Who Is Best Qualified To Handle Grievances?
Good Morning Friends,
Paul rebuked the Corinthian Christians for trusting secular sources in rectify grievances among themselves. He claimed the Church is uniquely fitted to properly rectify personal grievances because Christians are qualified thru their selfless loving concern and wisdom. But then Paul argued for his own case to be addressed by the secular powers of Rome. Of course, that bought him some time and was connected to a powerful purpose, but it also ended in him getting his head chopped off. Generalizing today’s scripture might not be wisdom at all if those assigned to a case do not act ethically. The merits of providing accountability to a community is undoubtedly of merit and so we ask… Who Is Best Qualified To Handle Grievances?
Scripture: When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels—to say nothing of ordinary matters? If you have ordinary cases, then, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another, but a believer goes to court against a believer—and before unbelievers at that? In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—and believers at that. Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:1-11 (NRSV)
Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Luke 6:12-19 (NRSV)
Message: Some people have said that today’s scripture from Corinthians makes it sound like Christians are supposed to let people run all over them submitting to a clever sales job. And in some situations that is correct, but it is an individual situational decision made thru the Holy Spirit’s guidance and control. You see things are complicated and before we start blaming people we need to understand what the main concern is and differentiate it from what is wrong. We need to experience how scripture informs scripture when filtered through the experiences of our lives. Let me give you an example.
Today is the anniversary of 9/11 for Americans but for Southwest Floridians it is also the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma. The trials and tribulations to both events continue. So, yesterday we were upgrading some of the electric panels in our well house. The system was working but was not in the best condition, in part due to Irma. We wanted to be better prepared for the next storm. The electrician came, replaced the junction box and left. Once we discovered we had no water we called the company and told them of the problem. Five times on multiple calls they said we had a plumbing problem that they could fix to which we replied firmly five times, “No we have an electrical installation problem.” Finally, late last evening they sent out an electrician who reinstalled the electric correctly which had been shorting out. We had water. No charge. Vindication! Friends having just experienced this emotionally I can tell you that some questions cannot be answered with science, no matter how helpful it might be. Unless you work in the field advertising or you have a product that you are trying sell, few of us have any idea that billions of dollars are spent each year to promote products. But the fact is advertising is not so much a matter of promoting a product as it is creating a need. Advertising is not so much a matter of satisfying a hunger or quenching a thirst as it is creating a hunger and thirst. So, when, in today’s gospel reading, Jesus linked together hunger and thirst with righteousness, He was telling the people that righteousness is not a luxury, it is a necessity. In the same way that our physical life depends upon food and water, our spiritual life depends upon righteousness.
Friends, as Christians we are to be in submission to love with selfless concern. This avoids problems whereas pride multiplies them. This puts us in a position of judging fairly. But sometimes when Christians seek their own ends or worse yet wrong others, they act in a manner completely uncharacteristic of the Church. In these situations, the Holy Spirit might just guide us to exhibit a little righteous anger. We all have a vested interest in seeing that the communities in which we live, and work are ethical. This is not just a good idea, it is a necessity.
Pray the eyes of our hearts are enlightened. Pray we understand the difference between wants and needs. Pray we thirst after righteousness. Pray as we make decisions. Pray we realize that those who have placed their trust in Christ have found the answer to the hidden hunger and thirst in their life. Pray our lives and actions are connected to the power of the Universe manifested in Christ Jesus. Pray we realize that Jesus is the best.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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