A17 Holy Tuesday

Homily for

Holy Tuesday

Tuesday 10 April 2017

The Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

A Parish of the Diocese of Bethlehem and The Episcopal Church

Readings:

http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC_RCL/HolyWk/HolyTue_RCL.html

I love this reading from 1 Corinthians.  Giving this passage to a preacher is almost dangerous!  There is so much here that begs to be proclaimed.  You'll be glad to know though that I'm not going to look at all of it tonight.  As much as I love that piece about the cross and the response of Jews and Greeks, there will be another opportunity later in the week to examine the cross and its impact.

Tonight, I want us to consider the words of Paul about the Corinthians.  They are not as glamorous to be sure, and yet these words are very powerful.  Paul calls the faithful at Corinth to consider their calling to the Gospel.  He reminds them that when the Holy Spirit drove him to their city to preach the Gospel and to make Christ known, it was not the rich and powerful who embraced the Gospel.  The strong and the wise did not come to Christ.  On the contrary, it was the least and the lowest among the people who believed the good news and were numbered among the Church of Jesus Christ.

Paul wanted to make sure that the Corinthian Christians never forget this fact.  He wished that they would ever embrace their humility and always resist the temptation to think that they had become something great, or powerful, or wise.  He did this not because he wished to exercise any authority over them.  Paul was simply concerned for them and their spiritual welfare.  Remember that Paul, having been raised from his youth as a Pharisee, trained by arguably the greatest teacher among the Pharisees in his generation, was a skilled student of the Scriptures.  Paul knew well that in every time and place God has always used the poor and the lowly to make visible the ways of the Kingdom of God.  But more importantly Paul knew that God loves the poor and lowly and longs to be among them, to accomplish awe-inspiring things not only through them but for them.  Paul wished for the Corinthians to delight in this humility, knowing that in such a state, they will encounter again and again the power and the love of God.

But why is it that God has so chosen to be among the poor and the lowly?  Could not God accomplish far more by using the rich and the powerful?  There is one significant problem with that logic.  When the rich and powerful are successful, to whom is the success attributed?  I dare say God is not the answer to that question.  But when God works a work for which there is no human explanation, among a people seemingly incompetent to the task at hand, there can be only one explanation.  No one but God can be credited for such things as these.

Those moments are truly beautiful.  We do well to cling to that beauty.  These are the moments that give us the strength to press on through all the other moments of life, especially those when we wonder if perhaps God should have chosen someone else to carry out the work of the Kingdom.  I must confess this is a frequent thought of mine while I read the Gospels, especially the Gospel for tomorrow.  Just in case you haven't read ahead, tomorrow we will hear Jesus telling the disciples that one of them will betray him.  They become very anxious and ask him who would do such a thing.

This is one of those rare moments where Jesus gave a direct answer to a question.  Jesus, holding a piece of bread, tells them, "It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread."  Jesus then gives the bread to Judas and sends him out.  And in the wake of Judas' departure the others are no longer concerned about this topic of betrayal but rather wonder why Judas has left and where he has gone.  They failed to understand a direct statement put into action.  They really are that clueless!

Clearly then Paul’s words didn’t apply only for the Corinthians.  Nor do they apply only to the disciples in addition to the Corinthians.  They apply to us.  Tonight, we would do well to receive this Epistle as if Paul is speaking to us.  Indeed, he is asking us also to consider who we are and who we were when we came to faith in Christ Jesus?  We did not have talents for the Kingdom, but the Christ called us despite our shortcomings.  He lifts us up from our lowliness and equips us for works that can be attributed to God alone.  The only explanation for this is that when we were still yet sinners, when we were still outside the Kingdom of God and in need of redemption, God loved us, and desired us, and called us to be a holy people, God's people.  We have received grace, which always comes in humility, and which shows indeed the awesome nature of God and the works of God done in our midst for us and for our salvation, and that of the whole world.

Father

Timothy

Alleman