Reading 1
1 Cor 3:1-9
Brothers and sisters,
I could not talk to you as spiritual people,
but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ.
I fed you milk, not solid food,
because you were unable to take it.
Indeed, you are still not able, even now,
for you are still of the flesh.
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.
Gospel
Lk 4:38-44
After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them.
At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases
brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, "You are the Son of God."
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.
At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, "To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent."
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Meditation: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
“I fed you milk, not solid food.” (1 Corinthians 3:2)
Did you know that every time you read the Scriptures or hear them proclaimed at Mass, you are receiving eternal truths? Did you know, too, that every time you experience God’s love in your heart, that experience is meant to teach you as well? It’s true, and it can be life-changing. Day in and day out, God is at work trying to take us from surviving on “milk” to being able to eat “solid food.”
Paul used this image to show how God wants to reshape the way we think and act in the world. We often think of the call to holiness as a matter of going from “head knowledge” to “heart knowledge.” But God wants us to know that this is a two-way street. We need to learn how to use our minds the right way, even as we need to open our hearts to God’s love. That’s the only way that we will begin to look at the world with his eyes, seeing each other through the clear filter of his love and truth.
This is how we can overcome the pitfalls that the Corinthians faced. With our minds, we can agree that we are all brothers and sisters to each other. If we can accept the truth that we are all equally loved and equally redeemed by Jesus, rivalries will begin to fall.
But this “head knowledge” is not enough. It needs to be supported by “heart knowledge.” And for that, we need to open our hearts and let God’s love flow into us. Seeing how much he loves us, despite our weaknesses and flaws, can soften our hearts toward other people and teach us to treat one another with the same compassion that God has for us. In the end, we all need to learn how to love each other—and love is a matter of the heart and the mind together.
“Holy Spirit, teach us to think as you think. Teach us how to put away all divisiveness so that we can become one body, one spirit, in Christ.”
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