Redemptive Conflict: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 - Third Sunday after Epiphany

¹⁰Now 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. ¹¹For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. ¹²What 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.” ¹³Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷For 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.

  ¹⁸For 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. (NRSV)

Chances are, if you’ve worked anywhere other than an office building, particularly in an industrial setting, you’ve seen one of these.  There’s a great big one at the entrance to the Vandergrift steel mill.

Behold: the church version…

This is hardly an easy subject to talk about, but churches are the perfect breeding ground for conflict, and the reason why is remarkably simple: churches are made up of people.  Different people—living different lives, with differing gifts and differing needs.

 

Everyone who walks through the door is a sinner.  Sinners make mistakes.  Sinners hurt other people, both intentionally and unintentionally. 

For these reasons, churches are little different than schools, workplaces, communities, and even societies and civilizations.

But what makes church conflicts so severe is the fact that the church’s very existence is grounded on beliefs and purposes of ultimate concern.  We’re in God’s business.  The work we do and the decisions we make can impact people for eternity.  

What’s more is that the Church’s very existence puts it in conflict with the kingdom of this world.  As God’s people, we live by a different set of rules.  We hold a different set of values.  We pursue different means towards different ends. We live at the crossroads of life and death, good and evil, truth and idolatry.

This is every bit as true today as it was nearly two thousand years ago for the fledgling little baby church in the ancient city of Corinth. 

Bear in mind that Paul is writing to this church at a time when they didn’t have printed bibles, creeds, confessions, constitutions, seminaries, or governing bodies. All they really had was the fundamental Gospel of Jesus, crucified and risen, who is the Savior of the world, which spread almost exclusively by word of mouth.  They worshipped, they baptized, they celebrated the Lord’s Supper, they shared God’s love—and, they fought with each other.

In Corinth, there was no greater social currency than that of affiliation.  In other words, you were who you knew.  This determined your place on the social pecking order.  Your family ties to wealth, power, and influence determined your wealth, power, and influence. 

This is precisely why the Corinthian Christians are fighting with each other over who baptized whom.  This may sound ridiculous to us, but to them, it was a matter of utmost importance.

So what do we fight over? 

I’ve seen churches tear themselves apart over what color the new carpet’s going to be to using real bread versus host at communion. 

It was conflict that put one Lutheran Church right here and one two blocks down the road, quite probably over matters we’d consider silly.  But generations later, we’re here and they’re there!

Conflicts exist because people want to win.  They want to be in control.  They want to be seen and esteemed.  They want to corner the market on truth and righteousness, win everyone over to their side, and believe (without doubt) that God is on their side. 

There are some people who seem to just be looking for conflict.  They take at offense over every little thing that’s said; they complain about every little thing; they blame the church’s problems on everyone but themselves.

But there are also plenty of people who are conflict-averse.  These cave in and comply to the aggressive and outspoken, in order to keep the peace.  Before you know it, someone else is running the church instead of Christ.

Conflict can kill a church—but so can the lack of it.  Either way, you’re crucifying Christ, the Gospel, the neighbor, and each other by either winning a conflict or avoiding it altogether. 

Conflict is in inevitable part of human relationships.  But in Christ, it’s no longer deadly.

There is no louder expression of humanity’s conflict with God than the cross.  There, all humanity had turned against Jesus—but what does Jesus say?  “Father, forgive them…”

Jesus’ death ends that conflict.  Jesus’ resurrection takes that conflict and makes it redemptive.   The same holds true not only for church conflict—but for family conflicts, workplace conflicts, you name it…  This is how we are strengthened in our faith and in our sense of purpose. 

As a child of God, you don’t need to relinquish your visions, your needs, your feelings, and your convictions.  Just don’t beat people over the head with them.  Take them to the cross—and invite that person you’re at odds with to meet you there too.  We’re all God’s children at the end of the day.  Human relationships are too valuable than to be disposed of the moment there’s a disagreement.  We will never be of one mind over every little thing.  But in forgiveness, patience, and reconciliation, we are all drawn closer to Jesus Christ—and made stronger in our faith and in our life together as a church.

But also know that as people of God, we are forever in conflict with the Kingdom of Man.  We need the Holy Spirit to give us courage to be at the frontlines of God’s mission in the world as God destroys the social, the economic, the political, and the religious systems that deny God’s children their humanity, their daily bread, and their God-given place in God’s family. 

So do you dare to embrace conflict for Jesus’ sake?  Will you seek it—not in order to win for yourself but to win for somebody else?  Will you endure conflict to meet Jesus in someone for whom you disagree or who offends you?  Will you face conflict as God destroys greed, competition, bigotry, and prejudice, “working love for the rest of the weary?”