Semicontinuous - Psalm 124; Genesis 49:1-33; 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Complementary - Psalm 138; Ezekiel 28:11-19; 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
(What are semicontinuous and complementary readings?)
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Life-giving God, heal our lives, that we may acknowledge your wonderful deeds and offer you thanks from generation to generation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)
The Corinthian Church has a lot of problems that Paul needs to address, most of it is caused by dissension and trouble in the ranks. In chapter 6, beginning with verse 1, Paul addresses his concern about believers in the Corinthian Church settling their disputes legally before the Roman courts, rather than taking them to the leaders of the church.
Paul asks, “Is there no one among you wise enough to settle the disputes?” For Paul, the issue is the church’s ability to live out its faith in settling their own matters. The witness of the church depends on it. For the apostle, public lawsuits damage the credibility of the church. The world sees the church fighting amongst itself and taking each other to court and that’s all it sees. This undermines the message of the Gospel of reconciliation. Refusing to utilize the Roman courts is a matter of Christian witness.
Paul highlights several things for the Corinthians to be mindful of.
First, he suggests that at times suffering wrong is better than being right or getting one’s way. Perhaps Paul has Jesus in mind here who was willing to suffer the injustice of crucifixion, rather than win on the world’s terms with violence and coercion. Paul states that the Corinthian Christian should be willing to accept being wronged and not allowing disputes to destroy the church, to destroy the relationships within the body.
Second, throughout the letter, Paul deals with the problem of Corinthian self-interest. Corinthians are wronging one another and they’re defrauding one another. They don’t demonstrate the self-giving love they claim to embrace. Paul will highlight this later in their raucous celebration of the Lord’s Supper in chapter 11.
Third, Paul reminds them of the various ways of living that they engaged in prior to their conversion. Their deliverance from the patterns of sinful behavior, remind them it was the grace of Christ that changed who they are. Christians are not defined by their former lives, so they should not continue to live in them. Thus, by implication suing one another in the Romans courts was a return to their former ways.
Christian faith is not merely about believing the right things. It changes how we act. Being a Christian makes a difference for how we handle conflict, money, relationships, and power, and the desire to be right at all cost. Paul has to address all these matters with the Corinthians.
The Corinthian Church was a mess. But let us also confess that, at times, so are we.
PRAYER: Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
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