Readings:
2 Chronicles 23
Sirach 26
1 Corinthians 10

1 Corinthians 10

Paul offers the Corinthians a quick history lesson as a warning against bad behavior and turning against God. He reminds them of the hundreds of thousands of Israelites who left Egypt and “were under the cloud” that’s a reference to the visible manifestation of God’s presence that went into the desert before them, and he also mentions that the passage through the Red Sea was a sort of prefigurement of baptism that they all went through. Nevertheless, of all the adults that left Egypt and witnessed these miracles, only two entered the promised land, the rest died in the desert due to obstinate sin.

Paul warns specifically against some of the sins these Israelites engaged in including idolatry, immorality, putting God to the test, and “grumbling”. The last one seemingly being the least serious, but probably the one we’re most likely to do these days. He says their destruction should be a lesson to the Corinthians and by extension to us today.

Just as partaking in the body and blood of Christ assimilates us into his body, so does communion with demons as happens in pagan worship. We can’t eat at the table of the Lord and of demons. This might seem inapplicable to modern Christians because there aren’t many pagans around anymore, but it is. How many times have you seen a Christian engage in occult practices without even realizing it, or when they do they try to downplay it. You can’t go to fortune tellers, use tarot cards, engage in any kind of occult spiritualism and eat at the Lord’s table. Paul is very clear here.

Tomorrow’s Readings:
2 Chronicles 24-24
Sirach 27
1 Corinthians 11