The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

This week at mass something caught my attention that normally doesn’t – the second reading. I don’t always place too much importance on that piece of scripture, as I’m usually anticipating the Gospel and homily. Today’s second reading from 1 Corinthians really sparked my interest, though.

”I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.”

The words in and of themselves confused me. Normally when a scripture talks about the world ending, it’s not also telling husbands to act as if they’re not married – so you can understand my confusion. I decided to dig a little deeper into this scripture to see what Paul was really trying to say.

1.) “….let those having wives act as not having them….” – Paul isn’t telling the Corinthians to cheat on their spouses. He is trying to tell us to not only be concerned with your spouse. We need to put our concerns for the things of the Lord above those of anyone else.

2.) “….those weeping as not weeping….” – So often we get caught up in the ‘earthliness’ of life. How often? Every damn day for most of us. Sometimes we can become so obsessed with the self pity that it’s hard for us to focus on much anything else. That’s not the life that Jesus wants us to live. He wants us to live a life close to Him and a life full of joy.

3.) “….those rejoicing as not rejoicing….” – Just as we can become obsessed with grief, we can also become obsessed with searching for and finding joy. While the Lord wants us to live a joyful life, He does not want us to make it our sole focus in life.

4.) “…..those buying as not owning…..” – While there will always be things that we need to buy throughout the course of our lives, the Lord never wants us to become addicted to buying things – nor does He want our happiness to come from owning them.

Some have translated the next line as “Let your every contact with the world be as light as possible.” I like that translation. While we need to remain invested in the world in order to change it for the better, we do not need to make it the main focus of our lives – nor should we. By keeping our hearts and souls pointed towards the eternal fellowship we have with Christ Jesus, all of the other aspects of our lives should follow behind and fall into place.

Have a great week, and see you back here next Sunday.