+ We can see in the gospel passage that Jesus is all for doing what is right, at the right time, no matter who is watching. He cures the man with the withered hand and deliberately cures him knowing that it would enrage the Pharisees present. The man is cured and the said Pharisees are enraged – and Jesus sighs!
In the gospel passage St. Paul does not have it so easy either: something right ought to have been done at the time that something wrong occurred, especially since the people involved were newborn Christians having the Holy Spirit freshly dispensed upon them: the case of the man who was living with his step-mother as in marriage was not handled appropriately by them. The Corinthians thought they were exercising their newfound "freedom of the children of God" by allowing this corner to be cut: but both Jews and Gentiles did not allow for such immoral concubinage. Therefore Paul has to remind them that he himself is present in spirit in their deliberations and that the man must be expelled (excommunicated) from the Christian community and delivered to Satan so his body can be purged, before the coming of the Son of Man so that perhaps his soul can be saved. (This gives rise to a kind of living purgatory that is possible for the good of the recalcitrant). Paul tells the Corinthians that their boasting was inappropriate – and that the real cause for boasting: the Holy Spirit of Truth and Right-living that is within them - should always be given priority. It is like new yeast that must leaven new dough in the new dispensation of Christ's reign – a dispensation of sincerity and truth.
May we today be such leaven wherever we go – may the reign of Christ ripple and spread forth because of the small acts of sincerity and truth that we administer today to all we meet!
Lead me in your justice, Lord.
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