Spitting – 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

A text – 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

8:7 Now as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you–so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.
8:8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.
8:9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
8:10 And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something–
8:11 now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.
8:12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has–not according to what one does not have.
8:13 I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between
8:14 your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.
8:15 As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.”

A reflection:

In this part of his letter to the believers in Corinth, Paul is requesting money. The Corinthians are rich and proud of all that they have acquired in wealth, knowledge, and worldly experience. Paul is asking them to actually give away some cash instead of saying they’d like to give away some cash. He is moving them from promising to delivering for other believers who are not as well off as they.

My friend and colleague Dr David Frederickson in a commentary on this passage mentions the number of times the words poor and rich come up in the original Greek – not just because the words are repeated, but because – imagine this – the word poor in Greek begins with pt, both letters pronounced together at the front of the mouth, causing the speaker to spit. The word rich in Greek also starts with p, but followed by l, softening it and making it a more luxurious word to say. The Greek citizens of Corinth are labeled with a p-l word, elegant and certainly not-spat-out. But the poor believers for whom Paul is requesting money can only be described by spitting on the person unlucky enough to be near you when you say the word.

Frederickson says that when Paul reminds the smug Corinthians what Jesus has done for them, it isn’t as simple as turning water to wine or even walking on water. Instead, Jesus himself goes from rich to poor, making himself despised and spat-upon, in order to give the Corinthians their heavenly heritage. I wonder, did the Corinthian believers ever understand this? How many times did the letter have to be read aloud to them, maybe with different people in the front row of listeners, to experience the despising of poverty as the Greek word for poor was spat out at them, for the point to be made. That Paul. He was clever in so many ways. Sometimes you just have to get physical to make a point. And so often we forget that Jesus did get physical, to know us humans better and love us more completely. He lived, he cared, he wept, he was tortured and humiliated, and he died. And then he broke open a pathway from deep death into eternal life. We are not the smug Corinthians, but do we get the point?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for Paul, who seemed to know his audience well enough to convey to them your deep love for human beings and your Son’s sacrifice for us. Help us always to remember that you became poor and despised for our sakes. Amen.