27 August 2020

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus,called to be saints,
together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
From 1 Corinthians 1: 1-9 (NRSV)

Today we begin reading from St Paul’s first letter to the people of Corinth. He had lived there and come to know this small, vibrant community well. They were full of the Holy Spirit and full of enthusiasm for the new faith they had come to embrace. This obviously had a positive side but they were sometimes over-confident in the gifts God so abundantly gave them. St Paul’s greeting at the beginning of his letter is certainly directed to the Corinthians but he makes clear that it is also for people in every place and, though he could not have imagined it, every time.

• • How is the enthusiasm for faith that the Corinthians show echoed by people new to Christianity in our own day?
  • When have you felt that enthusiasm? Do you still feel it? 

Think today about times when your faith has enthused you – or just made you feel positive and hopeful. Give thanks for those times. If they seem a very long time ago, pray for the grace to remember them with gratitude and pray for the grace to find a little of it again today.