“Preach the gospel — not with wordy “wisdom,” however, lest the cross of Christ be rendered void of its meaning!” —1 Corinthians 1:17
Jesus chose the uneducated, those who did not speak well (1 Cor 1:27-28). The Lord called St. Paul, who admitted he did not speak well (2 Cor 11:6) and was unimpressive in person (2 Cor 10:10). God called Moses, who was “slow of speech and tongue” (Ex 4:10) and a “poor speaker” (Ex 6:12). However, God told Moses that He Himself would assist him in speaking (Ex 4:12).
Apollos was an eloquent speaker (Acts 18:24). We do want to present the Gospel as skillfully as we can. But we don’t want to obscure the cross and its power by our human wisdom (1 Cor 1:17; 2:1). We want people to follow the crucified Jesus rather than a particular person, however dynamic they might be. People follow a charismatic personality, but when that person dies, the followers tend to disappear (see Acts 5:36-37).
No wonder that St. Paul, a few verses after warning about preaching with “wordy” wisdom (1 Cor 1:17), said that he would speak of nothing but Jesus and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2). That is the power of God leading to salvation (Rm 1:16).
It’s a balancing act that only the Holy Spirit can bring to perfection. We want “to do well” in skillfully presenting the Gospel (1 Tm 5:17), but we don’t want to obscure the message and power of the cross. Lift high the cross. Come, Holy Spirit!
PRAYER: Father, give me the grace to serve Your Word skillfully while also letting Your Word speak powerfully through my life.
PROMISE: “A people living in darkness has seen a great light.” —Mt 4:16
PRAISE: Praise the risen Jesus, the incarnate and eternal Word!
Reference: This teaching was submitted by a member of the editorial team of Presentation Ministries (www.presentationministries.com) whose purpose is to help people grow in discipleship. The script is in accordance with the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church which grants it the “Nihil Obstat” for its publication. For the full Readings in English and Maltese and other reflections please go to:https:thewordonsunday.blogspot.com OR access it through our Facebook page, “The Word on Sunday”.
John Portelli
