Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost; The Transfer from Edessa to Constantinople of the Holy Icon Not Made with Hands of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ, also Called the Holy Veil; The Holy Martyr Diomedes.
Post-feast of the Dormition.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Matthew 19:16-26.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The coach of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi – for whom the Superbowl trophy is now named – held up a ball at the start of training camp in July 1961 and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” They had lost the NFL championship game the previous December. He brought his players back to basics. They went on to win the 1961 NFL championship, defeating the New York Giants 37-0 that December. Things were such in the Corinthian church that they needed to be reminded of and called back to the basics of our faith. At some point in our lives, we all may need that.
The risk of losing the game, so to speak, is real. Paul reminds us of the gospel, “by which you are saved, if you hold it fast – unless you believed in vain.” But he does so, not with himself as the focus, but as one who “also received.” He then recites a proto-creed. But he directs most of our attention to “in what terms” he preached the gospel – the testimony of the apostles.
Paul’s authority as an apostle was under question. The factionalism in the Corinthian church not only was manifested in people having favorite apostles, it made them vulnerable to false ones. The Corinthians may not have liked Paul’s appearance and manner of speech (2 Corinthians 10:10) but his gospel was true. In their status seeking, they were a small step from no longer embracing in how they lived their lives the Christ who suffered, died, and was buried. Paul was not contending for his apostleship exclusive of the others; in rejecting his apostleship, the Corinthians were at risk of rejecting the gospel all apostles preached and falling for a false one.