Where is the Wise Person?

 A Reflection for Tuesday, March 31 by Melanie Myatt

Lectionary reading for 03/31/2026  Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 71:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 12:20-36

Selected passage for reflection: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Read

1 Corinthians 1.18-31 New Testament for Everyone 

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where is the debater of this present age? Don’t you see that God has turned the world’s wisdom into folly? 21 This is how it’s happened: in God’s wisdom, the world didn’t know God through wisdom, so it gave God pleasure, through the folly of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 Jews look for signs, you see, and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we announce the crucified Messiah, a scandal to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, the Messiah—God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 God’s folly is wiser than humans, you see, and God’s weakness is stronger than humans.

26 Think back to your own call, my brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise in human terms. Not many of you were powerful. Not many were nobly born. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose the insignificant and despised things of the world—yes, even things that don’t exist!—to abolish the power of the things that do exist, 29 so that no creature could boast in God’s presence. 30 Who and what you now are is a gift from God in Messiah Jesus, who has become for us God’s wisdom—and righteousness, sanctification and redemption as well; 31 so that, as the Bible puts it, “Anyone who boasts should boast in the Lord.”

Reflect

This may be a funny thing to admit as a chaplain, but I feel a little embarrassed about being a person of faith. When people ask what I do for a job, I tell them, but I feel like I immediately have to qualify what I do. I feel like I have to point and say, “I’m not like them.” (Also, you wouldn’t believe how many people will immediately find a reason to swear after I tell them what I do.) Also, a lot of my job involves explaining to people that we don’t have to limit ourselves to talking only about faith, religion, or spirituality. In fact, very little of my job involves doing that, but I can talk about it if that is what you want to talk about. 

When I read this passage from Paul, I wonder how many of us identify with his observations about the gospel message today. For the Gentiles, Paul recognizes that the gospel sounds ridiculous. For people who prided themselves on being intellectually and culturally elite, the message of a person who was crucified by the Romans, who was raised from the dead, and who now was the ruler of the world while asking people to join his movement with faithful obedience sounded...absurd. 

I feel the same way. But not, like Paul, because no one has ever heard the ridiculous message, but because too many people have heard it, and probably heard it manipulated and twisted in such a way that now, no matter how you try to phrase it, people think it is ridiculous. Not only that, but people know so much about all religions that trying to tell people Christianity is different, that Christianity has something else to offer, rings flat. 

When Paul preached to the Jews, on the other hand, he felt like the gospel message was scandalous. A “scandal” in Paul’s day was something that tripped you up. I relate to this as well. Trying to explain to Christians that Jesus came not to demonstrate his power by overthrowing authorities and dominions was scandalous to the Jews and feels almost equally scandalous today. Jesus came to establish a kingdom “in which the weak and the foolish find themselves just as welcome as the strong and the wise, if not more so (NT Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians, 13). This is not a popular message in our current culture and climate. 

What do we do with this tension? I think we follow Paul’s advice, something I imagine he must have gone back to again and again…and again himself: “Think back to your own call.” 

Think back to your own call. What is it that keeps you coming back to God our Father, Jesus our Savior, Spirit our comforter? What drew you to faith in this ridiculous and scandalous religion in the first place? As Jesus reminds the church in Ephesus, remember your first love.

When we ground ourselves in our first love, when we remember our own call to faith, we find the foundation of truth that is stronger than any foolishness masquerading as wisdom, any weakness masquerading as power that fills our social media feeds or makes headlines today. 

Respond 

Spend some time today reflecting on your own call to faith. If you have the opportunity, tell someone your story today, just so you can hear it again and remember it for yourself. Consider “the love you showed at the beginning,” and think of one thing you can do today that is reflective of the love you had at the beginning. 

Rest 

Today, receive Paul’s prayer for your own wisdom, hope, and faith, more powerful than anything else in our world today: “I pray that the God of Messiah Jesus our Lord, the father of glory, would give you, in your spirit, the gift of being wise, of seeing things people can’t normally see, because you are coming to know him and to have the eyes of your inmost self opened to God’s light. Then you will know exactly what the hope is that goes with God’s call; you will know the wealth of the glory of his inheritance in his holy people; and you will know the outstanding greatness of his power towards us who are loyal to him in faith, according to the working of his strength and power.” Ephesians 1.15-19

About the Author 

Melanie Myatt is a spiritual director, writer, hospice chaplain, and mom of four. When she isn’t doing any of those things, you can probably find her curled up on the couch with a delicious novel and a belletristic snack. You can find more of Melanie’s writing on Substack.