Friday, April 24, 2026
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Welcome to our final presentation in this series on Saint Paul and the Church in the city of Corinth in southern Greece. I hope you have found each installment worthwhile. Today we we will look at Second Corinthians, chapters eight and nine.
Episode 15: Collection ( II Corinthians 8:1-9:15)
It is amazing that one of the largest practical matters dealt with in Paul’s letters is a collection. Paul had already carried financial aid to the Church in Jerusalem perhaps at the time of the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), something mentioned in Acts chapter eleven (verses 29-30). Paul notes in his Letter to the Galatians (2:9-10) that a part of the settlement of that Council in Jerusalem was that Paul would continue to work among the Gentiles for financial aid to Jerusalem, though the Acts of the Apostles does not mention this. This connection to the Council is probably for Paul the reason for the collection, that is, that it demonstrated the unity of the Gentile and the Jewish Churches. Finally, in his Letter to the Romans (15:25-29), probably written from Corinth as Paul was preparing to leave for Jerusalem, he notes that he is ready to take the collection. It seems then that Paul was joined by a group of men from Beroea, Thessalonica, Derbe, Asia, as well as Timothy, to accompany him from Macedonia to Troas, where Luke seems to have joined them, to Ephesus, and then on to Jerusalem.
It appears that Paul probably preached about the collection during his first long stay in Corinth but that it got side-tracked due to the disputes which we have been discussing. Now Paul is ready to send Timothy back to Corinth to complete the task so that when Paul arrives it will be done. Paul is strongest when he writes, “complete it now, so that your eager willingness may be matched by your completion of it out of what you have” (8:11). That this is all a manifestation of Christ’s generosity to the Corinthian community and a demonstration of Christian communion is clear when Paul is not asking the Corinthians to go into debt but to share of their surplus, to share what they have received.
Paul then commends Titus and two companions, a “renowned brother” and an “earnest brother,” who will be coming to Corinth. Paul concludes (8:24) with a final challenge: “So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to them.” Paul then wants to make sure that his boasting is not in vain (9:1-5).
Paul now concludes his remarks about the collection with a summons to generosity. This generosity is not just some human action but is rather God’s generosity working through the donors. Sharing then with others does not mean loss for ourselves but gain. All is grace and the generosity which Paul anticipates actually is an act of thanksgiving to God. There is not much of a farewell in the closing verses of this letter as it currently exists. However, that last line is beautiful: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.”
In Paul’s Letter to the Romans, most likely written from Corinth while Paul was there to follow up on his collection, Paul notes that he cannot go to Rome at the time for he must head to Jerusalem to convey the proceeds to the poor there (15:22-29).
In chapter 16 of Romans, Paul mentions Phoebe, “our sister, who is [also] a minister of the church at Cenchreae…for she has been a benefactor to many and to me as well.” Cenchreae was the eastern port for Corinth. In addition, Paul mentions “Erastus, the city treasurer” as a greeter to Rome. This may well be the same Erastus who paved a road during his time as city treasurer in Corinth as recorded on an inscription from the time. And so our journey with Paul and his correspondence with the Church in Corinth comes to an end. He did not solve all the problems he encountered, but he did pour himself out to them in loving service as an act of God’s grace through apostolic ministry.
Thank you all so much for joining me on this journey with Saint Paul. May the Lord bless each of you as you seek to live out the Good News of Jesus Christ in your own Christian communities.
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. Here is a video version of this week's talk. Please do share with friends and family. Thank you.