Daily Reflection Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope,  and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

St. Paul sounds angry today; but can you blame him? He has received a report that the Christians in Corinth have corrupted their celebration of the Eucharist. This is a community founded by Paul. Their liturgy would have been celebrated in a house church, usually an intimate setting. For Paul, the Eucharist was meant to transform those who share the meal so that they will resemble Christ. Instead, the Corinthians have resorted to cliques, supporting their friends while ignoring the others, descending into division. 

We may presume that this gathering adhered to the rubrics of the liturgy; they followed the letter of the law. But they had lost the spirit; they had forgotten the purpose for their gathering. That spirit is the breath of God enabling the members to live and move as one. Remember the prayer of Jesus in his final discourse, “Father, as you and I are one, may they be one” (John 17:21-23). We might say that this was the Lord’s dying wish, “May they be one.” This unity is signified at the altar table by the one bread broken and the one cup poured out for us, by which we eat his body and drink his blood.

These Corinthians seem to have lost sight of the Lord in their worship. They should have heard the prayer of the psalmist today: “May all who seek you exalt and be glad in you. And may those who love your salvation say ever, ‘The Lord be glorified.’”