Hey, St. Paul! Who are you calling “rubbish and scum” in today’s reading from Corinthians? Presumably, it is the church in Corinth, because you and Apollos address the letter that way. We know that the Bible is written to us, so that would put us in the same heap of rubbish or layer of scum as the Corinthians oh so long ago. That stings a little bit, doesn’t it? I thought we were all God’s children, created in his image and likeness?
Need for Admonishment
There is hope for us, though, as we work our way up the popularity ladder from the bottom rung. Paul is telling us that Christ is our guide, and the ultimate guide of all. The responsorial psalm says that God is near to all who call Him. If we follow that heavenly guidance, we will be delivered to a place beyond all expectations. However, along the way, we need fathers and father figures to gently or roughly keep us on track. Earthly fathers and father figures need to admonish us when needed. Paul was acting as that father figure to the Corinthians, because he knew them, and had lived with them.
Jesus does some admonishing in the Gospel, as well. When the Pharisees are up to their usual hypocrisy, he lets them have it. The disciples happened to be walking through a wheat field on the Sabbath and picked a few heads of wheat to chew on. Apparently, this was a bridge too far for the Pharisees to witness and they complained to Jesus about the infraction on the Sabbath. “I am the Sabbath,” said Jesus. “Get over it” is another way of looking at that reply, but Jesus does this better than we ever could. Admonishment completed.
Bad things happen to good people
Catholicism and the Bible don’t guarantee a perfect and easy life here on Earth. It’s just the opposite. We are expected to have troubles because we’re imperfect humans in an imperfect world. Overcoming these troubles is what sharpens us to make us ready for the next level, and the next, and the next. We can be soothed by Proverbs 3:11 that says that we should not despise the Lord’s instruction, nor loath his discipline.
The Lord disciplines the ones he loves, just as the father disciplines the son in whom he delights. Proper parenting allows children to grow into well adjusted, well meaning, quality people, most of the time. A little admonishment goes a long way most of the time. We are not supposed to be raised to become a pack of wolves. These days, I wonder if parents are allowing kids to become wolves by going too light on the admonishment…. sure seems like it when you see the younger generation today, and even adults who were seemingly raised without admonishment.
In summary, let’s follow Jesus’ and Paul’s guide to admonish when needed. Note that they admonished people they knew. Be able to put your pride aside and be open to giving (and receiving) constructive criticism from someone you know well. Ignore the internet trolls, and “anonymous sources”, but not those near and dear to you. Both jokes and scolding hold some truth, and at least parts of the full story.
As a faith in action project, think about the last time someone told you something you did not want to hear. Did you close down and shut out the thought, did you fight right back with a jab of your own, or did you take the admonishment to heart, to sift the correct from the incorrect?
