In today’s epistle, Paul stresses the importance of dealing with internal conflicts within the Christian community. The psalm is a celebration of joy for being God’s chosen people. In the Gospel, Jesus selects the apostles and ministers to the crowd that has come out to meet him.

There are moments when I feel that I am among God’s chosen. I have led a very fortunate life. I tend not to attribute this to either chance or my undeserving actions. I tend to see what I have as a gift. I have felt that God has directed my life in particular directions. Many of those were not the directions that I would have chosen without some push (grace?).

My first thought, when reading the passage from Paul’s letter, was to consider how we deal with internal conflicts within my family. Perhaps this is not the most analogous setting as family is something into which we are born. Still, it is clear that from a certain age, family is something in which we choose to continue our participation. When I think of how we tend to deal with conflict, I realize that in childhood there was internal judication, but in adulthood conflicts tend to be swept under the rug and left to fester. Although one might draw the conclusion from today’s epistle that this may be acceptable, I think that this interpretation is far from the point that Paul is trying to make.

We live in a litigious society. Our culture promotes winning and collection of wealth. These are not the values that the Gospel seems to give us. I see us as called to love and service. This provides a very different path to conflict resolution. Perhaps a functional marriage is a good model. My experience is that marriage works when it is based on love and service and a marriage runs into problems when there is a sense of entitlement that is not being met. I would venture to say that conflicts may be avoided or at the very least minimized when there is a clear effort showing the care and support of the other.

The verses from the Psalm 149 that were left out of today’s passage seem to support the idea that along with the gift of God calling us by name to be a member of His community there will be times of stress and missions that may not be pleasant.

My prayer today builds on the thought of one’s call and the counter-cultural imperative to support the greater good rather than selfish desires.

Dear Lord,
At times I feel like I am living in the contemporary version of the Corinth community.
Paul addresses his letter to a Christian community that has become caught up in the larger society.
I sense that You are reaching out with the gift of Your call.
This seems to be a call to service (in all of the meanings of the word “service”).
Our time on this earth is so short and human life is so fragile.
In my quest for a life worth living, I choose to be invested in You.
Allow me to be open to your grace as your call plays out in me.