Thursday of Week 24 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

In these three final readings from the first letter to the Corinthians, we begin today the 15th chapter, which discusses resurrection from the dead and its relationship to the resurrection of Christ as a core belief of our Christian faith. In today’s reading, Paul introduces the subject by reminding the Corinthians of the gospel tradition which had been given to them and their need to be faithful to it.

The gospel will be an instrument of their salvation only if they hold closely to what they had been taught by Paul, the one who first brought the Christian faith to them. To believe anything else would be to go down a road that leads to nowhere; it would mean they were believing “in vain”. Their fidelity will be manifested in the way they lead their lives and, as we have seen, the behaviour of some of them had left much to be desired.

Paul summarises under two headings the core of Christian teaching he taught them. He emphasises that what he taught them was exactly the tradition which he had himself received and nothing else. Paul links himself directly with early Christian tradition. He was not its originator, nor did he receive it directly from the Lord. His source was other Christians. The verbs he uses are technical terms for receiving and transmitting tradition.

He first describes the core of that tradition in the following words:

• “Christ died for our sins” in accordance with the Scripture (see the disciples’ experience on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24:13-35);
• “He was buried” (proof that he had really died);
• “He was raised on the third day”, also in accordance with the Scripture.

Secondly, he lists six times when the Risen Christ was seen by people—too many people for deception to be involved:

1. First to be mentioned is Cephas or Peter, an appearance mentioned by Luke (24:34) as happening on Easter Sunday itself.
2. Then there is an appearance to the “Twelve” recorded by Luke (24:36-53) and John (20:19-29) in their Gospels. They are still called the “Twelve” even though Judas is no longer with them; however, Judas would be replaced by Matthias (Acts 1:15-26).
3. Paul next mentions a simultaneous appearance to more than 500 disciples, most of whom are still alive as he writes and so can witness to the truth of what he is saying. We are not sure when this apparition took place, although it could possibly be that mentioned by Matthew just before his description of the Ascension (Matt 28:10,16-20). The appearance to this large group may be mentioned to help bolster the faith of those Corinthians who evidently had some doubts about the resurrection of Christ (see 1 Cor 15:12-24).
4. Then he appeared to James. As this James is listed in addition to “all the apostles”, it would seem to exclude James, the son of Zebedee, or James, son of Alphaeus, and indicate James, a “brother” of Jesus mentioned by Matthew (13:55). This James, like the other “brothers” of Jesus, does not seem to have believed in Jesus before the resurrection (John 7:5), but afterwards is numbered among those disciples in the Upper Room after the resurrection (Acts 1:14). He later became the leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13). There is no mention of this appearance in the four Synoptic Gospels.
5. The appearance to “all the apostles” could be that mentioned at the beginning of Acts and before the Ascension and includes more than the Twelve already mentioned.
6. Last of all, the Risen Jesus appeared to Paul. The event is recorded no less than three times in Acts when Paul (then Saul) was on his way to arrest the Christians in Damascus. Paul describes this experience, maybe three years after the resurrection, in terms of an abnormal and totally unexpected birth.

Paul was not part of the original group of Apostles. He had not lived with Christ as the others had. His entry into the apostolic office was not ‘normal’. Furthermore, at his conversion he was abruptly snatched from his former way of life (Acts 9:3-6). He makes no distinction between the sort of apparition that took place on the Damascus road and the sort of apparitions of Jesus that took place between the resurrection and the ascension.

He is almost embarrassed to carry the title of ‘apostle’. After all, he had at one time used all his efforts to wipe the disciples of Christ from the face of the earth. In doing so he was persecuting Christ himself (Acts 9:5). Paul says:

I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle… But by the grace of God I am what I am…

He can say with truth that:

…his grace toward me has not been in vain.

That “grace” is the unmerited love of God offered and accepted by him.

The outcome is that Paul can say, without any boasting or exaggeration, that, with God’s grace working through him, he has worked harder than any other evangeliser. The record of his achievements in the Acts of the Apostles, as well as in his Letters, gives ample testimony to that claim. In spite of that, he again emphasises that what he preaches is totally in harmony with what he had received from his own teachers (the other Apostles), and that is also what the Corinthians believe. Paul thus puts the resurrection of Jesus as the central fact on which our whole faith in Jesus is based. Without that, all the rest falls apart. This he will show in tomorrow’s reading.

Let us today renew our faith in the resurrection of Jesus. He who died on the cross is now our living Lord who, through his Spirit, is really present in every baptised member of our communities and remains a powerful factor in our lives.

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Sunday of Week 5 of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Commentary on Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11

Today, we are asked to consider three interlocking elements of our Christian living: faith, experience and apostleship. Our faith has two elements. The first is expressed by Paul in the Second Reading where he gives the briefest summary of what the Christian message is about. To ‘have faith’ at that level is to accept that message as true and credible. For many Catholics, faith often stops at that point. If a person fully accepts the teaching of the Catholic Church (as opposed, for example, to teachings of Protestant churches), we sometimes hear people say, “She or he has the faith”. Some Catholics like to spend a lot of time spelling out in detail what is orthodox and what is not, and condemning those they believe to be ‘deviating from the true Faith’. For some people, faith can even be a painful matter and lead to scruples.

Faith
However, there is another level of faith which we ignore at our peril. And it is the meaning that predominates in the Gospel. The Greek word for “faith” is pistis. The basic meaning of pistis is “trust”. To have faith in Jesus is to put one’s total trust in him.

That involves a different kind of relationship from the first. We might express the difference as between ‘believing a person’ (what he or she says is true and reliable) and ‘believing in a person’ (I would be ready to put myself totally into the hands of that person). The statements “I believe what you say” and “I completely trust you” are quite distinct in meaning and application. I might well be ready to believe as true what someone tells me, while being not at all ready to entrust my life to their care.

Both levels are at work when we speak of Christian faith, but the second is surely the real test. A real faith not only accepts the content of God’s message, but involves a total surrender of one’s self and all one has and is into God’s hands. A complete letting go. It is something like those group dynamics games where you let yourself fall back into the arms of another person, trusting they will not let you fall to the ground. It will not be enough for them just to say: “I won’t let you fall.” Something more on my part will be needed.

Deep water
This is basically what we see happening in today’s Gospel. Peter and his companions are the experts when it comes to fishing in that lake. But even so, after a whole night’s work they have nothing to show for their efforts. Then Jesus, after he had finished teaching the crowds (giving them the message to believe), suggests that they go out into the “deep water” and let down their nets. There is an element of scepticism and even condescension in Peter’s reply:

Master, we [the professionals] have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.

The result was overwhelming and totally beyond their expectations—their nets could hardly hold the catch. It was their first test of faith in Jesus. The same call comes to us: “Go out into the deep water… Trust me completely… and you will be in for a pleasant surprise.” We really have not learnt to believe until we have reached that level of total and unconditional trust in the Way of Jesus.

It is clear, too, that the huge catch of fish is just a symbol of what they and their successors will do later in drawing people to become followers of Christ. A large harvest will materialise, and it will be the work of the Lord.

Experience
The second key word today is ‘experience’. It is linked with the second level of faith. Too many of us were told to limit our Christian faith to the doctrines we were taught at home, in the church or in school. Church history teaches us that many strange forms of Christianity have emerged from ‘experience’. There are many descriptions of what happens when people get carried away by what they believe to be a Christian experience and end up with very distorted views of the Christian message.

At the same time, an over-emphasis on doctrine is not good either. It can lead to a very impersonal religion, a religion which becomes legalistic or intellectual in the bad sense and often far removed from a close, loving relationship with God and people. You know things are going astray when people are more worried about the kind of vestments the priest is wearing (or not wearing) than about the plight of the poor and needy on their doorstep.

To be a Christian is first and foremost to have an experience of Christ. It is to find oneself in relationship with him in all the circumstances of one’s life. It is to find him challenging us to love, to have compassion, to practise justice, to live in freedom, to be able to forgive and be reconciled, to be kind, gentle and accepting; it is to seek, to find and to respond to him in all things. It is, because of this, to live lives of joy and peace in the midst of pain and turmoil. This is really more important that being able to give an approved explanation of the Trinity or the Immaculate Conception. It was a medieval writer who said: “I would prefer to experience repentance than be able to define it”.

Apostleship
Our third word today is “apostleship”. This word should be distinguished from “discipleship”. To be a disciple is basically to be a follower of some master or guru. The word ‘disciple’ comes from the Latin verb discere, to teach. The noun is discipulus, one who receives teaching. One learns from the master and one tries to incorporate his teaching into one’s own life. Obviously, in that sense, we are called to be disciples of Jesus. However, today’s readings ask for more than that. We are not only to follow and make Jesus’ Way our own. Part of our calling is to become ‘gurus’ ourselves in the sense of transmitting the message of Jesus to others.

After the sensational catch of fish, Peter is absolutely overwhelmed by what has happened. He knows that he is present before the power of God himself. All his arrogance disappears and he is overcome by his own smallness and unworthiness. He exclaims:

Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!

It is, in fact, a true sign of an experience with God. Anyone who truly comes face to face with God must become aware of their littleness and what might be called the shabbiness of their lives.

It is a reaction which we find in all the three readings today. Isaiah says, for instance:

Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips…yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!

Paul, not particularly known for his modesty, says:

…I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle…

In spite of that, all—Peter, Paul, Isaiah—were called to be apostles. The word ‘apostle’ means a person delegated and sent out to convey a message or carry out a mission on his or her master’s behalf. These three men were called and, indeed, every person who wishes to be known as a Christian is called not only to be a disciple, a follower, but also an apostle, a herald, a proclaimer. And it is done not just by words, but by the whole witness of what one is and does. Says Isaiah:

Here am I; send me!

As well, Paul says:

…I worked harder than any of them… [in preaching the Gospel of Jesus]

In the Gospel, Jesus tells Peter:

Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.

The message to Peter was: “If with my help you can catch so many fish, just imagine how many people you will draw to become disciples.”

It is a totally natural outcome from the faith that we have in Jesus which leads us to the unique experience and joy of knowing him and putting him unconditionally at the centre of our life. That is an experience that we must share, not because we are told to, but because we cannot help doing so. True discipleship of itself overflows into apostleship. This was what happened on that day when Peter, James and John left everything and went after Jesus.

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