Word to the Wise
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 - Wednesday in the 22th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 3:1-9 and Luke 4:38-44]While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh and walking according to the manner of man? Whenever someone says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely men? What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. For we are God's co-workers; you are God's field, God's building. [1 Cor.]
I have heard it said that a great deal of good can be accomplished when folks don't care who gets the credit. (I'm sure American politics would be a great deal more peaceful if that wisdom were followed.) St. Paul had invested a great deal of effort in establishing the community at Corinth, but after he left, factions developed around who had baptized whom and deserved loyalty in contrast to another preacher - in this case, Paul and Apollos. Paul heard about it and wrote the First Letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to forget about who did what in the beginning and concentrate on living the faith in the midst of the pagan world of Corinth!
The problem is common to any organization that experiences a change in leadership. There are always those who remain loyal to the previous leader and resist the new one. For the new director, this is what is referred to as "living in the shadow" of the earlier regime. I have experienced it in the past when I arrived at a new campus ministry assignment as director/pastor. In campus ministry, this doesn't last as long as in a regular parish where the new pastor is succeeding one who has been pastor for a long time. In campus ministry, new students arrive each year and others graduate. What can get lost, no matter which kind of ministry is involved, is that it is "the work of God" that needs to be done and personalities are secondary. Good leadership is crucial, but its purpose is to enable the followers to accomplish the task of the community, and not create rival factions. St. Paul was seeing all his work come to naught and his anxiety and frustration show in this letter. Centuries later, other pastors can only nod and say, "Been there! Done that!" AMEN