Word to the Wise
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 - Tuesday in the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Corinthians 2:10B-16 and Luke 4:31-37]Now the natural man does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. the who who is spiritual, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment by anyone. For "who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?"n But we have the mind of Christ.
The existence of factions and "elites" in the community at Corinth was ever a concern to St. Paul. There were the differences that were created by "class" and economic status, to begin with. These differences gave rise to a tendency on the part of the "haves" to consider themselves spiritually superior to the "have-nots." Paul is at pains to point out that education and wealth are not what make a difference in regard to faith. What makes the difference is the Spirit which is received in baptism and is the power of faith in a person. The result is that there is no elite as such, only a matter of those who have received the Spirit and those who have not. (It is important to understand that this reception of the Spirit is not in the modern Pentecostal or "charismatic" meaning of being "reborn." For Paul, that occurs at baptism for everyone.) Paul cautions members of the community against acting in the manner of spiritual elitism because that very behavior is a sign that they have not been truly converted but remain "natural" persons. Any pastor knows that every community is composed of a diversity of people, all of whom are gifted in different ways. Bringing those skills to bear on service to the community as a whole is a great challenge. We will see this more in detail in a few days as the scripture continues from 1 Corinthians. Occasionally a pastor must confront the tendency of some folks to think that certain "gifts" or "skills" (or even economic contributions!) entitle the individual to claim a superiority or perhaps privilege or power within the community. Indeed, the pastor himself (or herself) may be guilty of this tendency. Certain structural roles require an effort on the part of those who are called to them to avoid attitudes of elitism or superiority. As St. Paul points out, it is the "spiritual" person who is able to discern things aright - the person who has "the mind of Christ." At least it enables one to know what a true "difference" is and whether or not it "makes a difference." AMEN
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