Tag Archives: Corinthians

Worthy

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Whether it is a business meeting, a social gathering, a volunteer organization planning meeting or any number of similar situations – and you discover you are not invited. Our reactions vary depending on our expectations, track record on previously having been included, and a host of other instincts, hopes and fears. Our reaction oscillates between wounded pride and hopeful humility, between wondering “did I do something wrong” and “what could they possibly be thinking,” and a whole collection of other free-ranging reactions. Continue reading →

Wisdom and Folly

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Today’s first reading from St. Paul is part of a cohesive thought that he has been building upon since the beginning of this 1st Letter to the Corinthians (which began with Friday’s readings and continues for about three weeks.) It all began after Paul left the Corinth community for new evangelizing opportunities. He received a letter from a believer named Chloe who reports problems in the community: there is quarreling in the community all carried on in the name of “wisdom” and some associated boasting about who possessed wisdom and the exact nature of the wisdom. We are picking up the conversation-in-progress, but let me offer that the major point St, Paul has already made is: Are you choosing the Wisdom of men or the Wisdom of the Cross (1:18–2:5)? Continue reading →

The Grace of Generosity:

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In today’s reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, we have a wonderful message about the transformative power of generosity. Paul shares the example of the Macedonian churches, who, despite their own hardships, overflowed with abundant generosity in support of the Church in Jerusalem. The reading is an opportunity for us to reflect on our perception of generosity and its place in our life of faith. Continue reading →

2nd Corinthians

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Last evening I was rummaging around a folder labeled “Potential Musings.” It is a place were draft posts are worked on and often languish unfinished for one reason or another. Often I have to open the file to remember the contents as the working title does not ring a bell, e.g., “no single issue saints” or “303 v. Elenis.”  But I did come across a file: 2 Corinthians. I was pretty sure I knew what was inside – and given that most of last week and all of this week, the first reading for daily Mass is taken from the Second Letter to the Corinthians – maybe it was time to dust that one off and see if was something to post.  It is more of a scripture-study kind of post and it is long, but I think it is interesting.  Here’s the teaser: how are Paul’s letters to the Corinthians like a Bob Newhart sketch? Continue reading →

True Wisdom

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The first reading is from Paul’s “1st Letter to the Corinthians,” from the middle of the first of five sections within the letter. Chapter 2-4 are about divisions within the Corinthian community. The reasons for these divisions are several and some are explored in detail in following chapters, but in this section, the divisions are about the popularity of certain leaders leading to rivalries among them: “I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas.” (1 Cor 1:12)

His basic response is “You’ve got to be kidding me! You belong to Christ.” Continue reading →

Letters to the Corinthians

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saint-paulToo many irons in the fire, so to speak. I have a whole folder of work-in-progress articles, posts, studies, musings, and a “digital attic” of things in the folder “Interesting ideas.” One of the items in the attic was an introduction to St. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians – or rather his on-going somewhat rocky relationship with the community at Corinth.

With the exception of The Letter to the Galatians and The Letter to the Romans, St. Paul’s epistles are pastoral letters, most often responding to some problem in the community – that is not to say they do not carry/imply a consistent theological unpinning – but the letters are pastoral in nature and most often corrective and encouraging. But we are not always sure of the problem that is being addressed. Continue reading →