Lent
March 5, 2015

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.’—1 Corinthians 1:18-19

Don’t we all want to be wise? Didn’t we learn as children that the wise man built his house upon a rock and thus was spared the ravages of the storm? (Matthew 7:24-27)  Didn’t Jesus, himself, tell us we must be as shrewd of serpents? (Matthew 10:16)

Put yourself in the disciples’ sandals as they run away from the garden when Jesus was arrested. Stand with Peter by the fire, and deny Jesus three times to the people who surround you. Even stand at the foot of the cross with John as Jesus asks John to take care of Jesus’ mother. Think how you might feel. You might experience a touch of doubt even though you had lived with him, been taught by him, and had learn to love him dearly.

Now put yourself in the shoes of one of the learned people of Jerusalem. A person of the world acquainted with other cultures, well educated, respected, sought out for your wisdom. What would you have thought about Jesus in those days of his death? You might not have even noticed him.  You might have even been glad the pesky preacher was gone. My guess is Paul then Saul was as cynical as the other learned people of Jerusalem about this itinerate preacher who in their eyes was a false prophet.

Some twenty years later Paul writes to a new church admitting that the world of wisdom thinks that Jesus crucified is only for the foolish but to Paul, it is now the only thing that matters. Ultimate wisdom comes from recognizing truth when one sees it.

Prayer: Lord, school me in the wisdom of your love. Help me grasp your truth. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.