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Year B: 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4: 6-11
The reading today is a powerful evocation of what living in faith can mean.
St Paul and his companions have known the pain of being apostles - of taking Good News to Gentiles - of misunderstanding and lies and calumnies told against them.
Paul sees the situation of seeming weakness as their greatest strength. They do indeed hold a great treasure - of faith and knowledge of the love of God - but they hold it in their own bodies - earthen vessels. Weak and fragile, they know that any good they do can only come because they are doing it in the strength of God.
And so, whatever happens - whether it is overt persecution or facing insoluble problems to which there seem to be no answers - they have a deep inner confidence. They know that, because they have taken into their own bodies the very life and death of Jesus somehow they will be vindicated.
This is a reading for our day too.
We too carry the treasure of faith in earthen vessels. We too face difficulties. We may not face the sever persecution that the early Christians did - but some contemporary Christians do. We do, however, often face difficulties in life - we face questions which have no easy answer - or, seemingly, any answer at all.
At such times, it may be worth turning to this reading to remind ourselves that we are not the first - nor will we be the last - Christians to face such problems. But, as we read, we inherit a long history of resilience in the face of such difficulty. Others have faced similar problems and worse but have found in their faith an impenetrable shield - and unquenchable source of strength.
Like them, we have great resources of faith to draw on - all we need sometimes is the courage to believe in them - in God - and in ourselves.
What does it mean for me?
© 2006 Wellspring | Gospel | First Reading | Second Reading | |
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