May 6th 2007

Knowing Only One Thing

Read 1 Cor. 1:18-2:5

"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you

except Jesus Christ and him crucified." v.2:2

Last night during our Saturday Night Service I preached on the Lamb that was slain from Rev. 5 and the centrality of the cross to our lives as Christians. I spoke about how God's self-giving love on the cross challenges our understandings of power, war, violence, victory, and dominance. To be completely honest with you, I have never stressed more about delivering a message than I did last night (Not even when I first started preaching). As a society we have bought so fully into the deceit and lies of our world's committment to war and violence. We have placed our hope in our ability to own the biggest and best weapons, our capacity to "get even" with those that do us wrong, and the belief that true peace only comes as we vanquish our enemies. I stressed because in the world we live in today, the message of the cross is as foolish as it was in a 1st Century world dominated by the military prowess of the Roman Empire.

When the Apostle Paul preached to the churches of the 1st Century, the message of God's self-sacrifice on a criminal's cross seemed ludicrous and irrelevant. The Roman Empire worshipped gods and goddesses that destroyed their foes not surrendered themselves to them. Even within the Jewish stories of the Old Testament, Yahweh (God) exercises the capacity to bring down enemies and raise up victorious warriors. The Jewish belief of a Messiah (A Chosen One--Savior) was based upon the thought that God would come in his glory and power and defeat militarily their oppressors. However, when God comes in Christ...He comes not like Bruce Willis, Sylvester Salone, or Arnold Shwarzeneger...He comes like the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, like a lamb being led to the slaughter.

It doesn't make sense. The world looks, gasps, and comments, "What a foolish belief." We are tempted to surrender this central message in lieu of the world's mocking criticism or in some way defend it logically. But according to Paul, the cross and the power of God's self-giving love in Christ Jesus need not be defended or surrendered, it simply only need be accepted and embodied. To those being saved, we have come to see the world through the eyes of Jesus, the crucified and resurrected Savior. Eyes that allow us to see the emptiness of violence, brutality, and war. Eyes that weep at our consistent willingness to offer our lives to the gods and goddesses of revenge, domination, power, and control. Eyes that look upon this violent world and are still willing to offer forgiveness "for we have lost our minds and know not what we do."

On the cross, Jesus takes what the world has to offer. He submits himself to it's wrath and hatred. He empties himself of his power to vanquish his foes and...he dies. But on the third day, Jesus is raised to new life. On the third day death loses its sting, violence is emptied of its ability to save, and sin has been forgiven. As Christians we are called to do nothing less than "know only one thing" to know "Jesus Christ and him crucified." To know is not simply a mental understanding. To know is to allow this message to take up residence in our lives and change everything about how we live in this world. We become the church as we embody--live out God's self-giving love on the cross, recognizing that it is only through God's foolishness and weakness have we any hope of peace in this world (peace with God and peace with one another).