Wednesday of the
Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
(I Corinthians 3:1-9; Luke 4:38-44)
In today’s first reading St. Paul addresses a division in
the Christian community at Corinth. He urges
those who see themselves as disciples of Apollo and those who claim to be followers
of Paul himself to end their rivalry. In
today’s Church there is evidence of a similar disunity. Many Catholics consider themselves as
conservative while others describe themselves as liberal or progressive. The two sides also have their heroes. St. John Paul II represents the conservative
contingent, and Pope Francis is taken as the standard-bearer of the liberals.
Paul recognizes the foolishness of such division. He accuses those who participate in the
rivalry as “fleshy people,” no more than “infants” in the faith. He desires that the community reimage itself
as a whole that has been assisted be both himself and Apollo. Finally, he exhorts all members to understand
themselves as God’s children.
As much as we allow the conservative-liberal dichotomy to
thrive, our gospel message will be weakened.
Certainly there are different mindsets among Church members. However, on close inspection there are ways in
which some conservatives share values more with liberals, and vice versa, than
with their own cohorts. More
importantly, the common ground of both sectors is vast and differs
significantly from secular territory. For
the sake of the gospel then and for the needed support we provide one another,
we must strive to overcome division.
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