Lent
March 4, 2021
Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
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. For it is written,
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’
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? 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. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
In the above scripture Paul is most likely quoting from Isaiah 29:14
So I will again do
amazing things with this people,
shocking and amazing.
The wisdom of their wise shall perish,
and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden.
Both scriptures fit our times well. Some think that wisdom is whatever they say, and discernment is what we choose to discern these days. Such ideas are derived from a worldview that reflects privilege or a caste system where wisdom and understanding are allocated to a chosen few. I walk inside my house for a few minutes every hour. I read somewhere that such exercise is good for retirees. I was walking and listening to a news program recently when I stopped in my track to assure myself that I had heard what I thought I had heard. A politician was being interviewed regarding his desire to make voting more difficult. When he was asked why such restrictions as he was backing were needed, he said something to the effect that if it were easy for everyone to vote, his party would never win.
God’s foolishness embodies putting God’s righteousness/justice first, including loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. God’s wisdom understands that the world God created offers enough to meet all people’s needs when we practice God’s righteousness.
Prayer: God who is love, heal our souls so that we recognize and practice your wisdom and discernment in our lives. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.