Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
In the passage from the 1st Letter to the Corinthians that is cited for today's liturgy, St. Paul references the jealousy or envy that seems to have a grip on the members of that community and the dissension that it causes. Indeed, the 1st Letter to the Corinthians was occasioned by such difficulties. The community was being torn apart by factions or cliques which had formed based upon the various offices they held within the community as well as their spiritual "pedigree."
Corinth was a busy city built on an isthmus in the Greek islands. It became a hub of commerce because of its geographical location. Merchant ships would dock at one end of the city and carry their goods to the other side of the isthmus where they would be placed on ship again to proceed in their journey. This procedure cut time off the journey as the ships were no longer required to sail around the isthmus. Because of the commercial nature of the city, it also was home to a diverse ethnic population, including a rather large Jewish citizenry. These people became the basis of St. Paul's Christian community.
Unfortunately, the drive to "get ahead" in the business world also crept into their spiritual life. In trying to secure a place of prominence in the community, people started to claim precedence over one another based on such trivialities as by whom they had been baptized. These claims fostered the growth of jealousy. St. Paul claims that even though they have been baptized, they are still acting according to the "flesh." Remember that in St. Paul's way of thinking, acting according to the flesh included anything that led one away from God while acting according to the spirit led one toward God.
Jealousy is based upon the false notion that God's love is finite and that if one person claims "too much" of God's love and favor, there would not be enough to go around. Of course, it is also important to remember that these people also believed that God's love and favor was measured by one's wealth and social position. If God loved you, then God blessed with good things and vice versa.
To counter this way of thinking, St. Paul reminds them that they are mere instruments in God's hands and that they cannot claim any of their advantages as their own. Their jealousies and rivalries stand in the way of God using them to build up God's realm. Consequently, there is no place for them in the Christian community. It is a reminder that we all need to hear often.