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| “Two Christians before the Judges“ by Niccolò Semitecolo, 1367 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Commentary on 1 Cor 6:1-11
St. Paul encourages the Christian community at Corinth to deal with litigious issues internally, rather than take their cases to the pagan courts. He asks why there are cases brought between members at all, proposing the same idea as Jesus in St. Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount: "But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.” (Matthew 5:39-43).
This passage concludes with a catalogue of sins that will result in a fall from grace (see also Romans 1:26-27; 1 Timothy 1:10). "In this list of sins, similar to that given in the previous chapter (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:10-11), St Paul explicitly teaches that those who commit these sins will not inherit the Kingdom, that is, will not attain eternal salvation. The whole list is a kind of explanation of what "unrighteousness" means. Thus, not only those go against righteousness who wrongly go to law or defraud others: righteousness, justice, in the language of the Bible is equivalent to holiness and therefore is opposed to every kind of sin." [4]
However, the apostle points out that some of the members had been in just such a state before being washed clean in baptism.
CCC: 1 Cor 6:1 823; 1 Cor 6:9-10 1852, 2380; 1 Cor 6:10 2357, 2450; 1 Cor 6:11 693, 1227, 1452, 1695, 2813
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R. (see 4) The Lord takes delight in his people.
Commentary on Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
Psalm 149 is a communal song of praise. This passage rejoices in God’s kingship, and invites the faithful to celebrate his saving works. We rejoice because God brings victory to the lowly and hope to the oppressed.
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Gospel: Luke 6:12-19
Commentary on Lk 6:12-19
This passage is the call of the Twelve Apostles from St. Luke’s Gospel. It is noteworthy that Jesus begins this process with a prayer of discernment. He then names the twelve (including Judas Iscariot who was replaced after his suicide). This important event extends Jesus' mission through these chosen ones (selected from the ranks of Jesus’ disciples: see Mark 3:14-15). This selection marked them with special authority (Matthew 10:1ff) and responsibility to transmit the gospel to the world. The Lord is conscious of establishing the “New Israel.” His selection of the “Twelve” is symbolic of appointing new leaders of the 12 tribes of the Hebrew people who are rejecting him as Messiah.
In addition to giving the names, we are told that once the choice had been made he immediately went on with his teaching and healing ministry with renewed vigor. All “wished to touch him” because of his power to heal mind and body. These concluding verses are a prelude to St. Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain.”
CCC: Lk 6:12-16 1577; Lk 6:12 2600; Lk 6:19 695, 1116, 1504
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Homily:
St. Paul continues to put flesh on his vision of the living Body of Christ, which is the Church. Today he tells the Corinthians something in a subtle way that the Lord said more dramatically. It comes down to the great paradox of discipleship, “Be in the world but separate from the world.” In this case, St. Paul is telling the community at Corinth that they need to settle disputes that occur in the community themselves, and not refer their complaints to the civil courts.
We can actually feel a little sorry for the Corinthian Christians. They must have been good people, or why would they have signed up for the difficult road that is Christianity in the first place? They did not have an active community model to be a part of, so they had to find their own way based upon what Paul left with them after he proclaimed his gospel to them. They live in a secular community that has a reputation of being very unsavory. Paul even says that some of them have past lives that are less than moral icons:
Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the Kingdom of God
Imagine trying to pull together a “God fearing” Christian community amid a secular community where the debauched and amoral sins in the above litany are present? Wait a second. All those things are fairly rampant in our secular community today. Yes, we can definitely identify with those ancient forerunners of our modern Church. The big difference is supposed to be that we have a codified body of teaching and examples that guide us.
It seems that we will always find ourselves forced to be somewhat counter-cultural. Christ’s teachings will never be popular with individuals who put their own interests in front of all else. Our model in dealing with this situation must be the Savior himself. He shows us that our constant attention must be on prayer and discernment, a delicate balancing act. How are we to know when to judge and not to? How are we to love a person who cannot change and repeatedly causes us or those we love pain?
Our prayer today is one of discernment. As Christ prayed before calling the apostles to their great task, and as St. Paul prayed for those to whom he ministered, so we ask for God’s guidance, that we too might experience the peace that comes from placing things in the hands of the only one who can choose the right path for us.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “Two Christians before the Judges“ by Niccolò Semitecolo, 1367.
[4] Letters of St. Paul , The Navarre Bible, Four Courts Press, 2003, p. 219.
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