The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be open to the prompting of the Spirit to seek resolution of conflict and dispute in our community by acknowledging our shared experiences of love, mercy and compassion.
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians addresses the problem of lawsuits among believers.
* [6:1–11] Christians at Corinth are suing one another before pagan judges in Roman courts. A barrage of rhetorical questions (1 Cor 6:1–9) betrays Paul’s indignation over this practice, which he sees as an infringement upon the holiness of the Christian community. 6:2–3: The principle to which Paul appeals is an eschatological prerogative promised to Christians: they are to share with Christ the judgment of the world (cf. Dn 7:22, 27). Hence they ought to be able to settle minor disputes within the community.
* [6:9–10] A catalogue of typical vices that exclude from the kingdom of God and that should be excluded from God’s church. Such lists (cf. 1 Cor 5:10) reflect the common moral sensibility of the New Testament period. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
Psalm 149 offers praise for God’s Goodness to Israel.
* [Psalm 149] A hymn inviting the people of Israel to celebrate their God in song and festive dance (Ps 149:1–3, 5) because God has chosen them and given them victory (Ps 149:4). The exodus and conquest are the defining acts of Israel; the people must be ready to do again those acts in the future at the divine command (Ps 149:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 149, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus chooses the Twelve Apostles and teaches and heals prior to the Sermon on the Plain.
* [6:13] He chose Twelve: the identification of this group as the Twelve is a part of early Christian tradition (see 1 Cor 15:5), and in Matthew and Luke, the Twelve are associated with the twelve tribes of Israel (Lk 22:29–30; Mt 19:28). After the fall of Judas from his position among the Twelve, the need is felt on the part of the early community to reconstitute this group before the Christian mission begins at Pentecost (Acts 1:15–26). From Luke’s perspective, they are an important group who because of their association with Jesus from the time of his baptism to his ascension (Acts 1:21–22) provide the continuity between the historical Jesus and the church of Luke’s day and who as the original eyewitnesses guarantee the fidelity of the church’s beliefs and practices to the teachings of Jesus (Lk 1:1–4). Whom he also named apostles: only Luke among the gospel writers attributes to Jesus the bestowal of the name apostles upon the Twelve. See note on Mt 10:2–4. “Apostle” becomes a technical term in early Christianity for a missionary sent out to preach the word of God. Although Luke seems to want to restrict the title to the Twelve (only in Acts 4:4, 14 are Paul and Barnabas termed apostles), other places in the New Testament show an awareness that the term was more widely applied (1 Cor 15:5–7; Gal 1:19; 1 Cor 1:1; 9:1; Rom 16:7). (Luke, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
Michael Cherney comments that we live in a litigious society. Our culture promotes winning and collection of wealth. These are not the values that the Gospel seems to give us. He sees us as called to love and service. This provides a very different path to conflict resolution. Perhaps a functional marriage is a good model. His experience is that marriage works when it is based on love and service and a marriage runs into problems when there is a sense of entitlement that is not being met. He would venture to say that conflicts may be avoided or at the very least minimized when there is a clear effort showing the care and support of the other.
My prayer today builds on the thought of one’s call and the counter-cultural imperative to support the greater good rather than selfish desires.
Dear Lord,
At times I feel like I am living in the contemporary version of the Corinth community.
Paul addresses his letter to a Christian community that has become caught up in the larger society.
I sense that You are reaching out with the gift of Your call.
This seems to be a call to service (in all of the meanings of the word “service”).
Our time on this earth is so short and human life is so fragile.
In my quest for a life worth living, I choose to be invested in You.
Allow me to be open to your grace as your call plays out in me. (Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus chose fishermen and tax collectors to be apostles,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"It says, 'He called his disciples, and he chose twelve of them,' whom he appointed sowers of the faith, to spread the help of human salvation throughout the world. At the same time, observe the heavenly counsel. He chose not wise men, nor rich men, nor nobles, but fishermen and tax collectors, whom he would direct, lest they seem to have seduced some by wisdom, or bought them with riches, or attracted them to their own grace with the authority of power and nobility. He did this so that the reasoning of truth, not the grace of disputation, should prevail."(excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 5.44) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 comments that so many of the conflicts we experience spring from our own selfishness or stubbornness, which can divide us from one another. And that’s something we can change.
So let’s take responsibility. Let’s practice going out of our way to be generous and forgiving. Let’s not give up on one another. You might be surprised how effective it is when we welcome Jesus’ peace into our relationships.
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” (Meditation on 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the conflict between seeking justice in pagan courts and the privilege of followers of Christ to know about the judgement of their actions at the end time. Luke describes Jesus praying frequently including prior to choosing the Twelve Apostles. Friar Jude notes that Luke emphasizes the preaching of Jesus to the Gentiles, who are a main audience for his writing.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, writes that to go on a spiritual quest is inherently tied to asking life’s deeper questions. Bill Plotkin, depth psychologist and wilderness guide, identifies a crucial moment in the Grail story. He highlights the importance of asking ultimate questions of the soul.
The first question is, “Lord, what ails thee?” By asking ourselves (our egos) that question—and living it—we, like Parsifal, develop understanding and empathy for how we cocreate many of our ailments and how those difficulties teach us what we need to learn. We begin to uncover our sacred wounds. We develop compassion for ourselves, learning to appreciate our mistakes, failures, and wounds as much as our talents and successes.
The second question is, “Whom does the Grail serve?” By asking “Whom does my soul serve?” we learn to turn our attention to the deeper purposes of what we do. We enlarge our vision of what’s possible and gradually learn to root our actions in soul. Eventually we learn who and what to serve. The answer will have two parts to it, like two sides of a coin: we serve the specific purposes of our souls and we serve our people, and we do one by doing the other. . . . (Rohr, 2022)
We, as heirs to the mission of the Apostles, need to implore the Holy Spirit to inform our decisions and enkindle in our hearts, love as our guide in interactions with others.
References
Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. (n.d.). OnlineMinistries. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/090622.html
Luke, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/6?12
Meditation on 1 Corinthians 6:1-11. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/09/06/483462/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/6
Psalms, PSALM 149. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/149?1
Rohr, R. (2022, September 6). The Quest and Its Questions — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-quest-and-its-questions-09-06-2022/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Chose Twelve Apostles. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=sep6
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