🇬🇧 Glory be to Jesus Christ! 🌞
1 Corinthians VII, 36 – ‘υπερακμος’ - ‘hyperakmos’ – ‘hyper’ + ‘akme’ – ‘has passed the bloom (flowering) of youth, of full age’.
1 Corinthians VII, 40 – ‘εμην’ – ‘emen’ – ‘my’ (thought).
A continuation of previous readings, about one of which see here:
20072023.html
Two parts, the first of which is about the marriage of virgins and about widows (generally about the state of those who are not married at present), and the second about idolatry and the use of idolatrous food.
The first part is explained in general at the link above.
Specifically, Paul puts virginity above marriage without explanation.
Based on the explanation in the link above, this is his experience. But
it may be different for other people. If we look beyond the experience
of the apostle Paul, then virginity has only one really essential
advantage over marriage – virginity is more like the state of the future
age, after the resurrection. Christ Himself says that after the
Resurrection neither marry nor get married, but are like angels in
heaven
. This does not mean that marriage is inferior to virginity, but
it is because in the blessed resurrection there is no need for marriage
as such (this is one of the mysteries of the future age). This is also
clearly seen from the fact that the Mother of God was both a Virgin and
a Married Woman (as the hymns call Her, the unwedded Bride
), and
Christ did not need to marry, although the Church mysteriously called
His Bride. Nevertheless, God’s saving and sanctifying actions, in
particular in the Sacrament of Marriage, as well as the love of saved
couples, are preserved in a special way in eternity, for love never
ceases.
We also need to mention the passage in Matthew XIX, 1-12. There will
be a specific reading of it, and then, God willing, I will write in more
detail. But let me focus on the word receive
and its forms and
derivatives, which are used several times in this passage. In the
original Greek, the word literally means to prepare a room,
that is,
to give room, to receive.
If we recall how the heart is spoken of in
the context of fidelity, also as a kind of space
, and that there is
virginity for the sake of the kingdom of God
, it becomes clear that
Christ is speaking in this form about the degree of a person’s
commitment to the kingdom of God. If we compare it to human
relationships, it is natural to want to be closer to a loved one. It is
the same here – if a person loves God, they want to get closer to His
Kingdom, and therefore give preference and importance to what is
connected with it – in particular, since virginity is more like a state
of the future age, such a person wants to be a chaste unmarried person
more than they want to get married.
I should also note that a widow or widower can also marry a second time, as long as it is in the Lord. But it is better to remain without a second marriage (I think, given the mystery of the heart and all the above).
As for the second part, Paul is talking about different people, and his reasoning is structured in such a way as to find an acceptable solution for everyone, taking into account everyone’s vision. This is a challenging task, but by God’s grace Paul manages to do it.
A description of the cures that the Lord performed for many people, as well as the reaction of the people and the glorification of God.
It is a short reading, but if you omit it, you miss a significant part of Jesus’ work.
Elsewhere, Christ will mention these and similar cures as a sign of His Messiahship, particularly to the disciples of John the Baptist, who were looking for the Messiah in God’s action and power.
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!