Homily

There was trouble among the parishioners of the church in Corinth and, obviously, it was hurting the parish. We aren’t exactly sure what it was all about but it was there. And it’s not surprising. Whenever you have a group of people gathered together there will be different opinions, ideas, plans, desires, goals, expectations and viewpoints. And because of these differences within a group between people what they can lead to are arguments, fighting, emotional outbursts, accusations, hostility, unwillingness to compromise and bitter resentments. We call this family life. Of course, it can also be parish life, or neighborhood, or city or national/cultural life. Each one of us is different, a unique creation of God, and so it is not surprising that these differences can create problems between us, if we allow that to happen. So, St. Paul urges the Corinthians to “all say the same thing; and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be perfectly united in one mind, and in one judgment.”

Does he expect those parishioners to somehow get rid of their differences? Of course not. That would be impossible. But when it comes to faith, they must be of one mind and one judgment, because the truth of Christ cannot be preached according to the viewpoint or desires of each individual. It must be preached, and also lived, according to the way it was handed down. The truth of Christ cannot be changed according to the opinions of different people or different groups within the parish or within the Church. The faith must be taught and lived according to the mind of Christ, according to the judgment of the Lord, especially as taught by St. Paul and the other apostles. Not always so easy to accept back then in Corinth. Not always so easy to accept today, where so many people seem to believe that their own personal viewpoints, often based on emotional values, are the only guides needed for their lives.

This desire of St. Paul that the Corinthians be of one mind is inserted into the Liturgy. Do you remember where? Of course you do. Just before we profess the Creed, the priest says, “Let us love one another so that with one mind we may profess.” And I hope that you have pondered that exhortation at some point in your life. Let us love one another so that we may confess together the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God. And then we say the Nicene Creed.

So, the idea is that, despite our many differences, if we love one another we will be of one mind, the same mind, when we profess our belief and when we live in Christian life. There is only one truth and one faith, as handed down to us by the apostles. Not the faith of Paul, or Apollos or Cephas, but rather the Gospel truth. Is it any wonder that there is always a threat to this unity of faith because of the differences between people? Even here at the very start of the Church we see people wanting to divide themselves up according to different groups and values. And since St. Paul’s day until today there have always been people who want to impose their own views of Christian faith on the Church and attempt to change the unchanging Gospel truth of Christ. Indeed, we are all different, but we are one in Christ, and only one in Christ.

But let’s move out of the area of professing faith which we should profess together, and into a different area of Christian life. Notice the Liturgy teaches us that we should love one another, so that with one mind we may profess the truth about God. What’s love got to do with it? Love must come first so that when we need to struggle with the differences between us, we do so in love, not in emotions. Christian love is not an emotion, not a feeling or an impulse. One way to describe Christian love is a willingness to sacrifice for another, or to will the good for another person, to wish, and hope, and pray and act for the good of the other person. In our emotion-soaked society not many people hold that definition of love, but my friends, love as an emotion is pretty useless, because emotions come and go, they’re hot, they’re cold, they’re weak now and strong later, and we often have little control over them. Christian love is not an emotion but a choice—a choice to desire the good for another person. And if I desire the good for that other person first, it is much easier to listen to their different point of view, to hear their opinions, to have a discussion with them. If I choose to love the other person first then it is easier to keep emotions and ego in check. If I choose to love the other person first I will be in the proper frame of mind when I have a conflict or have a different opinion than they do. Too often, we enter into disagreements and discussions with the desire to be a winner, to overcome the other person. “I will crush you like a grape.” The truth cannot change. They may be wrong, or they may simply have a different viewpoint and neither of us is wrong, or, and God forbid, I may actually be in the wrong. But in each case if I come before them in love, with love, wishing their good—I cannot be in a better place than that when I am dealing with them. Love cannot change the truth or the good. Instead it can change me to always be ready to see and accept the truth and the good and wanting it also for you, without my ego and my emotions getting in the way. How differently would so many arguments turn out if I loved you first and spoke from that position? Even if neither one of us changed our viewpoint, how much differently would that argument or discussion go if I loved you first, if I chose to love you first, if I worked to develop the habit of choosing to love you first? You may or may not change, but I certainly would.

In this way dear friends, here at church, out in society and most especially at home, let us truly and genuinely struggle and work at loving one another so that with one mind we may confess the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.