Today, in the epistle reading, the Holy Apostle Paul speaks to the Corinthian community in a sarcastic, almost facetious way, in order to move them to repentance for the pretenses that they had allowed to grow among them. They had begun to think of themselves as "spiritual experts," advanced in the Christian life, without need for anyone to teach them anything further. In contrast to this perceived richness in a wealth of grace leading to good fortune of every kind, Paul juxtaposes the universal lot of the apostles in this world: suffering for the sake of Christ.
Well, in the same way that the apostles are conformed to Christ in His suffering and death, so we should be conformed to the apostles, just as Saint Paul exhorted the Corinthians in another place, "be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."
In light of the juxtaposition of the false glory and exaltation of the members of the Church of Corinth with the suffering and debasement of the apostles, we each can reflect on our daily task to make ourselves small in an interior and intentional way. We are each required by the example of Christ to prefer the good of others to our own good. In the last century, in the tiny cell of the saint, mystic and spiritual writer Catherine Doherty there was a plaque bearing the insightful inscription: "I am third." Simple words, simple to remember, but full of meaning for every word and action of the Christian life. What the inscription means is that in every word and action God comes first. The first aspect in the calculus of every Christian action should be the glory of God. The second consideration should always be the good of others. Finally, last in consideration is my good, my desires, my will.
Paul, in speaking to the Corinthians in the way he does, is seeking to move them to humble themselves. To humble oneself isn't self-punishment, it isn't masochism. It is the acknowledgment of the truth. It would be well for us to look at the usual ingredients in this acknowledgment of the truth.
First of all, the virtue of humility seeks a true knowledge of the will of God. In this sense, we are able to clearly see the precise place where humility crosses over and touches the virtue of meekness, whereby we accept our circumstances as being a manifestation of God's will. We are led to consider the greatness of the plan of God and to ponder the mystery of His will as it plays out in our lives. We consider that "if it happened, it must have been His will for me." This, in turn, leads to dialogue with God, wherein we prayerfully seek the meaning of happens to us and in us.
Secondly, the virtue of humility seeks a true desire for the will of God to be realized in us. In this aspect of the virtue, we are moved to pray with the Lord Jesus, "Not my will, but yours be done." A loving desire for God to do in us what He wants to do, leads us to a corresponding renunciation of many things that we want to do, because renouncing those things may (just may) make us more available to God's will.
It is this multifaceted virtue that is so much in evidence in Paul's description of the life and conduct of the apostles in today's reading. The apostles are like those condemned to death in the arena, but Paul is not complaining, because all that suffering is a work of love.
The apostles' example, described so eloquently by Paul stands in sharp contrast to the haughtiness of the Corinthians. The Christians of the city of Corinth think they have special spiritual knowledge and insight, and because of this great knowledge, they are close to God and God's will is for them an open book. Yet, as Paul points out in many places in the epistle, the one thing is lacking that is everything. There's no love in the Church of Corinth. Infighting has started and has steadily increased. The community has split into factions. The Apostle denounces much of it, but, we might well imagine, still more of it he chooses to pass over with a reverent silence.
The choice is simple for every Christian. We can abide in Christ and therefore suffer with purpose, and in that purpose experience joy. Or, we can suffer in utter meaninglessness, because we would not seek the meaning that is the compassionate will of God. We're going to suffer in any case. We have the choice.
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