1 Corinthians 1:4 (ESV)
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus
Paul thanked God for the society of Corinthian believers. Paul sees this group of believers as a gift. American Episcopal Theologian, Timothy F. Sedgwick. wrote, “While we are individually called, as God addresses each of us, we are not called individual into faith.”[1] God forms this church community and intends that we will live in community, loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. These days Paul would be so disappointed. Numerous congregations over the US are now tragically divided. The causes are many. It is troubling to see the resolve of each side, while realizing that the topics are often ridiculous. Thom S. Rainer, on his blog, “Church Answers,”[2] shared 25 silly things church members fight over, of which my favorite is, “a deacon accusing another deacon of sending an anonymous letter, and deciding to settle the matter in the parking lot.” In Rainer’s expected humor, he explained, “The church could have sold tickets to this event and raised a lot of money.” So many church arguments are a laughing matter when I’m not involved. Perhaps you’ve felt the same. But not so funny is that fact that we are far from the City of God described by Augustine, and we seem to like it that way. Sedgwick reminds us on that point, “to be is to be “we,” and not “I.” We have been gifted by God to exist as one body in an alternate society. Seemingly beyond our imagination, so allow me to try. What will it look like? The divinely inspired alternate society will look like nothing we have yet to see. It will be a new way of being and living together. It will be filled with the peace of God, in the presence of Christ Jesus, a gift of God’s grace. Our alternate society will look like heaven.
In Christ,
Steve
“The kingdom of heaven is a literal kingdom. Heaven isn’t
just an ethereal thought. It will be an actual place, an actual world, under
Christ’s rule and reign.”
― Rachel Braunscheidel, The
Heart-Home Builder: Cultivating an Inner Sanctuary with Christ amid Life’s
Difficulties
Stephen L. Hodges ©
2023
[1] Sedgwick, Timothy F., Commenting on 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 in Feasting on the Word, Year A, Volume 1, p.258.:
[2] Twenty Five Silly Things Church Members Fight Over (churchanswers.com)