God Is God. You Are Not.

A Reflection on the Second Reading For January 26th, 2020:
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

​1 Corinthians 1

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.

For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”

Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the Gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom so that the Cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

For the message about the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

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​It’s interesting to me that last month, we anticipated then rejoiced in the birth of the Saviour who would remove all division: “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” (Isaiah 11.6) Here we are, a few weeks later, hearing about Paul reprimanding the community in Corinth for in-fighting and divisions! Didn’t Jesus come to make the world different? Was it all for not? Jesus revealed the goodness of the Father present in all God’s creations. Including us! Jesus came to us that the world could be different—if we choose to make it so. Paul is telling the people in Corinth (and us) that we need to choose to make it so! Jesus showed us how, yet making a better world is hard to do. Our human tendency can be rather me focused: what I need, what I can do, what I make of myself. While Jesus calls us to focus on what the other needs, what we can be together, and what God can make through us.
 
A former colleague used to repeat to herself, “God is God, and you are not” whenever she found herself focusing on what she believed her ministry was about, rather than recalling Who her ministry was about. I have adopted and repeated this mantra many times. Especially when I lose my focus and forget that the mission entrusted to me came from Christ not anyone else. Only Jesus revealed the Father, died for my sin, rose from the dead, and secured for me everlasting life. And not just for me, but for everyone who believes.

Recently I took part in a podcast about a current Netflix film called: The Two Popes. This story of an imaginary conversation between Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio a year prior to the latter being elected to become Pope Francis, aims to contrast two different men who became two very different popes. The host asked, “Is this film feeding the Catholic “civil war?”” In asking this question, he was referencing the division between those who consider themselves traditional conservative Catholics and those who are more liberal or progressive in their Catholic thought and action.

Not until this podcast had I really thought much about this civil war. Not that I deny its existence—how can I, given I work and serve in the midst of this divide every day? Rather my formation thus far, my heart, and the Holy Spirit, tell me that there is room enough for all in our Church. Why do I have to pick a side? Why focus on what divides us? Why do we so easily lose sight of the One Who unites us? Our faith is not about choosing a side. It is about choosing God. After all, He chose us. And He doesn’t pick sides. He just loves—and calls us to do the same.



​Aurea Sadi

 Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

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