Friday July 11, First
Corinthians Chapter 5
First Corinthians Chapter
5:1-8 Sexual Immorality that Defiles the Church
Paul
moves from the issue of divisions regarding one group judging another over
questions of superior knowledge and enlightenment. He now addresses the more
delicate subject of a reported case of sexual immorality within the
community. He will use the opportunity to establish a precedent for
dealing with moral issues within the church and to comment on the proper
relationship with the "outside" world.
A
man is living with his father's wife. The Greek text is much more blunt. The
word translated as sexual immorality is "porneia" (fornication) from
which we derive the word pornography. The immorality is "among you
(plural)," a devastating criticism of the community in which the Holy
Spirit should be dwelling. The woman is the man's stepmother. That she is the
wife of his father creates a violation of Levitical Law (Lev. 27:20), which requires that the man be driven out of the
community. Paul emphasizes the serious nature of the situation by claiming
that not even the Gentiles would do such a thing - not historically valid among
the aristocracy but we get his point. A deeper concern for Paul is that no one
in the community is taking any action against this man whom Paul does not
address or name. The members are arrogant and puffed up, terms he has
already used to describe their party spirit. Perhaps this is some of that new
knowledge, being in a more enlightened state that caused the divisions and so
an "anything goes" spirit has begun to creep into the community.
"We know what's going on but, hey, it's his business." As far as Paul
is concerned it is their
business. Such acquiescence is a poison ready to spread, like the corruption of
a little leaven in the "whole batch of dough." Instead of acting the
Corinthians are boasting about how enlightened they are - one might replace
enlightened with libertarian, which rejects any overarching authority but the
individual.
Instead
of boasting they should be mourning and have already taken action to expel the
man from the congregation. Paul exercises his apostolic authority passing
judgment on the man "in the name of the Lord Jesus." He instructs the
community to assemble - his spirit will be
present with the power of the Lord. They are to "hand this man over to
Satan for the destruction of the flesh." This is not an end game for Paul.
He understands the positive nature of such an order - and it is an order.
Only by an open condemnation of the man's behavior by the community, which
until now has silently condoned his porneia, will the man come to understand
the gravity of his position. He is consigned to Satan's realm and cut off
from Christ and Christ's church. Perhaps this will be enough of a personal
shock (and fear?) to lead him to repentance so that "his spirit may be
saved in the day of the Lord (end of the age and judgment)."
Once
the man (the spoiling leaven) has been removed from the community (the spoiled,
leavened dough) it will be renewed; it will be clean
and purified like a new batch of unleavened dough. The use of leaven
as a metaphor for the presence of sin permeating the community which
has not been purified by the removal of the leaven allows Paul to place the
issue within the context of the cross. The purification of the community by
casting out the man will be a reenactment of the Passover ritual of
cleansing, casting out, the leaven from the homes before the feast day begins.
It is a rite of purification perhaps here understood as a form of a baptism of
the whole community. The purified community will then be prepared to
celebrate anew the sacrifice of Christ the Paschal lamb, replacing the
"leaven of malice and evil [with] the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth." The expulsion of the porneia leads to its replacement by sincere
obedience to individual and community holiness which is the gift of truth given
by the Spirit.
First Corinthians 5:9-13
Judging Sexual Immorality
Paul
clarifies his instruction about mingling with sexually immoral persons.
It would be impossible to make such a distinction in the world beyond the
community where the Christian may by necessity of position or work associate
with the "greedy and robbers or idolaters" in addition to the
sexually immoral. He was referring only to anyone that "bears the
name of brother or sister" within the community and is involved in
such practices as noted for the world beyond the church. The proscription is
within the community and one should not "even eat with such a
person." Of course, Paul does not accept such behavior in the world any
more than he does in the Church. But Paul's authority and the
community's authority, is in the church and on behalf of God for the purity of
the community. He cannot judge the world. That is up to God. As for the
community, they are to "drive out the wicked person," apparently
for his own good - ultimately.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Note:
Reading
Paul's instructions regarding internal church discipline might be
discomforting. We would rather follow the advisory "Don't ask, don't
tell." It is the safe way. Besides, who are we to judge another?
Didn't Jesus say, "He [or she] who is without sin cast the first
stone?" Should we not follow Jesus' advice to take the time to check
the several logs in our own eye before worrying ourselves with the one speck in
someone else's eye? John Wesley believed that but he did not mean or imply
that personal and corporate discipline are unnecessary. His
Societies were subdivided into smaller Classes and Bands. These
subdivisions served several functions. One of them was mutual
accountability within the group for one's Christian life. This
concept has been translated into the modern "Walk to Emmaus," widely
encouraged by the Board of Discipleship and attended by United Methodists and
members of many other denominations around the world. Part of the program,
which emphasizes a commitment to personal piety, study and action, is the
"Reunion Group," also known as "The Fourth Day." In small
groups of four to six persons, participants meet weekly and hold each other
accountable for their Christian practice. Part of that is sharing how one has
and has not lived up to Christ's - and Wesley's, call upon our lives to strive
for holiness. The theological premise for such small groups is that, as
part of a community, we do not live in a vacuum. We are all part of the
Christian community, supposedly brothers and sisters to each other, accountable
to God as well as the family. Despite the assertion of William Henley's
"Invictus," we are not the masters of our fate or the "Captain of our
soul." Should we not hold our lives up to the candle of expectation?
We do not need confessionals or the Sacrament of penance. We do need
accountability for who we claim to be and the name we bear.
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