Sunday, November 9, 2014

Sunday, November 9, 2014

1 Corinthians 14:1-12

In our reading from Paul’s letter to the assembly of Jesus-followers in Corinth we learn something about worship in the early days of the Church. It was an exciting time of exuberance and energy, but there were also some challenges and learnings that needed to take place, as communities developed and identities formed. Overseers like Paul helped to provide stability and guidance, and to establish norms. 

A new documentary called American Jesus gives us a glimpse into a contemporary church community where members handle snakes, drink strychnine, and play with fire. All these things, technically, are Biblical. That is, you can connect those practices to something written in the Bible. But here we might want to ask Paul’s question: is what we do in worship related to building up the Church, in order that we might be conformed to the likeness of Christ? Theologian Paul Knitter, in his overview of different approaches to interreligious dialogue and encounter, seems to get at the same point as Paul. 

...Christians, in trying to work out their attitudes toward other religions, have to be guided not just by what the Bible says, or by what past councils have declared (as essential as those guidelines are), but also by what kind of particular actions result from particular attitudes toward others. Doctrines or beliefs have to appear in the court of ethics before they can be admitted to the churches and schools of Christianity. What makes a particular belief or theology "orthodox," therefore, is not just that it is based on Scripture and reflects past tradition but also that it enables Christians to carry out what Jesus held up as the law of laws: to love your neighbor. If a theology of other believers does not foster a true love of other believers, then something is deeply dysfunctional with that theology - no matter how biblical it seems to be. 

 [Introducing Theologies of Religion (2002; repr., Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2012), 135.]

You might come to the conclusion that snake handling does in some way build up the Church. Or you might not. American Jesus gives a whirlwind tour of a number of interesting and sometimes controversial expressions of Church that are highly contextualized, aimed at reaching distinctive subcultures: bikers, adult entertainers, rodeo cowboys. It shows that even after 2000 years church communities are still discerning their calling and developing their respective identities. That's why we still eavesdrop on Paul's communications with other churches. The more things change...

- Matthew Kieswetter