Sermon
4th March 2018 – 3rd Sunday in Lent
Text:
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 – How foolish!
There
are several Bible verses that I would call my favourite.
Today’s
reading includes one of those:
Paul
wrote, "We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to the Gentiles,"
Paul
knew that there was an offensive side to the Christian message to those who
didn’t understand – or as he called them –those who are perishing.
In
this day and age when Christian faith is mocked, ridiculed, rejected, ignored
and whatever other verb you want to put in there – there is no reason to dismay
because that is exactly what Paul is speaking about.
The
words "stumbling block" in the original Greek language can also be
translated as, "scandal."
And
that is often what the Christian message becomes; a scandal.
Unfortunately,
in an attempt to try and fit into the ways of the world, that scandal has been
minimized.
We
have made so many excuses or exclusions to the commandments that they are
hardly recognisable.
Many
Christians are unaware just how scandalous God's action in Jesus Christ are
Just
look at the scandal Jesus caused in today’s Gospel reading as he was not
prepared to let the temple become just another part of the world.
He
goes in and throws over the tables, makes whips and drives people out of the
temple.
When
was the last time we saw the church respond in such a way.
Instead
we try to compromise or justify so we don’t offend or turn people away from the
church – has this worked?
Sadly
today we have reduced the Christian faith to the most easily digested form
possible!
And
you know what – the world is still not digesting it.
The
Ten Commandments in our Old Testament calls believers to make a definite break
with the world around them - to have no other Gods, to not take God's name in
vain, to remember to make time regularly with God.
In
the Corinthians passage, Paul reminds us that the Christian faith revolves
around a cross.
In
Jesus’ time the cross meant death and defeat and shame.
So
too today, Christianity is associated with death, defeat and shame.
Just
as the people in Jesus’ time shook their head in derision at Jesus hanging
helpless from the cross, so too people look at the church with derision and
shake their heads in disbelief that we are still trying to bring our message
into this 21st century.
So
far as the people of Jesus’ time were concerned, the cross proved Jesus an
impostor.
And
that is what many are trying to prove today against the church – that we are
imposters.
To
the sophisticated Greeks in Jesus’ time, the idea of a dead carpenter being
worshipped as the saviour of the world seemed foolish.
A
message of an end of the world or judgment day seems foolish to many today.
So
too today is the message of the church calling people to repent before God’s
judgment brings the final curtain call on this world.
What
a scandalous thought that a cross might actually produce new life!
The
scandalous nature of our faith is revealed in the gospel lesson when Jesus
refuses to perform a sign.
There
is only one sign that the church and Christians are asked by God to show the
world.
To
love God with all our heart and to love our neighbour – including loving our
enemies.
And
that’s where the Christian message becomes scandalous and offensive even to
Christians.
Luther
once said, "Whatever your heart clings to and relies on is your god."
In
our world today, as there has always been, there are many gods to whom we can
give our hearts.
We
give our hearts to the one who went to the cross for our sins.
And
that’s where we lose the world when the topic of sin is introduced.
We
don’t mind calling certain people sinners – the murderers, the rapists, the
paedophiles, the African gangs, the Muslim terrorists..
But
hey, I’m a good person;
I
work hard to provide for my family – I even give to charities – don’t call me a
sinner!
But
the cross was not for a certain group of people that we call out as sinful.
It
was for you and me.
And
that’s where the cross becomes offensive because it works as a mirror to remind
me that it was MY sin that Jesus took to the cross.
And
the scandal is made even worse when what God did for us - loving us when we did
not deserve to be loved - God now asks us to do the same to our neighbour –
including our enemies..
People
are happy to lift up Jesus as an example of good living – helping the poor and
lonely – feeding the hungry – but that is not the Gospel message.
The
Gospel message is the cross – as Paul says – we preach Christ crucified: a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.
The
cross is a message to the world that things in the world are not right despite
how progressive we believe our ways are.
Murder
is murder – stealing is stealing – lying is lying – adultery is adultery – no
matter what spin we can put on it.
And
even if there is a reason to why – the only comfort comes from confessing it to
God as a sin and hearing his word of forgiveness.
Satan
will direct you elsewhere – everyone’s doing it – it’s not as bad as what
others are doing – it 2018 – he deserves it.
These
may explain but they don’t forgive.
Yes
it may be the 21st Century but that doesn’t mean what we have done to morals is
right.
The
cross reminds us that we have all strayed from God and are unworthy of eternal
life.
As
difficult as it is to preach the message of the cross, without a cross, there
would be no gospel.
Remove
the cross from Christianity, and we become just another club or charity.
It might make us unpopular but sometimes we
have to go into the market place and upturn the tables.
And
the first marketplace that Jesus visited to upturn was the temple – his
Father’s house of prayer – a reminder
that cleansing begins in our own place – in our homes and in our churches.
The
Commandments are a mirror that constantly call us back to show us where and how
far we have strayed from God.
But
they don’t leave us in despair but direct us to the cross where Jesus took our
sin – all our failings – and nailed them to the cross to receive God’s
forgiveness.
God’s
love and mercy.
And
then the cross sends us into the world to preach Christ crucified for the
world.
And
sometimes we have to upturn tables and make whips to drive people back to God.
Sometimes
a word of rebuke is what the world needs to hear.
Just
like a parent who has to discipline his or her children.
It’s
when a parent is afraid that their child will no longer like them that they
fear to discipline and try to become their child’s friend where respect is
lost.
We
should not be afraid to be different to the world and its ways.
If
the world changes, we don’t have to change in order to accepted by the world.
If
the world thinks we’re foolish for sticking to our beliefs, then that’s okay
too.
As
Paul said: God’s foolishness is wiser than the world’s wisdom.
If
the world thinks we are weak believing in God then so be it.
I’ve
often heard the church referred to as a “crutch”, as if that’s a bad thing.
A
crutch is needed at times to help a person who needs support – and I’ll be the
first to say I need that support, especially when I’m facing suffering or
death.
As
Paul also says – God’s weakness is more powerful than the world’s strength.
The
worst thing we can do is change our ways so the world will like and accept us.
It
won’t matter how much we change, Jesus says: You will be hated by everyone
because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew
10:22)
It
is really hard being church in the 21st century but I’m not sure it was always
easy in previous centuries.
Let
us remember that Jesus was put to death for his faith as was St Paul, St Peter,
St Stephen and many many more martyrs including an early church father from the
2nd century named Polycarp.
He
was given the choice to deny his faith and live or be put to death to which he
replied:
86
years have I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme
my King and my Savior?.
Let
us never compromise what we believe and never be ashamed to proclaim Christ
crucified because the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us – to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
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