Bishop David's Message - November 2009
Recently I have been reading Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. As we reread the Scriptures, they always seem to have a newness and freshness about them that one hasn’t noticed before. That has been the case with my recent reading of Paul. The Corinthian Church, founded by Paul, had turned to him for advice on some local issues. His responses to these local issues are relevant to how we should approach contemporary issues today.
For Paul, the power of the Gospel is the driving force of the Christian community. He points out to the Corinthians that they are humble people, yet God chose them to be the bearers of his message. He chose what seems foolish in the world to be his people. It is the same to day. Those who are called to be followers of Jesus are not always the most intelligent, most distinguished, the most outstanding in the eyes of the world. We might have chosen a different group of people, if the choice had been ours. The ways of God are not our ways.
The very thing that seemed to be the weakness of their preaching, that Christ was crucified, is the very source of their power. It is the same today. It is the power of the Gospel, the living it out by the followers of Jesus, that is the instrument of transformation in our society. We should not have a false humility: how can I bring about such a transformation? It is not us, but the power of God working through us. If we live the Gospel, the power of the Gospel will affect the people around us.
The Corinthians were concerned about food matters, eating meats offered to idols. Some were saying, rightly, that this matter should not concern a follower of Jesus. However, Paul points out that the freedom of the believer should not be the occasion of doing harm to fellow believers. What we may do is not always what we should do. He offers the principle that we often find in his writings: no one should seek his own good, but the good of his neighbour. His words are worth quoting
“So, whether you ear or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offence to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
Paul’s whole approach was dominated by how best to proclaim the Gospel. He did not rest on his freedom, but became a slave of all for the Gospel. His ministry was to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. A necessary part of his ministry was to ensure that he himself lived the Gospel. He likens himself to an athlete striving to win the prize, doing whatever is necessary to achieve it. He does this to model to others the Gospel that he proclaims. This model is as valid today as it was in Paul’s time. Our commitment to our own journey to God is the foundation of our ministry of sharing it with others.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty of the Corinthian Church was disunity: divisions and fractions within the community, even in the Eucharist. He asks them to be of one mind, which he will describe to the Philippians as the mind of Christ, who humbled himself to die on the cross for our salvation. He uses the image of the body to show that every person has a place, and each makes a unique contribution to the good of the overall community. This is a lesson we could learn today, and the exhortation to have the mind of Christ is the answer to so many of our questions today. The place to identify with the mind of Christ is in the Eucharist: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread”, which is Christ.