11th Week in Ordinary Time: Friday 21st June 2019

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul contrasts the criteria used by the Corinthians and by himself on what makes an apostle. For Paul, since the Corinthians were taken by those who boasts of their “worldly achievements”, he too indulges in boasting about his own “worldly achievements.” In terms of birth and religious standing, Paul is as qualified as the others. In fact, Paul has more to boast because of the sufferings he had endured. It seems as though there is no physical suffering that Paul has not experienced!

Although he boasts about his “worldly achievements” Paul informs the Corinthians that he qualifies as an apostle not a result of the trials which he suffered for Christ, but because of the Christ’s mercy and healing in his life. By this, Paul’s comparison between the Corinthians’ criteria of an apostle and that of himself is different. For Paul, it is not his human qualifications but rather, his human weakness and dependence of God’s grace that determines him as an apostle.

Today, we are reminded by Paul about comparing ourselves with others in doing God’s work or in using human standards to determine who is best qualified to serve God. According to Paul, it is not about how “qualified” a person is but about how much he or she recognises our limitations and realises our total dependence on God: “My grace is sufficient for you; my power is at its best in weakness”.

Lord, I depend on Your grace.