Sermon 3rd March 2024 – 3rd Sunday in Lent
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 – foolish behaviour
Have you ever been called a fool for being a Christian? I have. Have you
ever felt like a fool in front of others when a discussion about Christianity
comes up? If so, then don’t be alarmed or fight it because that is exactly what
we are learning about ourselves according to the worldly understanding of
Christian faith. Which is what Paul says in today’s reading:
The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. The
message of the cross is about our salvation – the gift of eternal life in
Heaven. So those who reject God’s offer of salvation have no option but to
ridicule it because it doesn’t make sense. Paul follows that up with - but to
us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Maybe you’ve gotten embarrassed when you’re with a group of friends and
the topic of religion comes up and people are making fun of Christians, and you
remain silent. Or maybe one of your favourite TV shows or comedians starts to
make fun of the Bible or Christians. Do you stop watching – do you boycott –
maybe you’ve had a bit of a snigger at it. As much as it would be good if you
could argue back and convince them otherwise – sometimes that’s just not going
to happen and you could find yourself out of your depth because they are
raising some very challenging comments about the Christian faith that are hard
to defend and has everyone around them agreeing.
If the Christian faith was easy to defend then we wouldn’t need faith to
believe it – just clever arguments. In fact that’s exactly what St Peter says
when he later talks about his account in the Transfiguration. And remember,
Jesus told him not to tell anyone about this until he had risen from the dead. He
said - For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the
powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We SAW his majestic splendor WITH OUR
OWN EYES. There are many arguments that people will confront us with that can
actually have a detrimental effect on our faith. Like – if Jesus rose from the
dead then why hasn’t he shown himself. That’s not a valid argument otherwise
when Jesus was challenged – come down from the cross and we’ll believe in you –
then he would have done so. Or remember the rich man and Lazarus.
The rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers –
they’ll believe if someone from the dead comes back. Abraham says they won’t
believe even if someone returns from the dead.
So many times after performing a miracle Jesus would instruct the
recipient of the miracle to not tell anyone because they just won’t understand.
Which is what Jesus says at the end of our Gospel reading: After he was raised
from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they
believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. And we have the
example of Doubting Thomas after the resurrection who was not present when
Jesus showed himself to the other disciples. Unless I see the nail marks – I
won’t believe. On this occasion Jesus responds to that request because it was
important for the Apostles to have that eyewitness account. But he follows that
up with – blessed are those who believe without seeing.
So Paul knows how our message is going to be received – as foolishness. But
he doesn’t want us to be dismayed about this but accept that this is how the
world will see our Christian faith. So Paul says that rather than become
defensive to work on your own faith and allow God to deal with those who try to
put us down. God says: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. (I, not you) Has
not GOD made foolish the wisdom of the world? In fact, God decided, through the
foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For God’s
foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than
human strength. So don’t be led astray and away from your faith. Even Jesus
faced the foolishness of his people who didn’t get him. Even his own family
thought he was mad: In Mark 3 he says – Jesus’ family went to take charge of
him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
In today’s Gospel the Jews said: What
sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus
answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The
Jews tried to apply human logic and wisdom to his answer, “This temple has been
under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three
days?” But Jesus was speaking of the
temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered
that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus
had spoken.
Much of the Christian faith is foolishness to the world: Born of a
Virgin. A king born in a barn in a feeding trough. A victory over death by
dying on a cross. The saviour of the world humiliated – spat upon – and mocked.
The mighty king riding into town on a donkey.
St Peter gave his advice on how we approach this issue. He said to live
out your faith and In your hearts revere
Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you
to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and
respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against
your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
Notice – firstly be an example – live out your faith. Secondly – always
be prepared for the moment to share. Thirdly – gentleness and respect. Lastly –
keep a clear conscience. And in doing this we don’t need to attack. No, Peter
says by your good behaviour THEY will be ashamed of the way they treat you.
Jesus said, before he died, love one another and everyone will know
you’re my disciples. And in the 10 commandments God has shown us how to live a
good life. Not in order to attain eternal life but to be a blessing to others. And
when Jesus was asked which of these was the most important – Love God with all
your heart and love your neighbour as yourself. And Jesus gave an example of
what this looked like when he told the parable of the Good Samaritan. Helping
everyone – even our enemies. Loving our enemies and praying for those who
persecute us. Again – foolishness to those who don’t understand what and why we
do these. But that’s because they don’t understand how much God loves them. That
God loves them so much that he sent his one and only Son to die for them. That
while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
God made him who had no sin to become our sin so we could become God’s
righteous. Foolish behaviour by God – by the world’s standards. But for us it
is such Good News because it is the power and assurance of our salvation.
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