Monday, June 12, 2023

Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 1:1-7; Matthew 5:1-12)

In the first reading today the word encourage or one of its derivatives occurs ten times.  In other translations consolation or comfort is used to translate the Greek.  Clearly Paul intends to offer support to the Christian community in Corinth for the suffering it is enduring.  The cause of that suffering is presumed and not revealed in the letter.

Paul emphasizes the social unity of Christians.  Enfolded into the Body of Christ, Christians can experience the comfort of his resurrection as they experience the pain of his death.  Paul recognizes this interplay at work in his own relationship with Christ.  In a parallel way he wants the Corinthians to know that they should feel the encouragement he has received from Christ.

We never have to suffer alone.  Both Christ and fellow Christians are ready to share our burden.  Rather than keeping our sorrows to ourselves, we can talk about them in conversation or prayer.  Just doing this mitigates much of the pain.

Monday, June 12, 2017

Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 1:1-7; Matthew 5:1-12)

“We’re number one! We’re number one!” college students love to brag when their team wins a game that thrusts it to the top of a sportswriters’ poll.  Losers are never so cheerful.  They take consolation in that they played well, abided by all the rules, and emerge as better people in the sojourn of life.  Once a student praised his losing team for having won a “moral victory.”  In today’s first reading Paul describes such a consolation for the church at Corinth.

Because Christians in Corinth are a minority, they no doubt suffer the disdain of the powerful.  They also face interior division over beliefs and loyalties.  The letter does not spell out exactly the nature of these problems.  It could be that Jewish-Christian preachers from Palestine were preaching adherence to the Law.  Another possibility is that Greek charismatic preachers were giving divisive interpretations to the gifts of the Spirit.  In any case, Paul reminds his readers that in Christ’s sufferings they like him can find comfort.  After all, Christ’ humiliating death on the cross led to the glory of his resurrection.

No one likes to suffer.  But we can bear with almost any suffering if it has positive meaning.  We will find that meaning when we unite ourselves to Christ.  With him the pain of disease or accident serves for the building up of the Church.  In him even the suffering brought about by our own faults endured patiently redounds for our eternal benefit.  

Monday, June 8, 2015

Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 1:1-7; Matthew 5:1-12)

“We’re number one! We’re number one!” college students love to brag when their team wins a game that thrusts it to the top of a football or basketball poll.  Losers are never so cheered.  They take consolation in that they played well, abided by all the rules, and emerge as better people in the much more important sojourn of life. In today’s first reading Paul describes such a consolation for the church at Corinth.

Because Christians in Corinth are a minority, they no doubt suffer the disdain of the powerful.  They also face interior division over beliefs and loyalties.  The letter does not spell out exactly the nature of these problems.  It could be that Jewish-Christian preachers from Palestine were preaching adherence to the Law.  Another possibility is that Greek charismatic preachers were giving divisive interpretations to the gifts of the Spirit.  In any case, Paul reminds his readers that in Christ’s sufferings they as well as he find comfort.  After all, Christ’ humiliating death on the cross led to his resurrection and glory.

None of us likes to suffer.  But we can bear with suffering if it has positive significance.  We will find that significance when we bind ourselves closely to Christ.  In him even the suffering brought about by our own faults redounds for our eternal benefit.  When we suffer, let us turn to the crucifix and offer our pain as an act of solidarity with him.

Homilette for Monday, June 8, 2009

Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 1:1-7; Matthew 5:1-12)

Once an oriental man visiting churches in Italy was amazed to see so many images of someone hanging on a cross. He asked something like, “What evil deed could that guy have done so that they don’t want anyone to forget it?” Unlike this oriental we see the crucifix in a completely benign way. Just as Paul speaks of being encouraged by Christ's sufferings in the opening of the Second Letter to the Corinthians, so our meditation on the crucifix provides us consolation to face the hardships of life with equanimity and hope.

As the year of St. Paul comes to a close, let’s reflect briefly on his contribution to our lives. Of course, he was the great apostle journeying, tirelessly, bravely, and successfully to tell our ancestors about Christ. We may credit our being Christian today to his efforts. He also brilliantly laid the groundwork to our understanding about Christ, especially in relation to Judaism. Equally important, his letters convey sensibilities similar to our own which make credible our following Jesus in the midst of a society which often moves in a different direction. Paul gives us confidence that Jesus’ story is no myth but answers the questions of an acutely honest person who from an encounter with Christ was convinced that whatever sacrifices he had to make for him are well worth the trouble.