I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
If we resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified, we can avoid the risk of becoming an obstacle to Jesus. We won't tell him that his plans can't involve the cross when we remember that the cross was the very center of his own plans.
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of spirit and power,
For Paul, the message based on the cross was not simply one of surrender and defeat. It was based on demonstrations of spirit and power. Two Sundays ago we saw that it was by a demonstration of the Spirit to the soul of Peter that Peter received the revelation of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. It was this Spirit, neglected, that made Peter a momentary obstacle. Without this power Peter fell into doubt and denial. But it was the same Spirit who allowed the Son of God to be recognized even after his apparent failure on the cross. It was this Spirit who allowed Peter to recognize Jesus again even after his own failures. It was by his power that any apparent weakness, perhaps the inadequacies of Paul's own words and preaching, could be woven into something that made the case for the power of God.
I have more understanding than all my teachers
when your decrees are my meditation.
Jesus himself was the fulfillment of all that the Spirit had said through the prophets of old.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Yet to hear this, the people of Nazareth would have needed to have their knowledge, in a sense, crucified. They had preconceptions that prevented them from giving a fair hearing to what the Spirit was saying through Jesus.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
To know nothing except Jesus, and him crucified, would have left no room for these doubts. To be the son of Joseph was one thing, to be crucified something else again. But neither the former (which was in any case improperly understand) nor the latter meant that Jesus was less than he claimed to be. The fact and necessity of the crucifixion could have relativized and destroyed all other doubts.
Even outsiders like Naaman had their own preconceptions and limits, but these limits were eventually overcome. Even the widow could not have understood just what the power of God could make possible for her and her son until Elijah had worked those wonders. Let us at least try to give Jesus a hearing without preconceptions, one which is willing to listen, to be corrected, and even, insofar as we need it, to be crucified, so that we may know in turn the power of his resurrection.
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (see Philippians 3:10).
There is a promise here. Our faith can rest on the power of God. There is meant to be immense freedom from fear and doubt. May we be open to hear the anointed words of the Spirit so that we can receive it.
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