Faithful Stewards of God's Mysteries
September 6, 2024 - Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
1 Cor 4:1-5
The apostles were not founders of a new school of thought with many branches, as some Corinthians might have thought, but rather the servants of Christ. The Greek word used here also means "attendant." Paul and Apollos were rendering service to Jesus Christ. Moreover, they were not teaching philosophical ideas but were in charge of administering the mysteries of God. The Greek word "mysterion" was translated into Latin as "sacramentum," and the Church proclaims that the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, are the mysteries of our faith.
Baptism confers on each baptized person a new life in Christ by making them God's child and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Confirmation is a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which every baptized person already received for mission—to empower us to proclaim boldly the Gospel of Christ. In the Eucharist, Christ is present in His body and blood. These three sacraments are called the sacraments of Christian initiation.
There are two sacraments of healing. In the sacrament of reconciliation, we receive the forgiveness of sins committed after our baptism, and in the sacrament of anointing of the sick, the recipients receive "a particular gift of the Holy Spirit." One of the graces of this sacrament is "one of strengthening, peace, and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age" (CCC, 1520).
Then, we have two sacraments at the service of communion: Holy Orders and Matrimony. Through the sacrament of Holy Orders, also known as "the ministerial priesthood," "the one priesthood of Christ is made present...without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ's priesthood: 'Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers'" (CCC, 1545). The sacrament of matrimony reveals to us the mystery of the unity of Christ and the Church (see Eph. 5:31-32).
A servant of Christ and an administrator of the mysteries of God should be characterized by faithfulness or trustworthiness. This is the main theme of the parables about stewards (Mark 13:33-37; Luke 16:2; 17:7-10). Jesus "left" our world and returned to His Father, placing the apostles in charge of administering God's mysteries. The Church faithfully continues that mission today.
Finally, Paul tells his audience to stop making comparisons. The word "judge" in this passage refers to comparing someone with another, Paul with Apollos, for example. Paul stated that he did not compare himself with anyone and he did not care about human judgment. The true judgment shall come with the coming of the Lord. Paul says that on that day, the Lord "will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts" (1 Cor 4:5).
Psalm 37:3-4 reminds us to "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." This echoes Paul's message of seeking God's approval rather than human judgment.
Perhaps, we could deepen our understanding of God's mysteries that the Church continues to administer faithfully to the world. Perhaps it would also do us good to stop comparing shepherds with shepherds and ourselves with others. The most important thing is to remain faithful to the Lord so we can "receive praise from God" (1 Cor 4:5).