The Scandal of the Cross

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

    “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
       the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-31, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
Having considered lived justice so far this week, we turn now to the crux of the matter: the scandal of Christ’s cross for building a just society. 

That word "scandal" is important. Paul writes that the cross of Jesus doesn’t make sense from the perspective of the “wisdom of the world.” He writes that the wise, the scribes, and the debaters of this age don’t “get it.” Ironically enough, this devotional is set to be published on the day after the president's State of the Union address. Presidential speeches—and politics, in general—exemplify how the great and powerful people of the world can miss the point. On the floor of the House of Representatives, the most powerful man in the world just gave a speech describing what he considers to be the correct use of power and influence—economic, legislative, military. The right use of power in presidential politics equates to wisdom, at least in the world's eyes. But the cross of Jesus puts this wisdom to shame. 

The great scandal of the cross is that power comes not by displaying strength but through self-emptying. The foolishness of God in the cross creates space for reconciliation. 

What, then, makes for a just society? The wisdom of the world says punishment. The foolishness of God says reconciliation. How scandalous, right? When people who commit injustice are brought to justice, according to the scandal of the cross, they are not punished but reconciled. The cross becomes a stumbling block to the wisdom of the world. The challenge for those of us who wish to live according to God’s foolishness, which is “wiser than human wisdom,” is to embrace the scandal of the cross. Only then will we bear witness to the world as to what justice looks like at its purest. 


PRAYER:
God of justice, through his self-emptying life and death, your Son showed the world its own folly. Help those of us called to live according to the cross to accept the call to empty ourselves—to set aside our selfish ambition, to lift up our eyes to the needs of those surrounding us, to listen to your wisdom from above, to give ourselves away in service and sacrifice to the gospel. Amen.


WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and I this passage is led me to reflect on an old worship song that I haven't heard in a while: The Wonderful Cross by Chris Tomlin.