From: 1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13
Idols Have No Real Existence
[4] Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has
no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” [5] For although there
may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods”
and many “lords”—[6] yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are
all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom
are all things and through whom we exist.
Not Scandalizing the Weak
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Commentary:
8:1-10:31. In these chapters St Paul deals with food offered to idols. In pagan re-
ligions a portion of the sacrificial food went to the donors, who could consume it
in the temple itself (cf. 1 Cor 8:10), or take it home. The meat could also be sold
in the market. For some Christians this posed no problem; but for others — who
were afraid that by eating this meat they were in some way taking part in the ido-
latrous worship from which it came (cf. 8:7) various practical questions arose:
when buying meat, ought they to ask where it came from? (cf. 10:25-26); could
they accept invitations to meals at which food of this type might be served? (cf.
10:27ff). The Council of Jerusalem, which took place around 48-50, had written
to the Christians of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia telling them to abstain from food
which had been sacrificed to idols (cf. Acts 15:23-29). When St Paul was prea-
ching in Corinth two years later, he probably did not say anything on this sub-
ject, given the very pagan environment of that city—very different from the expe-
rience of the communities the Council had been addressing: if the faithful at Co-
rinth had to avoid meat of this kind, they should have had to isolate themselves
from their fellow-citizens.
In replying to the questions put to him, the Apostle first explains the general prin-
ciples that apply: they may eat meat of this type, for idols have no real existence
(8:1-6), but sometimes charity requires that they do abstain from it (8:7-13); he
illustrates what he says by quoting what he himself does (9:1-27) and lessons
drawn from the history of Israel (10:1-13); and, finally, he deals with particular
queries the Corinthians have raised (10:14-33).
1-6. Clearly, idols are mere things and therefore food sacrificed to them can be
eaten without any qualms (10:25-27). But some Christians did not yet grasp this,
and they were being shocked to see other Christians eating this food (cf. 8:7-13).
So, St Paul again reminds the Corinthians (cf. 1: 18-34) that they must not rely
on their “knowledge” unless it be accompanied by charity. “The source of all the
Corinthians’ problems”, St John Chrysostom comments, “was not their lack of
knowledge but their lack of charity and lack of concern for their neighbor. This
was the cause of the divisions in that church, the cause of the vanity which was
blinding them and of all the disorder for which the Apostle has censured them
and will censure them. He will often speak to them about charity, and try to cla-
rify, so to speak, the fount of all good things [...]. Have love: that way your know-
ledge will not lead you astray. I should like your knowledge to outstrip that of
your brethren. If you love them, far from being aloof and looking down on them,
you will strive to have them share your insights” (”Hom. on 1 Cor, 20, ad loc.”).
3. “One is known by him [God]”: that is, God has recognized him as one of his
own, God is pleased with him: it is almost the same as “God has called him”,
“God has chosen him”.
4-6. St Paul reminds the Corinthians, who were living in a pagan and polytheistic
environment, of the first and basic truth of the Christian creed: there is only one
true God. Even though the idols which pagans worship were called “gods” (as in
Greek mythology) or “lords” (as heroes or divinized emperors were described),
they were such only in the imagination of men. The only one who really merits
these titles is the living and true God who is revealed to us in Sacred Scripture
as One and Three.
6. Both the Father and the Son are God and Lord: “Just as St Paul does not take
from the Father the rank of Lord, when he says that the Son is the only Lord, so
he is not denying the Son the rank of God, when he says that the Father is the
one and only God” (St John Chrysostom, “Hom. on 1 Cor, 20, ad loc.”) In fact the
title “Lord” is used with reference to God; so, calling Jesus Christ “Lord” is the
same as calling him “God”; besides, what the Apostle here says of the Father,
he attributes elsewhere to the Son; and vice versa (cf., e.g., Rom 11:36; Eph
4:5-6; Col 16-17; Heb 2:10). Creation is something that is done by all three divine
persons of the Blessed Trinity, and the Blessed Trinity is also the end or goal of
all created things (cf. Fourth Council of the Lateran, “De Fide Catholica”, chap 1).
Although St Paul does not mention the Holy Spirit in this passage, he does
speak of him elsewhere in the letter (cf. 2:10ff; 6:19-20).
7-13. Charity requires that one abstain from food sacrificed to idols, if eating can
cause scandal to others, can be “a stumbling block to the weak” (v. 9). The Apos-
tle’s teaching is clear: if there is any danger of scandalizing someone for whom
Christ has died, “I will never eat meat” (v. 13; cf. similar teaching in Rom 14:14-
23).
The scandal caused to those Christians is an example of what is called giving
“scandal to the weak”, whereby an action in itself good or indifferent can lead
others into sin because of their ignorance, weakness or poor understanding of
the faith. In such cases also one should, out of charity, try to avoid giving scan-
dal (cf. note on Rom 14:13-21).
11-13. St Paul emphasizes the gravity of the scandal given by those Corinthians
who in the blindness of their pride failed to realize the harm they were doing to
other brothers in the faith: they might lead into perdition someone “for whom
Christ died”; our Lord sacrificed himself on the cross for each and every person
in every generation. “How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he
‘gained so great a Redeemer’ (”Exsultet” at the Easter Vigil), and if God ‘gave us
his only son’ in order that man ‘should not perish but have eternal life’ (cf. Jn 3:
16)” (Bl. John Paul II, “Redemptor Hominis” 10). One should never lose sight
of the immense value of every individual, a value which can be deduced especial-
ly from the price paid for him—the death of Christ. “For every soul is a wonderful
treasure; every person is unique and irreplaceable. Every single person is worth
all the blood of Christ” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 80).
The Apostle also points out that by giving scandal “you sin against Christ”: our
Lord himself said this: “as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you
did it to me” (Mt 25:40; cf. 25:45); this was something deeply engraved on Paul’s
soul ever since the time, when he was persecuting Christians, he heard Jesus
say to him, “Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4). The Christian should always
see Christ in others.
From this it follows logically that, if necessary, as he says, “I will never eat meat.”
One must be ready for any sacrifice if the salvation of a soul is at stake.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Luke 6:27-38
Love of Enemies
[32] “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners
love those who love them. [33] And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. [34] And if you lend to
those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners
lend to sinners, to receive as much again. [35] But love your enemies, and do
good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and
you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.
[36] Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
[37] “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be
condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; [38] give, and it will be given to you;
good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your
lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
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Commentary:
27. “In loving our enemies there shines forth in us some likeness to God our Fa-
ther, who, by the death of His Son, ransomed from everlasting perdition and re-
conciled to Himself the human race, which previously was most unfriendly and
hostile to Him” (”St. Pius V Catechism”, IV, 14, 19). Following the example of
God our Father, we must desire for everyone (even those who say they are our
enemies) eternal life, in the first place; additionally, a Christian has a duty to re-
spect and understand everyone without exception, because of his or her intrin-
sic dignity as a human person, made in the image and likeness of the Creator.
28. Jesus Christ teaches us by example that this is a real precept and not just
a pious recommendation; even when nailed to the cross He prayed to His Father
for those who had brought Him to such a pass: “Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). In imitation of the Master, St Stephen, the
first martyr of the Church, when he was being stoned, prayed to our Lord not to
hold the sin against his persecutors (cf. Acts 7:60). In the liturgy of Good Friday
the Church offers prayers and suffrages to God on behalf of those outside the
Church, asking Him to give them the grace of faith; to release from their igno-
rance those who do not know Him; to give Jews the light to the truth; to bring
non-Catholic Christians, linked by true charity, into full communion with our Mo-
ther the Church.
29. Our Lord gives us more examples to show us how we should act if we want
to imitate the mercy of God. The first has to do with one of what are traditionally
called the “spiritual works of mercy” — forgiving injuries and being patient with
other people’s defects. This is what He means in the first instance about turning
the other cheek.
To understand what our Lord is saying here, St. Thomas comments that “Sa-
cred Scripture needs to be understood in the light of the example of Christ and
the saints. Christ did not offer the cheek to be struck in the house of Annas (Jn
18:22ff), nor did St. Paul when, as we are told in the Acts of the Apostles, he
was beaten in Philippi (Acts 16:22f). Therefore, we should not take it that Christ
literally meant that you should offer the other cheek to some to hit you; what He
was referring to was your interior disposition; that is, if necessary we should be
ready not to be intolerant of anyone who hurts us, and we should be ready to put
up with this kind of treatment, or worse than that. That was how the Lord acted
when He surrendered His body to death” (”Commentary on St John”, 18, 37).
36. The model of mercy which Christ sets before us is God Himself, of whom St.
Paul says, ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions” (2 Cor
1:3-4). “The first quality of this virtue”, Fray Luis de Granada explains, “is that it
makes men like God and like the most glorious thing in Him, His mercy (Lk 6:
36). For certainly the greatest perfection a creature can have is to be like his
Creator, and the more like Him he is, the more perfect he is. Certainly one of
the things which is most appropriate to God is mercy, which is what the Church
means when it says that prayer: ‘Lord God, to whom it is proper to be merciful
and forgiving...’. It says that this is proper to God, because just as a creature,
as creature, is characteristically poor and needy (and therefore characteristical-
ly receives and does not give), so, on the contrary, since God is infinitely rich
and powerful, to Him alone does it belong to give and not to receive, and there-
fore it is appropriate for Him to be merciful and forgiving” (”Book of Prayer and
Meditation”, third part, third treatise).
This is the rule a Christian should apply: be compassionate towards other peo-
ple’s afflictions as if they were one’s own, and try to remedy them. The Church
spells out this rule by giving us a series of corporal works of mercy (visiting and
caring for the sick, giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty...) and spiritual
works of mercy (teaching the ignorant, correcting the person who has erred,
forgiving injuries...): cf. “St Pius X Catechism”, 944f.
We should also show understanding towards people who are in error: “Love and
courtesy of this kind should not, of course, make us indifferent to truth and good-
ness. Love, in fact, impels the followers of Christ to proclaim to all men the truth
which saves. But we must distinguish between the error (which must always be
rejected) and the person in error, who never loses his dignity as a person even
though he flounders amid false or inadequate religious ideas. God alone is the
judge and searcher of hearts; He forbids us to pass judgment on the inner guilt
of others” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 28).
38. We read in Sacred Scripture of the generosity of the widow of Zarephath,
whom God asked to give food to Elijah the prophet even though she had very
little left; He then rewarded her generosity by constantly renewing her supply
of meal and oil (1 Kings 17:9ff). The same sort of thing happened when the boy
supplied the five loaves and two fish which our Lord multiplied to feed a huge
crowd of people (cf. Jn 6:9) — a vivid example of what God does when we give
Him whatever we have, even if it does not amount to much.
God does not let Himself be outdone in generosity: “Go, generously and like a
child ask Him, ‘What can You mean to give me when You ask me for “this”?’”
(St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 153). However much we give God in this life, He will
give us more in life eternal.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.