Wednesday of Week 22 Year 2

Some of us seem to like comparing one person or thing to another. For example, we may have been compared to a classmate or school mate who seemed smarter than we are; or we have been compared to another person who is more athletic than us; or we have compared one item to another. Even in church, we sometimes hear of comparisons: a parish priest being compared to the previous one; or a leader of a parish ministry compared to the previous one; or even one church compared to another. But as Christians, what sort of attitude should we have towards comparison? Should we compare in the first place?

In today's reading, St. Paul admonishes us: "After all, what is Apollos and what is Paul? They are servants who brought the faith to you. Even the different ways in which they brought it were assigned to them by the Lord. I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God made things grow. Neither the planter nor the waterer matters: only God, who makes things grow. It is all one who does the planting and who does the watering, and each will duly be paid according to his share in the work. We are fellow workers with God; you are God’s farm, God’s building." The reading reminds us that we should not be comparing one person or thing to another, since ultimately, we are serving God, not to boost our ego or to serve ourselves. Each of us have got our own task and our own talents and gifts, so we should use such talents and gifts not to show how great we are, but to glorify God. May we stop all these comparisons, which can create jealousy, enmity and resentment, and instead devote ourselves to serving God and serving others.