BEHAVING LIKE ORDINARY PEOPLE

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Wednesday 3 September 2014, St Gregory the Great

BEHAVING LIKE ORDINARY PEOPLE

Pause. Be still in God’s presence.

Reading: “You are still not ready … Isn’t that obvious from all the jealousy and wrangling among you, from the way you go on behaving like ordinary people?” (I Cor 3:1-9)

Reflection. Paul started his letter with words of joy and congratulations. But now he is getting to the hard part. All very diplomatic! Having made them feel good about themselves – and genuinely so – he reminds them of a few home truths. They have welcomed the gospel but they have not got rid of all the petty rivalries that are common among “ordinary people.” And they are not going to make progress in the way of the Lord until they forget about, ‘I am for Paul’ or ‘I am for Apollos’ and concentrate on ‘only God.’ When we concentrate on a goal and hesitate for a moment to see what others are doing we lose focus and our energy is drained. Destructive rivalries develop in politics, student campuses, zvita, religious congregations, etc,. We are behaving like ‘ordinary people.’ We are more influenced by the surrounding culture than by the gospel.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, give us the wisdom to reflect on our unconscious reactions. Am I thinking before I react to this or that person? Or am I so ‘used’ to behaving one way or another that I do not reflect. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ