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1:18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

1:20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. (NRSV)

Commentary

One doesn't normally think of such a Pauline text as having an apocalyptic orientation. Yet the notion is not new, nor even unique. In her fascinating book, The Cross and Human Transformation: Paul's Apocalyptic Word in 1 Corinthians, Alexandra R. Brown makes quite a case for Paul's apocalyptic word of the cross as an "empowering word of liberation, peace, and reconciliation" for a divided Corinthian community.

From my point of view, this text provides its own apocalyptic interpretive key at the very beginning. Its theological center is Christ crucified--the substance of Paul's "message" to those cantankerous Corinthians.

How is the message of Christ crucified apocalyptic? To the perishing (reading Paul apocalyptically, one might say those of "this present age") Christ crucified talk is foolishness and weakness. Yet to us who are "being saved" (again, apocalyptically, those of "the age to come"), it's the power and wisdom of God. Note the perishing and the saved are not static entities, but in process (are perishing and being saved). The books are still open and every human commitment, whether to this age or the next, is still part of the equation--chiefly because God's grace remains an open possibility even for the perishing! Consequently, both its present foolishness/weakness and its future urgency are part and parcel of the Pauline "message" of Christ crucified.

Accordingly, Paul tries to prove his assertion about the message of Christ crucified not by making logical points or pointing to demonstrative miracles and signs, but by asking First Church Corinth to reflect on themselves. After all, their powerlessness and foolishness prove the very point Paul makes through the cross. When this age passes, we who in this world are "nothings" only look forward to being something. Besides, God will turn into nothing everything which this age proclaims as something: e.g., power or wisdom.

So here's the upshot for First Church Corinth: why bother boasting? why bother splitting into proud factions? We are the nothings of this world. So if we boast, we boast in this age's foolish, powerless one, the same one whom we proclaim as Lord of us who are being saved: Christ crucified.

So what about us some 2000 years later? We in today's church shouldn't be surprised at the Corinthian problem. After all, we fight, too. We've been gifted with our portion of the truth. So we hold fast to our truth with one hand while slugging it out with the other. Whether conservative or liberal, evangelical or mainline, today's church is no different: we fight for what we believe in. And why not? We're all convinced we've got the truth! We are all wholly persuaded of our own righteousness. Just take a look at ourselves. We've become a kind of ecclesiastical wrestlemania. The way we're divided, you'd think we were fighting like those cocksure wrestlers on TV. In one corner stand the Bible thumpers. They're so sure of their truth they use the good book to beat other folks upside the head. In another corner sit the educated elite. Favorite weapon?: their own words, dripping with sarcasm and disdain. In yet another corner are spirrrrritual folks. They float like a butterfly and sting like a bee--nobody's really a Christian, they claim, without a certain "experience." Finally, the traditionalists parade around the ring. They apply the same cruel standard to any and all opponents: "We've never done it that way before." And so the battle rages. For we are convinced we've got the whole truth. We fight. Cause we're sure we're right.

The problem is, we've all got enough power to prove our point. Every faction in Christendom can assert its claim to truth because it has power behind it. Take the church growth folk, for example. They use charts and graphs to prove their point. To them rising membership quotas demonstrate their Gospel truth. Still other Christians point to the bottom line. If churches are wealthy, established--certainly that proves their claim! Still others highlight an unbroken line of tradition, giving power to impose truth from the top down. "As it was and ever shall be," they intone righteously. Looks like we've little incentive to give up on our truth claims. We each have enough power to demonstrate our hold on truth.

But what's God's answer to truth and power, whether at First Church Corinth or closer to home in North America?: Christ on the cross. God's idea of incontrovertible proof is Christ crucified. Of course, our world is skeptical. In our world the power of the cross is like that old algebra problem you learned in school. Remember that nonsense equation? After factoring out all the letters and common numbers, you're left with algebraic nonsense: 1=0! But hold it! Perhaps the zero half of that crazy algebra equation is right. With Christ, after all, every human claim to absolute truth and proof through power is laid bare and shown to be nothing, zilch, zero. Think about it! The truth of tradition won't hold up. For didn't the religious leaders use tradition to accuse our Lord? And the truth of the educated elite doesn't survive the cross either. After all, it was the erudite Roman upper class who sentenced our Lord to die. And as for the truth claims of those who play the church numbers game? Well, who do you suppose shouted for our Lord's blood but the crowds! Truth is Christ crucified knocks the pedestal out from under every human claim to absolute truth and power. They're shown for what they are: sham powers not worthy of our divided allegiance. Any claims to absolute truth or power are laid to rest beneath the cross. This is God's answer to our feeble attempts at monopolizing truth or power: Christ crucified.

Well, we church folk should have seen it coming. Like the Corinthians, we should have known better. How does Paul put it?
"not many of you were wise by human standards," Paul says, "not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth."
Well, truth be told, we're no great shakes either. Sure, compared to the rest of the world, we have wisdom and power galore. Technology at our fingertips, money and influence enough to get what we need along with some creature comforts. But in the great scheme of things we're still somewhat far down the pyramid of power. And as for our churches--they've long since lost the influence they once had. We who call ourselves mainliners, well, we already know we've gone the way of the dinosaurs! But perhaps this is our moment of opportunity. Maybe our now foolish and less powerful churches can be open again to the wisdom and power that come from without! Perhaps now in our weakness we can be open to the odd power and wisdom of God.

Of course, that means change. That means we'll need to make room for other folks unlike us. If the cross levels all human claims to power, wisdom and authority; we'd better be ready for all kinds of folks. Is it any wonder the Gospel writers assemble such a motley crew at the crucifixion?: some women, perhaps a beloved disciple, low-ranking dice-playing soldiers and a couple of crooks for good measure! So we of all people should know there's no room at the foot of the cross for status seekers. With our churches disestablished, we'll have to embrace any who claim the cross as their hope. Perhaps the obliteration of our absolute truth claims and will to power will be something like the fall of the Berlin wall. Once our mighty edifice has been reduced to rubble, there will be room to dance, celebrate and party again. Of course, we'll never succeed in keeping undesirables off the guest list. But that's how life looks at the foot of the cross. Wide open to God's mercy and wide open to God's future for us in Christ.

So here's the question for the church: why bother with proud factionalism? None of us--none really amounts to much in this world. So if we boast, let us brag on this age's foolish, powerless one: Christ crucified. And that way, when we do boast, at least we can do so...together.

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