A new study on the Book of Hosea is available at http://prophethosea.blogspot.com/

The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, greet you warmly in the Lord. All the brothers and sisters send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Let anyone be accursed who has no love for the Lord. Our Lord, come! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus. (1Corinthians 16: 20-23)

Despite all their troubles in these final lines the Corinthians are assured of Paul's love and the grace of God.

The Corinthians are encouraged to love one another. Only one who has no love for Christ - no regard for the transforming grace of God - is anathema. This is surely an accursed state, but it is self-imposed and can be quickly removed by accepting the love of God.

Most of the letter had been written in the careful Greek script of a skilled transcriber. But in his own hand Paul adds the final lines, including an Aramaic word: maranatha. The translator above renders this as "Our Lord, come!" It can also mean, "Our Lord has come."

Paul has experienced the risen Christ. Paul has experienced the grace of God. Paul has been transformed by the love animating all creation.

The Lord has come. The reign of God is here. Love is victorious over all. But love does not - innately cannot - compel our allegiance. Love is offered. We have the freedom to accept or decline.

Above is a Russian Orthodox icon of the resurrection depicting Christ lifting Adam and Eve from hell.

This concludes 107 meditations on Paul's first letter to Corinthians. Tomorrow I will begin a study of either Amos or Hosea, I am not sure yet of which one. A new URL will be available here.

Now, brothers and sisters, you know that members of the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints; I urge you to put yourselves at the service of such people, and of everyone who works and toils with them. I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence; for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. So give recognition to such people. (1Corinthians 16: 15-18)

Stephanas was earlier referenced as one of the few at Corinth who Paul had personally baptized. He has almost certainly traveled from Corinth to Ephesus to put before Paul many of the issues addressed in this letter.

The relationship between Paul and Stephanas is of several years standing. But they had been separated for most of that time. Now he arrives in Ephesus with two others (and Sosthenes as well?) bringing problems.

Despite the problems, this delegation has spiritually refreshed Paul. Sometimes dealing with problems - forthrightly and reasonably - can be renewing. It is the unresolved or unrecognized problem that saps our energy.

How do we deal productively and positively with problems? We should be alert to them. Don't deny them. Have confidence in your ability to resolve them. Take action, don't just talk. Be courageous.

But mostly practice self-giving love. How can you make the first, second, and third contributions to solving the problem? How can love for others serve to transform and even transcend the problem?

Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. (1Corinthians 16: 13-14)

Be attentive to God's intention alive in the world.

Persevere in understanding God's intention and reality.

Find your innate source of self that has nothing to fear but God.

Express your true self with confidence and power.

Ginomai: be always becoming, always emerging, always growing.

In your becoming practice the self-giving love of Jesus our redeemer.

If Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord just as I am; therefore let no one despise him. Send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I am expecting him with the brothers. Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but he was not at all willing to come now. He will come when he has the opportunity. (1Corinthians 16: 10-12)

Timothy, the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, was also teaching and preaching. This younger man had been introduced to scripture by his mother, but had otherwise lived a non-Jewish life. Paul circumcised the adult Timothy to improve his credibility in the Jewish community.

Apollos was a contemporary of Paul. A well-educated Alexandrian Jew he had initially been a disciple of John the Baptist. He was introduced to the teachings of Jesus by Aquila and Priscilla. We know that at least some of those at Corinth viewed Apollos, and not Paul, as their spiritual Patron.

It would seem that Paul is not sure where Timothy is or where he might show up. If he comes to Corinth Paul asks that he not be despised; the Greek is closer to being totally ignored. Paul is concerned that Timothy, his most trusted colleague, might arrive in Corinth and simply be dismissed.

Paul has asked Apollos to go on to Corinth, but he has refused. The tradition suggests that Apollos was so disgusted with the Corinthians that he once went to Crete specifically to avoid going to Corinth. Yet much later - after Paul's careful attention has paid off - Apollos becomes the Bishop of Corinth.

The Corinthians are at each others throats. Timothy is out doing his own thing. Apollos is refusing to help. Paul has other priorities. The life of faith is seldom smooth and almost never predictable.

The painting above, by Hanna Cheriyan Varghese, represents Jesus calming the storm on the lake.

I will visit you after passing through Macedonia—for I intend to pass through Macedonia— and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way, wherever I go. I do not want to see you now just in passing, for I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. ( 1Corinthians 16: 5-9)

Ephesus is near the Aegean coast of what is now Southwestern Turkey. It would have been a quick crossing of, perhaps, two days to Corinth.

But Paul is planning a summer "campaign" to Philippi, Thessalonica, and others in Macedonia, ending up in Corinth where he will spend the Winter. In the ancient Mediterranean there was very little travel by ship or road from late November until late March.

Paul is worried about the gathering at Corinth. He is giving it attention. But he does not want the problems at Corinth to distract him from the opportunities at Ephesus or in Macedonia.

We are often inclined to feed problems and starve opportunities. Given the praise that Paul extends in letters to the Philippians and Thessalonicans, he intends to feed those opportunities (and be fed by them?) before he spends a winter dealing with the problems in Corinth.

This focused, sequenced, and persistent work fits with Paul's disdain for distractions and emphasis on clear priorities.

Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. (1Corinthians 16: 1-4)

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul explains that when confirmed as apostle to the Gentiles he was asked (instructed?) by the leaders in Jerusalem not to forget the poor.

A consistent aspect of Paul's ministry is the gathering of money to be delivered to Jerusalem.

Above the Greek - logia ho eis ho hagios - is rendered "collection for the saints." Here hagios is, however, an adjective not a noun.

A more literal translation would be, "Concerning this collection for those saintly" (or sacred or venerable).

A noun suggests a state of being. An adjective is concerned with behavior. Paul certainly had strong views on our fundamental state of being, but he more often focused on our behavior.

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain. (1Corinthians 15: 58)

Over the last 100 days I have worked to better understand Paul.

In this letter to a troubled gathering of Christians I often found him impatient. If he perceived the the trouble related to pride or self-assertion Paul could be dismissive.

If he perceived a controversy might discourage outsiders from coming to know Christ, Paul was quick and uncompromising in his condemnation.

His arguments against such actions could be rather weak. Paul had overthrown the authority of the law and had not yet developed positive principles to replace it.

Paul perceived in the self-giving of Jesus - and in the resurrection - an all-encompassing promise of redemption, reconciliation, restoration, and renewal.

At the core of Paul's ground of being is a God who loves in spite of good cause not to love.

God's love is general, but it is also specific. It is a love that honors and celebrates each unique creation for itself... for ourselves.

This love of each requires extending freedom to each. Only in freedom can each become uniquely and profoundly itself.

In freedom there is opportunity for error. Through error comes the experience of pain. The gift of freedom is the source of our suffering.

Paul and I differ on much. But we share an understanding that while God will not withdraw his gift of freedom, God has sent another gift. Christ is with us in our suffering and in Christ and through Christ we may experience transcendence.

Above is a Ninth Century mosaic showing Paul to the immediate left of Christ, along with Saints Cecilia, Peter, Valerian, and Agatha in the Basilica Sant Angese, Rome.

When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? ’The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain. (1Corinthians 15: 54-58)

The sting of death is sin. The power of sin is the law.

How might sin be the sting of death? Perhaps in a fuller self-awareness of the harm we have done others. In becoming another we will be able to perceive our lives more broadly and completely. For me, at least, it will be painful to see the full impact of my sins of commission and omission.

How is the law the power - dunamis - of sin? How is the law the origin of sin?

The quote is from Hosea 13 drawn from Septuagint Greek, not the original Hebrew. The prophet is warning of relentless judgment on Israel for its idolotries. Israel had forsaken the law. So how is the law also a source of sin?

In the next chapter of Hosea proclaims the word of God: "I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily, he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon. His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like that of Lebanon. They shall again live beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom like a vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon." (Hosea 14: 1-7)

It is not the law that saves Israel, it is the free love of God. The sinners do not heal themselves by observance of the law. God heals them despite their persistent iniquity. Israel does not earn God's blessing. God blesses Israel in an expression of pure grace.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (1Corinthians 15: 50-53)

We will all be changed. We must each change.

The Greek is allasso: to be transformed, to become another.

The kingdom of God is at hand - close by - within our grasp.

But to fully experience the reign of God we must be transformed.

What is now perishable will become aphtharsia: pure, sincere, and creative

But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1Corinthians 15: 46-49)

Other translations offer that like Adam we are "earthy." The sense of the Greek is better captured by "from the earth." But for me earthy helpfully suggests being grounded, comfortable and unpretentious.

Our physical being is a gift. It comes first. This earthiness is not only first in sequence. It is protos: first in rank. We are descended from a man of dust crafted in the image of God.

Our spiritual destiny is also a gift. This gift is the result of God joining our earthiness, dying, and being buried. We are creatures of both earth and heaven. We are to receive and celebrate each gift: honoring our descent and embracing our ascendence.

Above is Christ the Redeemer by William Blake.

So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. (1Corinthians 15: 43-46)

Because we are physical we are perishable, dishonoured, and weak. The Greek translated as dishonoured might be better understood as discounted: as the price of a perishable item is discounted before it spoils.

In the resurrection we will become spiritual: imperishable, glorifed, and powerful. The Greek for glorified is doxa. For Plato this is an undisciplined impression. For Paul this is closer to a spontaneous expression.

Both physical and spiritual have value. As the value of a luscious tomato passes, so does our physical value. Spiritual value transcends time and space. In our current condition we consume life. Our spiritual being will produce life.

But some one will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’ Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.(1Corinthians 15: 35-41)

Resurrection of the body is an essential element in Paul's understanding of faith. But what a body!

In our current condition we are as buried seeds waiting to sprout. In our resurrected body we will be as golden wheat waving in the wind. Our glory reflects our context.

The kabowd of Hebrew scripture became the doxa of the Greek New Testament which became the glory of English translations.

In reading how kabowd is used in the Psalms or Isaiah it seems to me that glory and gift are closely related. Each speak to essential characteristics.

Within each tiny seed resides all that is needed to become a specific stalk and head of wheat, the uniquely beautiful flower, a particular sturdy tree.

The essential identity is the same. But in one context the identity is hidden. In another context the identity is fulfilled.

Paul understands that in the resurrection our essential characteristics will blossom. Through the resurrection what is now our potential will become our reality.

And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters, as my boasting of you—a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord. If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’ Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. (1Corinthians 15: 30-34)

Paul seems to say that without the hope for some reward, why would we do other than fully indulge ourselves? Without the promise of the next life, certainly we would - even should - choose hedonism in this life.

The quote is from Isaiah 22. But there the meaning is ironic. The prophet argues that living only for pleasure in this life leads to disaster in this life. Attending to God's intention, by contrast, is the foundation for fulfillment in this life.

A hope and confidence in personal resurrection can lead to courage and fortitude in this life. An attitude toward this life as a way station on a great journey has motivated many a saintly choosing.

Less happily the same perspective can encourage passivity. It is even used as an excuse for not attending to the injustices and challenges of this life. Surely Paul does not suggest that this life is unreal, but for him it is not the only reality.

I confess the self-giving life and death of Jesus compells my attention more than the resurrection. This does not mean I dismiss the resurrection. But the resurrection of Jesus matters to me much more than my own. His resurrection gives me assurance - not of my own resurrection - but of the possibility to transcend every injustice, error, and cruelty.

Above is a detail of the Resurrection fresco from the Visoki Decani monastery in Serbia.

For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘All things are put in subjection’, it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. Otherwise, what will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? (1Corinthians 15: 27-29)

Paul is thought to be quoting Psalm 110, a hymn of spiritual submission and military victory.

The submission of the Son to God is interesting. The Greek is hupotasso, a military term for arranging troops, a kind of "falling in" to ranks. In the civilian world this falling in could suggest cooperation and collaboration within a group.

Will a day come when the Christ will fall-in? Will a day come where the separate identity of Christ - even though of one being with the Father - is to fade away? Does the victory of wholeness require the submission of individuality?

Adam Clarke, an early 18th Century Bible scholar, wrote of the final sentence above, "This is certainly the most difficult verse in the New Testament."

All three of these verses strike me as having significant potential to distract from Paul's primary message.