Pauline Reflections 16 - 24th January 2009

“Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.”     
1 Corinthians 1:26-28
 

Paul puts it graphically in these verses describing the membership of the Corinthian church, that was drawn mostly from the ranks of uneducated poor people - some of whom were slaves. Although these people had suffered from many deprivations and were alienated as second-class citizens, the good news offered them hope. God is always there for the ‘anawim’, the poor in spirit and those who are oppressed in any way. As a Christian people, their faith gave them the dignity of the sons and daughters of God. Just like us, they are God’s children. We too have our own unique history and journey of faith, sometimes pleasant and sometimes unpleasant. Our goal is to interpret all our life experiences in the context of the cross - and this makes sense of them.

The cross is God’s weakness, which is stronger than human strength, God’s foolishness that is wiser than human wisdom. For God has chosen the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak of the world to shame the strong. 

As Christians we should not be ashamed to tell the story of our past, we are a people of history and we serve the Lord of history. Paul reminded the Corinthians of their past to encourage them to be full of gratitude for the present and to entrust the future to God’s guidance and providence.
 

Prayer

I thank you, Lord, for my journey of faith. May I always trust you as you guide me daily through the storms of life. In your wisdom and power, may I find strength and consolation. Amen.