Compiled by: Georgeanne Falstrom, Intern
PARISH LAY MINISTRY ACADEMY
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Thursday, March 16, 2006
(Daily Readings - Ps 70, 71, 74; Gen 42:29-38; 1Cor 6:12-20; Mark 4:21-34)

WHAT PRICE GLORY?
By Philip Conroy

Scripture: For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. .....1Cor 6:20

No one likes to be bought and paid for. It runs against the grain of our American
experience. We feel proud at not having been a nation of slave-holders for over 140 years. We love having our own independence and giving independence to others. Self-determination seems to have risen to the level of a new National Pastime. It’s become a religion with us.

Yet, are we truly free? Are we a slave to consumerism and debt? Or to self-image or the success ladder? The US ranks lowest in personal savings among all industrialized nations. Out of necessity federal laws were recently enacted to stem the rising tide of bankruptcy.

In the midst of the "have it your way" mantra which bombards us at home, at work and school, and in-between, we hear the voice of Paul saying, "We are not our own." "We have been ransomed at a great price," he teaches the Corinthians. This is a theme which runs throughout St. John’s Gospel and other Pauline epistles. So, whose then are we? Ourselves or God’s? At what price do we mortgage our family and faith relationships for personal or corporate gain?

As persons who claim Christ in their lives, more than merely being identified with Him in philosophy or lifestyle, or religious affiliation, we are reminded through Lent that we are bought and paid for by His blood. Through an act of God’s grace, the substitutionary atonement of Christ’s body for our sins on Mount Calvary, we are bound to Him in death and resurrection. He calls us into union with Him. He called us to "watch, and pray" in Gethsemane. He still calls us today. The corollary is then, "How do we respond?" Do we watch, or do we sleep?

Do you look upon yourself as "standing watch with Jesus?" All officers in the naval services, including the Merchant Marine, the Coast Guard and Marine Corps, are graded annually in a fitness report, which includes a block on "watch standing". Whether on a bridge in rough seas, or deployed to a command bunker in a desert location, standing watch is an integral part of one’s call to duty.

In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers wrote, "Paul counted his life dear only in order that he might fulfill the ministry he had received; he refused to use his energy for any other thing." Remember, this was after Paul’s zealous duty as the "chief persecutor" of the church according to his own words, and his conversion experience on the road to Damascus.

Some present-day critics might consider Paul’s view of the supremacy of Christ’s call on his life as servitude, or slavery. They might think Christians today as cultic or narrow in their understanding of "being purchased by the blood". Others, perhaps more enlightened, view the answering of Christ’s call as the ultimate freedom, the unspeakable joy, the "peace that passeth all understanding".

This epistle is directed at an audience not unlike the modern church. It is cosmopolitan, cross-cultural, situated in Corinth, a crossroads of conflicting values and undercurrents. The fledgling community is struggling for identity and guidance amongst a diverse, self-willed body politic. It has suffered serious breaches of conduct. It’s spiritual and moral integrity are at a breaking point. It is a ship taking on water and about to slip below the waves. Paul’s mission is to "put the glue back into the hull" - some serious damage control. His work is cut out for him.

"Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?" That’s the glue. Paul is Captain Ahab, standing on the bridge and lecturing his whaling crew. This must be where Herman Melville, who grew up on bible stories, obtained his imagery for Moby Dick. Paul’s message however, is rather than a burden or yoke of servitude, or a price we pay. Answering Christ’s call is the fulfillment of a relationship which we were created for. Pursuing our own will ultimately leads to heartache and ruin. "Putting on Christ" shields and protects us. It is freedom in the knowledge that we are bathed in God’s love. "Ransomed as His own are ye."

Prayer: Jesus, still lead on, ‘till our rest be won. Guide us by Thy hand to our fatherland.