photographs seemed to be published everywhere on the internet, making their task just a little easier.

The answer is that they likely didn't realize that they were doing anything wrong. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, had invited them to be there. Besides, they knew exactly what was going to happen. The all-knowing Q, this is starting to sound like a Star Trek episode, had decreed that Donald Trump was going to return for his second term as President. And Donald Trump was never going to prosecute his supporters.

One of the supporters of the Capital building invasion explained precisely what she believed was going to happen. On inauguration day, the television screens would all go black. At that moment, the military would take control of Washington. And, when the dust settled, they would place Donald Trump back on his throne. When that didn't happen, there was a shock that reverberated throughout the Q community. But, by that time, it was too late for a do-over. In the aftermath of inauguration day, at least some of Q's followers left the movement. For those who seemed too proud to leave, they simply changed the prophecy.

Paul is writing to the Corinthian Church about the promise of the resurrection. Paul believed that the resurrection of the church in the future could be depended on because Jesus Christ had been resurrected from the dead. And if they wanted to know if the resurrection of Jesus was real, all they had to do was look at the lives of the Apostles. If the resurrection is "fake news," why would they risk their lives to tell the story. If the resurrection was fake, then the intelligent thing to do in the light of persecution was to leave the moment or change the prophecy or the teaching.

The change of behavior in the followers of Christ is still one of the critical pieces of evidence of the truth of the resurrection of Jesus. The followers began to celebrate "The Lord's Day" (Sunday) because Jesus really was raised from the dead. They suffered persecution because Jesus really was raised from the dead. And many of them would be executed because they refused to leave the movement or change the prophecy. And all of this was possible because Jesus really was raised from the dead.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 16

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. – 1 Corinthians 14:1

Today's Scripture Reading (February 21, 2021): 1 Corinthians 14

There is a struggle in the contemporary church between orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Orthodoxy simply means right belief. And it is orthodoxy or right belief that receives most of our attention. Orthodoxy is at the center of our conversations and arguments. It is essential to know what it is that we are supposed to believe.

Orthopraxy receives much less attention. Orthopraxy means right practice, so orthopraxy exists at the level of our actions or what we do. And if our actions follow our beliefs, then orthopraxy will always follow orthodoxy. It is easy to assume that if we don't do the right things, then it must be because we don't believe the right things. As a result, pastors, priests, and spiritual teachers attempt to teach and stress the need to believe the right things; to be orthodox in our beliefs and thinking.

But that is not necessarily true. It is quite possible to believe the right things and yet not do the right things.  And as long as orthodoxy remains just an argument that we make, then it isn't very helpful. Orthopraxy is necessary if our faith is to have any importance in the world in which we live.

Paul has just argued for the primacy of love. And now he encourages the Corinthians not just to make love a verbal argument, but that they would actively follow the way of love; that the orthodoxy of love would be transformed into the orthopraxy of love. Paul encouraged them to go out and be the presence of love in the world. And if they loved, then they could eagerly desire the various gifts of the Spirit, especially the gift of prophecy. But love had to come first.

But Paul also seems to see a hierarchy here. Love must come first, but for those that have been given the spiritual gift of prophecy, it needed to be second. Too often, we see prophecy as the act of speaking about events that are coming in the future. Inside the Christian church, prophecy is most often tied to end-times theories and the second coming of Jesus.

But that not entirely true. Prophecy is often present in ordinary preaching and teaching. According to Paul, the essential characteristic of prophecy is that the one who prophesies speaks for the express purpose of strengthening, encouraging, and comforting those who are listening (1 Corinthians 14:3), which makes prophecy the perfect companion of love.

So, go out into the world and act in love. And if the Spirit has spiritually gifted you to prophesy, then do so in love. Then all who hear you will be strengthened by your love, encouraged by your love, and comforted by your love. And, because of love, the world will be transformed before our very eyes.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. – 1 Corinthians 13:4

Today's Scripture Reading (February 20, 2021): 1 Corinthians 13

Ancient Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu argued that "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." In both, Lao Tzu seems to be arguing that love is more than just a feeling; more than just a vulnerability brought on by an emotional state. Strength and courage are tangible assets. With strength and courage, we can change the world around us. Without them, we are doomed to live in a world that shapes us and condemns us. Without strength and courage, we can do very little.

In case the Corinthians might wonder what exactly Paul was speaking of when he referred to love, the Apostle proceeds to describe to the Corinthians the concept of love in concrete terms. Love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast, and love is never proud. Love is visible in our actions. And if these attributes are not present in our lives, then you do not love.  

Peter told his readers that "the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). People were becoming frustrated that the return of Jesus was taking longer than they expected. Peter explains that the delay is partly because God is patient. Paul would argue that this patience is evidence of his love. Because God loves the world, he is patient, delaying the return of Jesus.

Love cannot remain a theory. The words "I love you" are nice to hear, but real love needs to go beyond just the words. Love is seen in this world through the patience and kindness of those who love. If I react with impatience, then I am not reacting with love. When I am unkind to those around me, then I do not love. When I am envious, or boastful, or prideful, I cannot argue that I am reacting with love.

John Chrysostom, the archbishop of Constantinople, argued in the late fourth century or early fifth century that the word μακροθυμέω (makrothymeo), translated as patience in 1 Corinthians 13, is used in the context of a person who is wronged and can get revenge on the one who has perpetuated the wrong and brought injury, but who also refuses to use that power. That person is showing a practical love to the world.

Love is an action; it is not passive, and it does not reside merely in the words that we say. The world sees love in the activities that we take and the ones upon which we refuse to act. And if we say that we love, but our actions do not show love, then the world will understand that our words are really just a lie that we tell. But when we get our love right, then we become a people in possession of strength because we have received love, and that is courageous because we have given love.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 14

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my grandsons, William and Henry

There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. – 1 Corinthians 12:6

Today's Scripture Reading (February 19, 2021): 1 Corinthians 12

Life requires all of us if it is going to function appropriately. One of the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic's central features was a re-evaluation of the term "essential worker." An essential worker was no longer reserved for just police officers, firefighters, paramedics, doctors, and nurses. Essential workers also began to include grocery store clerks, those who restocked the grocery shelves, and the men and women who collect our trash. Some people even began to complain that governments had begun to widen the definition of "essential worker" so far that everyone seemed to be included; everyone was essential.

But maybe that is the point. We are all essential. To survive in this world, we really do need each other and all of the activities in which we participate in our daily lives. Whatever job you work at, you are essential to the well working of this world. Maybe it doesn't feel like it now, but you are critical to the planets operation, regardless of the job you provide to generate an income or the volunteer hours you freely give to provide for those less fortunate. We are all essential. This world doesn't work without you.

Paul is trying to make precisely this point. We all go to work, we all receive different paychecks, but the amount of our financial compensation does not reflect how important we might be. It is the one mistake that we often make in our culture. We think that receiving more money somehow indicates that we are more critical to the world around us. But Paul doesn't believe that that is true. Paul stresses that we all perform essential jobs and tasks; we are all involved in a myriad of activities, but in the end, what makes us essential is that we allow God to work through us as we do our jobs and complete our activities. What is valid for the sacred world of spiritual gifts and ministries is also true for the things we do in the secular world.

So, go and be essential. Because regardless of what you are doing, the world needs you to go forward. And whether you are a garbage collector or Doctor, whether you work in a grocery store or a big office building, or possibly just volunteer at a local children's center, God is working through you. And in the end, that is all that really matters.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13

No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. – 1 Corinthians 11:19

Today's Scripture Reading (February 18, 2021): 1 Corinthians 11

"Sarcasm. It's from the Greek, sarkasmos. To bite the lips. It means that you aren't really saying what you mean, but people will get your point." The definition of "sarcasm" belongs to Christopher Moore, in "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." The problem is that sarcasm often isn't all that obvious, and too often, we miss the point. We see sarcasm and react to it as if it is the literal truth. We just aren't as good communicators as Moore seems to think that we should be.

Contemporary experts often read these words of Paul and react as if this is the literal truth, that there was a critical reason for the division that had occurred in Corinth. The Corinthian division was to show which of the Corinthians were God approved and which were judged to be lacking. Paul doesn't tell us if it was the disciples of Apollos or Cephas or Paul who were the real Christians, or maybe it was the ones who claimed to follow Christ that were the ones who were God approved. But Paul is telling us that this is the purpose of the division and differences inside the church. How can we know who is right if we all look similar?

The problem with this interpretation of Paul's words is that it seems to go against the central theme of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Paul, throughout the letter, is pushing for radical unity for the Corinthian Church. The Apostle's message is clear; we are in this together. In the very opening of the letter, Paul names his thesis;

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul (1 Corinthians 1:10-13)?

In light of his letter's introduction, I can't help but think that as Paul comments that the differences within the Corinthian Church show which of the Corinthians are "God approved," that there is some unrecognized sarcasm in Paul's message. Paul isn't saying what he means but rather argues the opposite, hoping that the Corinthians will get his point.

We still carry on in our churches, looking for the things that will set us apart from the others around us. We still try to prove that we are the real Christians because we hold to this subset of beliefs, rather than understanding the incredible strength that God has placed inside of our churches and our denominations precisely because we all hold slightly different ideas and opinions. We need to hear Paul's sarcasm and recognize that God's approval is maybe a little wider than we sometimes profess.    

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. – 1 Corinthians 10:17

Today's Scripture Reading (February 17, 2021): 1 Corinthians 10

My preferences in food are fairly, well, simple. If we are going to go out for a meal, McDonald's or Boston Pizza works great for me. Or, on special occasions, maybe a visit to Montana's Steak House. I have visited fancy restaurants and spent a lot of money on a meal, but often I have found that all I really wanted was to leave the meal on my plate and head for a fast-food joint on the way home. Maybe it is in part a function of my food allergies, or perhaps these are simply the foods to which I have grown accustomed. I can still hear the voice of my grandmother complaining about my food choices. As a kid, she would ask me what I wanted to eat, and my answer would invariably be "cheese dreams" (open-face cheese sandwiches grilled with strips of bacon) or "hamburgers." Grandma was a world-class cook, and with any food available to me, these were my consistent choices. I can still hear her voice decrying that all I wanted was simple "cheese dreams and humbugs."

Sometimes our class division is most apparent in something as simple as the food that we eat. Fancy restaurants serve different types of food than the cheaper fast-food places that dot our communities. And different cultures have very different dishes. Indian cuisine features locally available spices and herbs and is also influenced by Hinduism and the area's cultural expectations. And Indian Cuisine is very different from Italian cuisine, which features recipes and foods that developed across the Italian Peninsula.  Italian cuisine is dominated by simple foods, many with only two to four main ingredients. This simple cuisine quickly spread throughout the world with the coming of the Italian diaspora.

Paul is making the argument that the church is one body. We might originate from different cultures, think differently about the world, and perhaps even eat different foods, but we are united into one body. And he offers the communion table as an example. The communion table does not feature many different loaves, reflecting the people's various cultures and tastes. When we partake together of the Lord's Supper, we all eat from one loaf. At the Table, everything that separates us should fall away. We come together, eat the bread, and drink the wine, and we recognize the body of Christ in the community who is eating this meal with us.

In 2013, Andrew Wilson and Rob Bell debated the idea of Christian homosexuality and the Bible. I know, it is a loaded debate. Bell argued on behalf of his LGBTQ+ brothers and sister, and Wilson made the argument against the concept of Christian homosexuality. And regardless of what you might think about either participant in the debate, the moment that hit me was when Rob Bell made this comment.

Well, Andrew's my brother. Like, if we got out the bread and wine, we'd both take it, so I don't… I understand it one way, I read it one way, and he reads it another way. Is that it, then? Do we just part ways? Or do you take the bread and the wine, and does Christ hold us together? Is there something that trumps whatever differences we have? Like that's the question (Rob Bell).

 I believe that Paul would argue that there is something that holds us together. Despite all of our differences, we meet at the Table of the Lord; we partake from one loaf and one cup. And at that moment, all that separates us falls away, and we truly become one body. At the Table, we become the "Body of Christ."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 11

If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 9:12

Today's Scripture Reading (February 16, 2021): 1 Corinthians 8 & 9

Athenian (Greek) historian and general Thucydides, in his "History of the Peloponnesian War," observes that "Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must." The idea still holds for what is right in our society, but it also holds for what we call rights in our culture. We have a thing about rights that I sometimes don't understand. For instance, we believe that we have the right to say whatever we want on our social media pages, even if it is a lie. Those who try to explain the lie are often maligned. Some boldly hang on to their rights, believing that "fact checking" is nothing more than a new form of censorship. But is that true? Do I really have a right to say whatever is on my mind, even if what I want to say is untrue or steps on someone else's rights?

What rights are important to you? The truth again often relates to money and power. The more power you have or the richer you are, the more privileges you likely believe that you possess. And even inside the Christian Church, we are a people who staunchly stand in defense of our rights. We have a right to protest against other religions. We have a right to demand that the world shapes up to our beliefs. I often hear the complaint that other faiths have rights, but our privileges are continually getting stepped on. It is time for the Christian church, the belief system upon which most Western nations were built, to stand up and demanded that our rights be protected.

But I often wonder if our "demands" would fall on deaf ears if Paul were with us. Paul had already urged caution to the Corinthian Church concerning their rights. "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak" (1 Corinthians 8:9). You have rights, but they take second place to our interactions with society at large. As soon as our rights become problematic to our culture, as soon as they become ridiculed on late-night television, as soon as our rights compromise our Christian belief, it is our rights that should be placed on the back burner. It is not that, at that moment, we should stand up and demand the culture give to us the respect that we somehow think that we deserve.

Paul stresses the idea here. Yes, the Apostle confirms that he has rights. Paul possessed rights that he did not use because he was afraid that his rights might become the enemy of the Gospel of Love that he taught and professed. Love always trumps rights.

It still does. Do we have rights? Of course, we do. But our rights in this world take second seat to loving the world. Any right that might interfere with our message of love needs to be set aside. After all, we are not the masters of the world; we are the servants. I know that is not a popular thought in our culture, which is rights conscious. But Christian love is a fragile thing, and it can often be broken by something as simple as our rights.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 10

Now for the matters you wrote about: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman." – 1 Corinthians 7:1

Today's Scripture Reading (February 15, 2021): 1 Corinthians 7

In "Pride and Prejudice," Jane Austen writes, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." It is still the opinion of some people. If you are single, you must be looking for someone who can take your singleness away. The problem is that not all marriages are created equal. A marriage between two friends can be a source of strength. But a marriage that is entered into just as an attempt to fill the emptiness seldom works. And usually, the union joined in warding off loneliness became just another source of pain in the life of the participants.  

The Corinthian Church had written Paul a letter. They were looking for confirmation of a belief that at least some in the church desired to adopt, ultimately arguing that sex was immoral and needed to be avoided if a person was going to be considered to be spiritual. Maybe this was another part of the division that had developed in Corinth. And so, someone in Corinth penned a letter to Paul looking for support for the concept. We don't know if this person or group within the Corinthian Church had also written to Apollos and Cephas (Peter) to ask the same question, but if they hadn't, the reason they chose Paul was not likely that the majority in Corinth trusted the Apostle to the Gentiles. We know that that is not true. They selected Paul over Peter as the recipient of the question because Paul was single and celibate while Cephus (Peter) was married.

The Corinthian error was that if sexual immorality is dangerous, then maybe sex is dangerous as well. Therefore, real Christians should abstain from sex. Part of Paul's response to Corinth might be summed up in the concept that he has already suggested to the Corinthian Church. "'Do not go beyond what is written.' Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other" (1 Corinthians 4:6b). By condemning sex, the Corinthians were overturning something that had been written, encoded in Genesis at the beginning of all things; "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it'" (Genesis 1:28a).

Nineteenth-Century Presbyterian Theologian Charles Hodge argued that if this idea flourished within the Christian Community, the result would be a normalization of divorce. "The idea that marriage was a less holy state than celibacy naturally led to the conclusion that married persons ought to separate, and it soon came to be regarded as an evidence of eminent spirituality when such a separation was final." But Paul realized that that missed the point, and he would gently remind the Corinthians that marriage and sex had a place within the Christian Community. Paul believed that neither marriage nor singleness should be forced on the people who joined the Jesus movement.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 8 & 9

I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? – 1 Corinthians 6:5

Today's Scripture Reading (February 14, 2021): 1 Corinthians 6

In "Great Expectations," Charles Dickens writes, "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Our shame motivates us to action. When we are humiliated, we will do things to change the place where we find ourselves. And our tears are often the evidence that the change has reached the level of our hearts. Tears are useful because they are part of our actions and our desire to change something in the world that exists around us.

Paul openly says that he is trying to shame the Corinthians. Is it possible that no one within the community is wise enough to judge a conflict between believers? Or maybe it is a matter of trust. How is it that two Christians would rather take their disputes to a stranger than to a believer, a follower of Christ? For Paul, the situation didn't make sense.

Paul is not talking about a conflict between two strangers. For that, there are judges who can intervene. This is also not about a violation of the law. Again, those should be taken before a judge. What this is about is a conflict between two people within the church. This is about a disagreement between people who should have been brothers and sisters, loving and existing in a relationship characterized by forgiveness. Paul says these conflicts should be taken before a trusted Christian friend or church leader and not to a judge. So, Paul's question is, why are you taking your friends and spiritual family to court.

The problem is that there isn't a great answer. We need to be committed to other solutions when things divide us from within the family. Because if we don't, if we insist on taking each other to court, then the church will divide, weaken, and fall.

And division was precisely what Paul was seeing taking place in Corinth, and the reason that he wanted the Corinthians to feel shame. And whether the tears fell in Corinth as a result of the shame, or not, he needed the Corinthians to be "more sorry, more aware of [their] own ingratitude, and more gentle."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 7