RBWords

    

     St. Paul was not the only Christian preacher of his time.  There were others and the message being preached was not always in accord with what St. Paul was preaching.  There is no question that he had invested a great amount of energy and time and effort in building the community at Corinth.  His emotional connection with that community comes through loud and clear in today's passage.  The Corinthians seem to be accepting a "message" from some "super apostles" that St. Paul calls (in yesterday's passage) "another Jesus than the one we preached."  These other preachers appear to have submitted credentials to support their preaching, so Paul submits his, and it is a terrifying list of challenges and hardships.  That is what "these things" means in the quote given above!

     This all seems to come down to a question not of "What do you believe?" but "WHOM do you believe?"  Yet, there is a connection.  When St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers, the challenge was to find preachers whose lives were sufficient credentials for the message they were preaching.  The heretics were living admirable lives, so people were accepting their message.  St. Paul submits his own life to the Corinthians as sufficient credentials for the message that he was preaching!  Can we say the same?  There are many "competing" messages in our culture.  Is our "message" being drowned out because our life-style appears no different from the culture around us?  He is frustrated but his situation is one that continues to challenge all of us, especially those of us who are in full time ministry.  How can the message shine out from the way we live?  AMEN