But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1Corinthians 15: 20-26)

I am old enough to - increasingly - perceive my own mortality. I would welcome a new beginning in an undying land.

But Paul's focus on a next life seems unlike the focus of Jesus on this life.

I am a bit suspicious when the core of an argument turns on fear. Paul's promise of resurrection is hopeful, but it is driven by fear.

Jesus died. It was an untimely and cruel death. But he chose to join us in death.

I welcome the promise of resurrection. But it is the Jesus of this painful life that compels my faith, hope, and love. When I pray for "thy kingdom come," I am asking God's help in the choices I must make today.

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1Corinthians 15: 12-19)

Corinth was also divided over whether or not there is resurrection of dead. But for Paul this is no distraction. This is a fundamental issue.

For Paul the resurrection of Jesus confirmed his identity as the Christ. In raising Jesus from death God confirmed and communicated the redemptive power of the life and death of Jesus.

Without the resurrection, for Paul, the self-giving of Jesus might be noble and even inspiring, but it would have no fundamental effect on our individual conditions.

Paul firmly believes that in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus humankind has been transformed: we may live confidently as inheritors of our loving Creator's estate.

Understanding, accepting, and living consistently with this transformed condition is the foundation and culmination of Paul's purpose.

Above is Caravaggio's rendering of the Apostle Thomas encountering the risen Christ.

Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe. (1Corinthians 15: 8-11)

Paul was a man. A tent maker. A husband. (A father?) A serious student of scripture. A man capable of purposeful violence. A creative and persuasive communicator. Much more.

He was deeply flawed, as are each of us. He was paradoxical, which seems to me innate to the human condition. He was both unfit and profoundly able.

But Paul - much more than I - worked hard to resolve the paradox. He did so, in part, by accepting his flaws and failures. He does not hide them.

"I am what I am," he writes. I perceive Paul knew himself much more deeply than most. This self-knowledge was an important source of his deeper understanding of God.

I am unfit. I am a child of God. I cause confusion and error. I am a source of clarity and direction. I am flawed and sinful. God loves me.

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. (1Corinthians 15:3-7)

This is what matters. This is where we should focus. Here is our proper concern and priority.

Christ died for our sins and he was raised.

Division is a distraction. Sexuality immorality is a distraction. Headcovering is a distraction.

Before and above all these is the crucifixion and resurrection.

We are redeemed, despite our distraction. We are loved, despite our distraction.

But in our distractions we often fail to accept this love.

We may even pursue distraction in an effort to deny and escape this love.

Put away the distractions, Paul pleads. Accept the love of Christ.

Above is a Russian Orthodox icon representing the resurrection.

Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. (1Corinthians 15: 1-2)

In a rather brief letter Paul has dealt with a variety of divisions and differences among the believers at Corinth.

Paul has provided guidance on dealing with sexual immorality, lawsuits, sex within marriage, marriage with unbelievers, remarriage, social and cultural identity, eating or not eating food offered to idols, the nature of freedom, our responsibility to others, headcoverings in worship, self-indulgence and self aggrandizement, the proper attitude with which to participate in the Lord's Supper, the range and role of spiritual gifts, the animating power of love, the comparative value of prophecy and speaking in tongues, and protocols for orderly worship.

Through this guidance it is possible to discern some principles: We are free. We are to make mindful choices that fulfill God's intent for each of us and our community. We are to exercise self-restraint when our freedom of choice might complicate the ability of others to deepen their relationship with God. We are reminded that our choices are to be guided by the example of self-giving love we know in Jesus.

I am sometimes uncomfortable with how Paul applies these principles to the specific context in Corinth. Part of my discomfort is because I do not fully understand the context. This ancient and exotic setting is far beyond my experience and I don't have sufficient knowledge of the details. But my discomfort is also the result of resisting a call to self-restraint. Like some at Corinth, I exult in my freedom. I am less enthusiastic regarding my responsibilities.

But I recognize the value of the principles. I also recognize that even the best principles do not eliminate the courage and risk involved in making tough choices.

Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. So, my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues; but all things should be done decently and in order. (1Corinthians 14: 37-40)

After a quick right turn to impose female deference, the text returns to Paul's more nuanced treatment of tongues.

But once again there is an inconsistency. Previously Paul has been scrupulous to distinguish between his own judgment and the commands of Christ.

Paul notes that Jesus taught a husband and wife should not separate, and we recognize this from gospel accounts. Paul goes on to say it is his own opinion that believers and unbelievers should also remain in relationship. (1Cor. 7:10-12)

In Mark's gospel Jesus does refer to speaking in tongues, but he does not reference a greater role for prophecy. The kurios entole - Lord's command - might be God's command and, indeed, Paul has quoted Torah to support this position.

But coming from the same man who railed against circumcision and for the radical freedom of faithful choice, this seems a rather weak position.

We can see, perhaps, Paul struggling to balance his understanding - and explanation - of the complementary relationship of freedom and discipline.

In Galatia Paul encountered many whose experience of God was being impeded by an excessive concern for legal niceties. So his rhetoric highlighted freedom of choice.

In Corinth Paul perceives that too many have been distracted from God by self-indulgence. So he writes of the need for decent and orderly behavior.

As in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached? (1Corinthians 14: 33-36)

This instruction is inconsistent with other teachings of Paul where the role of women in public prayer and prophecy is affirmed.

This paragraph is incongruent with its context; unless we assume that only women were speaking in tongues.

Many scholars have treated this as a gloss imposed on Paul - and the church - by editors and transcribers. In the New Revised Standard version the entire paragraph is bracketed in parenthesis and footnoted as questionable.

Yet Jewish, Greek, and Roman law would have agreed on female deference. Women speaking out in the ekklesia would have offended and put-off many.

Paul tended to view most cultural norms as not worth challenging. His attention was focused on bringing more and more into relationship with God.

In relationship with God the greater reality of radical equality - no male or female, slave or free - would be realized soon enough.

Don't mistake ends with means or means with ends. Paul was consistent in cautioning that we not allow ephemeral concerns to delay achieving the profound goal of bringing the world to Christ.

Above is the entombment of Christ with three women and John by Peter Paul Rubens.

What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is a God not of disorder but of peace. (1Corinthians 14: 26-33)

Each of us are expressions of God. For God's full intention to be realized, each gift is required.

Even as each gift is extraordinary, it can be complemented by the gifts of others.

Paul suggests there are greater and lesser gifts, but there is a need for all gifts.

Paul is clearly concerned that the Corinthians are giving too much attention to tongues.

Paul gives a place of particular honor to prophecy: the interpretation of mysteries.

But there is a place for tongues and singing and revelation... and silence.

In relationship with God each of these gifts contribute to the wholeness of our experience.

In this manner all may learn - manthano - and be encouraged or parakaleo.

This is the encouragement of a great coach. This is someone at your side giving instruction, comfort, consolation, and - when necessary - admonishment.

We each have our spiritual specialities. We are each called to share these with others. But when and how we share depends on the need of others.

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. After the secrets of the unbeliever’s heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, ‘God is really among you.’ (1Corinthians 14: 23-25)

In considering the "secrets of the unbeliver's heart" I immediatetly think of my sins. I consider those actions and attitudes that separate me from God. I expect prophecy to expose these sins and lead me to contrition, pardon, and reconciliation.

I wonder how much this may suggest an intellectual descent from John Calvin, John Knox, and Jonathon Edwards?

The kruptos kardia - secrets of the heart - may be a unique gift of God, a profound purpose, or a new way of understanding. The secrets made manifest may include the courage to love and serve. What is hidden may be a strength rather than a shame.

Given Paul's emphasis on building-up it is much more likely that prophecy should bring us to recognize our teleios - purpose - rather than focus much on our problems. Some excavation may precede building-up, but the excavation is not the most important element.

If outsiders can find this positive and uplifting secret in our churches, then surely they will find God among us.

Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. In the law it is written, ‘By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people; yet even then they will not listen to me,’ says the Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. (1Corinthians 14: 20-22)

Paul is quoting Isaiah. The full context of the quote relates to the fall of Ephraim, the core of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, what was known in the time of Jesus as Samaria.

In Isaiah the Ephraimites are described as much blessed, but self-indulgent. "They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions." (Isaiah 28: 7) The prophet insists that they are too immature to learn knowledge.

Paul encourages what the translator has rendered as "in thinking be adults." The Greek is phren teleios. Phren is an intuitive understanding that combines both thinking and feeling. Teleios is purposeful, focused on outcomes, wholistic.

Perhaps better suited to our contemporary understanding would be: Brothers and sisters, do not be child-like in the way you engage and explain the world; be children in evil, but engage and explain the world maturely, mindfully, and purposefully.

Speaking in tongues is child-like. The practice is inclined toward immediate gratification. Paul encourages attention to less self-indulgent, more profound gifts of the spirit.

Above is a 17th Century icon from the Dionysiou Monastery representing Christ with the Samaritan Woman.

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the ‘Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue. (1Corinthians 14: 13-19)

Some with a strong aversion to Pentecostal practice have made the case that Paul was discouraging the use of little known Hebrew. But this treatment of praying as with either with the spirit (pneuma) or the mind (nous) is clarifying.

Paul has experienced - more than others - an intimate communication with God that goes beyond what can be understood with the mind. It is clearly a form of speech that is, in the narrowest sense, ecstatic. It takes us to a new place.

Paul endorses the personal value of this ecstatic form. But Paul - once again - discourages us from a spiritual stance that might exclude others. The community is built up by including, involving, and instructing. Self-restraint is often a key to self-giving love.

There are doubtless many different kinds of sounds in the world, and nothing is without sound. If then I do not know the meaning of a sound, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church. (1Corinthians 14: 10-12)

The gathering at Corinth featured many differences: gender, ethnicity, culture, religious background, economic means, spiritual guides, and - it is clear - a difference of opinion regarding the role of speaking in tongues.

Paul consistently celebrates these differences. He perceives them as strengths and teaches much more than tolerance. We are to love one another.

He discourages thoughtless display of difference, as when the rich eat well while the poor go hungry. He discourages silly provocations, as with head covering.

Paul calls for all our varied strengths to be dedicated to the building up - oikodome - of the ekklesia. We derive ecclesiastical from this Greek word. It is often translated as church. But for the Greek speaking world this was a political assembly of citizens.

Our individual gifts are intended by God to advance the good of the whole community.

Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? It is the same way with lifeless instruments that produce sound, such as the flute or the harp. If they do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is being played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves; if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. (1Corinthians: 14: 6-9)

What is the benefit? How does speaking in tongues benefit others? How does any gift or action benefit others? This is a consistent concern of Paul's.

If I had stood at the front of the church in Japan and given a carefully crafted sermon in English it might well have been an authentic spiritual act for me. But it would have meaningless to most of those with me.

Recently my wife and I attended mass in Venice. We listened carefully to the sermon given in Italian. I heard encouragement to live as if the kingdom of heaven has already arrived. My wife heard our current condition described as a jail from which we would soon escape.

Paul calls for accurate interpretation (prophetiteia), clarity (apokalupsis), knowledge (gnosis), and teaching (didache). He calls for what builds up -oikodome - one another and the whole community.

In what we say and what we do we should be sensitive to how it will be received by others. We should avoid that which is unnecessarily confusing, or provocative, or mysterious, or simply meaningless. Paul encourages us to love one another.

Above is an element of manuscript representing Jesus reading in the synagogue.

Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their building up and encouragement and consolation. Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the church. Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. (1Corinthians 14: 1-5)

I was once baptized into a Japanese Pentecostal church. My motivation was focused more on the intellectual growth of another than my own spiritual growth. But it did offer a unique, if not fully realized, spiritual opportunity.

Sunday worship was a cacophony of sound: brass music, drums, hundreds simultaneoulsly speaking in tongues, all while a sermon was also being broadcast over (very) loud speakers. Whatever the spiritual dimension, it was clearly an enthusiastic expression of social and psychological freedom.

Especially in the Japanese context I perceived the speaking in tongues as a declaration of personal value and spiritual independence. The surrounding culture emphasized conformance and self-depreciation. The Pentecostal experience encouraged self-expression and self-discovery.

The social and political relationships of those at Corinth also enforced deference. Many were literally slaves. To receive positive sanction for singing out and speaking out would have been a powerful call to self-actualization. The spiritual possibilities are significant.

Paul is careful to affirm this enthusiastic practice even while trying to direct it. What is translated above as prophecy might in non-religious terminology be called contextualization, interpretation, explanation, or even analysis. How do we make sense of our spiritual experience? How do we translate our experience for the benefit of others?

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (1Corinthians 13: 11-13)

We cannot - in our present condition - fully know God's intention. God's intention is beyond our understanding. As a child cannot fully comprehend the adult world, so we are limited in our understanding of the wholeness of God.

But we can have confidence and courage in our childlike relationship with God (and with each other). We can behave expectantly and positively with God (and with each other). We can love God and each other.

Knowledge will come. According to Paul this knowledge will be epignosko, an especially intimate, accurate, and complete knowing. But even this will not exceed the value of love. To love is to experience the wholeness of God.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. (1Corinthians 13: 8-10)

When the complete comes - the Greek is teleios - when the fulfillment of purpose is achieved, when God's intention is realized, when our current state of being is finished - love will persist when all else passes away.

Knowledge, interpretation of knowledge, and the ability to communicate knowledge are steps to the whole, but remain partial and instrumental. Love is our purpose. Love is the culminating step. Love is the purpose and end.

We so often mistake means for ends. We are so often distracted from what really matters. Paul honours our individual gifts. But these gifts only have value if we apply them to the wholeness of love.

Above are two panels from the Last Judgement by Hieronymous Bosch.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1Corinthians 13: 4-7)

Love is makrothurmeo which includes patience, but is also to perservere and have courage.

Love is chresteuomai which is much more than kind. It is also to be useful, pleasant, virtuous.

Love is not zeloo: heated, envious or angry. Love does not assert itself. Love does not make a mountain out of a molehill. Love avoids indecent or provocative action.

Love does not demand -zeteo - its own way. Love is not scornful, irritable, or angry. Love does not keep count of wrongs done to it.

Love does not celebrate adika: injustice between peoples or confusion in an individual. Love does celebrate the discovery of subtle and previously unrecognized truths.

Love bears, protects, and covers all. Love is persuaded, has confidence, and trusts. Love waits expectantly and joyfully.

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1Corinthians 13: 1-3)

Without love - agape - our gifts are misused. Only if our gifts are motivated by and aimed at agape do they fulfill the intent of God.

Agape is used sparingly by Homer mostly to describe the emotion with which a loved one is welcomed.

Plato uses agape to describe the trusting and mutually dependent relationship of citizens of the same class. In the Republic Plato briefly discusses love of justice as a form of agape.

In ancient Greek literature agape is the least common form of love. Philia -what we might think of as friendship - is more often used. But philia is, perhaps, too commonplace for divinely motivated or divinely aimed love.

Eros is celebrated in Greek drama, poetry, and philosophy. Sexual attraction is often involved. But eros is more broadly a striving and struggle for an object or ideal.

Agape is received. Eros is achieved.

It may be, however, that Paul was less focused on linguistic precision than such comparisons and contrasts suggest. The Septuagint - the Greek translation of the Hebrew bible used by most of the diaspora - rather eccentrically chose agape to translate the Hebrew ahab and ahab'a which encompass sexual, friendly, and spiritual love.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. (1Corinthians 12: 27-31)

We are bound together in mystical union with one another and with Christ. We bring into this profound relationship certain predispositions: strengths and weaknesses. Each of us have a role to contribute.

Each of our gifts are needed and have a place, but Paul is clear that there are greater and lesser gifts. Of first rank is apostolos or delegates of God. Then prophetes or interpreters and poets. Third are didaskolos or teachers and commentators.

Whatever other gifts we may have Paul urges us to strive for, earnestly desire, be zealous for the greater gifts. A sensitivity to the greater gifts will helpfully shape how we engage any other gifts available to us.

Above is a Serbian Orthodox icon of Christ from the Mt. Athos monastery.

If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it. (1Corinthians 12: 19-26)

The Corinthians were divided in many ways: there were Greeks, Romans, Jews, and others; there were slave and free; there was a wide range of economic means. The gathering feartured serious disagreement over religious and social practice. Any division that we find in our contemporary communities of faith seems to have been present at Corinth and probably amplified by the polyglot character of the context.

Differences are good. Dissension is bad. If we listen to our differences, we can learn a great deal even if what we learn only reinforces our difference. Who do we consider less honorable in our community? The uneducated, the immoral, the mentally ill, the perpetually poor? How do we extend greater honour to them? Who do we consider less respectable? How do we treat them with greater respect?

This teaching is in tension with some prior statements in this letter. I do not know how to resolve the tension. But this profound engagement of difference is a recurring theme with Paul. We remain different - eye, ear, finger, nose hair, and toe - but we are to remain in one fully formed and wonderfully arranged body as God intended. When one suffers, we all suffer; when one is honoured, we are all to rejoice... even if I am an eyebrow hair and the one honoured is a toe nail.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. (1Corinthians 12: 14-20)

Too often we perceive our particular gift as God's intent for all people. Because I am a "foot" it is clear that God's purpose is focused on walking. Seeing and hearing are helpful, but less important. Sitting and meditating are wastes of time.

Yet Paul reminds us that we are all of one body. Each part of the body needs the other, is lessened by the absense of another, and is empowered in relationship with all.

I have flat feet. I have one shoulder that droops. Either my legs are too short or my torso is too tall. Vanity pushes me to criticism of my own body. Active love for others would leave little time or energy for criticizing what God has so wonderfully arranged.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1Corinthians 12: 12-13)

We have been offered diverse gifts. In our origins and experiences we are different. From our different experiences we have derived varied perspectives.

We are as unique as one star is from another, or one blade of grass is from another, and in this we reflect the profound scope and range and depth of our Creator.

Still what we share is much more than what separates us. We are each of God and from each we may learn much of God. When we listen to one another, God is with us.

Above is an illumination of Jesus and the Canaanite Woman by Jean Colombe.

To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. (1Corinthians 12: 8-11)

God has given us life. This gift includes being created in the image of God. The Hebrew used in Genesis suggests being created as a shadow of God, sharing the divine essence.

Jesus has shown us how we might use the gift of life. In the life of Jesus we can perceive God's original intent that we be attentive, courageous, loving, and self-giving.

From the Holy Spirit we have each received a particular gift. As with all gifts, we must accept what is offered. Many gifts require care and discipline to fully experience.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1Corinthians 12:1-7)

There are various gifts - charisma - but the same Spirit. What is your core competence? What can you do especially well? What do you find inherently pleasurable to do?

There are various services - diakonia - but the same Lord. What is needed? What deficiencies are being experienced by others? How can your gifts be fruitfully shared?

There various activities - energema - but the same God. What outcome can you imagine? What outcome does God intend? How might charisma and diakonia lead to this outcome?

It is a practical formula: your core competence focused on the unfulfilled needs of others generates valuable outcomes. But Paul assures us these are matters of the Spirit.

He also emphasizes that the purpose is the common good - sumphero - where we share in life's burdens and move forward together.

So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If you are hungry, eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for your condemnation. About the other things I will give instructions when I come. (1Corinthians 11: 33-34)

The Greek ekdechomai is translated above as wait. It can also mean "receive from."

In the church of my childhood the bread and fruit of the vine are passed from neighbor to neighbor. The deacons bring the sacraments into the congregation where, like a family style meal, they are shared as "living symbols of body and blood of Jesus."

To receive from often involves waiting. But ekdechomai also means to expect. We are to wait expectantly.

Above is the Last Supper by Michael Damaskinos.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgement against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1Corinthians 11:27-32)

We are to examine ourselves. We are to dokimazo: test, assess, and prove our true value. This is the same testing that is applied to metals and coins. Do we find solid gold, or tarnished silver, or dull lead?

We are to judge - diakrino - our bodies. We are to discriminate between what is fine and what is failed. We are to separate the good from the bad. This is the same Greek used to withdraw into the desert for meditation.

Paul teaches that we undertake serious self-examination. He is confident that each of us shares the essence of our Creator. When we find what is less than fine, Christ provides all that is needed to shed or redeem it.

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1Corinthians 11: 23-26)

In many churches these words are repeated at each celebration of the Lord's Supper. For those at Corinth this was already a sort of religious ritual which they referred to as eukharistia or thanksgiving.

The Greek word suggests giving thanks for having been shown favor. It was perceived that God has shown favor to us by extending eu (excellent) kharis (gift, generosity, beauty, light) through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

In ancient Greek kharis was was understood as the outcome of reciprocal pleasure. According to Bonnie MacLachlan the ancient Greeks perceived that kharis "transforms the ugly into the beautiful, the dying into the living."

Ms. MacLachlan's book the Age of Grace is available at Amazon.com.

Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it. Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine. When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper. For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. What! Do you not have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I commend you? In this matter I do not commend you! (1Corinthians 11: 17-22)

The potluck stretches back to the very beginnings of the Church. Then, as now, it usually followed a worship service of scripture reading, scripture interpretation, and an exegesis of scripture.

Unlike today this "potluck" had a defined order, perhap similar to the Passover Seder or organized as a funeral banquet commemorating the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the early church the love feast was a weekly event, not just for special occasions.

But in some settings - as in Corinth - rather than a potluck the practice was more like a group picnic where each family brought their own hamper. While the entire body of believers gathered together to eat, each ate only that brought with them.

Rather than a festival of self-giving, such an event could become a dramatic show-case for economic and class difference. One hamper would be overflowing with fine foods, while the family seated next to them would have very little.

Today's potluck -where the origin of each dish is obscured and abundance is available to all - is much more likely to receive Paul's commendation.

Above is a Coptic Christian representation of Jesus feeding the 5000.

Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man or man independent of woman. For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman; but all things come from God. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. But if anyone is disposed to be contentious—we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God. (1Corinthians 11: 11-16)

We can perceive that Paul may have had a fleeting sense of the potential for his teaching on head-coverings to be misused. His argument depends entirely on the conventional subjection of women to men.

But in an almost parenthetical phrase Paul undermines his argument by reminding his readers that men and women are bound together. Further, just as woman was created of man, all men are born into the world through women. Besides, what is really important is that all things come from God. This is consistent with the core of Paul's teachings, but these core principals leave the head-covering issue unresolved.

Paul culminates his argument regarding head-covering with a non-scriptural appeal to social custom that many of his contemporaries would have found inaccurate. They might have pointed to the Germans, Gauls, and Parthians among which men with long hair were glorified and where the cutting of hair was understood as an offense to God. And what about Samson?

For me the atypically weak and inconsistent arguments presented by Paul suggest this was a problem that he considered a monumental waste of time. He probably saw little more than self-asserting pride in the provocative choices of some at Corinth. Stop trying to bring attention to yourself. Focus your attention on God... for Gods sake!

His final words are dismissive. Paul knows that some enjoy creating strife and nothing he writes is likely to stop them. It is, I think, a lost opportunity.

William Sloan Coffin once told me, "watch out for the radicals in button-down collars, they are the one's who will really get things done." Too often we are distracted by meaningless symbols. If we see ourselves as reformers we focus too much on assuming the pose of a reformer rather than achieving actual reform. If we are more conservative we too often allow ourselves to be baited by provocative behavior rather than listening carefully and responding thoughtfully to essential issues.

We are so easily distracted. It is a serious problem. I have read ahead enough to know that Paul will yet do better job in encouraging helpful attention.

For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, she should wear a veil. For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man. Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. (1Corinthians 11: 6-10)

Paul is consistent in his concern for impediments to spreading the gospel. Circumcision would have been a significant impediment to overcome. The dietary and other restrictions of the Mosaic Code had become distractions more than helpful distinctions.

Just as observance of these religious rules could impede the gathering of new believers, I perceive that Paul decided gratuitous disregard for social convention could complicate acceptance of the fundamental message.

It matters of faith and leadership of the faithful there is neither male nor female. Paul affirms the place of women in public prayer, in teaching, and in prophecy. But he wants to avoid disputes over head-covering. Along the way, he planted seeds for future disputes.

I am sympathetic to Paul's disdain for petty disputes. I am inclined to ignore them. But experience is beginning to teach me that Paul and I may be wrong in this choice. Disputes over small things can sometimes lead to fuller engagement with the profound.

For this to happen disdain must be replaced by respect, listening, and patience. Both the petty and the profound can be paths to a deeper relationship with God and one another, if we will approach our differences with authentic and actionable love.

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you. But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ. Any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head disgraces his head, but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head—it is one and the same thing as having her head shaved. (1Corinthians 11: 1-5)

All things are lawful - except a man praying with a covered head or a woman praying uncovered?

Why would the same man who has dispensed with circumscision, dietary restrictions, and many other key elements of the law of Moses insist on a social convention related to head-covering?

Perhaps because it is not important. It may be that Paul is teaching us to avoid provoking controversy over small matters of accepted practice.

Paul's injunction regarding head-covering has often obscured his clear endorsement of female prophets. That was a radical departure from convention.

Don't be distracted by the small stuff. Don't distract others with unimportant controversies. Avoid scandal. Exercise your liberty where it matters most.

Above is Coronation of the Virgin with Five Angels from the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.