(Please read this Scripture passage first, before the homily.)
In this letter to the Corinthians, St Paul addressed the Corinthians as little children, not up to eating adult food. He judged them as not being able to distinguish right from wrong in very basic issues. He treated these issues in chapters 5 and 6.
From chapter 7 on, Paul treated questions that did not have easy black or white answers. In the reading for today, Paul took up a question about marriage. He took up several other questions, about food sacrificed to idols and about liturgy in later chapters.
Paul considered that he was living in the end time. How soon it would happen he did not know. On the other hand, if were almost here, he thought it would probably be wise for people not to change their life’s situation. He would not forbid a change in marital status, but he would not encourage people to change their status in society.
We have similar situations in our lives. We live is a much changed world from that of St Paul. If Paul had to adapt his responses to the times in which he lived, we must do the same ourselves. We learn from St Paul, not to do what we want to do, but to discern what we ought to do. As St Paul taught for the issues of his day, we can learn that we must and can do with the issues of our day.
When somebody asks us if is okay to vote for Candidate A over Candidate Z, we can direct them to look at issues and backgrounds, ask the help of the Holy Spirit, and vote for the candidate for whom they have discerned they ought to vote. When we hear that one group has said we cannot vote for one candidate and another group has said the same about the other candidate. We must study and ask the help of the Holy Spirit in choosing.
When somebody raises questions about elements of-sexuality or social justice that St Paul had not imagined, we have to take Paul’s approach, doing our homework and asking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in making decisions. We have many issues on which the Church has spoken forcibly, yet these issue have tended to divide us rather contentiously in our day. We do our homework, as Paul did his, seeking how the Holy Spirit guides us. We live in a world today where many people do not see clear-cut answers to perplexing questions. We apply the method of St Paul to these.
Lastly, since this reading has brought up topics pertaining to the general election in November, we should remember that the people with whose opinions we disagree are not our enemies, but our brothers and sisters in the faith of Jesus Christ, children called into life by God, and people who share our same human nature. We are not enemies, but friends, coworkers and members of the same family. We should love them, not hate them.