8th Sunday
in Ordinary TimeMarch 1, 1987
1 Cor 4: 1-5
Holy Cross, Fairfield, Conn.
An "oldie"...
“Men should regard us as servants of Christ and administrators of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4: 1).
Last week the question of true wisdom and of factions within the Corinthian church came up again. Paul, of course, didn’t divide his letter
into chapter and verse—medieval printers did that—but here in his 4th chapter, he tries to tie these ideas all together—the ideas that we’ve been hearing for the last 7 weeks or so—before he heads into a new section on specific moral questions, and before we abandon 1 Corinthians and head for Lent.
Paul’s said a lot about wisdom: the true wisdom that comes from Jesus Christ and is revealed to us by the Spirit; the false wisdom propagated by the power of this world. God is the only judge of true wishes.
Here in Fairfield and Bridgeport, we’ve just had a chance to see these contrasting wisdoms. Last Sunday we had a pastoral letter on chastity from Bishop Curtis. On Wednesday, the story at the top of the newspaper was full of people finding fault with it. Here are the two wisdoms; we have to choose one of them.
And God’s wisdom has built him a temple, the Church. Just as God is the true judge of wisdom and of folly, so is he the true judge of the men and women who make up the Church, and their motives.
Instead of arguing over the merits and credentials of Peter, Apollos, and Paul (cf. 1:12-13; 3:4), the Corinthians ought to be looking to Christ. As for the various apostles and other ministers of the Church, “men should regard us as servants of Christ and administrators of the mysteries of God” (4:1). Paul and the others don’t replace Christ; they serve him. They’re his business managers. They’re all accountable to Christ the master, Christ the Lord.
In a new age in which each of us realizes that he or she is called to be, in some manner, a minister of God’s mysteries, it’s good for us to remember that we do so in Christ’s name and as his servants.
Even more, we have to remember what else Paul has told his bickering Corinthian friends, especially the ones who found fault with him: the Lord alone is our judge (4:4). Our role is not to judge others but to serve them. Each of us has plenty on his hands just to mind his own conscience. Sr. Anna Marie gave me a little desk calendar for Christmas; it’s got a little quotation for every day, and the one it had for Feb. 28 is this: “Keep your heart with all diligence, and God will look after the universe” (A.W. Tozer). It seems to fit quite well with what Paul’s telling us.
Those few people who must, by God’s calling, exercise concern for the consciences of others, like parents for their children in the formative years, confessors, catechists—how often we’d like to dodge such a serious duty! God help us.
In any case, God alone can truly read our hearts. And both Paul and Jesus sternly warn us not to try to judge others.
Paul ends this passage, today’s 5 verses, with an encouraging word that almost slips by us. At the final judgment, “everyone will receive his praise from God” (4:5). He might have said everyone will get his recompense, his just deserts, what’s coming to him. It sounds a little more ominous that way. And probably most of us kind of expect that, for ourselves even, not to mention all those other creeps in this world.
But Paul doesn’t use a negative or even a neutral word. “Everyone will receive his praise from God.” Wow! Does the Gospel sound a little more like “good news” now? Paul seems to be saying that the all-knowing and all-wise judge, the reader of our hearts, will find something to approve in everyone when most people would not.
If you’ve ever had people misinterpret your actions or your motives, you may have thought, “Thank God that I’ll be judged at the end by Jesus and not by my neighbors.” I sure have. And here Paul apparently is saying pretty much the same thing. Which goes, again, to tell us, “stop passing judgment before the time of Christ’s return” (4:5). We’d be much more Christ-like to try to do as St. Francis de Sales did. He said, if there are 99 bad interpretations for someone’s actions and 1 good one, I’ll choose the good 1.
Last week the question of true wisdom and of factions within the Corinthian church came up again. Paul, of course, didn’t divide his letter
into chapter and verse—medieval printers did that—but here in his 4th chapter, he tries to tie these ideas all together—the ideas that we’ve been hearing for the last 7 weeks or so—before he heads into a new section on specific moral questions, and before we abandon 1 Corinthians and head for Lent.Paul’s said a lot about wisdom: the true wisdom that comes from Jesus Christ and is revealed to us by the Spirit; the false wisdom propagated by the power of this world. God is the only judge of true wishes.
Here in Fairfield and Bridgeport, we’ve just had a chance to see these contrasting wisdoms. Last Sunday we had a pastoral letter on chastity from Bishop Curtis. On Wednesday, the story at the top of the newspaper was full of people finding fault with it. Here are the two wisdoms; we have to choose one of them.
And God’s wisdom has built him a temple, the Church. Just as God is the true judge of wisdom and of folly, so is he the true judge of the men and women who make up the Church, and their motives.
Instead of arguing over the merits and credentials of Peter, Apollos, and Paul (cf. 1:12-13; 3:4), the Corinthians ought to be looking to Christ. As for the various apostles and other ministers of the Church, “men should regard us as servants of Christ and administrators of the mysteries of God” (4:1). Paul and the others don’t replace Christ; they serve him. They’re his business managers. They’re all accountable to Christ the master, Christ the Lord.
In a new age in which each of us realizes that he or she is called to be, in some manner, a minister of God’s mysteries, it’s good for us to remember that we do so in Christ’s name and as his servants.
Even more, we have to remember what else Paul has told his bickering Corinthian friends, especially the ones who found fault with him: the Lord alone is our judge (4:4). Our role is not to judge others but to serve them. Each of us has plenty on his hands just to mind his own conscience. Sr. Anna Marie gave me a little desk calendar for Christmas; it’s got a little quotation for every day, and the one it had for Feb. 28 is this: “Keep your heart with all diligence, and God will look after the universe” (A.W. Tozer). It seems to fit quite well with what Paul’s telling us.
Those few people who must, by God’s calling, exercise concern for the consciences of others, like parents for their children in the formative years, confessors, catechists—how often we’d like to dodge such a serious duty! God help us.
In any case, God alone can truly read our hearts. And both Paul and Jesus sternly warn us not to try to judge others.
Paul ends this passage, today’s 5 verses, with an encouraging word that almost slips by us. At the final judgment, “everyone will receive his praise from God” (4:5). He might have said everyone will get his recompense, his just deserts, what’s coming to him. It sounds a little more ominous that way. And probably most of us kind of expect that, for ourselves even, not to mention all those other creeps in this world.
But Paul doesn’t use a negative or even a neutral word. “Everyone will receive his praise from God.” Wow! Does the Gospel sound a little more like “good news” now? Paul seems to be saying that the all-knowing and all-wise judge, the reader of our hearts, will find something to approve in everyone when most people would not.
If you’ve ever had people misinterpret your actions or your motives, you may have thought, “Thank God that I’ll be judged at the end by Jesus and not by my neighbors.” I sure have. And here Paul apparently is saying pretty much the same thing. Which goes, again, to tell us, “stop passing judgment before the time of Christ’s return” (4:5). We’d be much more Christ-like to try to do as St. Francis de Sales did. He said, if there are 99 bad interpretations for someone’s actions and 1 good one, I’ll choose the good 1.
Painting of St. Francis de Sales in the apse of the Church of St. Francis de Sales, built by Don Bosco in 1852, at the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales in Turin
Top photo: Ancient statue of St. Paul preserved in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome
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