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From: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10
St Paul, a True Servant of Christ
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Commentary:
1-10. St Paul concludes his long defense of his apostolic ministry (cf. 3:1-6:10)
by saying that he has always tried to act as a worthy servant of God. First he
calls on the Corinthians to have a sense of responsibility so that the grace of
God be not ineffective in them (vv. 1-2), and then he briefly describes the afflic-
tions this ministry has meant for him. Earlier, he touched on this subject (cf.
4:7-12), and he will deal with it again in 11:23-33.
1-2. St Paul exhorts the faithful not to accept the grace of God in vain-which
would happen if they did not cultivate the faith and initial grace they received in
Baptism and if they neglected the graces which God continues to send them.
This exhortation is valid for all Christians: “We receive the grace of God in vain”,
St Francis de Sales points out, “when we receive it at the gate of our heart,
without allowing it to enter: we receive it without receiving it; we receive it with-
out fruit, since there is no use in feeling the inspiration if one does not consent
unto it. And just as the sick man who has the medicine in his hands, if he takes
only part of it, will only partially benefit from it, so too, when God sends a great
and mighty inspiration to move us to embrace his love, if we do not avail of it in
its entirety, we shall benefit from it only partially” (”Treatise on the Love of God”,
book 2, chap. 11).
The Apostle urges them to cultivate the grace they have been given, using a quo-
tation from Isaiah (49:8): the right time has come, the day of salvation. His words
recall our Lord’s preaching in the synagogue of Nazareth (cf. Lk 4:16-21).
The “acceptable time” will last until Christ comes in glory at the end of the world
(in the life of the individual, it will last until the hour of his death); until then, every
day is “the day of salvation”: “’Ecce none dies salutis’, the day of salvation is
here before us. The call of the good shepherd has reached us: ‘”ego vocavi te no-
mine too”, I have called you by name’ (Is 43:1). Since love repays love, we must
reply: ‘”ecce ego quia vocasti me”, Here I am, for you called me’ (1 Sam 3:5) [...].
I will be converted, I will turn again to the Lord and love him as he wants to be
loved” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 59).
3. St Paul had previously warned the Corinthians of the danger of being a stum-
bling block for others (cf. 1 Cor 8:8-13). All Christians need to heed this warning,
especially those who have positions of greater responsibility in the Church. The
Apostle feels urged by this duty to live always as a “servant of God”, ensuring
that his conduct is always in accord with what he preaches and avoiding doing
anything which could in any way be misunderstood (cf. 1 Cor 9:12; 10:32f).
4-10. In these verses the Apostle outlines what his desire to be a faithful servant
of God has involved. We can distinguish four parts in this short description: first
he speaks of the sufferings he has borne with great patience (vv. 4f); then of the
virtues which help him overcome these severe trials (vv. 6-7a); then of the wea-
pons which he uses in this difficult spiritual combat (vv. 7b-8a); and finally, in a
series of antitheses he contrasts human judgments of himself and his co-workers,
with the true facts (vv. 8b-10).
“These words of the Apostle”, Monsignor Escriva comments, “should make you
happy, for they are, as it were, a ratification of your vocation as ordinary Chris-
tians in the middle of the world, sharing with others—your equals—the enthusiasms,
the sorrows and the joys of human life. All this is a way to God. What God asks
of you is that you should, always, act as his children and servants.
“But these ordinary circumstances of life will be a divine way only if we really
change ourselves, if we really give ourselves. For St Paul uses hard words. He
promises that the Christian will have a hard life, a life of risk and of constant ten-
sion. How we disfigure Christianity if we try to turn it into something nice and
comfortable! But neither is it correct to think that this deep, serious way of life,
which is totally bound up with all the difficulties of human existence, is some-
thing full of anguish, oppression or fear.
“The Christian is a realist. His supernatural and human realism helps him appre-
ciate all the aspects of his life—sorrow and joy, his own and other people’s suf-
fering, certainty and doubt, generosity and selfishness. The Christian experiences
all this, and he confronts it all, with human integrity and with the strength he re-
ceives from God” (”Christ Is Passing By”, 60).
4-5. Patience, which enables the Apostle to endure all his difficulties, is a virtue
necessary for the Christian’s life, which helps him endure physical or moral pain
with residence, peace and serenity. St Teresa of Avila has a poem which touches
on this: “Let nothing disturb thee; let nothing dismay thee; all things pass; God
never changes; patience attains all that it strives for. He who has God finds he
lacks nothing: God alone suffices” (”Poems”, 30).
6-7. Forbearance is a virtue which helps us to seek a very distant good, one
which will take a long time to obtain, and to endure this delay without losing
heart. St Paul includes it among the fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22).
“By the Holy Spirit”: that is, directed in apostolic work by the Holy Spirit, who
enlightens him in his preaching and moves the hearts of his hearers, preparing
them to accept the Gospel.
“By truthful speech”: St Paul has already spoken to the Corinthians about this,
by pointing to the sincerity of his preaching, the fact that he does not mislead
them or flatter them (cf. 2:17; 4:2). It is not the preacher’s skill but the “power
of God” that causes his message to be accepted (cf. 1 Cor 2:4f).
7-8. “The weapons of righteousness”: St Paul also calls these the “armor of light”
(Rom 13:12) as opposed to that of iniquity (cf. Rom 6:13) and worldly weapons
(cf. 2 Cor 10:4), and he will write further about this, using the metaphor of com-
batants of his time: “Take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to with-
stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded
your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and ha-
ving shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all taking
the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God” (Eph 6:13-17).
This reference in v. 7 to weapons for the right hand and for the left comes from
the practice of soldiers, who wielded offensive weapons — lance and sword —
with one hand and carried defensive weapons—the shield—in the other.
8-10. In seven antitheses the Apostle contrasts his enemies’ mistaken opinions
about himself and his co-workers, with the true facts. As a faithful follower of our
Lord, he bears out what Jesus said would happen: “A disciple is not above his
teacher, nor a servant above his master; it is enough for the disciple to be like
his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the
house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (Mt
10:24f).
It is quite possible for a disciple of Christ to meet up with opposition from people
who misread his actions or his intentions, for there are some who “when they
discover something which is clearly good, poke at it to see if there is not some-
thing bad hidden underneath” (St Gregory the Great, “Moralia”, 6, 22). As in St
Paul’s case, disciples should keep on working, and not let themselves become
disillusioned or bitter: “With me it is a very small thing I should be judged by
you” (1 Cor 4:3).
10. “Always rejoicing”: even in the midst of severe difficulties St Paul always ma-
nages to remain cheerful. Joy is a Christian gift, the result of divine filiation—our
realization that God is our Father, that he is all-powerful and that he has bound-
less love for us; it is something we should never lose: “let them be sad who are
determined not to recognize that they are children of God” (St. J. Escriva,
“Friends of God”, 108).
“As having nothing, yet possessing everything”: “They have nothing and possess
everything who are the lovers of God, for when they lack earthly things, they are
content to say, ‘My Lord, you alone are enough for me’, and that leaves them fully
satisfied” (St Alphonsus, “The Love of Jesus Christ Reduced to Practice”, chap.
14).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.