We have arrived at the point in Paul's letter to the Christians in Corinth when he addresses a matter which he considered absolutely scandalous.
How can any one of you with a case against another
dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment
instead of to the holy ones?
It seems that the people in Corinth were suing one another, taking each other to the civil courts rather than taking the matters to the leaders of the church, and Paul finds the whole thing completely unacceptable.
Can we even imagine how few lawyers, and other court officials we would need if every case that involved two baptized persons suddenly disappeared from the dockets of the court systems, particularly in those places that think of themselves as Christian or more specifically Catholic countries.
On a deeper level, today's reading invites us reflect on how many people have been scandalized by the squabbling in their churches, and how many have abandoned Christianity all together because they see so called Christians behaving no differently than those who have no faith at all.
Paul reminds us that we are better than that. We have been given a new life in Christ. We have been rescued, and given a life of grace and each day that light must shine like the sun to bring new life to the world.
- Fr. Wayne
