2014-01-19 Daniel Daring 2013 articles 2012 articles
A holy mess:
The Church of God
in Corinth
Isaiah 49:3.5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34
The
Church of God in Corinth was a very lively Church. I can imagine those
Christians holding their services in a charismatic manner: prophesying women,
gifted preachers, congregations praying in tongues, and afterwards some people
interpreting the prayer. I also picture their celebration of the Lord's Supper
in a homely manner with a real meal for the entire congregation sandwiched
between the blessings over the bread and the cup. At the same time, I am aware
of their problems: their petty quarrels - who has greater authority or who has
higher spiritual gif - and their tolerance of immoral behavior. It is then
a surprise to read the opening statements of the letter addressed to that
particular Church:
Paul,
called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother
Sosthenes. To the church of God existing in Corinth, to those having been
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in
every place are calling on the name of our Lord Jesus, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
(1 Corinthians 1:1-3).
The
Church of God Existing in Corinth. I would like to refer to this
phrase as a principle of locality and seperability, which states that "what
exists in different parts of space has its own independent, real existence"
(A. Einstein). The church of God in Corinth was real and independent from the
church of God in Jerusalem, Antioch or Ephesus. It expressed the core belief in
Jesus as Lord in its own unique way that differed from that of other churches.
Unfortunately, today we have exchanged this principle of locality and
seperability for the idea of entanglement and a "spooky action at a
distance" (A. Einstein) which
insists that two things (particles) are "entangled" and part of the
whole phenomenon. Thus, instead of the church of God in Rome we have the Roman
Catholic Church, instead of the church of God in Moscow we have the Russian
Orthodox Church, and instead of the church of God in New York we have General
Council of the Assemblies of God US. Thus, the local communities are just
part of a much bigger phenomenon and the decision making is taken away from
them. That is particularly evident in heavily centralized governance of the
Roman Catholic Church. No wonder that there is so much "spooky action at a
distance," when suddenly the local congregations are informed about the
appointment of a bishop, the silencing of a theologian, or nuns being
investigated. How would Paul react to it?
Sanctified
in Christ Jesus. Psychologists
tells us that continuously repeated words tend to become a self-fulfilling
prophecy. So if one is always told that s/he is a sinner, one tends to think and
act as one. The impact of this claim was recently brought to my attention by a
Chinese Christian. "I have always seen myself as sinful and nobody." I
was shocked to hear such words from a young woman. I think we have put to much
emphasis on the famous phrase "all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God," forgetting to counterbalance it with "they are now justified
by his grace" (Romans 3:23-24). Despite all the troubles Paul had with
Corinthian Christians, he never addressed them as sinners, but always as saints
of God. Even if some time ago they were wrongdoers, at present they were washed,
sanctified, and justified "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the
Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). Maybe it would do us a lot of good
if, as well as acknowledging our sins, we would also acknowledge our
saintliness. It could make us to think and act in a saintly manner.
I
wish that our religious leaders, instead of running after offices and
ecclesiastical titles, and telling us how bad we are when we question their
authority, could address us in such an uplifting, encouraging, and dignified
manner. I wish I could see local congregations united in love and faith, but
independent in governance and expressions of that love and faith. And I wish
that we would rediscover that divine spark within us, the sanctification and
justification that come as gift from our God and make us feel graced and
peaceful.