You are God's field

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Ecce Quam Bonum

The Monks of Pluscarden Abbey

Today is Wednesday the 2nd of September, in the 22nd week of Ordinary Time.

The monks of Pluscarden Abbey sing Ecce quam bonum: “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity! It is like precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.”

As you listen, reflect on the joy of unity; on the consolation that community can bring.

2:42

Today’s reading is from Saint Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

4:53

break in the clouds

The problem here is that the Corinthians have been squabbling. Does the passage resonate with any of your church or community experiences at all?

It seems that there is tension in Corinth, about those who had preached the gospel to them; in this case it is “Paul” and “Apollos” who represent the different factions. How does Paul try to deal with the tension?

As you hear the passage again, imagine you are hearing it afresh, as if you were a Corinthian receiving the message for the first time, with all the arguments happening around you...

7:41

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

9:38

In these closing moments, speak with God as one friend speaks to another about any tensions in your life concerning other people...listen to what God says in return... it could surprise you!

11:55

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be

World without end

Amen