Skip to main content

Commentary on 1st Corinthians

The Apostle to the Gentiles spoke of Christ, but—departing from his usual procedure—he left out the cross. And Christ without the cross doesn’t make sense. This may or may not have been a sound analysis of the Areopagus discourse, but it made a point that Paul also made in his first letter to those Corinthians to whom he’d gone after his setback in Athens: "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with pretentious speech of wisdom . . . I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:1-2).

This point has been popped up a few times in the last few days.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amelia Uelmen

Similarly, our common work to improve economic and social structures becomes less an act of problem-solving ingenuity on the part of those with resources or skills, and more an opportunity for a reciprocal exchange through which we discover all the ways in which we have been created as “gift” for one another. - Amelia Uelmen Caritas in Veritate and Chiara Lubich: Human Development from the Vantage Point of Unity
Post a Comment
Read more

Blessed Pope John Paul II

It is not wrong to want to live better; what is wrong is a style of life which is presumed to be better when it is directed towards 'having' rather than 'being', and which wants to have more, not in order to be more but in order to spend life in enjoyment as an end in itself. - Blessed Pope John Paul II Centessimus Annus
Post a Comment
Read more

Pope Benedict XVI

The invitation is to live every situation united to Christ, who takes upon his shoulders the whole burden of the world’s suffering and sin in order to bring light, hope and redemption. So it is that Jesus makes us capable in our turn of consoling those experiencing every sort of affliction. Profound union with Christ in prayer and trust in his presence, lead to the readiness to share in the suffering and troubles of our brethren. St Paul writes: “Who is weak, and am I not weak? Who is made to fall, and am I not indignant?” (cf. 2 Cor 11:29). This sharing is not born simply from kindness, nor solely from human generosity or an altruistic spirit; rather, it stems from the consolation of the Lord, from the steadfast support of the “transcendent power [that] belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor 4:7).  -Pope Benedict XVI, Address to General Audience May 30th, 2012 (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120530_en.html)
Post a Comment
Read more