Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 431

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling…

Arriving at the second chapter of Saint Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, we find that he is still exploring the mystery of kenosis, the humility of God. Following the principle that "We imitate the god whom we adore," the Apostle resolved to "know nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

He would not use the powerful, oratorical methods he had learned, methods used by every educated person. In a world where few enjoyed the privilege of education, students learned techniques and skills of public speaking. Paul had tried these persuasive techniques in Athens, the center of the Roman intellectual world, and they laughed at him. From then on, he would Keep It Simple, eschewing oratorical flourishes and clever arguments. He would speak from his heart and from his personal experience of the Risen Lord.

But he would also reflect on their experience as a church and their knowledge of the Holy Spirit. He wrote several letters to the Corinthians in response to the troubles he’d heard they suffered. Keeping it simple, he didn’t have to appeal to abstruse philosophical arguments. Nor did he appeal to more familiar pagan traditions.

The universe had been reborn with the resurrection of Jesus; so rational principles and reasonable statements were built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Arguments could be settled by examining their differences in the light of Easter glory. Likewise, churches would be designed in the new light of the Gospel, although their organizations and (eventually) their buildings would resemble Jewish synagogues.

And the guiding principle would be kenosis, God’s humility. No one should be overpowered in a competition to win some kind of spiritual competition. If we’re bringing in the sheaves, we do so with profound respect for the sensitivities and sensibilities of each individual soul. It is a profound honor to be called by the Lord, no one should be badgered or shamed into joining His Church.

We’ve had a hard time maintaining that principle. We know a million ways to overpower ignorant, reluctant, and obstinate people; we’re always tempted to take those shortcuts to success. But when our successes humiliate, our ends fail to justify the means, and the right path is treachery, we realize we have betrayed the Lord. Judas Iscariot, for all we know, intended the right thing but used the wrong means and lives forever as a sign of disgrace.

As we invite neighbors, friends, and family to know the Lord we share our memories of failure, grief, and shame. If no one knows the Lord who does not know his crucifixion, neither do they know us if we seem to be always wise, always right, and always blameless. We are vessels of clay as Paul insisted, damaged goods. They might join our gardening club because we grow such lovely zenias, or our softball teams because we're batting .500, but they join us in prayer because they have sinned like us.