Homilies

Back to Homilies menu

The Book of Nehemiah, from which our first lesson (Nehemiah 1:1-11) is taken, gives us the only example that we have in the Old Testament of the continuous story of a man’s career, written in the style of autobiography.  The date for the beginning of Nehemiah’s first term as governor in Jerusalem is the 20th year of the reign of King Artaxerxes I (2:1), i.e. 445 B.C. 
            The story is a historical record of the greatest importance, and as a narrative it is written in a fresh and interesting manner.  Nehemiah was a cup-bearer to the Persian king (1:11) at Susa, the summer capital.  He tells how he heard a shocking report of the dismal condition of Jerusalem, how he prevailed upon the king to send him to Jerusalem with the authority of a governor, how after an inspection tour of the walls at night, he roused the people to undertake the rebuilding of the city’s defences, how the project was completed in 52 days, despite the hostility of the neighboring peoples, and how, at last, amid scenes of singing and thanksgiving, the walls were dedicated. 
            In our second lesson (1 Corinthians 3:1-23) we hear another individual voice, that of the apostle Paul.  Paul, in fact, is the only New Testament voice which has come down to us directly.  The sayings of Jesus have been transmitted through the evangelists, and they are no longer in the language in which they were first delivered. 
            But unlike the Book of Nehemiah, Paul’s writings are no autobiography.  In fact, the chronology of his life is still disputed by scholars.  Paul’s writings are occasional letters written to the communities which he had founded and for which, as an apostle, he felt a continuing reponsibility, even as he pressed ahead in his missionary endeavors.  These letters are precious for the insight they give us not only into Paul’s life and thought, but also into the life of the earliest Christian communities and their problems. 
            The condition of the Corinthian Christians, like that of the survivors in Jerusalem to whom Nehemiah refers (Nehemiah 1:2), could be described as dismal.  But in Corinth the problem is not the physical circumstances in which the Christians were living but the factionalism which prevailed among them.  We hear Paul’s frustration and disappointment that those whom he had brought to faith in Christ through his preaching had not matured as he had hoped they would. 
            There is still “jealousy and strife” (v. 3) among them, as shown by the name-dropping in which they engage: “I belong to Paul; I belong to Apollos” (v. 4) – another missionary whom Paul regarded as a co-worker (v. 5), but the Corinthians evidently regarded as Paul’s competitor.  In these petty rivalries the Corinthians are acting, as Paul says, “like ordinary men” (v. 3). 
            This is an observation which we might all take to heart.  Does our Christian faith have any influence on our behavior?  Do our lives appear to an outsider to be any different from the lives of those who have no religious faith at all.  Christian faith should lead outsiders to exclaim, when observing the Christian community, “See how they love one another!” (cf. John 13:35).  Do we meet this test?

September 24, 2006

back to top