Ordinary Time
February 10, 2023
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. –1 Corinthians 3:5-9
We are God’s servants. I have always loved the song He Lives! I serve a risen Savior; He’s in the world today. It simply states our purpose as Christ-followers, to serve the Lord in completing His mission of building the Beloved Community. We grow in trust and faith as we learn from the work of our ancestors and plan for a better world for our children. Paul tells us in the above scripture that works best when we work together. I am active in the Oklahoma Poor People’s Campaign. Facing the challenges in our society in such a time as this is overwhelming. We do our best work when we do the part we are good at and work closely in supporting those with the knowledge and skills to bring about change in other areas.
Paul stands with us in being a servant, but he directs us specifically to be God’s field and God’s building*. Paul was a traveling minister, a planter of seeds; we are the field that must make the teachings he shared with us come to fruition throughout the whole world. We are the ones called to be the church**, not necessarily a building made of brick and mortar, but a community of faith that can meet together and support each other in using our diverse skills and talents to foster God’s commandment to develop a world ruled by love.
Prayer: Lord, help us each to perfect our skills and talents to serve you better, and teach us to work together so that your synergy expands all that we attempt to do. Amen.
*oikodomḗ – properly, a building (edifice) serving as a home; (figuratively) constructive criticism and instruction that builds a person up to be the suitable dwelling place of God, i.e. where the Lord is “at home.” (https://biblehub.com/greek/3619.htm)
Ekklēsía (from 1537 /ek, “out from and to” and 2564 /kaléō, “to call”) – properly, people called out from the world and to God, the outcome being the Church (the mystical body of Christ) – i.e. the universal (total) body of believers whom God calls out from the world and into His eternal kingdom. (https://biblehub.com/greek/1577.htm)
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.