(Sarcasm) As you may have heard, we have a political election coming up on Tuesday, although many of you may have already voted. And it appears as though it is a rather important one. Polls suggest there will be a major upheaval in the leadership of our nation – with the possibility that control of both the executive and legislative branches of government could swing into the hands of a different political party.
I don’t know how things will turn out. I don’t know if we will have answers by Tuesday night, which is usually the case. I don’t know if the results will be contested or not. What I do know, however, is that no matter how things turn out, the tension in our nation will not be lessened, at least not in the short term. Different perspectives on the truth – or perhaps I should say different claims of is truth – are deeply entrenched. Different perspectives have: their own schools of thought, their own leaders, their own experts, and their own news organizations.
Those differences did not develop in just the last four years. Those differences have been growing over decades. Tuesday will certainly be a major clash of differences, but it will not result in tensions being lessened; at least, again, not in the short term.
I think the passages from Paul’s writings to the Corinthians that we read today speak to our country’s situation. And reading them on All Saints Day gives them additional perspective.
Let’s go in reverse order and start with Chapter 6 and then look back at Chapter 3. In 6 Paul says to the Corinthians that he hears there are lawsuits among believers. He says this doesn’t surprise him. Perhaps someone had written to him asking for his opinion on whatever it was that was the root of these lawsuits. Whether that is the case or not, Paul’s response tells them to see things in light of the bigger picture.
The civil law situation of those days was significantly different from what we experience today. Today (well, at least if you are a white person) you can reasonably assume you will get a fair trial, that truth will prevail, and that justice will be done. (People of other races in this nation may or may not be able to make such an assumption.) However, in Paul’s day only a wealthy person would bring a lawsuit against someone else. The poor would not sue the rich. And it appears as if judgments followed wealth, not truth.
If this is the case with the Christians in Corinth then it appears as though someone wealthy believer was suing some poorer believer. The end result was likely to be that that wealthy person would win and the poor person would lose.
Notice some things about Paul’s advice. First, he does not say something overly simplistic (and stupid) like, “Can’t you all just get along?” He also does not say that they should just ignore problems and wrongs. Nowhere does Paul (or Jesus for that matter) teach that people should be doormats who let the world walk all over them. No, Paul recognizes that the situation may be serious and complex.
However Paul does not think it appropriate for Christians to use the legal system to settle their disputes. He says, “Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another…” Obviously he wants believers to be able to settle their issues by staying within the church community. That way the situation is resolved in light of Christ, and Christ’s love. Everyone is seen as a child of God and deserving of righteousness.
It is possible that when the 2nd reading was read you mind got hooked on 6:2&3, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? …Do you not know that we are to judge angels…” Indeed those are interesting ideas, but I wouldn’t try to run too far with them. Paul is not trying to make a great theological revelation here. Quite frankly, not even the best biblical scholars know for certain what he means by that. But the point he is certainly trying to get across is that God has given people a sense of fairness, a sense of good judgment, a sense of righteousness. Those things were not to be found in the courts of the day. Therefore, followers of Christ should use those things in settling disputes.
And what happens if a dispute can’t be settled among believers? What if justice is not able to be done? Should they then go to the courts. Again, Paul says no. He writes, “In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?” Indeed, in light of eternity, what is a civil court case? It’s a triviality.
Taking a step backwards to Chapter 3 we discover why. This is more of the same line of thought that we explored last week. Last week we talked about the body of Christ having many members, with each member having an essential function none greater than another. The theme shows up repeatedly in this letter.
Keeping the idea of justice in mind, in Chapter 3 we have a very big point being made by Paul. There are many divisions within that church. Paul says, “For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ and another, ‘I belong to Apollos,’ are you not merely human?”
While it is not worth pondering what Paul meant by saying we will judge angels, it is worth letting these thoughts from Paul sink in, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each.”
So, who is actually acting? Who is important? Is it Paul? No. Is it Apollos? No. Both of them are just servants. They are servants of the Lord.
The time lapse video of a bean sprouting and growing that we used as our children’s sermon today illustrates verse 6 well. Paul says, “I planted. Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” Part of that verse gets dulled in translation. Paul planted. That’s simple past tense. Apollos watered. Again, simple past tense. God gave the growth. In English that also sounds like simple past tense. But English is ultimately a pretty clunky language. The common Greek of Paul’s day was more sophisticated. In Greek, “God gave the growth,” is imperfect tense. The best we can do in English is to say, “God was continuously giving the growth.” In other words, Paul’s act was a one-time thing. Apollo’s act was a one-time thing. God’s actions were ongoing.
Paul wants the Corinthians to know that he and Apollo were God’s servants doing God’s work, and that God continues to be doing work. God’s actions and commitment to them are ongoing. They are completely enwrapped in God’s grace.
Like many things, those are easy words to say but hard words to believe, especially if you’re in a time when nothing in life seems to be going well. They are hard words to believe when all we see around us is churches and communities of faith declining steeply. They are hard words to believe when it appears as if our country is tearing itself apart from the inside.
Remember this. Hardships and decline and turmoil are not new at all. In fact, it’s just business as usual in this world. Perhaps we Americans have become complacent in our understanding of reality. We expect things to be easy, as if we deserve to have things be easy, when in truth they have never been easy; and we are laughable fools if we think we deserve to have things be easy.
Paul’s advice to the Corinthians is not flowery sweet. He is not envisioning lives of comfort and ease. He is equipping them for a struggle – but living that struggle in faith. And living that struggle in light of eternity.
With an election in progress that will wrap up two days from now the final words from 1 Corinthians 3 seem especially appropriate.
“So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future – all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”
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