Choreography of equality

We may think that chapter 8 of Paul's second letter to his friends in Corinth is about abundant supply, and it certainly is that. 

I am reminded of Mary Baker Eddy's piece on "Angels", which includes the following: "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies" (Miscellaneous Writings p. 307).  

However, rather than speaking about receiving, Paul emphasizes equality. The ingredients for this balanced sufficiency are 
1. willingness to give and to share, followed by 
2. the doing of it ("performance"). 

That's just what a musician or any artist does: nurture the willingness to give, using and improving available talents, and then give (perform)! 

Giving and receiving. "That there may be equality" (II Cor 8: 14). Nothing left over or wasted. No-one left out. Everyone blessed.

It's Soul's dance, choreographed by Love.

Thank you Paul!

Julie Swannell

What are we thinking?

We may think that Paul was received with a warm welcome and perhaps even reverence. His second letter to the Corinthians tells a different story. Here he explains that he is involved in divine warfare, that of "casting down imaginations", capturing every Christ-like thought (II Cor 10: 5).

I love verse 10: "For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible". How he made plain the doubts evident in the thought of this group at Corinth. And how meekly he concludes (verse 18) "For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth." 

It's all about God. Fancy that.

"Know the love"

II Corinthians.

Verse 4 of Chapter 2 seems to sum up Paul’s attitude to the people of Corinth:

For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have abundantly unto you.

I read through II Corinthians in the Harper Collins Study Bible – New Revised Standard Version and marked a few passages.

The first one is about the veil.  The definition of ‘veil’ in the Glossary to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (by Mary Baker Eddy) has me thinking of the Muslim religion. Eddy refers to the veils which "Jewish women wore...over their faces in token of reverence and submission" (p. 596-597).

How Paul suffered “through great endurance” for his faith – “afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger.”  He overcame through, “purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love.” (II Cor. 6:3-6) And there is more the following verses - Chapter 11:23-27 goes into detail on these trials.

We read that, “Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death” (II Cor 7: 10).

Abundant supply is covered in II Cor 9:6-10.

NRSV offers an interesting note about the serpent which beguiled Eve by its cunning - “Paul is probably thinking of the Jewish legend, that Eve was sexually seduced by Satan (the serpent) who appeared to her disguised as an angel” (II Cor 11.3 and note).

Joyce Voysey

NRSV: New Revised Standard Version of the Bible