“A Realistic Optimist” (1 Corinthians 1:1-9)

Unforgettable Encouragement

Have you received unforgettable encouragement? I do. It was when I was in 6^th grade. At that time, I was strongly addicted to video games. I had to play every single day. I could not control myself. I even stole my parents' money to play games. I got into bad company. I often told lies to my parents to cover up my wrongdoings. One day during winter vacation several mothers from my class came to see my mother. At that time I was taking a nap in my room. The sound of their conversation woke me up. The parents thought I was outside. They began to talk about me and my wrongdoings at school. There was only one compliment, and the rest of them were all criticism. I was so embarrassed and afraid. I pretended to take a nap for a long time. After a while, I went out to the living room. My mother smiled at me and just said one thing, "My son, today we had visitors from your school. They said you have many friends, and you are popular at school. I am very proud of you." She shared the one and only compliment that she had heard. At that moment I knew I was forgiven. I was so deeply moved by her love and forgiveness. From that day I was able to overcome video game addictions.

 Encouragement for the Church

I share this because the Corinthian church in today’s passage receive the same kind of encouragement from the Apostle Paul. His first encouragement is about identity – approving of who you are. He says in verse 2, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling…” (NASB). Here Paul uses “past tense,” which means the church has already received the ultimate word of approval and acceptance. Paul’s second encouragement is aptitude encouragement – approving of what you do. In verse 5 he says, “In every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind” (NRSV). Eugene Peterson translates verse 7 this way: “Just think – you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all” (MSG). Then, Paul’s third encouragement is about approving of where you are headed, trajectory encouragement. In verse 8 he says, “Jesus will sustain you to the end.” In other words, Paul tells the Corinthians that they are on the right track. So, the three words of encouragement from Paul are:

·     Your identity is sure. You are sanctified.  
·      Your gifts are sufficient. You are enriched in every way.  
·      Your future is secure. You are on the right track.

Problems in the Corinthian Church

If you hear up to this point, it sounds like the Corinthian church was doing a wonderful job – an attractive, loving, perfect church. But in reality, the Corinthian church was filled with problems. The church was known for judging each other harshly. They were divided over prominent leaders – Peter, Paul, Apollos, and even Christ. Some of the church members committed adultery, not repentant but boastful. Some practiced their “Christian liberty” and hurt other church members’ feelings. One church member initiated lawsuits against another. The powerful ignored the needs of the poor in the church. The list goes on.

If we consider the reality of what was happening in the Corinthian church, we cannot but ask the following question: “How can we believe the content of Paul’s encouragement? Why is he so naïve to think everything is ok? On what basis is he so positive and optimistic?”

Simply Jesus

The answer is Jesus. Now I am going to read today’s passage very carefully. While I am reading it, please count how many times the word “Jesus” occurs:

 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

    To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

    Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind – just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you – so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1:1-9, NRSV)

In these 9 verses the name Jesus occurs eight times, and if we include the pronoun that refers to Jesus, it would be about 13 times. We can see how much “Christ-saturated” view Paul has. All of Paul’s surprising encouragement is firmly grounded in Christ. Yes, more than anybody else Paul was keenly aware of the Corinthians’ flaws and their problems. But he sees all things through Jesus’ eyes. Here Paul is saying, “Corinthians, you are sanctified not in yourselves, but in Christ Jesus. Your speech, your knowledge, your gifts are enriched in Christ. And in Christ, God will sustain you to the end.” So in the midst of all the problems Paul is still able to say to the church, “I give thanks to my God always for you!” (v. 4) Paul is a realistic optimist in Christ.

 A Realistic Optimist

In his book Here and Now Henri Nouwen talks about how his friend is a realistic optimist. Wherever he goes, whomever he meets, this friend radiates joy. He doesn’t deny human sufferings, nor is he blind or deaf to the great sorrow that surrounds him. But his spirit always gravitates toward the light in the darkness like a sunflower. Whenever Henri Nouwen meets him, he is tempted to draw his attention to the wars between nations, the starvation among children, the corruption in politics, and the gun violence, and racism, trying to impress him with the brokenness of the human race. Then his friend smiles and says, “I saw two children sharing their bread with one another, and I heard a woman say ‘thank you’ and smile when someone covered her with a blanket. These simple poor people gave me new courage to live my life.” After his conversation with the friend, Nouwen concludes, “My friend’s joy is contagious… Yes, I know there is a sun, even though the skies are covered with clouds. While my friend always spoke about the sun, I kept speaking about the clouds, until one day I realized that it was the sun that allowed me to see the clouds.”[1]

On another occasion, Henri Nouwen had an opportunity to meet Mother Teresa. At that time he was struggling and overwhelmed with all kinds of social issues. As soon as they sat down, Nouwen started explaining all his problems and difficulties— again trying to convince her of how complicated it all was. After ten minutes of elaborate explanation, he finally became silent. Mother Teresa looked at him quietly and said, “Well, when you spend one hour a day adoring your Lord and never do anything which you know is wrong . . . you will be fine!”[2] Here we find one thing in common between Nouwen’s friend and Mother Teresa. Both of them keep focusing on God – his faithfulness, his goodness, his grace, his sovereignty – rather than the fickleness of humans. Both of them keep speaking about the sun while walking under a cloudy sky. These are messengers of hope, the true realistic optimists.

Take Heart!

Paul is going to talk about problems later. But first, he wants the Corinthian church to know their identity is sure because it was given to them by Christ, their gifts are sufficient because they were given by Christ, and their future is secure because it has been prepared for them by Christ.

So what does this mean for us – individually and collectively as a church? As we look into ourselves and our church, we will be easily disappointed with our own brokenness and the messiness of the church. As we look around, we will be disheartened at the news of the day. But today’s scripture tells us, “Take heart! Invite Jesus, have Jesus at the center of your story, your life, your thoughts, your imaginations. If you can do that, you will see that God’s unchanging reality is still much more powerful than what you are going through today.” No matter how many problems we might have today, in Christ our identity is sure – we are called, we are sanctified, we are beloved. In Christ our gifts are sufficient – we are enriched, we are equipped, we are empowered. And in Christ our future is secure – we are on the right track, we will be sustained to the end. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). Today may we hear these words of encouragement from God. May we not try to build our own identity, but rather, may we have Jesus at the center of our life and live into the identity that has been given to us by Christ. Amen. 

 

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[1] Henri J. M. Nouwen, Here and Now: Living in the Spirit (The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1994), 32-33.

[2] Ibid., 102.