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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
September 2, 2024
The Invitatory
The earth is the Lord’s for he made it: O 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.
Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
It never occurred to me that when in traction at the chiropractor’s office I would enter into a greater understanding of this passage from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians. And yet I did. As I was physically stretched, I felt that I, Jo Ann Jones, as a person, receded and a larger experience of life and truth were set before me in the words of this passage. These are seemingly simple sentences and yet they are powerful and full of grace.
At the beginning of the chapter, Paul says, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”. At the end of the chapter, Paul declares, “We have the mind of Christ.” Both of these verses are about what Paul and his readers see and know, and what they can imagine. It also admits a certain depth of humility as Paul does not project himself as he allows his vision and perspective of all to be revealed in the context of the resurrection.
Paul believed that knowledge of God of creation, or rather, being known by this God revealed to this person the whole world as it truly is/was - an unrivaled knowledge, God. Contrary to those who believe in their vision of the world without any assistance, Paul preaches a down to earth gospel focused exclusively on Jesus.
God was purposeful in his creation and he entrusted his creation and its purpose to humans - who, unfortunately, rebelled, thwarting his purposes , that is, to know them, that is his purpose and Christ crucified.
Paul’s use of the perfect participle “crucified” to describe more precisely whom he proclaims is provocative to any who hold power He insists that the present significance of Christ, even after the resurrection, consists in nothing other than that he is crucified. How else might one come to appreciate the value and freedom gained through crucifixion that is the forgiveness of sin? In Paul’s experience and in his preaching, “Jesus Christ and him crucified” is shorthand for the event that acts as an interpretive lens for every other encounter. “Christ crucified” reveals the wisdom of this age as so much haziness, rather than a clear visual image. “Christ crucified” is not what Paul sees but how he sees.
Paul’s calling - to proclaim the Jewish Messiah - that is, Jesus ,was the world’s true Lord, and this had to be proclaimed to the non-Jewish world. And for Paul, in this proclamation, was the very centrality of the resurrection. If one were to take it away, then everything would collapse upon itself. This truth for Paul has greater consequences beyond this pericope. For Paul it does frame how he sees his mission, and God’s people. All else pales in the reality of the resurrection.
This is a grand and powerful invitation to a place in the context of creation and sense God’s vision for it and for humankind. There is a freedom in that context that is not easily expressed in words. I can only say that in accepting that invitation gave me a sense of wonder and peace that I have never experienced in quite that way. It does bespeak the power of love and grace and forgiveness. And I am at peace.
Closing Prayer on Good Friday
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign; one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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