Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
In the initial verses of chapter 4, St. Paul informs the Corinthians how they should consider him. He uses two expressions: servant and steward.
Paul wants to be considered first of all as a servant of Christ. This is a theme straight out of the Gospel. When some of the apostles expressed their desire to have positions of authority in Jesus’ Kingdom, they were reprimanded.
Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.”
Paul also wants to be known as a “steward.” Being a steward was a common occupation in the ancient world. A steward was a trustworthy person who had responsibility for the goods of a household and had to see that everything ran smoothly. Remember the steward at the Wedding Feast at Cana. Or remember the saying of Jesus about “the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old” (Matthew 13:52).
St. Benedict exhorted the abbot, using the same image. The abbot “ought to be learned in divine law, so that he has a treasury of knowledge from which he can bring out what is new and what is old” (RB 64:9).
Reflection: How can I be a servant of Christ? Am I a good steward of the things I have received from God?
Reflection by Archbishop Jerome Hanus, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections