Feb 24, 2025 Written by 
Art'working

8th Sunday in O.T. (1Cor 15,54-58)

8th Sunday in O.T. (1Cor 15,54-58)

(1Cor 15,54-58)

8th Sunday O.T. (C)

 

1 Corinthians 15:54 When then this corruptible body is clothed with incorruption and this mortal body with immortality, the word of Scripture will be fulfilled:

Death has been swallowed up for victory.

1 Corinthians 15:55 Where, O death, is thy victory?

Where, O death, is thy sting?

1Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

1Corinthians 15:57 Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

1Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dearly beloved brethren, remain steadfast and immovable, always labouring in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

 

Until the day of the final resurrection, death will reign over this earth and submerge every man. When, on the other hand, the Lord completes his last work, then death will be submerged forever in the victory of Christ. After that, death will no longer have power, it will be defeated forever, forever annulled. Man will enter his finality, and only then will we understand what Christ has truly done for us. Death, both physical and spiritual, only Christ has conquered it, only in Him will we conquer it today and on the last day. There are no other Messiahs, no other ways, no other faiths. The only Messiah is Jesus Christ, the only way is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the only faith is the Word of the Lord, his Holy Gospel. Let those who seek elsewhere know that they will find nothing, for nothing exists.

Death will be ousted, rendered powerless, submerged by the victory of Christ. It that thought it had a deadly sting, finds itself stung by the victorious sting of Jesus Christ. She who thought she was the absolute ruler over man, by the man Jesus was defeated. It was Christ who died that overcame it with his resurrection. This is the mockery of death. Where no man could have succeeded, because he too was a prisoner and slave by birth of death, Christ triumphed. The victory of Christ is the resurrection, the cross is the victory over sin. By becoming in Christ one body and one life, we too on the cross together with Him overcome sin, and by overcoming sin we are led to complete victory over death.

For although the victory is accomplished in Christ, in His body, yet Paul says that the victory is ours: "He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The victory is ours because it will be manifested in us. We are associated with Him who has made all things.

Now, from the heart of the Christian, our hymn of thanksgiving, praise and blessing must rise up to the Father. Thanksgiving is the highest form of worship. We can only give thanks if Christ's victory has already been made ours; we give thanks for a gift that we already possess, that has already transformed us.

He gives thanks to God for such a great gift whoever commits himself, works, toils, so that Christ's victory transforms his life entirely and he becomes in the world a visible image of Christ crucified and risen, of a spiritual man, who transmits through his life the path of hope to which every man is called. Thanksgiving is thus transformed into an obligation of holiness, to which we are called by the Father who has bestowed the victory of Christ on us and waits for us to live it totally in us.

«Therefore, my beloved brethren, remain steadfast and immovable, always labouring in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord». In this concluding verse, Paul reiterates certain truths that must constitute the life of believers. The first is this: remain steadfast and immovable. In what? In the truth of Christ's resurrection and ours on the last day. The resurrection of Christ is the truth that gives consistency to all the other truths of our faith. If Christ's resurrection is not confessed with certainty of heart and mind, everything will ultimately be in vain and useless.

It is not enough, however, to remain firm and unshakable in this truth. One must be dedicated to the Lord's work. What is the work of the Lord? The fulfilment of his death and resurrection in us. Since the work of Christ was his death and resurrection, the work of the Lord for the Christian is also the fulfilment of Christ's death and resurrection in him. Christ's death is accomplished in the Christian through obedience to God's will. The work of the Lord to be done is to transform the word of Christ into life, as Christ transformed the word of the Father into life. Paul wants us to be prodigal in this work. To lavish ourselves means to spare ourselves in nothing, it means to expend all our physical and spiritual energy for the accomplishment of Christ's work in us.The third truth that we must always have in our hearts is this: whoever does the work of the Lord does the only true work, the only just work, the only holy work, the only work that has eternal value. Each of us, in every work we do, must ask ourselves whether what we do is the work of God. Only God's work is not in vain, and in doing it we do not waste our time and expend our energy uselessly. The work that will make our labour precious is only one: the fulfilment of Christ's death in us, so that his glorious resurrection on the last day may be accomplished in us.

If one sees Christianity in this way, one gives it another imprint; one gives it the imprint of seeking God's will so that it may be fulfilled in our lives. If one observes the life of a Christian community according to this vision of faith, then one becomes aware of all the vanities that surround it. Everything is done, except to fulfil each one individually and all together, each according to his part and vocation, the work of Christ, which is our death in Him in the greatest obedience to our Father who is in heaven.

True faith heals, renews existence, changes it, transforms it. Today, this is what is required of Christian communities: to start from the proclamation of true faith so that each one may begin in his or her own body the fulfilment of the Lord's work, which is the work of Christ, begun in us on the day of our baptism.

Knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. This fervour in doing good must be kindled in us by the certainty of the prize. Our labour is not in vain, for it will make us worthy of the future resurrection, provided, however, that everything is done in the Lord, that is, in intimate union with Jesus Christ.

 

 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

 

(Buyable on Amazon)

 

                                                                         

  

94 Last modified on Monday, 24 February 2025 19:08
Rate this item
(2 votes)
Argentino Quintavalle

Argentino Quintavalle è studioso biblico ed esperto in Protestantesimo e Giudaismo. Autore del libro “Apocalisse - commento esegetico” (disponibile su Amazon) e specializzato in catechesi per protestanti che desiderano tornare nella Chiesa Cattolica.

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Latest from Argentino Quintavalle

Previous
« 7th Sunday in O.T. (C)  (1Cor 15,45-49)
Next
1st Sunday in Lent (C) - (Rom 10:8-13) »
back to top
Praying, celebrating, imitating Jesus: these are the three "doors" - to be opened to find «the way, to go to truth and to life» (Pope Francis)
Pregare, celebrare, imitare Gesù: sono le tre “porte” — da aprire per trovare «la via, per andare alla verità e alla vita» (Papa Francesco)
In recounting the "sign" of bread, the Evangelist emphasizes that Christ, before distributing the food, blessed it with a prayer of thanksgiving (cf. v. 11). The Greek term used is eucharistein and it refers directly to the Last Supper, though, in fact, John refers here not to the institution of the Eucharist but to the washing of the feet. The Eucharist is mentioned here in anticipation of the great symbol of the Bread of Life [Pope Benedict]
Narrando il “segno” dei pani, l’Evangelista sottolinea che Cristo, prima di distribuirli, li benedisse con una preghiera di ringraziamento (cfr v. 11). Il verbo è eucharistein, e rimanda direttamente al racconto dell’Ultima Cena, nel quale, in effetti, Giovanni non riferisce l’istituzione dell’Eucaristia, bensì la lavanda dei piedi. L’Eucaristia è qui come anticipata nel grande segno del pane della vita [Papa Benedetto]
Work is part of God’s loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way share in the work of creation! Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person. Work, to use a metaphor, “anoints” us with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God, who has worked and still works, who always acts (cf. Jn 5:17); it gives one the ability to maintain oneself, one’s family, to contribute to the growth of one’s own nation [Pope Francis]
Il lavoro fa parte del piano di amore di Dio; noi siamo chiamati a coltivare e custodire tutti i beni della creazione e in questo modo partecipiamo all’opera della creazione! Il lavoro è un elemento fondamentale per la dignità di una persona. Il lavoro, per usare un’immagine, ci “unge” di dignità, ci riempie di dignità; ci rende simili a Dio, che ha lavorato e lavora, agisce sempre (cfr Gv 5,17); dà la capacità di mantenere se stessi, la propria famiglia, di contribuire alla crescita della propria Nazione [Papa Francesco]
God loves the world and will love it to the end. The Heart of the Son of God pierced on the Cross and opened is a profound and definitive witness to God’s love. Saint Bonaventure writes: “It was a divine decree that permitted one of the soldiers to open his sacred wide with a lance… The blood and water which poured out at that moment was the price of our salvation” (John Paul II)
Il mondo è amato da Dio e sarà amato fino alla fine. Il Cuore del Figlio di Dio trafitto sulla croce e aperto, testimonia in modo profondo e definitivo l’amore di Dio. Scriverà San Bonaventura: “Per divina disposizione è stato permesso che un soldato trafiggesse e aprisse quel sacro costato. Ne uscì sangue ed acqua, prezzo della nostra salvezza” (Giovanni Paolo II))
[Nicodemus] felt the fascination of this Rabbi, so different from the others, but could not manage to rid himself of the conditioning of his environment that was hostile to Jesus, and stood irresolute on the threshold of faith (Pope Benedict)
[Nicodemo] avverte il fascino di questo Rabbì così diverso dagli altri, ma non riesce a sottrarsi ai condizionamenti dell’ambiente contrario a Gesù e resta titubante sulla soglia della fede (Papa Benedetto)
Those wounds that, in the beginning were an obstacle for Thomas’s faith, being a sign of Jesus’ apparent failure, those same wounds have become in his encounter with the Risen One, signs of a victorious love. These wounds that Christ has received for love of us help us to understand who God is and to repeat: “My Lord and my God!” (Pope Benedict)

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741


Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.