Defining Spiritual Persons

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 22nd week in Ordinary time

September 2, 2020: 1 Corinthians 3: 1-9; Luke 4: 38-44

Paul feels bad about the fact that he is not able to speak to the Corinthians as to Spiritual people, because of jealousy, rivalry and division among them. He presents those predicaments as directly opposed to being spiritual people. Jesus in the Gospel shines as a role model in being a Spiritual person or a person of the Spirit. He heals, casts out demons and refuses to gain any popularity mileage out of it. He rebukes the demons even, not to announce his Christ image, as he wants himself to be experienced in the depths of their hearts, by each one hearing him or following him. 

Are jealousy, rivalry and other divisive mentalities totally absent today in faith communities?  Interdenominational differences, intra-community differences withing even the Catholic faith communities are not rare things we hear about. Leave alone the communities, what about my heart, is it totally free of it? If not, I still am an immature believer, yet to become truly a Spiritual person.

St. Paul, in a way, defines who a spiritually mature person is: one who is integral in his or her outlook, unifying in his or her relationships, loving in his or her consideration of the other and God-centered in his or her understanding of one's own identity and of the identity of the faith community. If I am still living two lives - one formal and external and the other personal and hidden, if I am divisive and discriminatory in my thinking, words and choices, if I tend to look at the other with suspicion as a threat or a burden, if I am filled with my ego and closed to the others, the Spirit has not yet taken possession of me fully.

Spiritual Persons are persons of the Spirit, and what matters to them is the action of the Spirit within themselves and within their communities.