Epiphany

February 13, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 3:1-9

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human? –1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Infants move from a diet of milk alone to easy-to-digest foods, and finally to whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and sources of protein necessary to develop strong, healthy bodies. Milk does contain important nutrients, but humans literally cannot thrive on milk alone. Just as Jesus said to the devil tempting him in the wilderness, humans cannot live on bread alone*.

James W. Fowler in his book, Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning identifies six stages of faith development that describe the positive results of moving through all six phases and the challenges that occur when we get stuck in any one of the stages without growing through the others.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul seems to be identifying people being stuck in one or more of these phases. Perhaps the Corinthians were not understanding well that some people are at different stages than others Just like toddlers learn to walk at different ages, faith develops at different speeds. Rather than battling on who is right and who is wrong or who God loves more than another, we might do well to share our deepest faith experiences so that we can all learn from one another as we grow in truth and faith. We also may need to do some self-examination to see if we have become stuck in our spiritual growth.

Prayer: Lord, make us more aware of where others may be on their spiritual journey as you help us to recognize our own development. Grant us skills in communicating through love at whatever stage we may be. Amen.

*See Matthew 4:4

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.