2 Corinthians
Chapter 2
So, I canceled a visit that would have been upsetting again.
If I make you sad, who will make me happy, if not you whom I have grieved?
Remember what I wrote to you, ‘May it be that when I come, I do not feel sad because of you, who should rather make me happy.’ I trust everyone, and I am sure that my joy will be your joy as well.
So afflicted and worried was I when I wrote to you that I even shed tears. I did not intend to cause you pain, but rather to let you know of the immense love that I have for you.
Forgiveness for the Offender
If anyone has caused me pain, he has hurt not me, but in some measure, (I do not wish to exaggerate) all of you.
The punishment that he received from the majority is enough for him.
Now you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest excessive sorrow discourage him.
So I beg you to treat him with love.
This is why I wrote to you: to test you and see if you would obey in everything.
The one you forgive, I also forgive. And what I forgave, if I had anything to forgive, I did so for your benefit in the presence of Christ,
lest Satan takes advantage of us, because we are aware of his schemes.
So I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, and the Lord opened doors for me.
However, I couldn’t find my brother Titus there, so I wasn’t at peace. I took my leave and headed to Macedonia.
Prisoner of Christ’s Triumph
Thanks be to God, who always guides us in the victorious walk of Christ and, through us, spreads the knowledge of him everywhere like a fragrance.
We are Christ’s fragrance rising up to God and perceived by both those who are saved and those who are lost.
To some, it smells like death and brings them to death. To others, it is the fragrance of life and leads them to life.
But who is deserving of such a mission? Unlike many who profit from the word of God, we speak sincerely: everything comes from God and is spoken in his presence through Christ.
Commentaries
Reasons for the Change of Plans.
Paul justifies the change of plans and the cancellation of his visit: he preferred to write them a letter rather than cause excessive tension with his presence. It was very difficult for the Apostle to write this severe, harsh letter—anguish, anxiety, tears—because he loves the Corinthians. These specific problems with the Corinthians gave Paul the opportunity to highlight the characteristics of all apostolic ministry or Christian leadership, as valid then as now.
Forgiveness for the Offender.
Although it seems there is only one offended party, the offense, just punishment, and forgiveness have a communal dimension. Someone influential in Corinth had stirred others against Paul, and everyone should have seen themselves as offended. In a community gathering, moved by the Apostle’s stern letter, the ‘majority’ punished the guilty person, perhaps by temporarily excluding him from the community. The individual has repented and is suffering deeply; it is time to lift the punishment so it does not destroy him; it is time to reconcile him with love.
Prisoner of Christ’s Triumph.
Paul begins a session of theology and apology for his apostleship. He starts with thanksgiving to God for being associated with Christ’s triumphal procession. He rejoices in being a prisoner for Christ, spreading his fragrance, which is the preaching of the Gospel. It is normal that the Gospel, proclaimed from poverty and contradiction, is difficult to accept. It has always been this way. If proclaiming the Gospel is a matter of life and death, what credentials will prove the authenticity of the Apostle? Who is worthy of it? (16). Only those who, like him, “speak sincerely, as envoys of God, in the presence of God, and as members of Christ” (17).