Saint Paul

The Church today as a visible institution evokes many different reactions among Roman Catholics generally. Some are impatient with what they regard as the slow pace with which needed changes are taking place. Others are annoyed and even deeply hurt by what seems to them a rejection of what is most sacred and dear. Some are inclined to drop out as far as possible; in some extreme cases they regard the entire institutional edifice as archaic, unresponsive, ineffectual and irrelevant. Very few, it would appear, are content with things just as they are. To adopt attitudes that are genuinely realistic today, we must endeavor to have a contemporary understanding of the Church, one that can lead to ways of promoting communion of hearts and minds within the Church today. I think Saint Paul can help.

The Church is the first fruit of the Kingdom of God in the world and it bears within itself the most important force for the spread and development of that Kingdom. A view of the Church, which excludes or diminishes its essential mystery, is radically mistaken. Changes in the Church of which we are most directly aware, the changes which annoy, encourage, trouble, stimulate, or simply puzzle are generally external changes: liturgical changes, disciplinary changes, changes in theological expression, changes in popular devotion and many more.

Roman Catholics, for the most part, love their Church. We strive to think with and be one with the Church. How can we do this better? Let's turn to the thoughts of Saint Paul, who in the first century gave rules for being one with the Church in his First Epistle to the Corinthians. The epistle is addressed to one local church, that of Corinth, beset with difficulties both doctrinal and practical. Saint Paul's concern was: "How can we build the Church of Corinth?"

At that time of the overriding importance of the local churches, to be one with the Church meant to be one with that local church. Saint Paul wrote: "To be parceled out; therefore no Christian should use slogans like 'I am for Paul,' 'I am for Apollos,' 'I am for Cephas.' All must be for Christ, in the name of whom all were baptized" (1 Cor. 1:10-16). This is a rule against divisions in the community. Saint Paul counsels give your heart to Christ and do not cultivate individual ministers unduly.

At times it is more difficult to accept the human reality of the Church than the mystery that it hides. We can be repelled by shortsightedness, narrowness, even sinfulness in the Church. Yet, having all that is the way in which the Church exists. It is not a community of persons confirmed in holiness, but of sinners in the process of being healed. There is divine strength operating in them: the word of God, the sacraments, and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. But this strength is working in a community of sinful and limited persons. Blessed are those who are not shocked by God's unfolding plan and can recognize a divine presence behind a human reality.

Saint Paul wrote: "Members of the community should not demand miracles as the Jews do. They should not look for wisdom as the Greeks do. They should be content with knowing the crucified Christ" (1:17-25). This is a fundamental rule for unity: a Christian community is born from the knowledge of Christ. All should know and should preach him, the crucified one, raised from the dead by God's power.

The first duty of every Christian who wants to be one with the Church is to share in the mandate that the Church received from Christ, that is, to partake in the proclamation of the Good News. Each must announce, to his capacity, that Christ died and was raised from the dead; also, that through him we shall experience the Resurrection.

The Apostle advises: "Since the body of a Christian is one of the parts that make up the body of Christ, he cannot take one of these parts, his body, and join it at the same time to that of a prostitute"(6:12-20). The sin of an individual harms the whole body of Christ. Paul urges us to responsibility for one another even at times when it means some sacrifice of our precious freedom. To God the whole human person is precious; He wants to save him in every way, in body and in spirit. It is precisely this wholeness that should be the distinctive mark of the saving work of the Church.

Saint Paul teaches us that love is practical. "Once Christians all come together as a community, there must not be separate factions among them, that is, separate groups, one rich in food and drink while the other is poor and therefore hungry and thirsty" (11:17-22). A community is healthy when there is diversity in unity. We are to respect God's gift to ourselves and give all we can to the community. If a hierarchy of gifts is not respected, all will suffer: "Accept the part that God has given you and that you must play in the whole body of Christ. Make your full contribution according to your gifts. Never envy others for what they have, and give scope to their gifts"(12:31-13:1-13).

All these rules form a unity and deal with the problems of the Church of Corinth. They point to attitudes that lead towards actions to preserve the unity of that church and to promote its growth or to "build a church," (as Saint Paul liked to say it). He wanted to build up attitudes in the members of the community that would lead to actions edifying and building the Church. Saint Paul directs his readers to practical deeds in a concrete world, to deeds that strengthen the Church. He meant to guide the Christian community toward unity.

Unity with the Church cannot be achieved overnight. All of this leads up to a question, which each one must put to himself and herself: What should I do in my particular, concrete and personal circumstances to be one with the Church? There is no other safe path into the future than the path of personal creativity with responsibility.

Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
At all the times you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can.

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