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Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
1 Corinthians 4:6b–15
Today Saint Paul gives us a sharp contrast.
On one side, there are the Corinthians.
They feel satisfied.
They feel rich.
They feel strong.
They feel wise.
They feel honorable.
On the other side, there are the apostles.
They are weak.
They are despised.
They are hungry and thirsty.
They are poorly clothed.
They have no secure home.
They work with their hands.
They are persecuted.
The contrast is painful.
The Corinthians have faith, but they still think according to the world.
The apostles, on the other hand, have entered the way of Christ.
They have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.
It is as if their life is being watched on a great stage.
The whole universe is watching the drama of salvation.
The Gospel is proclaimed.
Evil resists.
The apostles suffer.
Some are rejected.
Some are imprisoned.
Some are killed.
But the seed of the Gospel does not die.
It falls into the ground.
It rises again in new communities, new believers, new witnesses.
This is how the Church grows.
Not by power.
Not by comfort.
Not by applause.
But by lives that resemble Christ.
And how do the apostles resemble Christ?
Paul tells us:
When ridiculed, we bless.
When persecuted, we endure.
When slandered, we answer gently.
This is the Gospel made visible.
Jesus said:
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
The apostles did not only repeat these words.
They lived them.
That is why people could see Christ in them.
Then Paul uses a very strong image.
He says:
We have become like the world’s rubbish, the scum of all.
It means being considered worthless.
Rejected.
Thrown away.
Unimportant in the eyes of the world.
And yet, in God’s eyes, these are the heroes of the story.
Here is the question for the Church today:
Are we willing to follow Christ in this way?
The sad thing is that, many times, we are closer to the Corinthians than to the apostles.
We admire sacrifice, but we avoid it.
We praise holiness, but we fear the price.
We speak about Christ, but we do not want to look foolish for Him.
Still, the Lord continues to call men and women who are willing to live simply, serve quietly, suffer patiently, and love faithfully.
They may look like fools to the world.
But before God, they shine.
So ask yourself:
Am I willing to take part in this great drama of salvation?
Or do I want to remain only a spectator?
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition,
copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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