Psalm 63:1–8 · Isaiah 55:1–9 · 1 Corinthians 10:1–13 · Luke 13:1–9

The third Sunday of Easter Prep. offers more preparation for repentance and change. Regardless of our progress or slipups, we can count on God’s mercy and patience. God’s faithfulness is our theme this week, and our readings show us that while we think we want fairness and equity from God, what we really want is grace. And because we want that for ourselves, we should also want that for others. In last week’s sermon, Paul encouraged Christians to imitate him as an example of spiritual transformation in progress, never forgetting God’s nearness in all our endeavors. This week, Psalm 63 offers praise for God’s companionship and sustenance, both physical and spiritual. God’s faithfulness is expressed in Isaiah 55 as God refuses to give up on Israel and offers his faithful love promised to David. His word goes out and will not return empty. The Gospel account found in Luke 13 illustrates our tendency to associate cause and effect when it comes to tragedies that happen in the world. It’s evidence of our unconscious belief that if we aren’t good enough; God will abandon us. Jesus disputes this, pointing out that we are subject to unwise decisions of others or unjust human systems, which often result in harm that has nothing to do with our own personal choices. Our sermon text in 1 Corinthians 10 talks about the problem of arrogance and its harm to individuals and institutions and the hope that even the harm is held within the loving and faithful arms of God.

When We Aren’t Faithful

1 Corinthians 10:1–13 NRSVUE

“King of the jungle” is a title reserved for lions because of their appearance and hunting skill. One story about a lion who was proud of this title goes like this:

The lion approached a bear and asked, “Who is the king of the jungle?” The bear fearfully replied, “You are, of course, Mr. Lion.” The lion, in search of more compliments, went to a tiger and a monkey and asked the same thing, only to receive the same frightened response. Feeling pretty cocky, the lion came upon an elephant and asked the question again, “Who is the king of the jungle?” Instead of saying anything, the elephant grabbed the lion with its massive trunk and slammed him into a tree before pounding him on the ground several times and then throwing him into a nearby pond. When the lion crawled out of the water, he said to the elephant, “Just because you don’t know the answer is no reason to get nasty about it!”

Our arrogance and pride often lead to a distortion of our perception of reality. This is especially problematic for Christians because we forget how much we need the grace and forgiveness freely offered to us through Jesus Christ. We forget that we are to be dispensers of grace and forgiveness to others, too, as image bearers of Christ. We forget we can be agents of change to upset cultural practices and underlying narratives that don’t reflect the equity we have in God’s sight. And these are some of the predicaments the church in Corinth faced. When we proudly think of ourselves as “the king of the jungle,” we set ourselves up for a fall.

Let’s read our sermon text in 1 Corinthians 10:1–13.

The context of 1 Corinthians 10

The example of ancient Israel’s failure to follow God found in 1 Corinthians 10:1–13 is part of a larger argument about eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols, beginning in 1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1. As Paul explains, he isn’t concerned about eating the food sacrificed to idols because the idols are powerless. He is worried, however, about those believers for whom eating food sacrificed to idols was a part of their former lifestyle and worship of pagan gods. The passage refers to “weaker” members of Christ’s body, those whose faith and life in Christ was new and tender and easily broken.

In 1 Corinthians 9:1–27, Paul provides the first example (himself) to argue that knowledge and freedom in Christ do not have to be exercised if they would be detrimental to others. Paul tells them that despite his superior knowledge, faith, and mystical experience with the risen Christ, he was willing to forego the freedoms he had in Christ so that he didn’t interfere with others’ faith journey.

In our sermon text, Paul repeats this argument that knowledge and freedom in Christ do not need to be exercised if detrimental to others’ faith. [Examples may be helpful.][Give examples.] In this example, Paul uses the negative example of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for forty years after the exodus from Egypt. He compares the Israelites with the Corinthians, who had their own share of interpersonal and inter-community problems such as grumbling and sexual immorality. Paul reminds them of Israel’s unfaithfulness.

For the Corinthian church, refusing to eat meat offered to idols was also tied to the Roman class structure in place. Authors John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan Reed write the following in their book, In Search of Paul: How Jesus’ Apostle Opposed Rome’s Empire with God’s Kingdom:

Most of the problems at Corinth stem … from powerful patrons within the assembly, important people both very good for help, support, and protection, but also very bad for unity, equality, and commonality. It was those whom Paul calls powerful who could take financial disputes outside the Christian assembly and into the civil courts (1 Corinthians 6:1-8), who could countenance marriage between stepson and widowed stepmother to protect patrimony (1 Corinthians 5:1-13), and who could argue for attending celebratory meals in pagan temples, buying such meat in the market, and eating it at private dinners (1 Corinthians 10:14-33). All such problems involved not just their position inside the Christian assembly, but their contacts with friends, freedmen, and clients outside it. Those were problems for the haves rather than the have-nots (408-409).

In the next chapter, 1 Corinthians 11:17–34, Paul corrects the church for their behavior at the Lord’s Supper where better food and wine were served to those of higher social standing, but inferior food and wine were served to those with lower social standing who arrived later at the end of their work day. The Corinthian church was turning the sacrament intended to celebrate Christ’s death until His return as another way to lock the social and cultural classes in place, even within the church which should have been equal and unified in Christ and not subject to cultural norms:

There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 NRSVUE

The context of our sermon text is very important; otherwise, it could be used as manipulation to use the fear of punishment as a motivation for obedience. [Examples may be helpful.] This twisted intent is far from the argument Paul is making. Let’s understand the warning and encouragement found in 1 Corinthians 10:1–13.

The warning of arrogance

The wisdom of Ecclesiastes 1:9 says that history can repeat itself:

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 NRSVUE

Wanting to do what we want to do is not new, and a valid argument exists to enjoy the freedom we have in Christ. However, that freedom is tempered by its effect on the community. Christianity was not intended to be lived solo; it was meant to be lived in relationship, not only with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but with other people.

Paul is making the point that the ancient Israelites participated in a form of baptism by passing through the Red Sea and then [drinking] from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ (1 Corinthian 10:4). They witnessed the miracle of the Red Sea and manna and water from the rock, and still it wasn’t enough to keep them from arrogantly choosing to do whatever they wanted. Barclay’s Commentary says that “it is to history that Paul goes to show what can happen to people who have been blessed with the greatest privileges.” If the ancient Israelites could get tangled up in their proud egos, then the Corinthians were just as susceptible. And so are we. Note what Pastor Scott Hoezee writes:

It’s all very disappointing on one level, of course, and that is perhaps why this sobering and disappointing text is assigned for the sobering Season of Lent. It was bad enough to watch Israel mess up again and again. But at least you could comfort yourself a bit and say “Well, yes, but then again, that was centuries before Jesus was born…” All true. Except that the Church has very often proved itself fully capable of wilderness-like shenanigans, and Exhibit A in the New Testament is Corinth itself. We could wish it were not so but at almost any given moment in any given congregation there is enough hurt, enough animosity, enough complaints against the preacher, the praise team, the worship director to tell us we’re never far from being tempted to do it wrong.

In truth, American evangelicalism has seen its share of scandals over the past fifty years but none so insidious as our tendency to view ourselves as Americans first and Christians second. This can lead to national idolatry. In the New York Times bestselling book The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, author Tim Alberta interviews the Michigan pastor, Chris Winans. His church became divided over Christian nationalism, with most of the congregants leaving to attend another church where conspiracy theories and disinformation, rather than the gospel, were served up as the sermon. Pastor Chris Winans said this:

If you believe that God is in covenant with America, then you believe—and I’ve heard lots of people say this explicitly—that we’re a new Israel. You believe the sorts of promises made to Israel are applicable to this country; you view America as a covenant that needs to be protected … [As a result,] you have to fight for America as if salvation itself hangs in the balance. At that point, you understand yourself as an American first and most fundamentally. And that is a terrible misunderstanding of who we’re called to be” (qtd. in Alberta 28).

There’s a danger of losing sight of anyone who is different from us, and we end up baptizing our own worldview and calling it Christian (Alberta 48).

Easter Preparation offers us a season of introspection to examine our motives, desires, and personal opinions to see if they are founded in love or arrogance. Professor Bryan J. Whitfield writes, “Our outward expressions of idolatry may differ from those of the Corinthians, but our desires for acceptance, power, prestige, wealth, and power betray us still.”

The encouragement to be vigilant

The New Testament church had its share of problems, the same problems we face today, but the Bible doesn’t attempt to whitewash them or diminish reporting their effects on the congregations of that era. But more importantly, our inability to be faithful has had no effect on God’s faithfulness and grace toward us. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells of God’s faithfulness when we are challenged with our egoic tendencies:

No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSVUE

Some mistakenly assume that the “testing” comes from God. However, James reminds us that God does not tempt us:

No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. 14 But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; 15 then, when desire has conceived, it engenders sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. James 1:13–15 NRSVUE

We are more than capable of deluding ourselves to believe we deserve what we want or desire. This requires us to focus on self-awareness and self-examination, two important Easter Prep practices, but useful for any time of the year.

Professor of New Testament Carla Works summarizes Paul’s solution in this way:

At the end of this larger argument on whether or not it is acceptable to eat food that has been sacrificed to idols, Paul will give a guiding principle: “do [everything] to the glory of God” (10:31). Like their ancestors in the faith, this predominantly Gentile Corinthian church is called to live in a manner that is faithful to the one who is the very source of their life and existence. Living faithfully to this God includes considering one’s witness to others for whom Christ also died.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit offer us grace when we trip on our fragile and self-centered egos. They are constant companions and deliver us from our arrogance. When we aren’t faithful, we can rely on God’s faithfulness and grace. God “will also provide the way out;” Jesus is the way out.

Call to Action: As part of your Easter Preparation practice of self-examination, consider if you have ever succumbed to arrogance and offended others, whether believers or not. Practice recognizing slip-ups such as these, asking God for a sensitive heart that is quick to recognize and repent of arrogance and privilege.

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For Reference:

Alberta, Tim. The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. HarperCollins, 2023.

Crossan, John Dominic, and Jonathan L. Reed. In Search of Paul: How Jesus’ Apostle Opposed Rome’s Empire with God’s Kingdom. HarperSanFrancisco, 2004.

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb/1-corinthians-10.html

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-in-lent-3/commentary-on-1-corinthians-101-13-2#:~:text=In%201%20Corinthians%2010%3A1%2D13%2C%20Paul’s%20retelling%20contrasts,10%3A14%2D22).

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-in-lent-3/commentary-on-1-corinthians-101-13-4

https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2016-02-22/1-corinthians-101-13/

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Small Group Discussion Questions