The Core of the Gospel: Paul's Mission in Corinth

September 2, 2024 - Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

1 Cor 2:1-5

The mission in Corinth took place after Paul’s perceived failure in Athens. His sermon about the one God and Jesus' resurrection was laughed at or ignored, with few exceptions (Acts 17:16-34). Perhaps it was that failure that made Paul arrive in Corinth with "fear and trembling." According to Acts, Paul first started preaching in the local synagogue, and as usual, he encountered opposition (Acts 18:4-6). Yet another reason to be frustrated and weak. He had to move to private houses and gather around him those who were attracted to the message of the Gospel (Acts 18:7).

In Athens, Paul tried to accommodate his message to his audience—Greek philosophers and thinkers—but it did not work. It would take a few centuries before the message of the Gospel would inculcate itself into Greek culture and Greek philosophy, becoming a vehicle for expressing the theological principles of Christianity. For Paul, however, that first failed attempt made him go back to the core message of Christianity: Jesus and His saving death. "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).

There have been various ways of distilling the Christian message to its fundamentals. For example, for the first Christians, the proclamation that "Jesus Christ is the Lord" was sufficient to express their allegiance to Christ against allegiance to the emperor of Rome. Then there was the famous symbol of the fish. Each letter of the Greek word "fish" was mapped into a proclamation: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. Our Catechism builds its proclamation of faith around four pillars: the profession of faith, the sacraments of faith, the life of faith, and prayer (see CCC, 13-17). And at the end of the previous century, there was a kerygmatic approach that stressed six elements of faith: God's love, human sinfulness, Jesus Christ, repentance, the Holy Spirit, and the Church.

Paul's preaching was a "manifestation of spirit and of power." We usually think about miraculous powers that Paul exhibited throughout his ministry. But perhaps, in this case, it was the transforming power of his message that the apostle speaks about. When Peter, in his first sermon, told his audience that Jesus, whom they "crucified," is Lord and the Messiah, "they were cut to the heart," repented, got baptized, and received the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:36-41). Paul's message had to have a similar effect on his audience—it led to repentance, faith in Jesus, baptism into Christ's death, and a new life in the Holy Spirit.

The "manifestation of spirit and power" in the Church's proclamation of the Gospel has continued throughout the centuries. The simple proclamation that "Jesus Christ is the Lord" has had a liberating effect on individual people and entire communities. Like the Israelites, they have been led from enslavement to freedom. The symbol of the fish and its hidden meaning has united people across continents, generations, and races. Reading and studying the Catechism has led many to embrace our faith. And I have witnessed the power of the kerygmatic approach mentioned above, drawing young people back to the Church and transforming them into passionate followers of Christ.

Paul reminds us that our faith is not based on human wisdom but on God's power. This does not mean that faith and science are in opposition to each other; they are not. It means that faith is not based on our efforts but is God's gift, a sign of God's love for lost humanity that draws us to God (see Rom. 5:5).