(I Corinthians 3:1-9; Luke 4:38-44)
At a parish in El Paso, Texas, there was an increasingly
acrimonious rivalry between the Guadalupanas (the Sodality of Our Lady of
Guadalupe) and the Carmelitas (the Sodality of Our Lady of Mount Carmel). Each contended that they were the best women
group in the parish. The members of
either group began to shun members of the other group. The pastor noting the un-Christ like behavior
had the two groups come to an agreement.
On July 16, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Guadalupanas
would serve breakfast to the Carmelitas after the mass their patronal feast. Of course, the courtesy was reciprocated on
December 12. The resolution improved the
situation considerably. In today’s first
reading St. Paul similarly tries to stem the rivalries brewing in Corinth.
After spending over a year with the Corinthians, Paul knows
that they have been instructed well. He
has preached, modeled, and taught unity in Christ. He naturally becomes upset
when they break down into factions like all their pagan neighbors. He reminds them that they are different from
other people because they have been formed by Christ into his body. In him
there is no place for rivalry. As he
writes to the Galatians, in Christ there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free,
male or female.
Life in Christ makes us a new creation. We are to leave behind thinking of ourselves
as better than others. We should no more
form rival groups than consider our arms as more valuable than our feet. Christ has made us one in love to reflect the
love between him and his Father.
