Thursday 4 April 2024

Psalm 117

Background

Paul loved writing letters to the churches he had visited on his various missionary journeys to towns and cities along the north Mediterranean coast. This letter is to the emerging city church in Corinth and was written in about AD 55 while he was staying in Ephesus.

Corinth was a stopover point at that time between Rome and the East trade routes. It had a reputation of being a secular and sensual city.The Disciple's Study Bible adds that it was a city of many nationalities and "intellectually proud, materially affluent and morally corrupt".

Paul had previously stayed in Corinth, firstly with Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:3-4) and then with Justus (Acts18:7). He writes therefore with first-hand knowledge of this church in Corinth. He knew how important it was to instruct from a foundational perspective as many would be new converts to Christianity.

From his passionate belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, he expounds his theology in today's verses.

It would cause possible division within the Jews and the Greeks , as from a Jewish background one line of thought was that there was no life after death, therefore no immortality or resurrection of the body, or from the Greek background although they believed in immortality of the soul they thought the body would not be involved in any resurrection process.

So Paul comes along via this letter, proposing a different viewpoint, that the Resurrection includes body, soul and spirit. He has seen the risen Christ in a body on the Damascus road (Acts 9). He has therefore no hesitation in promoting his understanding of the risen body, albeit a new spiritual body.

Paul offers plenty of study material in this passage, a small part of his letter to this church to encourage them in their exploration of Christianity and development as believers in Christ.

To Ponder:

• What challenges us about Paul's understanding of the Resurrection?
• How important is it to have a grasp of the afterlife in a world that is often pleasure-seeking with no thought of death or suffering?
• In 'Colours of day' (Singing the Faith 167, Sue McClellan, 1951) there is a line: "Go down into the city, into the street, and let’s give the message to the people we meet." Think about city life with its variety: there are people of many faiths, homeless people, people living with addictions, people in gender crisis and more. Where would you start with giving Jesus' message?
• Cathedrals are city churches, as are Methodist Central Halls. How are they meeting the needs of those that live in cities?
• When was the last time you communicated by any means to a fellow Christian to encourage them in their faith journey? Why not do something about it today.

Prayer

God, in this world of materialism, position and power, help us to seek the wisdom of your word, to choose your way, to live our lives by your law, and to encounter the living Spirit through everyday contact with Jesus Christ. May we be encouraged to step out in faith, reaching out to those who are seekers and interested in belonging to your Church. May we go forward in the knowledge that Christ has overcome death and leads us forward into newness of life. Amen.

Bible notes author: The Revd Frances Ballantyne

Frances Ballantyne was ordained within the Congregational Federation and transferred to the Methodist Connexion where she served in the South Holland and Mid-Cheshire Circuits and is currently in the Leicester Trinity Circuit. She has been a volunteer for Victim Support and is currently a member of the Methodist Survivors Advisory Group. She has contributed to BBC Radio Leicester's ‘Thought for the Day’ and written articles for 'The Accord Journal' (for Christian counsellors) and prayer poems for several publications. She is currently challenged by a diagnosis of medullary thyroid cancer.