The Foolishness of Preaching

Foolishness is an unlimited resource!

While I had every intention of preaching this sermon today at St. John's, Decatur a stomach bug hit my household and unfortunately this sermon will only be given electronically. The text which inspired today's sermon was 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and in particular, "20 Where are the wise? Where are the legal experts? Where are today’s debaters? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? 21 In God’s wisdom, he determined that the world wouldn’t come to know him through its wisdom. Instead, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of preaching."

Foolishness is an unlimited resource. On Friday mornings when I am nearby a television I often find myself glued to ESPN, so that I can see Sportscenter’s “Not Top 10” list where (mostly) professional athletes crash and burn mightily. Sometimes it is a botched handoff in football, an errant throw from the outfield in baseball, or a superstar basketball player missing an easy layup or dunk. Of course, athletes do not have a monopoly on foolishness.

Politicians do not often find themselves unified on any issue, but it is hard not to see foolishness as a bipartisan affair. A former Republican Texas Governor infamously forgot the third agency he would cut if he were elected President of the United States. (Ironically enough he now serves as the head of the Department of Energy, which oversees the EPA—allegedly that third agency he forgot.) Not to be outdone, in the 2004 Presidential Election a former Democratic governor of Vermont, destroyed his entire campaign with a single un-presidential yell. Although athletes and politicians often seem daft, with their mistakes shining brightly in the spotlight, foolishness distinguishes itself as a trait that crosses all career paths and walks of life.

Simply typing in “Fail” on YouTube yields 75,900,000 videos. I did not have time to watch all of them, but suffice it to say the list of fools stretches to all walks of humanity: parents, children, news anchors, weightlifters, kite surfers, drivers, organists, and even a few preachers. Of course, I do not think this is what Paul had in mind when he wrote to the church in Corinth long ago. The version of 1 Corinthians we heard today was from the Common English Bible, a translation which we are utilizing throughout Holy Week. And, the words Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth struck me more profoundly in this different version.

Paul wrote, “In God’s wisdom, he determined that the world wouldn’t come to know him through its wisdom. Instead, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of preaching.” Paul was not speaking about foolish preachers who smash television sets with baseball bats, accidentally start their sermon by saying “Satan gave me this message!” or by crashing over in a casket as a sermon illustration. Yes, these all actually happened. Paul though was talking about how the world perceives the message that we as a people preach. And, just like in his own day, the message that we share so often sounds foolish to our surrounding society.

“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.” As we continue this journey of Holy Week walking with Jesus toward the cross that is ahead, we may wonder and worry about what lies ahead. Society around us tempts us to walk not in the direction of the cross with its suffering and shame, but instead towards comfort and convenience. Seeing the journey that Jesus walked seems to all the world like foolishness. But, to those of us who proclaim Christ crucified as our King, our Lord, and our God we see that way not as foolish, but wise.

As we look back on the life of Jesus we can easily say that we would have been wise enough to walk with him, but what about in our own day? If we knew nothing of who Jesus was and saw a man peacefully speaking the Truth of God’s reign to those in power we might very well shout to him, “Be quiet! You’ll get yourself killed.” With hindsight we may believe we know what God’s wisdom looks like, but can we see it in our own day? Will we proclaim it today? Will we preach it this week?

The world says, God foolishly sent Christ Jesus into a violent world, what did you think would happen? But, God’s foolishness outshines the wisdom of this world. All technology, economy, and academia cannot possess the foolish wisdom that God showed us in Christ Jesus. God's love endures, even as we act like fools. That is the wild message that we continue to preach as we walk together with Jesus to the cross. This is what captivated Paul long ago too.

When Paul wrote to that startup church in Corinth he was extending Jesus' invitation to walk with Christ toward the cross all the time, not just during Holy Week. The Roman cross stood out as a destructive torture device meant not only to kill but to humiliate. Paul and so many others foolishly (according to the world) followed Jesus on the way of the cross, and these followers have found their own crosses literally and figuratively. And yet, during all those times when what seemed so foolish to the world played out over time, God’s wisdom (of loving all) persisted. Even now we may believe that God is foolish to extend love to someone or some people, but we would be foolish to hold onto that belief. Instead, may we be fools for Jesus as we walk with him carrying our own crosses as we go.