6th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C


YOUR FAITH IS VAIN

When we read the pious words of Paul's first letter to the Christians of Corinth we miss the reality. The Greek city was a battleground between two very different ideas. Greek philosophy was concerned with the mind. It considered the body relatively unimportant. The physical world was only a poor copy of a spiritual reality. The spiritual world--what we might call heaven--existed beyond this one and could only be reached by the mind.
Biblical philosophy was exactly the opposite. The physical world was the only reality. There was little belief in a spiritual world. A person was not so much a combination of body and soul but of body and breath.
The real point of contention between the two views centered on the resurrection of the body. Greek philosophers saw it as unnecessary, since the body was not important. Biblical philosophy insisted on a physical resurrection. Paul argues for this philosophy. He says that if there is no rising of the body after death, Christian faith is in vain. Eventually St. Augustine would strike a harmony between the two beliefs.

one who trust in human beings oen who trusts in the Lord

 

 

blessed but woe

if for this life only we have hope we are the most pitiable of people but Christ has been raised


THE SERMON ON THE PLAIN

One of the highlights of Matthew's Gospel is Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount". It is a summary of Christ's teachings about the way to sanctity. There is a parallel event in Luke's Gospel, but it is in a different setting, a level area. Our Lord probably gave similar messages in several places.
Matthew arranges the message in eight beatitudes or "blessings". They say that you will be happy if you: don't' get attached to material possessions, make peace, etc. Luke's version renders them as four blessings and four "woes" or statements that you will be unhappy if you: cling to wealth, etc.
The message in both cases is that the values approved by this world are exactly the opposite of Christian ideals.

Related: Resources on Sunday Readings - Clipart, homelies, articles, coloring pages, music: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

© 2000 by Father Richard Lonsdale. You may freely copy this document. It may be freely reproduced in any non-profit publication.Thie clipart and commentatires above were originally on a web site maintained by Fr. Lonsdale. To copy the clipart images, click with your right mouse button and use "save picture (or image) as…"To view a complete list of clipart images and commentaries: Lonsdale Commentaries and Clipart