How is it possible that, with such high expectations, things so often turn out so badly? This question, posed by a legendary Polish coach after a failed World Cup, applies not only to a fan watching a game but also to a parent standing in the doorway of a teenager’s room. This scene opens the sermon on the First Letter to the Corinthians, in which Paul first reminds the believers who they are in Christ, and then addresses their divisions and favoritism (1 Cor. 1:1–17). The church will not build unity on brilliant arguments and strong leaders, but on the cross, which appears to be weakness. Listen if you want to find out what your faith is truly based on.
In Search of the Perfect Church
Church: Real or Ideal?
Many people make no secret of their disappointment with the Church and wonder why they should bother with it at all. Others keep moving from one community to another in search of the perfect one, yet none matches their picture of the ideal, because everywhere there are very imperfect people. Perhaps, though, by looking only at what we can see, we miss part of the picture. The Church is God’s idea. It is a place where we can learn to live together and to love people who can be difficult. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul helps us see the Church from a wider perspective and find our place in the tension between the real and the ideal.
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