Friday, March 20, 2026
Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Welcome to our twelfth presentation in this series on Saint Paul and the Church in the city of Corinth in southern Greece. Today we will look at what seems to have been Paul’s third correspondence with Corinth and what we today call Second Corinthians, chapters ten through thirteen. Paul calls this his “tearful letter” (II Corinthians 2:4). Let's find out more.
Episode 12: The Letter of Tears (II Corinthians 10-13)
In these four chapters we hear Paul at his most personal. He is clearly opposing someone or some group in Corinth who has been challenging his own ministry there. In all that Paul says, much of which might come across as boasting, is really to reaffirm the value of the Gospel he proclaimed. That is his primary purpose. Some unnamed figures in Corinth are undermining the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The first charge against Paul seems to be voiced in 10:1: “I who am humble when face to face with you, but brave toward you when absent.” Clearly, some Corinthians found Paul strong in his letters to them but not so when he had been with them. Paul is clear that his overriding motive is “for building you up and not for tearing you down” (10:8). That is why he acts with the gentleness and kindness of Christ himself.
Then Paul mentions his opponents as those who compare themselves, no doubt, to him. These seem to be outsiders and not members of the community itself. But the community seems to be listening to these outsiders. Paul insists that he is only concerned with the Gospel which he proclaimed among them (10:14). This seems to be Paul’s primary claim to authority in the Corinthian Church: that he was the founder of their Church, and they exist as a Church because of his ministry.
In chapter 11, Paul boasts, but not about the kind of things we might expect. He first notes that he has given the Corinthian Church as a bride to Christ and thus has a strong claim on the community. No one else can take his place in this marriage scenario. He then seems to be addressing again the issue of his not being a great speaker (11:6) and that he did not charge the community for his services (11:7-15).
This latter issue Paul tried to handle earlier (I Corinthians 9:3-18). Apparently, his opponents cited these two issues as indications of his poor quality as an apostle. But Paul also seems to indicate that these “super apostles” (11:5) or “false apostles” (11:13) are somehow preaching a different Jesus and thus deceiving Jesus’ bride, the Church of Corinth.
Paul compares himself to his opponents who may be Jewish Christians. They claim to be ministers of Christ, to which claim Paul says he is more. Then Paul boasts of his human activities which all seem to be great trials and failures, as signs of his own human weakness. This may go along with his not being a great speaker or not letting his ministry be financially supported by the people of Corinth. His opponents must have said a God-inspired messenger would have been the contrary. Paul here cites several things that do not appear in the Acts of the Apostles. I particularly am amused by his recalling his escape from Damascus (Acts 9:23-25) after having spent time preaching in Arabia (Galatians 1:17), which did not seem to go very well.
Then Paul speaks of his visions, which probably happened around 42 AD after his ministry in Arabia and Damascus. He points out that these encounters are not of his own doing (12:5-7). And he seems either unable to describe what took place or unwilling to share it. Paul seems to claim that these charismatic moments in his life are not as important for proof of his ministry as the trials he has undergone as he both imitated and promoted Christ.
God reminds him of the true origins of these graces when God refuses to remove “the thorn in the flesh” (12:7) because God’s grace is sufficient. There have been many theories about what this thorn was, but it remains a mystery. Paul concludes, “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10). So, weaknesses are the only thing about which Paul will boast. Yet, citing Jeremiah (9:22-23), Paul is aware that any real boasting is only founded on what God has done in him, not on his own efforts.
Finally, in this section Paul notes that he should not have to defend himself even though that is what he has been doing. Rather, the community should be defending him (12:11-13). Paul’s behavior among them was never deceitful. Paul is not inferior to the super apostles who have grabbed the attention of the Corinthians.
So, Paul is prepared for his next visit to Corinth to be a trying encounter where he might be humiliated and when he may have to lament the evils of the very Church he founded (12:19-21). He reaffirms that he will not burden them by seeking financial support which may again raise the concern that “real apostles” rely on the community they serve. Rather, he is the father who will give himself to them.
Finally, in chapter 13, Paul gives a fair warning of his planned third visit. Then he will personally manifest not only his usual weaknesses as a messenger of Christ, but also the very power of Christ himself. It seems clear that Paul views the community itself, when it manifests Christ, as the real proof of Paul’s apostleship since he founded them. He then alludes to Jeremiah again (24:6) about building up and not tearing down, which is his aim. Paul calls them to be the community he founded and hence the sharing of the Holy Kiss and then the powerful benediction with which he concludes the letter.
Until next week, may God bless you.
+ 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.