Last week we heard Paul’s introduction to the first letter that he wrote to his church in Corinth. This is probably the earliest of his letters that we have and the first written testimony from any Christian teacher. We’ll be working our way through this letter in our Readings over the next few weeks.
We have previously put great emphasis on how the coming of Jesus, the presence of God in our world in human form, changed everything. Indeed it did, and does. But reading Paul’s letter also makes us realize how much didn’t change (1 Cor 1:10-13, 17).
What is the first topic that Paul finds it necessary to cover once he’s got over the preliminaries?
How the Corinthians have fallen into factions, each aligned behind the person they treat as their leader or guide. Sound familiar? Clearly this disease or disability runs deep in human nature. We have a terrible need to identify with someone who we regard as representing our cause, articulating our beliefs, prepared to fight for what we think is right.
There is certainly nothing wrong with being a follower. We can’t all be leaders and many of those that think they should be leaders do themselves and others a disservice. Today we also hear of the first followers of Jesus (Mt 4:12-23). The call and the response couldn’t be simpler or more straightforward. It’s a call to follow without any real explanation (did they understand what becoming “fishers of men” might mean?) and no request for justification, no discussion, no argument. Those first disciples were blessed to receive the call directly from Jesus in the flesh. Paul identifies himself as having been called in the same way, even after Jesus’ death.
The call we’ve heard is unlikely to be so clear or unambiguous. Like the Corinthians it’s easy to get muddled by thinking we are responding to the messenger, the one who is in front of us, making the news now. Paul hammers home the point that he is only a messenger. Neither he nor any other messenger, nor any preacher, pope, bishop, or saint, is the one we follow, only Christ. And if we hold fast to that he will keep us safe, we can pray alongside him to our Father “lead us not into temptation”.
Perhaps the worst temptation, for us as for the Corinthians, is the descent in factionalism. The body of Christ bears the scars of so many battles between Christians over the centuries, and the battles still continue. We may not feel ourselves caught up in those battles – but can we always claim that we are “united in the same mind and in the same purpose”, as Paul urges.
We live in a world with Christ divided. We must always look for whatever path reduces division and works towards unity “so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning”.