4th Sunday after Epiphany (A)
I Corinthians 1:18-31
February 1, 2026
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The text I have chosen for this morning’s sermon is the Epistle from Saint Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth.
Whoever first said the phrase, “It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt” never anticipated the number of people on the internet who won’t take his advice. The internet is full of those who claim to be, or act like they are, experts who have no clue what they’re talking about. This is nowhere more evident than in conversations about Christianity. A question posted on one website asked atheists to explain the incredible growth of Christianity. He wanted their thoughts, not start a holy war. But wow the responses were crazy: angry and downright nasty, lies, and they typical anti-Christian talking points. Some responses had a grain of truth, while only one response came from someone who had taken the time to explore the topic. Times have changed but the same attitude which confronted Paul confronts the Church today: religion is a crutch for the weak, faith is superstition, and the cross is foolish. Is this true? Is the cross foolish? Are Christians fools, dupes, and losers?
The piece of graffiti on your bulletin would indicate that at least one person found the cross dumb, and we know the vandal wasn’t alone in his low opinion about Christians. Paul sums up their attitude in just one sentence: “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” With his words in mind, why are we shocked when people reject the Chrisitan message? Why are we surprised at the hatred voiced against the church? Why do church invasions and shootings surprise us? I became angry when the editor of the Sac News got his nose out of joint because an opinion piece in the Sac Sun espoused Christian living, which was probably a waste of time and energy. Jesus clearly warns: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” There’s no doubt it’s going to happen. Don’t be surprised when unbelievers cherry pick verses and take them out of context. Don’t sin in your anger when hateful intentions are attributed to Christians. They persecuted Jesus, so they’re going to persecute His followers.
While politics and immigration policy are heated topics, I would bet that Christianity is more likely to cause divisions between family and friends than politics. A family member considers you old fashioned because of you pray and read the Bible. They think your faith is stupid, that you’re stupid for believing in Jesus. Christian families around the globe have the same problems. A person rejects the faith of their spouse. Someone embraces Islam or some other religion claiming they’re all paths to heaven. A sibling embraces an alternative sexual lifestyle. A brother calls Christians judgmental hypocrites. A child rejects the faith the parents spent years instilling in them. It’s heartbreaking and we all know it.
Since unbelievers consider the cross a stumbling block or foolish, you can’t argue someone into Christianity. You can’t force them to believe and getting angry isn’t going to help. When people reject Jesus because he doesn’t make sense or seems unnecessary, they think they’re smart – they’re not. They’re not seeing the cross for what it is – the wisdom of God which saves them! When Jesus was affixed to the cross, His weakness was on display for all to see and to mock. But what does Paul say? “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The wise and proud are foolishly rejecting the power of God. They think they’re wise, but He destroyed their wisdom through His Son. They think they’re discerning and intelligent but they’re rejecting Him who gives hope and fills the spiritual and emotional voids. They don’t realize how little they know. What they need most of all is to know God’s love and that comes from you. They’re not always going to listen, but we’re to talk to them, share God’s love with them, be present when they need help, pray with and for them. Paul gives us some direction later in I Corinthians. He says that unbelief isn’t grounds for divorce because the unbelieving spouse could come to faith through the example of their partner. We don’t give up because we never know when God will open their eyes and they’ll see their own foolishness.
It’s a good thing we’re so much smarter than those who think they’re wise. They see the idea of God or the need to please God as silly and we don’t. We would never see the cross as foolish. Would we? Sure, we do! Christians are susceptible to the temptation to not look at the cross but in a mirror. We look in the mirror at what we do, or don’t do, and we’re sure we’re heaven bound. Foolishness and pride encourage us to think God needs our help. “Look at me, Lord, I’m not like those sinners! I’m pretty darn good!” When we say those quite thoughts out loud, they sound pretty dumb, don’t they? And while we may not consciously say them, we’re stumbling over the cross upon which Jesus did everything. Wisdom is knowing that you can’t do anything to “help” God.
An honest, Christian self-evaluation will quickly reveal our foolishness and misplaced pride. When we look in the mirror, instead of pride, we need to see our sin and failings. Pride has no place because what can we brag about? That we’re rich and famous? That we’re powerful influencers? That we’ve got everything figured out? Hardly! Instead, we follow Paul’s command to boast in the Lord and His cross. God chose the foolishness of the cross to save the weak. To the world, this word of the cross is folly. But for you who believe, the Son of God made flesh to die on the cursed cross, is the wisdom of God which saves! The Christ of the cross is the fullness of the power of God to rescue and redeem the world from its foolish wisdom.
The fools of this world don’t know, and Christians frequently forget, the miraculous nature of the cross of Jesus. It’s not a piece of jewelry or good luck charm. It’s not a fashion statement. It’s the source of what Paul calls righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Through the crucifixion of Jesus, you’re declared righteous – innocent. You’re sanctified which means you can pray knowing that God hears your prayers because His Son made you holy. It means when you plead for God to forgive your sins, all your sins, He already has! You’ve been redeemed because God has bought you back from satan and the curse of hell with the blood of His dear Son. As Paul says, “It pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
Groucho Marx, if you know who he is, you’re probably not on the young side, said: “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member.” This witty line in a resignation letter made me think. Why would God choose to save me? I wouldn’t choose me! It seems foolish to choose a sinfully flawed guy. God though isn’t like us. He doesn’t do foolish things. What does Paul say? “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world.” When He chose me, when He chose you, it reveals wisdom far beyond our own. He chose to make you wise to salvation, so that you see what is foolish in the eyes of the world is the salvation of your body and soul. In His wisdom He chose you, even though you are a sinner, so that you can boast in His grace and goodness.
In the first years after Jesus ascended back to our Father, the Church was comprised of mostly women, slaves, the poor, and the elderly. One Roman said: “Workers, cobblers, leather-dressers, the most illiterate and clownish men were zealous preachers of the Gospel.” Not very complimentary. But familiar. Yes, the Church is mocked, attacked, and hated, and yes Christians are mocked, belittled, and killed, and yet what do we see? The glory of Jesus’ cross going out into the world where the worldly fools are brought to faith. Many academics and politicians view Christians as simpletons, and that’s not a bad thing. How are you saved? Convoluted prayers and pilgrimages? Helping God? Strict diets and religious fanaticism? None of these! How are you saved? It’s simple! Faith in Jesus. That’s it. We don’t need to get bogged down in philosophical debates or arguments with hostile people on the internet. Believe in Jesus, teach the Gospel, show Christian love, and let God do the rest. We don’t know if or when others will be knocked from their pedestals of wisdom into the foolishness of the Church, until then we pray and encourage people to join us in the Church which isn’t made up of losers, fools, or dupes, but forgiven saints, beloved children, and those who’ve been the recipients of God’s great wisdom.
Amen
Now the peace which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen