The Cross as the Power of God

<div class="x_elementToProof">For all of the reasons indicated in my introduction it seems like today is a good day to talk a bit about church and think about who we’ve been, who we are, and who we are becoming together here at Knox.  More and more these days, we seem to hear new members and visitors who say with joy:  “I didn’t know there was a church like this.”  Our sense of mission, music, inclusion, curious faith…is often at the root of these comments.  Knox is not entirely unique in these ways, but this is an unusually good place. It takes work for a congregation to be a really good community, and its easy for church’s to lose their focus; This has always been true.  So today we’re going to look to scripture for some guidance on being a faithful and vital community, committed to the way of Jesus Christ.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">We begin with the text—today’s scripture lesson.  I know that many of you are active Bible readers and have devoted considerable time to studying the texts of our faith.  I also know that for many of us, the readings you hear on Sunday mornings need some context:  So let’s begin with some context:</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">The reading is from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.  The Apostle Paul was the most significant teacher of the Christian faith in the early church, and wrote more pages of our Bible than any other single author.  Paul was both a Jew and a citizen of the Roman Empire, he was a deeply religious person who was at first a persecutor of the early Christians, but he underwent a conversion experience, and then became Jesus’ greatest evangelist.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">It is not clear if Jesus ever meant to start a church, but this was certainly Paul’s intention.  He spent the rest of his life traveling around the Mediterranean to various cities and towns, sharing the message of Jesus and forming Christian communities.  The most complete telling of those journeys is in the Book of Acts.  We also learn about Paul’s work through the letters he wrote; when Paul left one community and moved on to the next, he kept in touch by writing letters, and those letters form much of the content of our New Testament.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">The lesson you heard today comes from the Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, the church at Corinth.  Corinth was a fascinating city; it’s in the south of Greece, not far from Athens, on a tiny landbridge that leads to the large southern landmass knows as the Peloponnese that juts out into the Mediterranean—it separates Rome to the west from Turkey on the East. Numerous ambitious leaders tried to build a canal at Corinth, but until dynamite was invented in the 19th century no one could do it.  Corinth was a strategic port, home to diverse peoples:  to Jews, Greeks and Romans, and traders and merchants from plenty of other parts of the known world, home to old money and those who had recently struck it rich, and lots of everyday people looking for their chance at a better life.  So Paul’s letter makes it clear that in this particular church there are rich and poor, Jew and Greek, old believers and newcomers…and lots and lots of disagreement between all of them.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">When Paul himself was organizing the church at Corinth and gathering with them regularly, things were probably complicated enough.  When he left, things really got confusing.  The letter to the Corinthians is page after page of Paul helping the Corinthians navigate their disputes.  Some understood the church as a restoration movement within Jesus’ Judaism, but others thought it was an entirely new thing.  Some saw the Lord’s Supper as a gathering to feed the hungry while others seemed to understand it as more of a wine tasting.  Part of the congregation was in an uproar over one of their members who was romantically involved with his stepmother.  Some of the members were suing their fellow church members in civil courts, and were criticized for not resolving their conflicts peacefully, between friends.  The Corinthians asked Paul to help them navigate all kinds of arguments:  about marriage and divorce, about whether one could eat food that had been used in a temple sacrifice—was it sinful to eat it or was it wasteful not to?  And they argued about more esoteric matters, like what happens to you after you die.  And in all of these conflicts they were essentially divided between insiders and second class citizens within their church.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">Paul, not surprisingly, says, “hold the phone, folks!”  Jesus came into the world for all of us.  We are only living out the message of Christ if we are doing so together.  We don’t need to agree on everything; but we need to try to see the value and importance of each other—even those with whom we disagree.  What unites us is Christ, and his love for us.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">These conflicts come through clearly in Paul’s own words; he writes:  “I hear that there are quarrels among you…” and “I appeal to you to be knit together in the same mind and purpose.”  He acknowledges that in the church at Corinth there are Jews who find wisdom in their ancient traditions and Greeks who find wisdom in the great philosophers.  Fine, Paul says.  Both have their place; but neither has the market cornered on the truth.  In the church, he says, we preach Christ crucified, by which he means we are united under a God who loves us so much that Jesus is willing to suffer the very depths of human pain just to bring us together.  Paul doesn’t expect that the Corinthians’ differences will go away, but he wants them to try to live together.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">You can see in this letter from 2000 years ago that the more things change the more they stay the same.  Churches today are always threatened by divisions, the in-group and the out-group.  Sometimes divisions are based on one’s political leanings or position on a social issue, how much volunteering one does or how much money you can give, whether you feel that you have a close relationship with one of the pastors and if you do, what happens when that person lets you down—or leaves.  What happens when you have a personal disagreement with another member of the church, or find yourself at odds with something that is preached in a sermon or taught in a class, the style of music that is offered or what the Session decides to do with our budget.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">In all of it you can hear Paul speaking to us just as he did to them:  Hold the phone, folks.  Jesus came into the world for all of us—for the one you disagree with just as much as you.  “I hear that there are quarrels among you…” and “I appeal to you to be knit together in the same mind and purpose.”  Here we preach Christ crucified, which means we are united under a God who loves us so much that he is willing to suffer the very depths of human pain just to bring us together.  That seems to be what church is for—to bring us together.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">I sometimes hesitate to preach about church, because church isn’t really the point.  You all are here to connect with God and one another, not to maintain an institution.  And sometimes these letters of Paul sound to me like a lot of navel gazing about church matters that may not bring people closer to God—in fact it may drive some away.  But the fact is that being a good community of human beings is really important; and it’s a big challenge, whether in church or some other kind of gathering.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">When church is done well, the results are really significant.  Consider for a moment what the church is for, not just 2000 years ago, but today, right now, and here:  In a season where government assistance programs are being drastically reduced, Knox feeds hungry children, provides rent and housing assistance to people who are facing homelessness.  In a season where horrible war crimes and starvation are being perpetrated against the Palestinian people, our justice ministries continue to advocate for them, without engaging in anti-Semitism.  We pray for the victims of mass shootings in Minneapolis and violence on the streets of Cincinnati—and we take action in response.  We support after school and weekend programs that create safe places for young people, and we support mental health services, and help parent raise healthy children.  We offer care and support to the sick and the grieving, to those in our midst who are experiencing addiction; we mentor young people, teach about forgiveness, kindness, and generosity, and we raise our voices in song because in the midst of a hurting world, we think it’s important to keep doing something beautiful, together.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">We don’t do any of this perfectly, and we don’t have to do it perfectly.  But we have to do it.  It is why we are united in the love of Christ.  And we have to work through our divisions as we do this work, because it requires all of us, together.</div>
<div class="x_elementToProof">The continuation of communities like this is the glue that holds life together for so many people, and is a means of growing, thriving and finding meaning and purpose for so many others.  We must continue the work, for Christ needs all of us.  Amen.</div>