Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Octoechos Tone 2. Our Venerable Father Cyriacus the Anchorite (c. 448-556).
2 Corinthians 11:31-12:9. Luke 6:31-36.
Read 2 Corinthians 11:31-12:9
The Church at Corinth is in grave danger. Superficially impressive preachers were captivating the Christians there and leading them astray. About Paul, they were saying, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” (2 Corinthians 10:10)
Paul’s response was, “I think that I am not in the least inferior to these superlative apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not in knowledge.” (2 Corinthians 11:5-6)
Paul’s opponents were boastful of what they claimed to know. “But when they measure themselves by one another, and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. For it is not the man who commends himself that is accepted, but the man whom the Lord commends.” (2 Corinthians 10:12,18)
Paul pointed out that, if he were to engage in boasting of his knowledge and spiritual experience, like his opponents, he could authentically boast about a lot – “Though if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I shall be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.” Therein lies the Corinthian spiritual problem: they were predisposed to not think highly enough of the exemplary spiritual living that could be seen and heard in Paul. He urged them to “look at what is before your eyes.” (2 Corinthians 10:7)
The best way to be predisposed to sifting out spiritual truth from error in the barrage of humanity coming at us every day is to, like Paul, live by the dictum, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” that the power of Christ may rest upon us.