Tuesday of Week 22 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on 1 Corinthians 2:10-16

In today’s passage, Paul discusses the true nature of the genuinely spiritual person. Not surprisingly, the source of his spirituality is the Spirit of God:

…the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

The Spirit does this, not in order to know them better—for the Spirit knows all things. But rather, he understands fully the depths of God’s nature and so is fully competent to reveal them to us. And just as only a person alone knows what is going on in the depths of his or her heart, so only the depths of God can be known by God’s own Spirit.

What distinguishes the true followers of Christ is that they are not imbued by the spirit of the world around them. The “spirit of the world” is that “wisdom of this age” which is alienated from God and all he stands for (1 Cor 2:6). It is the attitude of ‘sinful nature’ as described in the Letter to the Romans (8:6-7). Instead, true followers have received the gift of God’s Spirit which helps us to understand the gifts and the love that is constantly being showered on us. So Paul’s teaching is not, as he said before, based on philosophical speculations, but comes in the way the Spirit communicates, that is, straight to the heart and not just in the mind.

In the verses which follow (including some which are not part of today’s reading) Paul explains why many fail to grasp true wisdom. It is because such wisdom is perceived by the spiritual (i.e. mature) Christian. The Corinthians, however, were unspiritual, worldly (infant) believers (1 Cor 3:1-4), and the proof of their immaturity was their division over their human leaders (1 Cor 3:3-4).

The unspiritual person is described as one who is closed to the working of the Spirit. The Greek term here is psychikos, a person who depends on his own natural resources:

…who walk…according to the flesh… (Rom 8:4)

This person is dominated by the physical, worldly or natural life.

Such a person—and we have surely met such individuals often—rejects the gospel teaching as nonsense. In fact, he or she does not understand it because understanding only comes through being open to the promptings of the Spirit.

Persons who are spiritual, on the other hand:

…discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.

The Spirit gives the follower of Christ deep insights into the meaning of life, and a vision of what is really important. Paul himself, as a ‘spiritual’ man, is not to be judged by the Corinthians who are ‘sensual’ and immature, only able to be:

…fed…milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. (1 Cor 4:2)

Many a truly Spirit-guided person will, as Jesus and Paul were, be frequently criticised. Such individuals may be rejected and even removed altogether by exile or death. But as long as they remain true to the guidance of the Spirit, they do not feel effectively judged by such people.

Christians must never be arrogant or contemptuous of others. At the same time, they must not fear or hesitate to be in opposition to the conventional wisdom of their environment. In order to make sure of their integrity, they must constantly discern the voice and the leading of God in all that he says and does.

Paul ends by asking a question posed by Isaiah:

For who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?

Paul answers by saying that, while we may not know the mind of God, and still less dare to teach him, he does claim that he and many of the baptised are those who have:

…the mind of Christ.

To have the “mind of Christ” is to see things the way Jesus sees them, to value things the way he values them, and to totally share his vision of the meaning and goal of our lives. What exactly that mind of Christ is can be found in the lovely hymn that Paul quotes in his letter to the Philippians (2:6-11). Let us pray today that we may be truly spiritual people who share and understand the mind of Christ.

Read more

Tuesday of Week 22 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Luke 4:31-37

Immediately after his mixed reception in Nazareth, Jesus moves on to Capernaum, a town on the north shore of Galilee, which was to be the base from which Jesus did much of his missionary work. As in Nazareth, he taught the people in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Unlike in Nazareth:

They were astounded at his teaching because he spoke with authority.

He did not quote other authorities like the teachers of the law, because his authority was directly from God; it was his own.

At the same time, it was not the authority of domination. It was the authority of someone who has access to special knowledge, the authority of someone who speaks in his own name and not just on behalf of others, the authority of one who empowers others and makes them grow.

The word ‘authority’ comes from the Latin auctoritas, which in turn comes from the verb augere, meaning to increase or augment. And Jesus’ authority is not only in word and teaching. Right there in the synagogue as he speaks is a man possessed by a “spirit of an unclean demon”. The spirit, through the man, speaks in fear of the power of Jesus:

Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.

This title seems to indicate that the spirit recognises Jesus’ divine origin, but not his Messiahship. There was a belief in those times that knowing the exact name of one’s opponent gave one power over him.

Jesus ordered the evil spirit to leave the man, who was thrown to the ground, but not hurt. The people are amazed. Exorcism was not new to them, but they had never seen it done with such speed and effectiveness. They are astounded again at the power and authority of Jesus. They realise they are in the presence of someone very special, in fact, the “Holy One of God”.

Each one of us is given authority of some kind—as a parent, a teacher or perhaps our job responsibility. Let us make sure that we use it in such a way as to enhance the abilities of others rather than diminish them.

Read more