PLUGGED INTO THE SOURCE

James1:2-6

I Corinthians 2:6-16

My husband gave me this really nice pair of ear phones.  They’re padded, so they’re really comfortable to wear.  They’re balanced just right.  To make sure I put them on correctly and get the best listening experience possible, the sides are marked “right” and “left.”

As far as ear phones go, I think they’re pretty cool looking, but there’s just this teeny, tiny problem.  They don’t work!  I put them on, and I don’t hear any music.  Not a single note.  I just don’t understand …

What was that?  You asked me if they’re plugged in?  They’re suppose to be plugged into an mp3 player or a laptop or tablet?

Oh, that’s the problem.  I’m not plugged into a source of music.

So what did this have to do with the Christians in Corinth?

At the time of the writing of 1 Corinthians, the church in Corinth was only five years old.  It had its share of growing pains and struggles.  Its members were primarily Gentile with only a few Jewish families.  Its unusual diversity in economic and social status caused tension within this small band of Christians.  On top of all that, they were living in a city steeped in Greek culture with its emphasis on learning, intellectualism, reason and philosophy.

Within the church, there were some very learned people, well-versed in philosophy and the human understanding of wisdom.  Thinking themselves “mature” Christians because they were wise according to the standards of the time, they complained because Paul wasn’t teaching them the niceties of wisdom.  I guess they wanted to reason out the wisdom of the cross on their terms.

Today, the Church is experiencing its own set of growing pains and struggles.  The Church has been moved from the center of community to the fringes, where its contributions to the well-being of society and the Christian life style have been devalued. 

So, we’re very much like the Corinthian Church.  We’re trying to figure out how to live out our faith and our future without being captured and overtaken by secular cultural values. 

It’s a scary place to be, and when we’re afraid, it’s easy to fall back on trying to fix things ourselves and relying on human reasoning.  We keep trying to come up with easy to follow solutions.  People say change is the answer, but I wonder if change means going back to the way things were in the 1950’s.

How easily we resort to accessing our situation through conventional wisdom, that says that this isn’t a house of worship, it’s a hospice house, a place to care for a dying faith. 

Is this something we can reason out ourselves or do we need to go to a different source of wisdom besides our own?

In response to the wisdom enthusiasts in the Church in Corinth, Paul explained that he didn’t teach the wisdom of the time that had not eternal staying power.  Paul pointed not to rulers and philosophers for examples but rather to the cross of Jesus Christ.

God’s wisdom is veiled in mystery because it is unattainable through human reasoning.  However, God has prepared and kept ready God’s wisdom to be freely given to those who love God, those who are connected to God through a relationship with Christ.  In the first chapter of the Book of James, we’re told that the wisdom needed to face the trials and struggles of being the people of God is ours for the asking through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God’s wisdom is made available through the Holy Spirit, called Comforter and Counselor.  The Spirit, as a person of the triune God, is interconnected with God the creator and God the Savior.

Paul’s advice to the Corinthians was that if they wanted wisdom, the only way they were going to get it was by plugging into the source of divine wisdom; to connect to God through Christ.

Paul’s advice for us today might go something like this:

“The wisdom you need for the facing of this age of transition won’t be found in a book entitled, ‘Five Easy Steps for Saving Your Church.”  It isn’t in the secular opinion of Christianity and judgment upon the viability of the Church.  Nor is it in trying to live in a past that will never return to you.  The Wisdom you need is waiting for you to plug into the source, God.”

To get to the future God has for us, you and I have to stay plugged into the source of Divine wisdom for insight and guidance.  Please join me in praying daily for God’s counsel and vision for our church.  Let’s pray daily for ourselves and our leadership to receive God’s wisdom for the living of our call to mission and ministry as instruments of God’s reconciliation and witness to the world.