The Main Thing

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, January 22nd, 2023:
​The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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1 Corinthians
1.10-13, 17-18

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.

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Stephen Covey made this phrase famous in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, but the sentiment goes back at least as far as St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. 

I’ve been a Catholic for over five decades, and, in that short time, I’ve noticed a remarkable change of attitude taking hold within the Christian community. 

When I was growing up, Catholics often looked sideways at Protestants, and Protestants did likewise to Catholics. The fact that I went to a Catholic school while my Protestant friends went to Protestant schools was a powerful symbol of how we differed from each other. In those days, Christians were more inclined to see what divided us instead of what united us, even though we all followed Christ. Well, that has certainly changed.

Today, I see in my parish community an openness toward Christian unity and a willingness to focus less on how denominations are different. The Vatican’s Decree on Ecumenism encourages this, asserting that such division “openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages the holy cause of preaching the Gospel to every creature.” Strong words! Ecumenism may have been slow to catch on (it became a “principal concern” during Vatican II circa 1965), but I think the rise of secular society has provided momentum. Christians are lonely for company and willing to commune even with those outside their own denomination. This is a good thing. We have much to gain through togetherness. In my home city, Catholics and Protestants jointly run a Christian food bank to feed those in need. United, they do better work. Truly, “[i]n all things God works for the good of those who love him.”

In the second reading for this Sunday, Paul speaks about keeping the main thing the main thing. Corinthians, he says, you all are servants of the same Jesus Christ, so be united as followers of Christ and stop rallying behind your favourite missionaries. We have all been baptized in the name of Christ, and it is Christ who was crucified for us. Our role as disciples is to make more disciples for Christ, not for Paul, Apollos or Peter. It is not the charisma of the missionary but the Good News message that will change hearts.

Christian unity — and disunity — have deep roots, but from the beginning Jesus commanded us to love even our enemies. So much more should we love those who share our love of Christ. As people of peace and love, let us focus on what unifies and not what divides. 

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Donna Davis

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