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10 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. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. 12 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." 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 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.) 17 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. 18 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. (1 Corinthians 1:10-18 NRSV)
I got my sense of humor from my Dad. Dad was always telling jokes or pulling pranks. His favorite was after getting a haircut was to go up to the secretary at his plant and ask if she liked his haircut. She would always say yes, and he would say, "Five dollars at Petco!" His favorite time of year when working was the summer when he would get interns to work with him. These interns were Aggies and Longhorns home from college; Daddy was usually an upper management type, and junior would work with blue collar folks like my Dad, who was a spray painter of the oil exploration trucks his company made. He would usually ask the intern to go and get things for him from the dispatcher, who was used to my Dad's humor. "Go and get me three sky hooks and sixty gallons of steam!" Yes, sir! Off they'd go only to get laughed at and come back a bit peeved that they fell for his humor. "There are no sky hooks, nor do we hand out gallons of steam."
We Mexicans have a great joke that helps set the stage for today's passage. A driver along a lonely road sees a hitchhiker and debates in her mind whether to pick up or ignore. Judging the coming weather and the loneliness of the road decides the Christian thing to do is to pick up the guy. The rider explains where he's headed and she says that's the place where she's going. She's busy driving and so the hitchhiker wonders what they should talk about, and then begins a litany of question that could come up. "Should I ask her if she's a Cowboys fan or not? If she says she is, out he will go! So, no, I can't ask that question. Should I ask if she likes soccer or not? If she says she does not, then out he goes! and feels bad because he can't think of a thing to start a conversation or not, and as he sighs, he says, ¡Pues sí". And the driver yells, "¡Pues nó! Get out of my car!" (Pues is well and si is yes; and no is no. Okay you had to have been there.)
The number one cause of division in a church; any church, is people. Jesus said, "Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be also." The key is that many times the two or three forget to invite or speak the name of Jesus and so the pues sí and pues nó moments come. The church in Corinth was no exception. Many churches even today will automatically divide into this group and that group. I've shared how when I went to a Leadership conference at a mega church in the United Methodist denomination and the first thought I had as I walked into this incredible sanctuary, "It must be nice to have such a nice sized church and I bet all the people here love him!" It seemed to reason that a church of that size was because of overwhelming harmony and joy. And the first thing he said as he began the conference was to say, "Many of you think that being pastor of this church is a breeze because you think everyone who comes loves me. Well, let me tell you that these front seats are filled with my detractors every time we gather, and they take notes to have something to criticize me and my sermons. And my prayer as I walk from my seat to the pulpit is to pray, 'Lord, give me a heart to love them.'" Gulp. And what does Paul say? "For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sister." What? Chloe has "people." Who report to him? So, the only letters being written on those days; letters complaining to the district superintendent!? And what were they arguing about? Who baptized who? And even Paul gets pulled in to this debate! And he says, "I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius," and he remembers another family and wonders if he baptized anyone beyond that. And he seeks to quell the argument by saying his calling was not to baptize but to preach the gospel, and even that, "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."
Paul cuts through their tribalism with a piercing question: "Has Christ been divided?" The answer, of course, is no. Christ cannot be carved up into competing franchises. Yet we keep trying, don't we? We divide over worship styles and theological emphases, over personalities and programs. We forget that our unity isn't found in agreeing on every detail, but in centering ourselves on the one who was crucified for us all.
Notice what Paul says he was sent to do: proclaim the gospel, "not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power." There's a subtle warning here about our tendency to make Christianity about something other than Christ himself. We're tempted to make it about eloquent preaching, sophisticated arguments, charismatic leaders, or tribal identity. But the moment we do, we empty the cross of its power.
The Epiphany reveals Christ as light to all nations—not light to our particular group, our denomination, our theological tribe. When we rally around human leaders instead of the crucified Lord, when we emphasize our differences more than our shared center, we dim the light that's meant to draw the whole world to God.
The foolishness of the cross is this: the God of the universe chose weakness over power, humility over prestige, sacrificial love over self-promotion. And he calls us to embody that same foolishness in how we relate to one another.
PRAYER: Gracious and loving God, forgive us for the ways we have divided what you intended to unite. We confess that we have too often elevated human leaders, preferred styles, and comfortable tribes above the scandal of the cross. We have emptied your gospel of its power by dressing it up in eloquent wisdom and partisan loyalties. Remake us into one body, united not by uniformity but by our shared devotion to Christ crucified and risen. Teach us to see past our differences to the deeper unity we share in you. May our love for one another be so compelling that the world sees in us a reflection of your reconciling grace. Strip away our pride, soften our hardened positions, and draw us back to the foolish, powerful, world-changing message of the cross. In the name of Jesus, our one Lord and Savior. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, intentionally reach across a dividing line within the body of Christ. If you tend toward one style of worship or theological emphasis, seek out a conversation with someone whose approach differs from yours. Listen with genuine curiosity rather than defensiveness. Ask yourself: Am I more passionate about defending my position or about revealing Christ?
I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God and you matter to me! Bless the world with you in a positive way!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
