More Than A Cliche

So, you opened this post, saw the words at the top, and I wonder what were your first thoughts?

Maybe you thought back to a wedding you recently attended where the passage was read.
Maybe you recalled a sermon where the pastor pointed out that Paul penned these words not to a couple getting married, but to an entire faith community.  The image of love is not just for two, but for a whole house church to try to embody for and with each other.
Maybe there was even a bit of cynicism that crept in or you even thought, "That is so cliche." 

When a passage becomes so familiar that we think we have exhausted every possible meaning.  When a passage becomes so drenched and dripping with our own comfort and we think, "Been there, done that."
When our minds start to wander or we even excuse ourselves from trying to dive deeper into a passage because it just doesn't seem fresh or new, I wonder if we do this both to distance and even dismiss the demands these words invite us to inhabit. 

So, over the next few posts, I want to step into these ancient words of 1 Corinthians, explore and try to encounter them for right here and now.

To start, we could notice and name that Paul was talking to an early church community.  But this church had some problems.  They disagreed and debated about everything!  They argued about whose baptism was better (Apollos or Cephas or Christ - not sure if some were actually baptized by Jesus or if they were that person who always is trying to one up you - or Paul).  So, I picture Paul pacing around, pounding the soles of his feet into the ground, exasperated as he exclaimed, "Well, I am just glad I didn't baptize any of you people!...Well, okay, I did baptize a couple of you.  But that isn't the point!!"

If the Corinthians only were in a tiff about baptism that would be one thing. 

But, this messy human community (which is a bit redundant because all human community is messy at some moments), goes on and argues about leadership, spiritual gifts, what to bring to the church pot luck (I mean is meat dedicated to Zeus okay or is that off-limits?), and so much more.

For twelve chapters Paul tries to lay down the law, draw the line in the sand, teaching and telling them, and moments I picture Paul pulling out his hair saying, "Why can't we all just get along?!?"

There is a tension that simmers and sits in-between the words of this letter. 

Given this realize of disagreement and being disagreeable, when Paul starts his riff on love it is about as out-of-place as an inflatable snowman on a lawn in Florida in July!  If we thought Paul's description and definition of love was over-the-top and unattainable, imagine hearing this in a community where people are constantly bickering and bitterness hovers/hangs in the air.  Imagine hearing these words where there is supposed to be unity and all you are feeling is pain.  Imagine hearing these words when you are frustrating or feel forgotten.  Imagine hearing these words when people have stopped talking to each other or the only communication is passive aggressive.  Paul images a kind of love that isn't transactional, it is a holy love that is transformational.  A love that will change everything because this love changes everyone.

Do you feel the tension of speaking these words into a community where they were not singing, "Blessed be the tie that binds..." because the bonds had been stretched so thin that the fabric was down to a few threads? 

Do you sense that such descriptions above are not just about two thousand years ago, but also about here and now in a world where we don't talk to our neighbor?  Where tension still hovers and hangs around our communal moments.  Where we are frustrated and flummoxed and Paul wants to talk about love, but that feels too wishy-washy.

When the only time we prayerfully ponder this passage of scripture is a moment when love is palatable and dances in the eyes of a couple, we are not fully embracing the power of Paul's vision.  When the only time we encounter these words is at a wedding where the pastor knows that a twenty minute sermon is really out of the question and talking about how this was really written to a whole community will probably land with a thud. 
When we distance ourselves from these words, we also miss the moment and the power they might have for us in such a time as this.

I encourage you to go read 1 Corinthians today or tomorrow.  Read the words slowly, savoring each noun and verb.  Maybe read the passage in two or three translations.  You can click here for an online bible.  

So, dare with me to step into this passage for a few moments to encounter and experience what might be a prophetic and pastoral word for our souls in these days, and I believe might have more than a trace of God's grace.

Grace and peace to you ~~