Today’s passage from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians is out of context and the pretext for it is not apparent. It needs to be read along with 2Cor 11:12-20to understand why Paul lists all his many ordeals and sufferings as he does here. It is because the foolish Corinthians had let themselves be duped and taken advantage of by false prophets who plagued the early Apostolic Church. That was because, frankly, the very charismatic nature of the early Church made it ripe for exploitation by those who sought to take advantage of being seen as a prophet and therefore posed as such for their own benefit, leading many astray. Since there was then as yet no office of bishop nor any ecclesiastical authority, almost anyone, if they were good actors, could set themselves up as a holy man and prophet (it was always men who did these things) because there were many itinerate (wandering) preachers at that time.

Therefore, Paul is attempting to get the Corinthians (who were evidently divided about his authority) to recognize him for what he was, a true Apostle, by elaborately listing all he had endured for them. He was, in effect, shaming them into recognizing his own God-given authority. He will continue to categorize his sufferings for the Church in the verses that follow, which, unfortunately, we will not hear at the liturgy next week. They’re worth reading. They lead us to recall the Spirit’s message to Ananias in Acts 9, “I myself will show him how much he will have to suffer for the sake of the Name.” Paul is not bragging or gloating about these things (indeed, he prefaces them all by saying bluntly, “I am talking like a madman!”), they are but evidence of his true calling, for who could endure all that unless God himself had ordained him? It is as he said in 1Cor 15, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” It truly is only for the Corinthians’ good that he tells them of all these things, not for his own glorification. Paul was the humblest of men after his conversion. He simply wanted the Corinthians to accept his authority as an Apostle so that he could guide them to ever deeper spiritual waters rather than the spiritual catastrophe that would have been the case if those false prophets had succeeded in seducing them.

The only problematic aspect of all this is that we might be tempted to think that such sufferings are the lot of all who elect to truly follow Jesus. And the lives of many of the saints (or at least of the stories their lives generated) seem to bolster this belief, leading many to cease seeking true surrender out of fear that such heroics will be demanded of them as well. But that is simply not true. Only a precious few are chosen to bear great burdens for the sake of the Kingdom, and they are amply supplied with grace that far exceeds the normal precisely because they were chosen for these great missions, we know not why. The rest of us mere mortals will only be blessed with peace, freedom from fear and the joy that comes from taking on the easy and light yoke of Jesus (in the words of Psalm 23, “Only goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life!”).

Finally, one brief remark on today’s gospel passage. “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be,” says the Lord. We need to honestly, with great courage ask ourselves, where is our treasure; what do we value most? The answer to that question makes all the difference. If we cannot honestly say that our treasure is the “one thing necessary,” then we ought to ask God each day to guide our hearts to seek that treasure in heaven that nothing can ever take away from us, that lasts throughout all eternity. That treasure is love and as Paul also told the Corinthians, “Love never ends,” and if we do not have that treasure, then no matter what else we may have, we actually have nothing.