Today’s scripture: 2 Cor 11:16-33 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Don Clark):
Why do we never hear ‘prosperity preachers’ and televangelists preach these verses? It looks like it would undermine everything they say!
Paul has some very powerful images to bring to bear in his letter to the Corinthian church. Apparently Christians being taken advantage of is not just a 21st century problem. Paul seems very concerned about the “shenanigans” of “egomaniacs of the pulpit” (The Message interpretation). So Paul asks the Corinthians to give him some space to act like a fool and rant. And he is good at it!
Paul starts out with a real pedigree. He is a Hebrew of Hebrews, a true child of Abraham. Is he a follower of Christ? You bet! And he has those credentials to provide as well. And he unleashes a volley of experiences that should make a television evangelist blush. He has worked harder and produced more than they. He has spent more time in prison, been beaten more and been near death because of his ministry than they have. Five times he was severely punished by 39 stripes (Just like Jesus we might add!) Three times he was beaten by rods. He was stoned (in the biblical sense.) He was shipwrecked three times and spent a day and a night adrift at sea. He travelled more (and not on a private jet!) and faced danger of all kind; on rivers, by robbers, by his own people and by false believers, and pagans. There was danger in the city and the country, danger on land and sea. He toiled hard and suffered much hardship. He suffered sleepless nights, and endured hunger and thirst, almost starving and exposed to cold and the other elements. And unlike some modern day self-proclaimed apostles and prophets, this real apostle suffered anxiety attacks over the churches he served. And after all this ranting he says (in our verse number 30) that if he is going to brag, boast or rant about anything, it will be the things that show his weakness!
This is so contrary to the modern Americanized Christianity that so many are exposed to today. One of my favorite strains of theology in seminary was Latin American Liberation Theology which posited that God is always on the side of the oppressed, the dispossessed, the outcast, the untouchable and castaway. Looking at Hebrew and Christian scripture through this lens will indeed uncover a divine plot by God to turn things upside down in favor of the exiled ones.
Why do we tolerate an idea that if God is on our side (and God is) we will be rich, popular, and healthy? Doesn’t your bible say that it rains on the righteous as well as the unrighteous? Could it be that God really works through those ruinous and uneasy parts of our lives as well as and maybe more than the good times? Did Paul (or Christ!) ever promise prosperity, healing, or popularity for a thousand dollar pledge or anything like that? Of course not! Paul ends this part of the discourse with a snippet about the Governor of Damascus trying to capture him and having the believers drop him over the city walls in a basket with ropes to escape (wasn’t Moses in a basket escape as well!?) These passages of scripture let us see the great Apostle to the Gentiles (heathen!) as a basket case in a couple different ways!
Thought for the day: Could it be that God takes great pleasure in showing up in our weaknesses instead of those things we would normally boast of? It is in our greatest weakness that God’s majesty can be most acclaimed.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.