1 Corinthians 10:1-13 If you’ve ever wondered about the value of reading the Old Testament, you’ve come to the right place, for in 1 Corinthians 10 St. Paul explains how we might profitably read the Old Testament for our edification. Actually, in 1 Corinthians 9:8ff he already gave us a lesson on how to interpret some of the laws (using the law about not muzzling the ox as an example.) Paul begins by teaching that even in the Old Testament... Read more
1 Corinthians 9:15-27 One of my favorite Woody Allen movies is Zelig, in which the humor is a little more subdued than in some of his others. In Zelig, Woody Allen plays a guy who is a human chameleon: that is, he becomes like whomever he is around. He becomes, in turn, many things, including a psychologist, a Native American, a Roman Catholic priest, and a Nazi. In a very different way, St. Paul is a human chameleon. Though Paul... Read more
“Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” That’s an interesting passage that St. Paul has chosen to use. But he is doing what we all must do: take the Holy Scriptures and apply them to our lives. Along the way, before we get started, Paul has also incidentally given us a lesson in biblical interpretation. Knowing that the Old Testament (which was all Paul had at the time, even though he had other revelations from God)... Read more
1 Corinthians 8 “Knowledge puffs up but love edifies” (verse 1.) This is Paul’s main message for today, and the example of the weaker brother is an illustration of this principle. “Knowledge puffs up but love edifies.” The Greeks had a problem with putting too much confidence in human knowledge, and so one of Paul’s major themes to the Corinthians is to not be proud on account of the human knowledge but to be concerned about the holy things of... Read more
1 Corinthians 7 The Lord who has counted the hairs on your head cares about the situation of your life. Whether married or single, Greek or Jew, free or slave; whether a Star-Bellied Sneetch or one without: God cares about the situation of your life. One of the implications of the Incarnation of God in man, God as Jesus Christ, is that the God who created everything good and is in the process of redeeming it cares about the real... Read more
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 Who owns you? The common answer given to this question, even by many Christians, if you could get inside their heads and see what they’re really thinking, is that “I do.” A woman has a right to do with her body what she wants to do, we hear abortion advocates say. We might be quick to point out (rightfully) that a woman has no right to take the life of her child. But sometimes we accept... Read more
1 Corinthians 6:1-11 Though Paul’s letters are not usually laid out as a whole in terms of a logical argument, I think it’s still possible to discern a pattern or picture in his teachings to the Corinthians. Paul’s overall message through much of 1 Corinthians is that he wants the Church, including the Church at Corinth to live as God’s Temple, His people whom He has redeemed and built together for His glory and their edification. With this grand goal... Read more
What do you think of excommunication? Read more
2 Timothy 2:1-15 A lot of people dress up for Halloween each year as a variety of monsters and other diverse personae. Many of us have secret fantasies about who we would really like to be: fantasies about archetypal roles such as heroes, athletes, actors, artists, warriors, kings, scientists, doctors, or entrepreneurs. What St. Paul is asking us to be this morning is a race of warrior-kings, united under the banner of the King of kings, in whose kingdom we... Read more
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Wednesday of 3rd Sunday in Lent – 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
1 Corinthians 10:14-22 You are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, which means that God has chosen to dwell with you. But how this happens is a mystery. I can’t explain how the Holy Spirit could overshadow Mary and so incarnate the Second Person of the Trinity. I can’t explain how the Holy Spirit could live with me, not only since I’m a mere man but also a sinful one at that. And I can’t explain how Jesus Christ is... Read more