1 Corinthians 1
We heard a well-known passage from the first letter to the Corinthians. Many would remember the last sentence of the passage. St Paul writes, “For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” Many commentators point out the eventual success of the apostles whose human wisdom, knowledge and eloquence were poor and weak. But St Paul was already sure of the power of God that would work through his weakness and poverty because he had witnessed the power of God in crucified Christ.
What was the power of Christ crucified? It was a defeat. It was a shameful failure. There was no glorious triumph. It was a terrible death. However, this Christ crucified has risen from death. St Paul and the other apostles saw Christ’s death and resurrection. They didn’t have to rely on eloquence. They didn’t have to persuade with arguments. They were the witnesses of the crucified Christ who has now risen. That’s what they did – they proclaimed Christ crucified. The apostles didn’t have to worry about expanding the Church, because they knew it was Jesus who was calling people to himself both Jews and Gentiles.
I wonder what it is like to become a witness of Christ crucified. I think Christ’s witness becomes like Christ – an obedient servant, carrying his cross, ridiculed and defeated, and eventually dying in weakness and poverty for faith, not a success but a failure. A true witness is not a spokesperson. He is an example of the truth. When a true witness opens his mouth, people hear not an argument but a calling of the truth.
