First Things First - Lectionary Reflection for Epiphany 5C (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 New Revised Standard Version

15 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, ² through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.

³ For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, ⁴ and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

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                During this lectionary cycle (Revised Common Lectionary) the Second Reading draws from the latter portions of 1 Corinthians. We had two readings from 1 Corinthians 12that focused on spiritual gifts and the unity of the body of Christ, which is composed of many members, the chapter on love (1 Corinthians 13), and now we move on to 1 Corinthians 15, which focuses on the message of resurrection—both Jesus’ and ours. Before we get to a discussion of our future experience of resurrection, Paul focuses on the resurrection of Jesus. What we read here in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 15 could be called Paul’s creed because he declares that what he is writing here is of “first importance.” He also tells us that this message or creed he had shared with the Corinthians church had been handed on to him so he could pass it on to others. In other words, this is an expression of the founding traditions of the Christian movement. Paul doesn’t tell us where he got this message, only that he was relaying what had been given to him, though he modifies that creedal statement to include Jesus’ appearance to him (“as one untimely born”). We can assume that this was the basic message he had been preaching from city to city as he moved along on his missionary journeys.

                It might not surprise you, but this is not the only time that this reading appears in the Revised Common Lectionary. 1 Corinthians 15 also serves as the Second Reading for Easter in Year B, so I have already commented on the passage, but in a different liturgical context. Now we approach it in the context of Epiphany, a season that focuses on the manifestations of God’s presence in the world.  

                I approach this passage from the perspective of being an ordained minister in a non-creedal denomination. While we don’t have a prescribed creed, we have always affirmed confessional statements found in Scripture, particularly in the New Testament. Therefore, we invite those who come to be baptized or join the congregation to make use of Peter’s confession in Matthew 16 as their confession of faith.  That confession is very simple—Peter confesses that Jesus is "the Christ the Son of the living God." The confession we find here is a bit more developed, though it focuses on three primary events—Jesus’ death on the cross, his resurrection from the dead, and his post-resurrection appearances, including one to Paul.

                Since Paul tells us that that had passed on to them this confession he received from others, and if, as we assume, this congregation was formed around 50 C.E., this would make this a very early creedal statement in the life of the church. When it was developed, we can’t determine, but likely somewhere in the 40s C.E. if not earlier. That would put it within a decade of the events detailed in the confession. Now, as to if this counts as historical proof (in modern historical terms), probably not. As Karl Barth pointed out, the witnesses Paul’s confession lists are not impartial. That doesn’t mean they got it wrong, but this is the tradition that underlies the community of faith, and as such, it “calls for a decision of faith, not for the acceptance of a well-attested historical report. They are those who have themselves made this decision of faith, Cephas, the Twelve, five hundred brethren, James, then all the apostles, then finally in the same breath Paul himself” [Church Dogmatics, 4.1 §59.3, p. 335]. Though this set of witnesses might not be objective in their testimony, Paul does remind the Corinthians that many if not most of these witnesses are still alive to tell their stories. Whether or not this testimony counts as history in the modern sense, it is based on this testimony that Paul, the Corinthians, and therefore we make our confession of faith in the saving work of Jesus.

                You will notice that Paul’s creedal statement doesn’t say anything about his birth, his baptism, or his ministry. We find these described in the Gospels, but Paul doesn’t seem too interested in them. Rather he focuses on the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is due, Paul says, to his belief that this is the basic information upon which their salvation is based. Therefore, he tells them to hold fast to this confession.

                Paul begins with Jesus’ death on the cross, which saves us from our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. By saying this, Paul was implying that the “sacred traditions of Israel provide the theological categories by which to interpret the Jesus event” [Ron Allen & Clark Williamson, Preaching the Letters, p. 137]. What is important to note here is that it’s not just the cross that saves us. Salvation requires the cross as the foundation for forgiveness but also the resurrection. That is, without the resurrection the cross is meaningless. Jesus would have simply been another victim of the Roman oppressors.  

                Having set before us this core statement of faith focusing on Jesus’ death and resurrection, which was witnessed by many, we are now ready to hear a word about our own future experience of resurrection. But then, that’s the subject of the reading for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. Nevertheless, our resurrection is rooted in that of Jesus. But perhaps for the moment, the message offers a word of hope. The one we follow is not dead, but he has been raised to life by God. As we contemplate this confession, perhaps this word from the Russian Orthodox theologian Vladimir Lossky will add meaning to what we confess about the cross and resurrection.

On the cross, death is swallowed up by life. In Christ death enters into divinity and is destroyed there, for “it does not find a place.” Thus redemption signifies the struggle for life against death and the triumph of life. Christ’s humanity constitutes the first-fruits of a new creation. Through it a life force is introduced into the cosmos to resurrect and transfigure it for the final destruction of death. Since the incarnation and the resurrection, death is unnerved. Is no longer absolute. Everything converges toward the complete restoration of all that is destroyed by death, towards the illumination of the entire cosmos by the glory of God become all in all things without excluding from this plenitude the freedom of each person before that full awareness of his wretchedness, which the light divine will communicate to him. [Lossky, Dogmatic Theology, pp. 131-132].

As Lossky goes on to say, “Since the victory of Christ over death, the resurrection has become the universal law for creation; and not only for humanity, but also for the animals, the plants and stones, for the entire cosmos in which each one of us the head” [Dogmatic Theology, p. 133]. Therefore, because of the cross and resurrection, death is overcome. Therefore, we have a word of grace and hope to share with the world.  

Image Attribution: Duccio, di Buoninsegna, -1319?. Christ Appears to the Disciples at the Table after the Resurrection, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=49184 [retrieved January 29, 2022]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duccio_di_Buoninsegna_017.jpg.