Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost; The Holy Apostle Matthias.
Dormition Fast. Post-feast of the Transfiguration.
1 Corinthians 9:2-12; Acts 1:12-17, 21-26; Matthew 18:23-35; Luke 9:1-6.
Read 1 Corinthians 9:2-12
Parents know that “more is caught than taught.” Children learn and copy behaviors, values, and attitudes by watching what others do rather than just listening to what they say. Actions and daily habits leave a much deeper mark than spoken instructions or rules.
Paul and the other apostles all preached the same gospel. But Paul says he did not avail himself of the material support he could have rightly received from the church at Corinth because that would “put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” That the other apostles did receive support, and that Paul did from other churches (he received financial support for his ministry among the Corinthians from the churches in Macedonia – 2 Corinthians 11:9), indicates that ministers of the gospel receiving financial support is not an obstacle to the gospel per se, but that this is a decision by Paul in the context of the Corinthian church.
Previously in this epistle, Paul addressed the status seeking in the Corinthian church. Here, Paul is avoiding having them project that upon him; even rightful material support could be interpreted as Paul being the same as them, self-serving, with no more remarkable a message than anyone else. But Paul had the most remarkable message, and he was not about to let anything obscure that, even his own rights and material comfort.
It has become foundational to understanding communication that “the medium is the message” – the form of a communication medium shapes how the message is understood, often more than the content. Paul exemplifies understanding the gospel and deciding the form it should take in him to communicate it effectively. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us;” we are also called to discern how to incarnate the gospel in our various contexts.