This teaching was shared with 8th Day Church on Sunday, January 25 in response to the murder of Alex Pretti by federal agents. 

Isaiah 9:1-4

But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

I have learned that when I read one of Paul’s letters I need to remind myself that Paul was writing to a specific group of people for a specific purpose. It’s tricky with Paul. He has written some amazing things that we can learn from. He has also written some things that have been used for generations to oppress and dehumanize people. I appreciate Paul, but I am terribly leery of Paul as well. But just because Paul has written some things which frankly are inaccurate and have been used for terrible purposes does not mean we should cede those parts of the Bible to those who would use them to support and commit injustice. We should deal with them and find truth where we can and that is what I hope to do here. 

In this passage, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and he is addressing the divisions that exist within the church because of what, to me, seems to resemble Christian celebrityism. Some are following Paul, some are following someone named Apollos, and some are following Cephas who is Peter. Now, interestingly, Apollos was known for his eloquent teachings and it is quite a tell that Paul in this same passage goes on to talk about how eloquence can rob the gospel of its power. We should understand what is happening here. Paul, while sincerely trying to point the people in Corinth to following only Jesus and not Christian celebrities, can’t help taking a dig at another Christian leader while lifting himself up at the same time. Paul is very human and we are catching him in a very human moment. 

The good news for the Corinthians is that they have somehow been taught or discipled or influenced in some way by some heavy hitters in the early church. Paul, Apollos, and Peter, among others, have had an influence on this community. One of the things I love about our collective sharing times in worship and in our mission groups is hearing who has been influential in our spiritual journeys. Some are influenced by Marcus Borg, some are influenced by Richard Rohr, many are influenced by Gordon and Mary Cosby and Elizabeth O’Connor. For me, I was mainly influenced by Tony Campolo and Ron Sider when I was younger. Regardless, imagine if our community was torn apart because of the slight disagreements that could be mined from the teachings of Marcus Borg and Elizabeth O’Connor, or between Richard Rohr and Gordon Cosby? That seems to be what the church in Corinth was dealing with. One of the things I am grateful for in 8th Day is that for all of our peculiarities, we don’t go to war with one another over what we believe. I have heard teachings I frankly disagree with, but my love for the people in this church remains strong. I don’t need you to adopt my take on doctrine either. I need you to love me and to pray for me. 

But if we look at the larger Body of Christ, particularly in the United States, we should ask ourselves if Paul’s teaching in this letter could really be applied. I have friends – friends who once were among my closest friends; friends who were in my wedding – who quite frankly support things that I believe are antithetical to the life and ministry of Jesus. These are things I just cannot innocently look past. It’s more than their support for donald trump. It’s that they believe that God is reflected in his horrid and unbiblical America-First policies. They are fine with ICE agents acting as 21st Century slave patrols because they believe God is a God of order. The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are thus righteous acts of the ruling authority and they are what God desires to be done. This is God’s will. To protest against ICE, against this administration, and against the police in general is to commit the sin of anarchy and rebellion. Jesus was not sentenced to death by a collusion between the authorities of the state and religion. No, to preserve the social, political, and economic order – because God LOVES order – Jesus cannot be seen as someone instituting a rival kingdom or reign. The Kingdom Jesus speaks of, lies only in the internal. Jesus has not come to overthrow an unjust status quo. Jesus has come to save us from personal sin; to save us from ourselves. The gospel is not meant to be socially transformative. The gospel is meant to be personally therapeutic. God’s plan for the world are therefore individual and not social. 

So, let me just say this. I honestly no longer care who people voted for because voting is a small part of our responsibility to a Jesus-shaped political engagement. And again, it is not my goal for people to accept my doctrine or theology. But I find it deeply troubling when I see people claiming to follow Jesus proclaim the twisted theology described above that is antithetical to the life and teachings of Jesus. The question from this text that we must ask and answer is this, is our current context just a degree of relativism? Are some people in the church following trump while some are following, say, Gordon Cosby? Are these two equivalent? Different paths to the same destination? Is the answer in our breach within the Body of Christ in this country to just live and let live? Does our inclination to relativism as progressives actually give unaccountable freedom to those who distort Jesus’ teachings to support and commit evil? Are we supposed to look at the many attempts by people proclaiming to be Christian and who are actively engaged in creating a theology void of empathy? Should we just throw up our hands when people distort the words and actions of Jesus so that Jesus is interpreted and taught to others as a supporter of military action, a defender of the 2nd Amendment, a lover of small government, and an upholder of an unjust political and economic status quo? I personally do not believe Jesus needs me to defend him, but I do believe God wants to puke from watching the way God’s name is used to bless authoritarianism, nationalism, militarism, classism, racism, and all forms of evil. 

I think Paul actually sheds some light on this very real dilemma that we face in reflecting on this passage for today’s context. Paul writes that he is called to proclaim the gospel, nothing less. And what is the gospel? The gospel, in the most simple terms, is that God loves the entire world. God loves the world and because of that unconditional love, God became incarnate in the life of a humble wandering teacher who pushed boundaries, performed healings, and led a movement that refused to accept the political or religious status quo. Jesus was anything but a live and let live kind of person. The servant leadership of Jesus – a term I know we all value – is foolishness to those who look to Jesus to justify state-sponsored terror. Rather, Jesus lays down his life for those being victimized by state-sponsored terror. That call is as real to us now as it was back then. But some of our siblings who claim to follow Jesus have turned that call upside down and instead, are issuing a call to support and defend state-sponsored terror and are proclaiming that Jesus defends and upholds this kind of government action. This is simply unbiblical. 

Our contemporary dilemma within the Church in the United States is not one where we just adopt a live and let live approach to wildly unbiblical teaching. I believe that we are right in calling out those who claim the name of Jesus, but who support these horrid and cruel policies of dehumanization. 

But how do we know biblical from unbiblical teachings? What guides us? I believe we can look to the Isaiah passage from today. Let me read a few verses again: 

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;  those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined….For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

How do we determine if our teaching and ministry is a proclamation of the gospel? I think we can simply ask if our teachings, if our actions are bringing light or darkness? We should ask, is ICE bringing light or darkness to our land? To Minnesota? Is threatening Greenland, which would tear apart international alliances with long-time allies and throw the world into chaos and economic depression bringing light into the world or darkness? Does a full embrace of guns, making them as accessible as candy bars; does that bring darkness or light? Does ensuring enormous tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest in our land while stripping necessary programs which feed and house the poorest in our communities bring darkness or light? Does standing and protesting with those in the path of government-sponsored terror, preventing further abductions bring light or darkness? 

You don’t need a seminary degree or fancy hermeneutical tricks with the Greek or the Hebrew or eloquent teaching to tell us where Jesus walks today. The darkness is all around us and sadly – actually I am more enraged than I am saddened – the brand of individualistic, nationalist evangelical Christianity is the main purveyor of darkness today. The problem in the church in North America today is different from the problem Paul faced in Corinth. The problem is that some have given themselves over to darkness and disguised it as light and now are leading many, many people astray. But our mission, our call is simple. To follow Jesus and to be light in an increasingly dark world. Our call is to love the world.