I have been trying for 3 days to complete this blog - There is an awful lot in I Corinthians. When I first read it I felt quite depressed - How are our numerous denominations any better than "'I belong to Paul' or 'I belong to Apollos' or 'I belong to Cephas'"? How few of the directions later in the letter do we actually follow? Are we supposed to? Do we manifest all the spiritual gifts? Do we not seem to have the gift of Tongues because we do not believe enough? Do we really embody love, as described in chapter 13? Where is the prophesy in this day and age? Do we really believe in the resurrection?
After a lot of thought I have come to a few answers for myself, anyway.
I think denominations are not God's first choice - but I think each group is earnestly trying to serve God to the best of their understanding - so they are not to glorify Menno Simons or Martin Luther or John Calvin but to allow like minded people to gather to worship in a way that is authentic for them. Paul's concern seems to be that the Corinthians are glorifying the apostles/missionaries instead of God. I think it is important that we keep our focus on God and becoming the best God followers we can.
Much of the discourse found in chapters 5 - 11 is disconcerting at first. Kick out the sexually immoral, appoint judges from within the church/community to judge disputes among the brethren; Be content with your station in life (if married, stay married, if single, stay single, if a slave, stay a slave); Women should wear head coverings (especially while praying or prophesying), but should also remain silent in worship. We do not follow these directives very well! Are we all wrong?
After I had calmed down and pondered these passages for a while I came to realize that a lot of what Paul was saying connects with his teaching on food offered to idols. While it is OK to eat it since idols aren't gods so don't affect the food, we should refrain if it will become " a stumbling block to the weak". So, too, in a society where women were expected to be covered, were expected to worship separately and/or silently, it makes sense that, in public worship, these norms should be upheld. Noisy uncovered women (unless in the privacy of their own homes with no men present)belonged in brothels - not churches. This could be a real stumbling block for some. We should note that it was assumed the women would prophesy & pray, as that is when the veil was most important. This is a pretty big thing in a time and place where women were usually not valued in a worship setting. In a society where people often trusted each other to sit in judgement over small civil cases it would make sense to keep those disputes "in the family" so to speak. Why air your dirty laundry to non-believers? It sure doesn't help the church look good. And so on. The answer to almost all the questions is - Do what helps the church/community glorify God. Paul says "all things are lawful" - but when making choices he also wants things to look right - not to be confused with religions that had prostitution as part of their rites, or with groups gathering just to disrupt society. Paul wants the attention to be on God, on worshiping God, on serving God, not on the people. It is all summed up in "...do everything to the glory of God (10:31b)"
This insight might help apply Paul's instructions. We don't deal with eating meat sacrificed to idols - but we may have people around us that are vegetarian or who strongly believe in the 100 mile diet. Does this mean we are obligated to follow those diets? No, but, if it makes a difference to some, perhaps we should try to follow them when gathered together to eat. Maybe the whole paper plate debate is an example of this philosophy - bring your own dishes to support those who strongly feel paper plates are environmentally irresponsible - even if we believe they are OK on occasion.
Society no longer equates head covering with modesty - so this is a non issue - but perhaps our choice of attire in church should reflect modest dress for whatever age/society we live in.
In today's society women have (legally) an equal right to speak and be heard - so forcing women to be silent in the church would give an impression of oppression - not really one of glorifying a God who wants us to have an abundant life. So it makes sense to empower women to be in leadership - at least here in North America.
And remaining in one's station? Well - these days it is not really acceptable NOT to disturb the status quo somewhat. The message we want to get out there is that God IS relevant today; that God DOES care about injustices. Even slavery wasn't understood as an injustice back in Paul's day - so maybe his admonition is less to maintain the status quo and more to take seriously the responsibilities we have taken on - if we are responsible for another person, as a spouse or a slave or a slave owner - let us take care of that person. If we have a job let us do it well. Let us do what we take on in such a manner that, if we were doing it for God, God would be honored and pleased. In a way it is like representing your family - what you do reflects not only on your own character but also on your whole family.
The issue of our not demonstrating all the gifts of the Spirit is still concerning. I see many gifts in our congregation and in other people I have met. I believe God is working through many people. I don't see much prophecy - and I'm not sure we would be open to it if someone tried. My biggest concern is that we are messing up when it comes to showing love to each other. I do not see Christians always being patient and kind, slow to anger, even with each other let alone with people from other or no faith background. I see envy and arrogance and rudeness appear in some meetings and interactions - and have heard of more. We really need to learn to love each other - to see each other as valuable, as beloved of God. We also need to learn to speak the truth in love. We need to learn to trust each other and God to make the right decisions so we can best be a community that loves each other and God, and embodies that love to the people around us.
So there is still some real challenge and disturbing realizations to be found in 1 Corinthians - and I think we need to take them seriously. There are also helpful guidelines as we discern the right way to go with our church decisions.
May the blessing of Paul be upon us as we work toward being a better "body" for Christ: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with [us]. [May] love be with all of [us] in Christ Jesus." Amen.
I really appreciate your explanation of the context of Paul's instructions regarding the social norms of the day, which I have not come across before, particularly with regard to women being noisy and uncovered in church. You are helping us see what the principle involved is and asking whether or how to apply it in our own context. As you say, it is not just a matter of meeting society's expectations, but also weighing what is best and at times challenging them.
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