Sunday of Meatfare; The Holy Hieromartyr Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna.
1 Corinthians 8:8-9:2; Matthew 25:31-46.
Read 1 Corinthians 8:8-9:2
| It is the easiest thing in the world to transfer our human understanding of relationships to our assumptions about God’s love. How could it be otherwise? We are human and our human understanding is the only understanding we begin with. Feelings of comparison, competition, superiority, and inferiority creep into it. In today’s epistle reading Paul continues taking up statements by the Corinthians, acknowledging them, but qualifying them significantly to counter erroneous understandings. “Food will not commend us to God.” This is in line with Paul’s teaching that observing Mosaic food laws does not earn points with God. This is the position of those Corinthians who see themselves as strong enough in faith to eat meat from the market that everyone knows began its journey there by being slaughtered in sacrifice to idols. But Paul doesn’t allow them to believe that they are therefore spiritually superior. One may have a robust conscience, but he says, “We are…no better off if we do (eat).” Paul also removes from them any basis for seeing those with sensitive consciences as spiritually inferior: “We are no worse off if we do not eat.” This is more than a reminder to not judge each other (though it is also that); this is a teaching regarding the centrality of Christ in our relationships. We are to consider others “for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.” Even though he is an apostle, Paul is not “free” from that. The thing about Christian spiritual growth is that, in the end, we never get farther than where we begin – with Christ. And that reality is before us in every Divine Liturgy: the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” (CCC 1324) |