"To the church of God in
Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people,
together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ—their Lord and ours " - 1 Cor 1:2 (NIV)
The Apostle Paul's letter to
the Corinthians addresses one important issue: unity. The Corinthian church was
fractured, and the main reason was pride. This pride manifests itself in a
distorted understanding of the gospel, which leads to sinful attitudes about
things like speech and knowledge, and the misuse of their spiritual gifts.
In the opening part of this
letter, Paul remained realistic in his assessment of the spiritual life and
practice of the Corinthian church, but he did not play the role of a grumpy
father. In fact, his tone was confident and hopeful, for his hopes for the
Corinthian church were firmly rooted in God's unwavering faithfulness. Despite
all their troubles, Paul knew that in the end, they would be declared blameless
on the day when Jesus returned. In this opening sentence, he firmly believed
that God had given the Corinthian church a definite calling and hope. God would
enrich their mouths and minds, and spiritual gifts for every need and
opportunity.
Paul's greeting inspires us
that a corrupted place or situation is a working place for God's grace. This
grace of God never fails. God never gives up on us, in situations or
circumstances that seem cannot be repaired. God will make us saints in
fellowship with His Son. If God doesn't give up on us, will we give up on
others? On a situation or circumstance that seems cannot be repaired?
Reflection on 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
by Fr. Fransiskus Diaz, SVD
(Listen to the Podcast here)
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