Friday of the
Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(II Corinthians 11:18.21-30; Matthew 6:19-23)
A scene in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is reminiscent of St. Paul’s
rhetoric in the first reading today.
Gatsby has enticed into his mansion Daisy Buchanan, a woman on whom he
had a crush years earlier. In the former
time he considered himself beneath Daisy’s social class, but now he has
accumulated a fortune. The scene
pictures Daisy beginning to cry as Gatsby displays his bountiful wardrobe of
shirts. Gatsby has successfully impressed
Daisy as having arrived on high.
In his letter, which is considered to be a composite of
at least two writings, Paul has reason to similarly impress the
Corinthians. The context is unknown, but
apparently Jewish critics have bad-mouthed Paul to the Christian
community. Paul here tries to defend
himself by giving a list of his sacrifices for Christ's sake that rivals the trials of Job. Paul describes such a defense as foolish
boasting but proceeds with it anyway. He
hopes to disabuse the Corinthians of any doubts about his authenticity.
Although at times he may have acted imprudently, Paul remains
the model apostle. More than any other
known evangelizer, Paul sacrificed himself for the sake of preaching Jesus
Christ. We are enriched almost as much
by his commitment as by his message. The
next time we feel embarrassed to bless ourselves when passing a church or to
say grace before a meal in a restaurant, let us remember the example of St.
Paul.
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