Jeremy L. Berg

LECTIONARY REFLECTION: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

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A theme emerges in this week’s lectionary texts, and detecting those common threads and echoes is one of the joys and challenges of the lectionary. My recent reflection on Jesus’ call for Israel to “repent” of its enemy-hating posture toward the Romans fits nice alongside the Old Testament passage where Jonah needed to repent of his hatred toward Ninevah, the Rome of his day. Fascinatingly, even God ends of “repenting” or changing his mind in Jonah 3:10: “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind (metanoia in Greek OT) the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.”

I also argued that when Jesus announced, “The Time is fulfilled”, world-history was reaching its decisive turning point in the events of his life, death, resurrection and ascension to the Heavenly Throne. All subsequent life, nations, wars, famines, evolutions and devolutions, etc. would all happen in the shadow of the empty tomb and the launch God’s New Creation. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would ever be the same for all who placed their life under the lordship of King Jesus.

This is where Paul’s strange and even disturbing instructions to believers in Corinth beg some explanation today. For Paul, every molecule in the universe had been shifted by the Christ Event, and the imminent return of Jesus in glory to finish the job placed a question mark next to all the ordinary daily things of life. Listen to Pastor Paul’s words that likely jolted his first hearers awake and raised many questions–questions that we do well to ponder again today.

(Note: This is a major divide in Christian understanding. Many think Jesus only accomplished some timeless salvation of souls 2,000 years ago and we merely wait out our earthly life until we go to Heaven. While others like me (and Paul here!) believe Jesus inaugurated His Kingdom that first Easter and established his Church to be little colonies of Heaven’s rule on earth through the ages until Christ returns. Tons hinges on which view one holds.)

I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Paul seems to have believed that Jesus would return to earth to fully establish his reign and bring history to its conclusion within his lifetime. Like, next Thursday! Believing that “the appointed time has grown short” and “the present form of this world is passing away,” Paul urged us all to reevaluate our priorities and plans in light of this reality.

Paul gives five examples of ordinary living to reconsider:

First, “let even those who have wives be as though they had none.” Marriage and family-rearing were to be rethought in light of the coming Kingdom. He’s certainly not suggesting husbands literally ditch their wives and join a fraternity to eat Cheetos and play video games until the apocalypse. But perhaps he did want husbands and wives to make their first love their relationship with Christ, the Heavenly Bridegroom and eagerly awaiting the forthcoming Wedding Banquet of the Lamb. He shocked ancient Jewish sensibilities by promoting “singleness” as the more ideal martial status for maximizing Kingdom impact. Keep reading 1 Corinthians 7.

Second, “those who mourn as though they were not mourning.” Paul turns to those who are in mourning, crushed by painful suffering and loss common to us all, and invites them to turn from mourning, not in denial of the real suffering, but in faith that Christ has come to share our suffering, has demonstrated his power over disease, and has conquered Death! If Christ is returning soon to “wipe away every tear” (Rev. 20), then we can find comfort while we dry our own tears now in anticipation of that Day.

Third, “those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing.” Likewise, perhaps the temporary earthly triumphs that bring so much joy in the present age, should be set aside so we can await the eternal joys that far outweigh them. The excitement and joy of a college graduation, job promotion, salary increase, or trip to Disney World should perhaps pale in comparison to contemplating the eternal glory that awaits us believers and is soon to appear!

Fourth, “those who buy as though they had no possessions.” Hitting close to home in our consumeristic society, Paul questions the wisdom of holding too tightly to material possessions, and places a question mark beside the things we are currently spending money on, echoing the Master who said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:19-21). For Paul, Heaven was closer than we think and he wanted Christians investing in Kingdom-advancing ministries more than trivial pleasures.

Finally, “those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.” Paul’s warning against having “dealings with the world” should not be seen as a call to an anti-social existence in a Christian bubble that avoids rubbing shoulders in society. Perhaps, instead we should hear an echo of Jesus who urged citizens of his eternal kingdom not to chase after worldly things at the expense of eternal priorities, asking: “What good is it to gain the whole world, if you forfeit your soul in the process” (Mark 8:36)?

We read Paul’s words today and can write him off as mistaken about Christ’s imminent return. He seems to have maybe overreacted just a bit and placed too much emphasis on Eternity at the expense of settling down and making oneself at home in this world. This is probably a fair critique.

However, I suspect the church of the 21st century is making the equal and opposite mistake. We have grown too cozy in the comforts of this world and are so busy with the priorities of this Age that we rarely let ourselves think about Eternity and God’s return in judgment and glory. So, we need to hear Paul’s message afresh today that “The End is Nigh!”

Whether or not the End is near in terms of time (chronologically), the more important New Testament truth is that the Spirit of the Coming Age has already been poured out onto God’s people “upon whom the ends of the ages are come” (1 Cor. 10:11). As such, we are called to live here and now as an advanced foretaste and big-screen preview of that ultimate future to come!

Let me leave you today with a final benediction from Paul as we try to live as salt and light in this Present Age, while standing on tiptoe looking ahead to that final bright and glorious Dawn: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes 5:23).