Morning Devotion for Lent
March 11, 2022
The Invitatory
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Come let us adore him
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’,
and again,
‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile.’
So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
Whom should you follow and why? Both questions and answers are important. This question confronts us in numerous contexts. We have to choose leaders in our families, businesses, politics, and social organizations. We have to determine what leaders to follow in our churches. In all these contexts the qualities of leaders may vary, as may the desired goals and/or outcomes. Today’s passage moves us to reflect, as if we were standing in a mirror, if we are willing to look honestly enough to see ourselves. What characteristics would we identify as critical and/or crucial to us as leaders?
Earlier Paul refers to himself as a “skilled master builder.” The Greek word used for skilled is translated as wise. Wisdom is a trait I would imagine many of us admire and even treasure. Within the context of this passage, we must acknowledge that God’s wisdom contrasts sharply with the wisdom of the world, disappointing and subverting the wisdom of our age and all those preceding it. God’s wisdom is the mystery that is only known by the Spirit. Most importantly for our purposes as Christians, Christ himself is God’s wisdom.
As a “wise” master builder, Paul constructs with the tools he has been given: Christ himself, and more specifically and emphatically, as Paul proclaims, Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. This is the foundation of the church and the starting point for Christian life. Paul’s work was aligned with that foundational reality. True wisdom does not lie in the power, eloquence, social standing, or cultural competition that seemed to enthrall the Corinthian church and our world.
The question Paul holds up to the Corinthians and to us is, how will we exercise and hold onto the wisdom found in the death and resurrection of Christ in the face of the “wisdom” of the world. For this “wisdom” has judged the wisdom of the death and resurrection of Christ as foolishness. And this judgment is all the more prevalent in today’s world and culture. This implies, paradoxically, that the foolishness of the cross, and the way of the cross for God’s people, must continue to be the means.
The Spirit reveals God’s wisdom. The Spirit who reveals and the Christ who is revealed are united as the source and content of God’s wisdom. Being faithful means that we acknowledge that creation is all God’s gift and our lives reflect our gratitude for all God has given us, especially in the resurrection. The wisdom of the world masquerades as God’s wisdom. The temptation here is not to abandon Jesus for the sake of secular worldly wisdom. The temptation is to make Jesus conform to our culturally shaped patterns and expectations of greatness.
The divisions plaguing the Corinthians arise from their misplaced desire to find their identity in particular earthly leaders. Paul undermines this partisanship by reminding us that in Christ there is no division for all in Christ are one. To the world, this will always look like folly. But for those who are wise, this is the wisdom of God.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
