"What would fools do?" (1Cor 1:18-23)

Intro: Last week we read of Jesus declaring to Peter and the other disciples that following him would cost dearly. We wondered who would want to follow this Jesus as he promised that being a disciple would bring trouble. There must be something in his message that attracted people to risk responding. In our first reading, we heard about Jesus confronting corruption in the temple.

Our second lesson is from I Corinthians 1:18-23. Let us listen (Read).

This has been an incredibly difficult week. "March madness" has a new meaning. With all the tensions about war and the prayers and the protests that preceded Wednesday, everything feels different now that the war is real. 'Shock and awe" is a phrase I have heard too many times already. I believe many in this country and around the world are in a state of shock at what has happened with the unimaginable war with Iraq now underway. Even though we can see it happening live on TV, it is still hard to believe it is really happening. Lives are being ended as we watch and it is shocking. Awe is a word that conveys a sense of reverence with it and just grammatically I think is being misused. We can be 'in awe' of something, but we don't go out 'and awe' someone. What President Bush may think is awesome, others see as gruesome. We are to be in awe of God, not bombs.

Throughout this buildup and use of force, US leaders appear to be claiming a wisdom that no one else seems to have. Our president promised to 'go it alone' if he had to, over and against the cries of just about every other country in the world, opening the doors to a new future for the world. How nations relate to one another has changed. The arrogance of 'you're either with us or against us" will linger for quite a while. We prayed for peace and we got war. We prayed for others ways to end the conflict with Iraq, yet our leaders told us time was up and there is no other way. There are all kinds of questions about what to do now that the fighting has started. How do we respond, what can be said or done? At anytime, especially in trying times, we are to rely on the essentials of our faith. Prayer and scripture provide windows on the world and offer a way of seeing things and events that can help us to move forward with integrity.

Paul talks about human wisdom, calling it the wisdom of the world. And he compares it to God's foolishness saying God's foolishness is greater than the wisdom of the world, that God's weakness is more than the strongest the world could ever muster. He speaks about the message of the cross being the power of God. Paul offers that those who believe in the power of a loving and reconciling God have a wisdom that the world calls foolish. Paul echoes what Jesus told Peter in our reading last week, that following in his way of unyielding grace and peace would entail rejection and suffering. Jews and Greeks, people of all nations are called to believe that God's love is for all, that peaceful co-existence in creation is God's plan and providence.

What is the message of the cross, what is it that Jesus came to declare, what did he want to say so much that was he was willing to die to say it? The message of the cross is that love overcomes indifference and oppression, that life has the last word, not death. The cross declares that God's love knows no boundaries as God seeks to bring creation back to wholeness and justice. The cross declares that what the world says is wise is a far cry from what God wants for us all. Paul's words warn us that what we may think is justice may not be God's idea of justice. Jesus died asking forgiveness for those who killed him and telling us of the coming kingdom where love reigns.

The message of the cross offers a different vision for life. For many it is a stumbling block, there is too much to lose if we live like that. A young Presbyterian in Korea has written a litany that brings Jesus' sermon on the mount into the present moment. Here I read Park Soeng-Won words. Jesus lived in an era when the Roman Empire threatened to control the world - at that time; he opened his mouth and said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." In the terrible context in which the church and the world confront the empire that threatens today's world, we open our mouths and say, "Blessed are the innocent poor in Iraq, for theirs is the support of the faithful." Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." We say today, "Blessed are those who mourn the loss of their beloved in this war, for they will be comforted." Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." We say today, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied." Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." We say today, "Blessed are those who are single-minded in their devotion to God, for they will see God's love." Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." We say today, "Blessed are the peace-marchers and the human shields, for they will be called children of peace and children of God." Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." We say today, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of peace, for theirs is the conscience of the world." Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." We say today, "Blessed are you when governments who lead and support the war revile you, scapegoat you, manipulate you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely in my name. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in both heaven and earth, for in the same way they persecuted all peace-loving people who were before you." Words that speak to us today.

Along with "Shock and Awe", another distressing headline from the past week was "stocks soar on certainty of war!' Some how the ambiguity about the outcome of negotiations held down the stock markets, and now investors feel good about investing again since the war is underway. It should be over soon and we can get back to life as normal. Maybe. But what does it say about us, the richest country in the world if what hits our headlines are the excited idea that oil might drop to 20 dollars a barrel.

Jesus actions in the temple could be considered foolish. His overturning the tables would be like unplugging the trading stations on the New York Stock exchange and having things go dark for a moment. Jesus touched a nerve, but he did not bring things to a complete halt. He did not disrupt the entire marketplace or stop the practice even for a day. But what he did was to take a stand and make a statement. Jesus biggest fights were not with foreigners in foreign lands. But rather with his own people at home. Jesus would teach and preach, discus and debate, even dine with Pharisees. Yet this day he could not just roll along with the leadership said was OK. He took a stand and he took action. Some would call him a fool and say he just never understood the ways things work. I think he did. While it looks like Jesus is losing his cool, he is not out of control. He knows what he is doing and why he is doing it. Jesus is responding in a personal way to the way in which the Temple was being used. He was protesting how far the people had fallen from the meaning of the Passover feast, which celebrated God's liberating power. Buying and selling sacrifices was not the heart of Passover. God's liberation of the Hebrew people, the promise to be the people's God always, that was what Passover, was to be about.

As we ponder the power of the cross. As we wonder what to do in the wake of world events. May we seem foolish, not going along with worldly wisdom that says peace can come through war, that freedom comes by force. May we do whatever brings us closer to God. Whether it is lighting candles with thousands of others or alone at home. Whether it is marching or e-mailing leaders. If it is talking with others and sharing our shock, may we hold on to the truth that God's love is what came to set all people free. That love and freedom came as a gift to us all, as a little baby born from above, not as the mother of all bombs dropped from the skies. Amen.