Creekside Church Sermon of January 31, 1999 "The Foolishness of God" I Corinthians 1:18-31	Rev. David Bibbee
Send this sermon to a friend

I had driven by his church often and noticed the parking lot was usually full. Outside of Phil, I didn't know anyone in this church, nor did I know anything about what this church believed. There was nothing distinctive about the building. You knew it was a church just by looking at it. There were greeters at each door who extended a very enthusiastic welcome. I was impressed by the numbers of people who introduced themselves and expressed how glad they were that I had come to worship. It felt good to be noticed. I can't recall when I've been around such nice people who were so warm and hospitable, that is, of course with the exception of you.

The ushers seated us near the front of the sanctuary, and I started checking out the order of service, leafing through the hymnal and admiring the beautifully appointed sanctuary, while the organist played a soaring prelude. The chancel was adorned with colors and candles. A little flight of spiral stairs led up to a large, lighted pulpit. The choir and presiding pastors wore striking robes. Then, as the prelude neared its conclusion, a small, bright spotlight illumined the space above and behind the chancel, and what I saw surprised me.

Suspended from the vaulted ceiling was a large wooden chair. "That's odd," I thought, and then I did a double take. It had straps and wires on it. I leaned over and said, "Phil...that looks like an electric chair." "Well," he said, "it looks like an electric chair because it is an electric chair." "But why in the world does your church have an electric chair hanging from the ceiling? Is today youth Sunday?" "No, it's always there." "Was old Warden Winslow from the penitentiary a member here...was it a memorial from his widow?" "No, that's not it either." "Well then, maybe you can enlighten me." "I know it might seem morbid, but the electric chair is the defining symbol of our faith." "You're joking!" "Not at all. By itself it tells the story of the Son of God sent to save us." "I'm listening..."

"You picked a great Sunday to visit," Phil said. "Every year on this Sunday we have the veneration of the electric chair." "You venerate it?" "Look, I know this seems strange, but if you'll just listen to the minister and keep an open mind, he will tell you the story in his sermon. Hopefully you will understand." I didn't want to be a rude guest, so I decided to make the best of it. "I'm all ears," I said.

As best I can understand it, the one they call their Savior was sent to earth to restore the unity that had been broken between God and humanity. He traveled through cities and towns preaching and teaching the new thing God was about to do, calling people to be part of it by changing their ways and following him. He healed the sick and had compassion upon the downtrodden, and in time had an enormous, enthusiastic following.

As Phil's minister told the story, the religious establishment of that day was threatened, and the savior fueled their hatred by naming their failures as leaders and making unkind remarks about them. He knew what would eventually happen. This is why he said to would-be-followers, "Whoever is not daily strapped to the chair and does not follow me, is unfit to be my disciple." The religious leaders conspired to kill him, but not wanting to take the blame, they enlisted the help of the government. The State Attorney General and the President of the State Pastor's Conference had him arrested and sentenced to death. The governor was asked to pass the death sentence on the Savior, but after interrogating him, the governor said, "What has this man done to deserve capital punishment?"

The governor would just as soon have released him, but times were hard. People were up in arms over taxes, unemployment and the like, and they wanted to take their anger out on someone. Outside the prison, the governor suggested to the large crowd that another prisoner on death row be executed instead. "He's done nothing to deserve this." "Electrocute him!" they cried. "Let me give him a stiff fine." "No!" The chorus grew louder, "Electrocute him! Electrocute him!" The governor's heart wasn't in it, but it was an election year, and the polls showed he was vulnerable. The Savior committed no crime, but the governor found it expedient to give the public what they wanted.

The minister said that the Savior and two other inmates on death row were led to the infamous room on D-block. It would be the first triple execution the state had ever performed. The three sat in shackles, waiting the final five minutes in case the governor changed his mind and ordered a stay of execution. When the time had run out, the first inmate was taken to the chair. As he went, he cursed the Savior, "If you are who they say, save yourself and us." Later as they came for the second inmate, he spoke a blessing to the Savior. "I hope you'll remember me." "You'll be with me," the Savior said.

Finally, they came for the Savior. As they secured the straps, the guards mocked him..."You saved others. Let's see you pull the plug and save yourself. My, my...where is God when you need him most?" As the guards slipped the cloth hood over his head to hide his face, he was asked, "Any final words?" And he said, "Father forgive them, because they don't have any idea what they're doing." Outside the prison his followers were holding a prayer and candle vigil, but they were far outnumbered by the cheers of the death penalty supporters. Inside, the signal was given and the switch was thrown. The witnesses behind the observation glass heard him cry, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." One of the witnesses was visibly shaken and said, "I think he is who they say he is, and this is wrong." Lights flickered all over the city, and everything was thrown into pitch darkness during a three-hour power outage.

You need to know this story has a good ending. Their Savior was resurrected, and in the preacher's concluding remarks he said, "The electric chair is central and crucial to our faith, and suffering, death and resurrection are inseparable. The Savior promises us victory, but we always must remember, 'No chair, no crown.'" At this point in the service everyone stood, made the sign of an electric bolt on their chest, and the chorister led them in singing, "The Old Rugged Chair." As we walked to the car Phil asked, "How was it? What did you think?" I said, "Well, Phil, it was certainly different." "When's your next Sunday off so you can come again?" "I think it'll be awhile, Phil. Probably about three years."

I wonder...did this shock you? Did you find it offensive? Far fetched? Ridiculous? I hope so, because this is exactly how the gospel message sounded when Paul preached it. Crucifixion was a ruthless method of execution which the Romans found very effective in subduing rebellions. It combined physical and psychological torture. The victim was stripped naked, nailed up in a public place and mocked while dying a slow, agonizing death.

The Greeks prided themselves in their intellectual sophistication. Life was all about the pursuit of truth and enlightenment. Wisdom was salvation. Reason ruled. Then came Paul saying, "God has revealed himself and his plan for dealing with all that keeps us from God by allowing himself to be nailed to a cross. "The word of the cross is folly," he said. The cross, a demeaning instrument of torture, is salvation? How absolutely absurd. The pinnacle of foolishness. "The Jews want signs and the Greeks want wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified," Paul said, "a stumbling block that Jews and Gentiles crack their shins on, but to us the power and wisdom of God."

What a difficult thing to grasp. God in Jesus Christ comes in ways, people and places the world considers as weak. They thought they were making an example of Jesus. Government, law and order, intellectual achievement, military might...these are the gods which make the world go round. But in Jesus, God made an example of all that we thought mattered. "Show me a wise person. Bring me your 'know it alls' and I'll show you a foolishness that is wiser than all your so-called wisdom," Paul said.

Do you remember years ago when they put those stickers on your car after it passed a safety inspection? The sticker said, "Drive safely-the life you save may be your own." Somebody said, "This is the wisdom of the world in a nutshell." But Jesus says, "Take all the necessary precautions to save your life and you'll lose your life."

We sing, "Our God is an awesome God", and sing it we should for if there is one thing we know about God's being, it is most certainly that God is awesome. But ours is also an odd God, and if there is another thing we need to know about God's being, it is that he is revealed in people, places and circumstances that do not seem very awesome.

God in Christ makes himself most visible where crosses are carried. In nursing homes. In funeral homes. In homeless shelters. In cancer wards. With the handicapped. On deathbeds. It is so difficult to comprehend, much less see, when we follow the world's way to wisdom...a good education. A good job. A good salary and pension plan. A good name for good standing. A secure spiritual life basking in the promises of eternal security. No crosses here.

But while the world seeks signs and wisdom, we preach Christ crucified. And when our securities are stripped away, when a diagnosis confirms your worst fears, when a loved one is gone, when fortunes change and there is nothing left to lean on, then we see the foolishness of Christ in a new light. What seemed foolish makes sense.

As Eugene Peterson translates Paul: Human wisdom is so tiny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can't begin to compete with God's "weakness."

Remember the song, "What Kind of Fool Am I?"

Well...what kind are you? Which would you rather be?

All of the sermons that have appeared in text form on our Web Site since August 1996 are available here in the On-Line version. Use the search engine below to find the sermon you want. You may search by date, sermon title, or content. The sermons are full-text searchable.

Sermon Search:



Exact phrase    All words (AND)    Any word (OR)