Readings:
1 Corinthians 1: 10b-16
Luke 4: 31-37
Reflection:
In any community divisions can occur as the result of competing influences. A truly Christian community can recognise and accept difference and remain committed to unity – to agape.
We know there were divisions in the church at Corinth and in the first reading today Paul pleads with them for unity, instead of competing factions. We know Paul’s writings are powerful, but there does not appear to be unbridled enthusiasm for him as a preacher, compared with some others. This was not Paul’s concern. He brilliantly calls the community back to the core of the gospel message regardless of who proclaims it – Jesus crucified!
This is what we must always be pointing to, rather than being caught up in personality cults which distract from the primary focus and create disunity in the community. Unity is not uniformity. For a community it is a determination to love and accept based on the message of Jesus that each of us belongs to God’s family.
We are told by Luke that when Jesus went to Capernaum, people there were astonished because he taught with authority. This is the key to the Christian message – that we speak and act with integrity, in tune with the music of the gospel. That authority is what speaks loudest.
Brian Traynor CP has been involved in faith formation for many years especially in the form of parish missions and through the Passionist Family Group Movement. Brian is a member of the Passionist community at Holy Cross, Templestowe.