HE CHOSE WHAT IS WEAK

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Saturday 30 August 2014

HE CHOSE WHAT IS WEAK

Pause. Be still in God’s presence.

Reading: “God chose what is weak by human reckoning, those whom the world thinks common and contemptible.” (I Cor 1:26-31)

Reflection. Paul rejoices in the new church in Corinth which has grown so much since the time he first arrived there. He looks at them and is astonished. They are such ordinary people in a remote corner of the empire. And yet they have proved themselves more acceptable to God than the intellectuals of Athens or the powerful establishment of Rome.. And the roots of the church would be in these small communities among the poor of the cities of the Mediterranean. The gospel is welcomed by the poor and the weak. The community of Israel perceived this in the riddle of Judges 14:14 about the carcass of the lion in which the bees made their home. “Out of the strong came forth sweetness.” The strong one is dead but the humble bee is alive and producing nourishment and sweetness with its honey, Our small Christian communities today are called to be the sweetness of society and give relish and vitality to the world.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, you said ‘blessed are the poor in spirit.’ Teach us to rejoice in your choice of the poor and the weak as those who welcome you. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ