1 Corinthians 1.27
God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the
wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
Paul’s first letter to the
church at Corinth is a mammoth letter – sixteen chapters long – and contains
some long and complex arguments which challenge the Corinthians profoundly. Their
church, founded by Paul, seems to be in some chaos, with different factions
splitting over whether to follow his lead or that of Apollos, a preacher who
has come from the city of Alexandria, a major site of learning in the ancient
world. Apollos is an “eloquent man,
well-versed in the scriptures” Acts 18.24, but he has to be set straight by
the leaders of the church, Priscilla and Aquila, on some basics of the
Christian story. He thinks he is wise because he has studied a lot of
philosophy, but Paul has learned life lessons the hard way. He had had to
change his mind, and his life, following his vision of Jesus on the Damascus
road. With all his learning, he had got it wrong. Paul reminds the Corinthians
that God often speaks through failure, shame and littleness, the times we get
it wrong rather than the times when we get it right.
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What lessons has life taught you “the hard way”?
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