Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
(I Corinthians 6:1-11; Luke 6:12-19)
An American Catholic would have no problem taking to court
another Catholic if there is a serious grievance. St. Paul in today’s first reading finds such action
outrageous. It is not that he is living at
a different time. He has a very different
sense of Church.
For Paul the Church is Christ. As the people consume Christ’s body and
blood, they are assumed into him. For
this reason Paul regularly calls the Church the “Body of Christ.” Bringing a
member of the church community to court, then, would be akin to settling family
problems with justice of the peace. Family
members at odds should find better judgment in a discerning matriarch or a wise
uncle who knows intimately all involved.
No church community is perfect. There will always be some people who think
differently and others whose personality we find difficult. Yet we should make a determined effort to
deepen our relations in community. We
want to act as Christ who, as always, comes to the world to establish the
Kingdom of God.
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