Indispensable

Included in this week’s lectionary readings are excerpts from Paul’s first letter to the Church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 2:1-14) and Jesus’s sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:13-16). The occasion for each could not be more relevant for churches and followers of the teachings of Jesus today. The church in Corinth was made up of member-partners who differed in socio-economic status, cultural norms, and religious backgrounds. Issues of rank and status, as well competing loyalties to one former leader or another were causing them to lose sight of the central purpose for which the Church was created. First century listeners to Jesus’s sermon were living in seemingly impossible conditions. To resist those in power was to risk harm and even death to persons and their families. To do nothing was to be complicit and, in turn, compromise personal integrity and self-respect.

Sound familiar?

This readings this week offer an opportunity to discuss in concrete terms what we have been discussing in abstract and indirect terms; namely, how followers of the way and teachings of Jesus are to navigate a world plagued by violence, greed, and lust for power — in a word, evil.

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