From: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Servant of Christ
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Commentary:
1-2. The features of every apostle, as outlined here by St Paul — “servants of
Christ”, “stewards of God’s mysteries”—put this ministry beyond the reach of
grudges and petty squabbles. “Servants of Christ”, that is, ministers of Christ,
are people to whom he has entrusted his property—his teaching and his sacra-
ments—for them to protect it faithfully and, acting as his agents, to manage it,
pass it on and “disperse” it to others (cf. “Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.”). As
Paul stresses, a basic qualification for being a servant or steward is trustworthi-
ness: “Those are untrustworthy stewards who when it comes to dispensing the
divine mysteries do not seek the welfare of the people, the honor of Christ or
the advantage of his members [...]. Trustworthy stewards are those who always
seek the honor of God and the welfare of his members” (”ibid., ad loc.”).
The Magisterium of the Church has often applied these words to the Christian
priesthood: “The Apostle of the Gentiles thus perfectly sums up what may be
said of the greatness, the dignity and the duty of the Christian priesthood: ‘This
is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the myste-
ries of God’ (1 Cor 4:1). The priest is the minister of Christ, an instrument, that
is to say, in the hands of the divine Redeemer. He continues the work of the re-
demption in all its universality and divine efficacy, that work that wrought so mar-
velous a transformation in the world. Thus the priest, as is said with good rea-
son, is indeed ‘another Christ’, for, in some way, he is himself a continuation of
Christ: ‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you’ (Jn 20:21), is spoken to
the priest, and hence the priest, like Christ, continues to give ‘glory to God in
the highest; and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased’ (Lk 2:14).
A priest is appointed ‘steward of the mysteries of God’ (cf. 1 Cor 4:1 ) for the be-
nefit of the members of the mystical body of Christ, since he is the ordinary mini-
ster of nearly all the sacraments—those channels through which the grace of the
Savior flows for the good of humanity. The Christian, at almost every important
stage of his mortal career, finds at his side the priest with power received from
God, for the purpose of communicating or increasing that grace which is the su-
pernatural life of his soul” (Pius XI, “Ad Catholici Sacerdotii”).
3-5. A servant, an employee, is obviously answerable for his actions — but he is
answerable only to his master; only his master can judge him. Therefore, refer-
ring to the minister of Christ, St Paul declares that only our Lord can be his judge,
because it is to him his service is owed. This teaching applies in the first place
to Church ministers; but it also applies to all the faithful, for all should serve God
by putting their talents to good use. Therefore, it is not for us to judge others, un-
less we have some special position which obliges us to do so. And certainly any
judgment we do make is valid only if it accords with the will of God; any type of
rash judgment would lead to very unfortunate results. Even that judgment we
make about ourselves—examination of conscience, which St Paul seems to be
hinting at when he says that he is not aware of anything against himself — should
be made with the help of grace. It is not a matter of subjective introspection, but
rather a sincere review made in the presence of God. It is not meant to be a reply
to the question, What do I think of my behavior?; but rather to a different question,
What does God think of it? Thus, a Christian should not be trying to meticulously
measure his conduct, but to have recourse to God, who is rich in mercy. If so,
the end-product of his examination will never be like that of the Pharisee, “God, I
thank thee that I am not like other men”, but instead, like the publican’s “God,
be merciful to me, a sinner” (Lk 18:11, 13).
The Apostle, as we can see, is speaking of his own experience, and speaking
from a heart full of pastoral solicitude: he is not merely giving advice or taking
people to task.
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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.