Looking Ahead to January 29, 2023 -- 4th Sunday after Epiphany

The Scripture Readings this week are: 

• Matthew 5:1-12
• 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

The Sermon title is Holy Foolishness

Early Thoughts: Do you like to be told you are foolish? Or silly? How about out of step?

[As a father of four I get told all of the above on a regular basis.]

Maybe your were being foolish or silly. Or maybe you were simply marching to the beat of a different drummer (or  maybe dancing to the music in your head?).

Following the way of Christ is often to follow a different wisdom (to be charitable). Following the way of Christ means doing and believing things that are foolish according to most common standards.

I mean look at the Matthew reading this week.  Blessed are the meek or blessed are you when you are persecuted, or those who mourn? Even those beatitudes that Matthew has made much more philosophical like blessed are the poor in spirit or those who hunger and thirst for righteousness don't seem like qualities that are often rewarded in our society these days. Not even being peacemakers or being merciful seem to match common wisdom some days.

We are supposed to take this stuff seriously?

Yes. Yes we are. Following Christ, living a life aligned with the Reign of God, means we have to embrace a different form of wisdom. It means we have different priorities. It means we do and say and promote and believe things that 'common sense' would define as foolishness.

Paul calls the people of Corinth to this foolishness. Paul reminds the people of Corinth that God works in mysterious ways, ways that don't match expectations, ways that are different than the ways of Jews or Greeks.

Are we ready to embrace holy foolishness? Are we ready to view life by a different set of standards?
--Gord