The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to ponder the many gifts of people in our community that might be energized by the Spirit to serve others.
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians describes the One Body with many members.
* [12:12–26] The image of a body is introduced to explain Christ’s relationship with believers (1 Cor 12:12). 1 Cor 12:13 applies this model to the church: by baptism all, despite diversity of ethnic or social origins, are integrated into one organism. 1 Cor 12:14–26 then develop the need for diversity of function among the parts of a body without threat to its unity.
* [12:27–30] Paul now applies the image again to the church as a whole and its members (1 Cor 12:27). The lists in 1 Cor 12:28–30 spell out the parallelism by specifying the diversity of functions found in the church (cf. Rom 12:6–8; Eph 4:11).
* [12:28] First, apostles: apostleship was not mentioned in 1 Cor 12:8–10, nor is it at issue in these chapters, but Paul gives it pride of place in his listing. It is not just one gift among others but a prior and fuller gift that includes the others. They are all demonstrated in Paul’s apostolate, but he may have developed his theology of charisms by reflecting first of all on his own grace of apostleship (cf. 1 Cor 3:5–4:14; 9:1–27; 2 Cor 2:14–6:13; 10:1–13:30, esp. 1 Cor 11:23 and 12:12). (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 12, n.d.)
Psalm 100 declares all Lands are summoned to praise God.
* [Psalm 100] A hymn inviting the people to enter the Temple courts with thank offerings for the God who created them.
* [100:3] Although the people call on all the nations of the world to join in their hymn, they are conscious of being the chosen people of God. (Psalms, PSALM 100, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus raises the Widow’s Son at Nain.
* [7:11–17] In the previous incident Jesus’ power was displayed for a Gentile whose servant was dying; in this episode it is displayed toward a widowed mother whose only son has already died. Jesus’ power over death prepares for his reply to John’s disciples in Lk 7:22: “the dead are raised.” This resuscitation in alluding to the prophet Elijah’s resurrection of the only son of a widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:17–24) leads to the reaction of the crowd: “A great prophet has arisen in our midst” (Lk 7:16). (Luke, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)
Cindy Murphy McMahon comments that the mother didn’t approach Jesus, nor did anyone else. They probably didn’t even know who he was. They were focused on their own loss and weren’t looking for any solutions or miracles.
Again, Jesus was “moved with pity.” That is the nature of God. He is moved with pity when he sees human suffering. Yes, he hears our requests, but he also frequently makes the first move. This should be reassuring to us when we feel God is ignoring us or is unconcerned about our problems. He hears us, he sees us and he cares about us. Amen, halleluiah! (Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The dead man who meets the Life and the Resurrection,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"The dead man was being buried, and many friends were conducting him to his tomb. Christ, the life and resurrection, meets him there. He is the Destroyer of death and of corruption. He is the One in whom we live and move and are (Acts 17:28). He is who has restored the nature of man to that which it originally was and has set free our death-fraught flesh from the bonds of death. He had mercy upon the woman, and that her tears might be stopped, he commanded saying, 'Weep not.' Immediately the cause of her weeping was done away."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 36) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31 comments that when we look at our own contribution, we can begin to feel as if our role is too small to even mention, let alone celebrate. The truth is, we all play an essential part. What would an arm or leg be without the blood cells or the nerve cells that keep it functioning? What good is a heart if it doesn’t receive oxygen? Every person in your parish is a vital part of the body of Christ.
The glue that holds the body of Christ together, of course, is the Holy Spirit. He is the One who makes the arm strong, who makes the blood pure, who keeps the ligaments flexible, and who moves the feet to run the race. If each of us were to invite that Spirit into everything that we do for the Lord and his people—that is, into every area of our lives—then this body would literally shine with the glory of God! The work of every member would add to a current of grace that would flow out to the whole world!
May each member of the body of Christ “drink of one Spirit” today (1 Corinthians 12:13)!
“Come, Holy Spirit, and fill every member of the body of Christ today!” (Meditation on 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler remarks on the unity of the Body of Christ in which many different gifts are present for the service of the community. Speaking in tongues, or glossolalia, is last in Paul’s list of gifts perhaps reflecting the misplaced superiority expressed by those in the community with this gift. Friar Jude cautions us not to refer to the reanimation of the son of the Widow of Nain as a resurrection.
Franciscan Media discusses the ambiguity and intrigue surrounding Saint John Chrysostom, the great preacher (his name means “golden-mouthed”) from Antioch. Brought to Constantinople after a dozen years of priestly service in Syria, John found himself the reluctant victim of an imperial ruse to make him bishop in the greatest city of the empire.
John Chrysostom’s preaching, by word and example, exemplifies the role of the prophet to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. For his honesty and courage, he paid the price of a turbulent ministry as bishop, personal vilification, and exile. (Saint John Chrysostom, n.d.)
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, believes that true forgiveness is only possible through a larger transformation of consciousness within us.
All physical shadows are created by a mixture of darkness and light, and this is the only spectrum of human vision. We cannot see inside of total light or total darkness. Think about that. As the shadows of things gradually show themselves as understandable and real, we lose interest in idealizing or idolizing persons or events, especially ourselves. As Jesus says to the rich young man, “Only God is good” (Mark 10:18). All created things are a mixture of good and not so good.
This does not mean we stop loving other people; in fact, it means we actually begin to truly love people and creatures. It does not mean self-hatred or self-doubt, but finally accepting and fully owning both our gifts and our weaknesses; they no longer cancel one another out. We can eventually do the same for others too, and we do not let another’s faults destroy our larger relationship with them. This is why contemplative, nondual thinking is absolutely necessary for human flourishing. It is the change that changes everything else. It makes love, forgiveness, and patience possible. Without it, we are forever trapped inside of our judgments. (Rohr, n.d.)
We contribute to the full life of our community as we celebrate the gifts animated by the Spirit that serve others with love and compassion.
References
Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. (n.d.). Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/091322.html
Luke, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/7?11
Meditation on 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/09/13/487848/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 12. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/12?12
Psalms, PSALM 100. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/100?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Change of Consciousness. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-change-of-consciousness-2022-09-13/
Saint John Chrysostom. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-chrysostom
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=sep13
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