Christian Bragging

1Co 1:26-31  Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

Paul writes this letter to a church he initiated in Corinth, the capital city of the Roman province of Achaia.  This city had originally been Greek, but was destroyed by Roman soldiers in 146BC. Julius Caesar then re-populated it with a variety of people from all over the world. This was a city port made up of ex-soldiers, slaves, merchants, sailors, prostitutes and fortune seekers. Paul points out the obvious when he notes that “not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.”    

What is beginning to emerge however, is a community where people were beginning to compete for status. All too often people who have little social status attempt to remedy this by making others feel inferior. People of the same cultural group insult each other in an attempt to feel superior, and strong personalities seek power over communities. Paul writes to the Christ-followers in Corinth to urge them to abandon their desire for dominance, and to remember that their only status is that of a follower of Jesus.

Sadly this if often true of Christian communities today. Let us re-read the words of Paul for our own time – and be reminded that our status, our life, our wisdom, and our goodness are rooted in Jesus. If we are to boast about anything, then we boast of what the Lord has done.   

Prayer: Lord God of All Creation: thank you for my life. May I always remember that all I have comes from you, so that I might not be distracted by my own self-importance. Amen

 

Third Sunday after Epiphany

“The Call to Ministry”
(Scripture reference page 65 A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants)