By Susan Schaefer
Historically, the fool (“follis” in Latin, “filled with wind”) was thought to be divinely inspired. He served not simply to amuse, but to “speak the truth to power.” His foolish appearance and behavior contrasted with his wise words. The fool got his point across through misdirection.
Paul wanted to redirect the Corinthian believers’ attention to Christ.
He had learned through the grapevine that the believers in the Corinthian church were dividing the congregation into different factions. (“I belong to Paul. I belong to Apollos.”)
But Paul wanted the Corinthians to follow Christ, not him. He told them that they “belonged to Christ” and Christ alone. Paul’s rhetorical tactic: he played the fool.
He contrasted his appearance and behavior with that of his listeners. “I am a fool for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. I am weak, but you are strong. I am held in disrepute, but you are held in honor.” Note the irony. It is the Corinthian believers who were foolish, not Paul. However, by playing the fool, Paul identified himself as a fellow believer, who was not to be “valorized” or “followed.” He was only a “servant through whom they came to believe.”
In acknowledging his common humanity, Paul set the stage for the reunification of the Corinthian church. Once they were “united in the same mind,” the mind of Christ, they could begin to tackle the other tough issues that were dividing the church. Which, as we read on the the first letter to the Corinthians, were many.
For Reflection (suggested by The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary):
One of the problems that prompted Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was division within the church. Paul called for the Corinthian believers to be “of the same mind and same purpose.” This raises the question of what is unity? Does unity preclude differences in actions, thoughts, and words? Does unity require uniformity of belief and behavior? When I choose to belong to LaSalle Street Church instead of Moody Bible Church or Fourth Presbyterian Church, am I “belonging to LaSalle,” rather than to Christ? Especially if I have made that choice based upon the community, theology and preaching that I find at LSC as compared to the other two churches?
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Thanks for this historical explanation about foolishness and wisdom, Susan. I love that ‘being full of wind’ was thought to be divinely inspired! These passages make so much more sense to me now. And your questions at the end – “do I belong to LaSalle or do I belong to Christ?” – also really hit home with me after a season of encountering many friends and family who attend a variety of churches across the spectrum. At one point this summer, I was very thankful for my father-in-law who kept directing us directly and indirectly back to Christ, rather than to our diverse theological ‘allegiances’. Great job!
Thanks, Sandy. This was incredibly hard to write. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity but these chapters challenged me. I must have written 8 different drafts over 8 hours! I didn’t use a commentary for my interpretation (i.e. Paul’s use of the word fool as a rhetorical device). So I will be curious to read how people responded to it. I didn’t look at commentaries until after I wrote it and then I didn’t see that interpretation in them. So of course I wonder if it is valid. I’ll just have to trust that the Holy Spirit was working through me. Or that people will challenge my interpretation if it doesn’t make sense.