The early Christians were faced with a difficult choice. Which aspect of Christ’s life should they emphasise as they experienced tensions and divisions in the communities they had founded?
Should they emphasise Christ the miracle worker who performs miracles and heals?
Should they emphasise Christ the philosopher, whose wisdom amazes, or Christ the teacher, who teaches and reveals the mysteries of the Kingdom of God?
Should they prioritise the ethical teaching of the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ (Matthew 7:12)? Should the emphasis be placed on Christ who sheds new light on the law of Moses?
All these aspects are important, but Christ is not the only one to perform miracles, deliver teachings of wisdom, or propose the golden rule as a synthesis of behaviour, even if its positive version is specific to Jesus… and goes much further than its negative versions.
The heart, the centre of the Christian faith, is the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, scandalous to Jews and foolishness to pagans, but for those who are saved, they are the very power of God – the miracle of miracles – the very expression of God’s wisdom and the secret of the unity of the Christian community.
Let us look at some Pauline texts!
The key to unity
To a divided community, Paul’s message is ‘Jesus crucified,’ with whom he is in such deep communion that his whole person is imbued with his humility. Thus, the Risen One acts through the Holy Spirit when his cross is lived and proclaimed. His work is to reconcile us, in God, with one another.
A divided community
The community in Corinth is indeed divided. And deeply so. Within it, clans are opposed to one another. Some claim to follow Paul, others Apollos (1 Cor 3:4). Enmities arise between members to such an extent that lawsuits are brought (6:1-11).
Moral issues were shaking the Church (5:1-5), particularly sexual misconduct (6:18-20). Paul had to remind them of the meaning of marital relations and celibacy in the Lord (7:1-16; 11:1-16).
Some members lack discernment and continue to participate in rituals of their former religion (10:14-22).
The rich do not care for the poor. The latter are discriminated against during the most sacred moment in the life of the community, the Lord’s Supper (11:17-22).
While Christ is a God of order, his worship assemblies sometimes descend into anarchy (14:26-33). Some believe that the dead do not rise again and reject the resurrection of Christ (15:12-19).
But God continues to love them
Despite all these dark aspects of the Corinthian community, Paul continues to cherish them and consider them chosen, which is extraordinary. He begins his letter as follows: ‘I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way…’ (1:4).
And he ends it thus: ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. My love is with all in Christ Jesus’ (16:23).
Jesus crucified, the key
Let us now see how Paul went about calling the Corinthians to overcome their divisions! He tells them one thing, which he explains in many ways:
‘I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ—Jesus Christ crucified’ (1 Cor 2:2).
Jesus crucified: this is the key to unity for the apostle! But what does he mean by these two words? And why did he want to know nothing else among this community except Jesus crucified?
For Paul, the cross is not only that terrible moment when Jesus was hung on a piece of wood in Jerusalem. The shadow of the cross hangs over the whole life and ministry of Jesus. It is the symbol of the humility with which Jesus lived his entire life.
The incarnation of Jesus is already an act of humility: the eternal Son humbles himself and takes on the flesh of a young woman. The circumstances of his birth clearly demonstrate this: the wood of the manger foreshadows that of the cross.
His hidden life in Nazareth for thirty years also bears witness to this humility. So does his three-year ministry, during which he gives words of eternal life, heals the sick and raises the dead: he always withdraws into the desert to kneel before his Father.
Faced with opposition from the very beginning, Jesus always remained confident.
During his last meal with his friends, he washed their feet.
In the Garden of Gethsemane and the next day on the cross, he experienced the extreme of humility. At the very moment when he felt abandoned by God, he turned to Him and forgave his executioners: ‘Father, forgive them! … Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!’
When Paul describes the qualities of love in his famous hymn in chapter 13 of the first letter to the Corinthians, it is in fact the love that animated the crucified Jesus that he sings about:
« Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. » (13:4-7)
The key to unity is…
the love of Jesus crucified that Paul emphasises,
that love which is ‘the highest way of all’ (12:31)
that love which we must ask the Holy Spirit to pour into our hearts,
that love which is greater and more desirable than the most excellent charismatic gifts,
that love which is the promise of the messianic age: ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh,’ says the Lord (Ezekiel 36:26).
Paul was convinced that death could not hold Jesus crucified. God raised him up, and now the Risen One lives forever among us.
He desires to infuse our hearts with his humility and gives us his Spirit to make us workers of truth and justice. The fruit of his work in our lives is peace and unity in the community.
Paul’s call is ever relevant: only by looking to Jesus crucified can we find a little truth amid the confusion and a little peace in a world where we constantly accuse one another.
Jesus crucified, a window open to the Holy Spirit
Paul proclaims Jesus crucified not only through his words, but also and above all through his life. He presented himself humbly before the community of Corinth: ‘I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling’ (2:3).
But what happens when the crucified Jesus is proclaimed? What happens when we welcome opposition and difficulties in communion with him?
For Paul, the Holy Spirit acts with power!
Proclaiming the crucified and risen Christ allows the Holy Spirit to act.
Paul was also convinced of this. Reconciliation in the community is therefore his work, not that of Paul, who is only an instrument.
Similarly, welcoming every suffering in communion with Jesus crucified is a window open to the Holy Spirit. This is how ‘your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear’ (Isaiah 58:8).
Laisser un commentaire