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| "Saint Gregory the Great" by Jacopo Vignali, c. 1630 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 4:6b-15
Commentary on 1 Cor 4:6b-15
This reading is part of an introduction to St. Paul’s discourse on divisions in the community. He begins with an individual instruction:”That you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written: the words 'to go' are not in the Greek, but have here been added as the minimum necessary to elicit sense from this difficult passage. It probably means that the Corinthians should avoid the false wisdom of vain speculation, contenting themselves with Paul's proclamation of the cross, which is the fulfillment of God's promises in the Old Testament (what is written). Inflated with pride: literally, 'puffed up,' i.e., arrogant, filled with a sense of self-importance.[4]”
St. Paul makes three ironic statements as to the benefits the Corinthians have already received (“satisfied”, “rich”, “kings”). These are really rhetorical questions that get at a general tendency by this community to have an exaggerated sense and understanding of the eschaton, or the end times (e.g. the imminent return and rapture).
St. Thomas Aquinas comments on this passage as follows: "The Apostle here considers four types of pride: the first, when one thinks that what one has does not come from God [...]; the second, which is similar, when one thinks that one has done everything on one's own merit; the third, when one boasts of having something which one does not in fact have [...]; the fourth, when one despises others and is concerned only about oneself" ("Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.").[5]
The apostle continues this selection with a description of the conditions in which the Apostles (himself included) are viewed and treated by the world. He contrasts the difficulty they encounter with the ease and comfort of those who believe (in error) that they have achieved a state of glory, and bask in the light of Christ. The description of the suffering of the Apostles St. Paul provides, “…place the apostles in the class of those to whom the beatitudes promise future relief (Matthew 5:3-11; Luke 6:20-23); whereas the Corinthians' image of themselves as "already" filled, rich, ruling (1 Corinthians 4:8), as wise, strong, and honored (1 Corinthians 4:10) places them paradoxically in the position of those whom the woes threaten with future undoing (Luke 6:24-26). They have lost sight of the fact that the reversal is predicted for the future.[6]”
Almost as if to take the sting out of his ironically charged chastisement, St. Paul
CCC: 1 Cor 4:7 224
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:17-18, 19-20, 21
R. (18) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
Commentary on Ps 145:17-18, 19-20, 21
Psalm 145 is a hymn of praise. These strophes call on the faithful to give thanks to God for opening the gates of his Heavenly Kingdom
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Gospel: Luke 6:1-5
Commentary on Lk 6:1-5
The Pharisees attack the disciples because they picked some grain to eat on the sabbath. In Pharisaic Law, that act is considered work, and is forbidden on the Lord’s Day. The Lord reinterprets their Law, citing the First Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 21:2-7) and Leviticus (Leviticus 24:8). The implication of his final statement in this passage is clear to us. “The ultimate justification for the disciples' violation of the sabbath rest is that Jesus, the Son of Man, has supreme authority over the law.[7]”
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Reflection:
There is a management methodology highly praised in business circles that states: If you want to achieve an organizational goal, you need to manage the team as if that goal had already been achieved. Stated another way this means, if you want to have something occur, behave as if it already had. Where people often find difficulty with this is when they forget they are working toward an end result, and begin to think they have already made the journey and have arrived. Those who have fallen into that trap are often seen as arrogant or (a favorite description being used in election campaign rhetoric) “out of touch with reality.”
St. Paul has observed this flaw in the faith community at Corinth. He realized that if the people who believe they have already achieved an enlightened or beatified state as a consequence of their adoption in the Lord continue down this path, real harm will be caused in the development of the Christian Community, and their true faith journey. He challenges them about their attitudes. He contrasts the relative ease and peace of their self-imposed idyllic faith to the difficult and gritty life of the Apostles, who are propagating the Gospel (himself included).
The passage we are given is a prelude to his deeper attack on divisions in the Body of Christ, but these opening remarks have their own lesson for us. Those of us who are working hard at developing our own spiritual center, trying to walk closely with Christ and God, must never think we are somehow better than those who struggle mightily, but are caught up so deeply in the net of the world’s entanglements that they cannot even see the light of Christ (or so it might seem to us). We must remember the model Christ has provided: the humility with which he led us when he walked among us as a man.
It is easy to see the trap the Corinthians fell into. They were so taken with the bliss that will come with the perfect communion with God that is his ultimate promise, that they began to act as if it were imminent, and forgot the difficult journey required to get to that place. We must always remember that our mission in this life is to walk the hard path, the humble path, the dusty path that was walked with Christ by those disciples on the road to Emmaus. We have not arrived. Much of our journey lies ahead of us, and we must constantly invite those we meet along the way to join us.
Pax
[2] The picture used today is "Saint Gregory the Great" by Jacopo Vignali, c. 1630
[4] See NAB footnote on 1 Corinthians 4:6
[5] Letters of St. Paul , The Navarre Bible, Four Courts Press, 2003
[6] See NAB footnote on 1 Corinthians 4:9-13
[7] See NAB footnote on Matthew 12:1-8
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