Two boys were cleaning a chimney when one of the boys came down from the chimney with a blackened face.  The other boy soon followed with a clean face, with nary a speck of dirt on his face.  Who do you think would wash his face first?  You would probably think that the boy with the dirty face would be the one to wash his face.  But you would be wrong.  Why?  When both boys come down from the chimney, they would naturally look at one another.  The boy with the dirty face, assuming that their face will be similarly dirty after being in the same chimney, will think that his face is clean after looking at the boy with the clean face. 

The boy with the clean face, on the other hand, will think that his face is dirty from looking at the other boy.  So the boy with the clean face will be the one to wash his face.

 Let me ask you another question.  Two boys cleaned a chimney again.  One of the boys came down with a black, dirty face.  The other boy came down with no dirt on his face.  Who will wash his face?  Thinking that the question is same as the one that I asked before, without thinking twice, you will probably answer that the boy with the clean face will wash his face.  But that answer would be wrong.  Why?  Both boys cleaned the same chimney.  Therefore, it would be impossible for one boy to have a clean face while the other had his face tarred by ash and dust from the chimney.

​What does this story teach us?  It teaches us that sometimes, with a careful, deliberate thought, we realize that things will turn out different than what they seem.  Initially, on the surface, we may quickly arrive at one set of conclusion; however, after a careful thought, we may arrive at a completely different set of conclusion.  That is why we need wisdom and intellect.  Even things that everyone in the world believes to be true sometime turn out as false beliefs.

​Such holds especially true regarding religion.  In the eyes of non-believers, people who believe in Christ hold vain, inconsequential beliefs that border on inanity.  To them, it seems as if Christians are holding onto a set of foolish, senseless convictions.  The naysayers believe themselves to be scientific intellectuals, whose intellect is buttress by empirical data and proof.  They regard Christians as superstitious fools.  But looking at it from the opposite perspective, it is the non-believers and not we Christians who are wrong in their beliefs.  It is the non-believers who are foolish.  They are the ones who are superstitious and unscientific, not us Christians.  Why?  Disciple Paul will provide us the answer through today’s scripture.

​During the period when Paul wrote Corinthians, the city of Corinth was a very Greek city.  Being a Greek city means that pursuit of intelligence was in full bloom in Corinth.  Greek culture sought intellect, and philosophy, naturally, was highly advanced.  What is philosophy?  It is ‘Philosophia,’ or ‘love of wisdom.’  Because Greek people adored philosophy, most of the noted ancient philosophers were Greeks.  Socrates, Plato, Aristotle were all Greek philosophers who are the founding fathers of modern philosophy in this world.  They charted the course of man’s thinking endeavors.  Likewise, Corinthians themselves harbored insatiable appetite for intellect, and hungered after philosophical intellect and knowledge.

​ The people of Corinth also sought power and authority.  The Roman government rebuilt the city of Corinth in 44 BC.  The rulers of Rome sent newly liberated slaves and serfs to this newly reconstructed city to settle.  Most of these people spent their entire lives as slaves; therefore, they were only a tad bit better than slaves were in status.  But because the oppression and restraints imposed on them by the Roman nobility was nonexistent in Corinth, all of them were full of dreams about improving their social status as free men.  In short, they wanted to become nobility themselves.  They sought after money and power like fish that just met water.  What happened when the Corinthians, the pursuers of wisdom, knowledge, money and power entered the church?  The church was probably full of secular ambitions and a keen sense of competition.

 The Corinthian church also had many Jews.  It was a multiethnic church, most of its congregation being people with either Hebrew or Greek backgrounds.  Most of the Jews, much like the Pharisees and the scribes during the era of Jesus, sought after signs or marks.  They were seeking some supernatural or mysterious miracles to signify the advent of their savior.  If the Greeks sought logic and intellect, the Jews sought physical experience and secular proof.

 Conflict will naturally arise out of a church where there is a clear disparity in the values of the two factions of the congregation.  The Greeks sought secular wisdom, knowledge, money and power; the Jews, on the other hand, sought supernatural miracles through signs.  Among the early churches, perhaps none was as laden with strife as the Corinthian church.  Perhaps no church was as plagued with internal bickering and fighting.  Bible scholars believe that Paul wrote at least 6 letters to the Corinthian church.  Why did he have to write so many letters?  It was to pacify and cajole the mercurial members of the Corinthian congregation.

 The biggest problem facing the Corinthian church was parochialism and factionalism.  The church was divided into four factions, based on baptizing officials (or who baptized who), and waged consistent fights and arguments with one another.  Those who were baptized by Paul fell into the ‘Paul’ faction.  Those who Apollo baptized considered themselves belonging to ‘Apollo’ faction.  Those that Peter baptized considered themselves as belonging to ‘Cephas.’  The fourth faction people proclaimed themselves of being of Christ.  Perhaps the worst faction among the four was this ‘Christian’ faction.  They proclaimed themselves as ‘Christians,’ for they were not baptized by Paul, Peter, or Apollo; rather, they considered themselves as being baptized in the name of Christ.   On the surface, they seem the most pious and devout.  Yet, if they were indeed baptized in the name of Christ, then they should have not partaken in the bitter factional disputes in the church.  They should have been the ones pacifying the other groups to prevent conflict.  The fact that they formed their own ‘Christian’ faction and participated in the inner dispute shows that they were not only parochial, they were hypocrites who were also spiritually arrogant and haughty.

 To these ignorant mud-slinging Corinthians, Paul provides an important lesson.  He teaches them that man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom lie at the opposite ends of the spectrum that they are polar opposites.  How does man’s wisdom differ from God’s wisdom?  Paul teaches them the three fundamental differences.

 First, the truth, or lessons, of the Cross is useless and vain to those doomed for destruction, but becomes God’s ability for those who seek salvation through Christ Jesus.  To the Greeks, who pursued logic and intellect, the Cross represented nothing but mundane belief in vanity.  To them, it was a useless obstacle.  Or perhaps even scandalous.  To think that God’s Son was crucified!  To think that crucifixion, a form of torturous, humiliating punishment designed to wring out from spectators coerced obedience to the Roman government, is the path to eternal salvation!  Such was not possible in their eyes.  It was illogical.  To those who seek intellect, this was something that was completely unfathomable.  But those who view the world through secular eyes are those doomed for destruction.  To those doomed for destruction, the cross will seem futile, nonsensical, and useless.

 But for those of us, who seek salvation, the Cross represents the power of God.  The Cross of Jesus represents God’s victory and power as He, through Christ Jesus, eradicated and erased all our sins.  Had there not been the Cross, we will still be wandering in the abyss, in the midst of our sins and darkness.  But because of the Cross, we were able to emerge from the darkness, having our sins eradicated and living in the midst of light.

​Second, God’s foolishness is much stronger than man’s wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than man’s strength.  No matter how wise man may be, he cannot outwit God.  No matter how dull-witted and foolish God may be, He will always be much smarter than man.  No matter how strong man may be, is not stronger than God at His weakest.  No matter how weak God may be, He will always be stronger than man.

 During the Middle Ages, a mystic sage from the East confessed the following about himself:  “When I was young, I very much was full of ambitions.  So I prayed to God, ‘Lord, give me the energy to change the world.’  When I became a middle-aged man, I realized that more than half of my natural life had passed, and I had yet to save a soul.  So I changed my prayer.  ‘Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come into contact with me.  Just my family and my friends, and I shall be satisfied.’  I am an old man now, and but a few days remain for me.  I now realize how foolish my prayers had been.  Now, I only offer one prayer to God.  ‘Lord, give me the grace to change myself!’  Had I offered this prayer throughout my life, I would not have wasted all those years of my life.”

As he aged, the sage became wiser.  He realized that he could not change the world with his abilities.  He realized that he lacked the power, wisdom and the ability to change even those around him let alone the world.  He realized this painful truth in the twilight of his life, as his once vibrant manes turned whitish gray in color.

God destroys the wisdom of the so-called secular intellectuals.  He suppresses the power of the strong.  Why?  The world cannot understand God through its own wisdom.  The world cannot do God’s work with its own powers.  As it is stated in verse 21, the world cannot understand God through its wisdom and reach God using its strengths and that is why He saved the faithful through the foolishness of the message that He preached through evangelism.

 Third, Jesus Christ is God’s power and God’s intellect and wisdom.  If the secular, worldly intellect, wisdom and strengths are for naught, then we need to seek the true intellect, strength, and wisdom.  Paul proclaims the following in verse 24.  “But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”  Jews sought signs.  Greeks sought wisdom and intellect.  But true Christians spread the news of the ‘crucified Christ’ and the promised salvation.

 To the Jews, who sought supernatural signs from their savior, crucified Christ became a source of stigma and embarrassment.  To them, crucifixion of Christ signified defeat.  To the Greeks, who sought wisdom and intelligence, Christ became a source of foolishness and dullwittedness.  To them, the crucifixion, the Cross, and God did not make any logical sense.  But to those who were called, regardless of whether they were Jews or Greeks, Christ was God’s strength and His wisdom!

 Through the Cross of Christ, God eradicates all man’s wisdom and abilities.  By crucifying Himself on the Cross the place where the most ruthless, notorious, and condemned prisoners were sent to He saved mankind.  According to the Greek train of thought, this is nonsense.  To the Jews, who desired some supernatural signs, the crucifixion was readily deniable event.  But in God’s eyes, this was the most effective, wise, intelligent, and efficient way to lead mankind to salvation.  Because of this reason, Paul proclaims in 1 Corinthians 2: 2, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”  Paul was all too cognizant of the fact that the true wisdom, intellect, and powers of God appeared on the Cross that Christ was crucified on.

There was an idiot who lived in a village.  The people of the village threw a nickel and a dime at the feet of this idiot to see which coin he picks up as a form of amusement.  The idiot always picked up the nickel.  The people of the village naturally treated this man as an imbecile.  But then one day, the idiot gave an explanation as to why he always picked up the nickel instead of the dime.  “After all, if I had kept picking up the dime, then they would have stopped throwing those coins at my feet.  By picking up the nickel, I kept getting nickels every day.”

​Who is the real idiot?  The village people thought they were the smart ones.  But in the long run, it was the people of the village who were the idiots.  Likewise, who is the truly intelligent being?  Is it Christians, who believe in the miracle of the crucifixion?  Or is it the secular people of this world, the ones who depend and rely on the secular intellect, wisdom, money, and power?  Only time will tell.  You may seem like the idiots, proclaiming yourselves as Christians.  But you are the ‘foolish sages.’  On the surface, you may look foolish; yet, within, true intellect and wisdom lies within you.  That is your nature, the essence of your being!