Foolishness: A Meditation on 1st Corinthians 1

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; 

but unto us which are saved it is the power of God

As St. Paul opens his letter to the church at Corinth, he begins first by identifying the faithful as united with Christ in a common living and saving faith.  This faith was not their work so that they might glory in it, but rather it was the work of God who called them into His fellowship, just as Jesus had called the Apostles into that same fellowship.  Paul seems always quick to remind his hearers that it is God who created the world, and God who saves the world, rather than anyone else who might presume to do so.

In our age, such trust in God's providence is often considered foolishness by those who control the levers of power in politics, academia, business, and the bureaucracies of churches.  It would seem that nearly every place men gather together, they begin to measure their own power and intellect against each other, and thus begin a pecking order of who is to be preferred above or before another.  Political parties form, and within them they discern in their own wisdom who is to be preferred and who is to be rejected in the pursuit of power; academic school houses coalesce, and within them they create the opaque rules and rituals which determine whose voice and ideas will be prized and whose rebuffed in the pursuit of wisdom; corporations and industries aggregate, determining whose skills and talents will be valued and whose discarded in the pursuit of wealth and resources; church bodies build up their infrastructures as they solemnly declare who is inside and outside their communities, and whose pointy hat on whose pointy head shall be held as supreme over all in their pursuit of spiritual conquest.  Somehow, when people bring themselves together in their sinful pride, they find ways to accentuate that pride in communities which reflect and amplify their wicked hearts, justifying themselves in their own wisdom.  The politician claims his superiority by saying, "I am of the Elephant" or "I am of the Ass!"  The captain of industry says, "I am of Smith" or "I am of Marx!"  The academic says, "I am of Harvard" or "I am of Yale!"  The religionist says "I am of Peter" or "I am of Paul."

No matter how men aggregated themselves in their pride, it is merely their own wisdom and power which they worship as they do so.  Such pride easily forgets the distinction between creature and Creator, of redeemed and Redeemer, of saved and Savior.  Not one institution made by human hands brought the world into being, and not one of them will be standing when the Last Day dawns.  Not one academic degree was required to speak to the universe into existence, and not one of them will be worth anything before the Eternal Judge who is Himself all Wisdom.  Not one corporation was needed to order the resources of the universe, and not one of them will be solvent in the Eschaton.  Not one denomination or sect was present within the Holy Trinity to establish righteousness and holiness and love and beauty and truth-- and not one of them will endure before Him who is perfect unity in community, when His Kingdom has fully and finally come.  Quite to the contrary, every prideful work of human hearts and minds is bound in the fallen sinfulness of those who dream them up, and despite our fallen nature's inclination to receive them as eternal truth, none of them shall endure.

What does endure, however, is the Word and Wisdom of God.  He who was before all things shall also be after all things, and the wisdom He speaks by His Spirit into this fallen world will never falter nor fade.  That Eternal Word is the only begotten of the Father, the Eternal Son through whom and for whom all things were made, and of whom the Holy Spirit testifies without ceasing.  This believed Son, Jesus Christ, is the Creator of all the creation, the Redeemer of all those who have fallen into pride and foolishness, the Savior of all who are enslaved by sin, death, hell, and the devil.  This Jesus, crucified for the sins of the world, is the only Name given under heaven whereby all may be saved.  This Jesus, who was and is and is yet to come, has called all people to Himself in faith and repentance, that all might live in Him by His grace forever.

To the prideful wise of our age, such a message sounds like foolishness.  It does not help the politician's power, the academic's prestige, the businessman's profit, nor the sectarian's preeminence.  To a world which is dying by its own diseased hands, twisted hearts, and delusional minds, it is ridiculous to think that we are not the captains of our own ships, the masters of our own destinies, the saviors of our own souls.  But to all those who hear the voice of the Eternal Word speaking in tones which only the Spirit can breath into a human heart, such terrible Law and consoling Gospel is the power of God unto eternal life and salvation for all who will repent and believe.  This is the Light which shines unconquerable in the darkness of a fallen world, and though it may be freely rejected by those who sadly prefer their prideful darkness, it is the Light which always seeks to enliven every soul.  This is the Light of Christ which no darkness of man or demon can overthrow, and the love of God which desires all people to be brought into eternal fellowship with Him.  This is the power of God unto eternal life for all who will repent and believe, despite all those who ridicule and mock it.

This is the saving Light, Love, and Wisdom of God which comes to you this day:  Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of your sins, that through faith in Him, you might have restoration and life forevermore.  Let the bloviation of a self-impressed and dying age dissipate before the Word of God which comes to you, calls to you, and draws you into eternal fellowship with the Creator, Redeemer, and Savior of your soul.  Hear the testimony of the Holy Spirit as He speaks to your spirit, bearing witness to the love of the Father through the Son for you which is beyond time, place, and circumstance.  Hear the saving Word of the Lord break through all the pretensions and machinations of sinful men, that He might draw you unto Himself in unalloyed truth, beauty, and life.  Hear Him.  Repent, believe, and live.  Amen.