Ecclesiae Dei | Church of God

"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)

 

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

 

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)