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The Macedonians’ Good Example
Appeal for Generosity
[8] I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that
your love also is genuine. [9] For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his pover-
ty you might become rich.
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Commentary:
8:1-9:15. Now, taking for granted that the Corinthians trust him once more, the
Apostle begins the second part of his letter (chaps. 8-9), which has to do with
the collection for the faithful in Jerusalem, a collection which he organized not
only in Corinth but also in the other churches he had founded (cf. Rom 15:26; 1
Cor 16:1). This was indeed one of the points about which the apostolic council
at Jerusalem (cf. Gal 2:10; Acts 15) reminded the churches to remember the
poor, something St Paul always tried to do, as we can see clearly from
these pages.
In addition to alleviating the material needs of the “saints”—that is, the Christians
(cf. 1:1)—of the mother church, the Apostle sees this collection as a way of sho-
wing the fraternal unity Gentile converts have with that church (cf. 9:12-14).
He had already taken this matter up in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; in fact, even before
that, a year earlier, the Corinthians had indicated that they wanted to help Jeru-
salem and had begun to collect funds (cf. 8:10; 9:2). He must be bringing it up
again — and at length — because the fervor of the Corinthians’ first charity must
have cooled somewhat due to the crisis in the Corinthian church.
It is interesting to note how delicately the Apostle broaches this subject: in the
original text there is no mention of “money” or “alms”. Instead, he uses more a
spiritual vocabulary—”grace”, “willing gift”, “love”, “relief of the saints”.
St Paul begins by citing the generosity of the Macedonians (8:1-6), and he then
goes on to appeal to the Corinthians (8:7-15). After recommending those whom
he is sending to organize the collection (8:16-24), he asks that it be done without
delay (9:1-5) and reminds them of the blessings that almsgiving brings (9:6-15).
1-15. St Paul wants to get the Corinthians to be generous. First, he points to the
example given by the Macedonians (vv. 1-6). Macedonia was one of the two pro-
vinces into which the Romans had divided Greece; Achaia, the other, had Corinth
as its capital (cf. note on 1:1-2). In Macedonia, from where the Apostle is writing,
there were Christian communities at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Beroea, which
he had founded during his second missionary journey (cf. Acts 16:17:15). He
plays on the natural rivalry between the two provinces, raising it onto a superna-
tural plane. He also mentions our Lord (v. 9), who, in his Incarnation and through-
out his life, gave us a wonderful example of generosity and detachment.
The Apostle also appeals directly to the Corinthians, reminding them of their ear-
lier readiness to contribute and encouraging them to complete what they started
to do so eagerly.
1-6. The Macedonians, he points out, have been remarkably generous; despite
their poverty they have regarded it as a grace to be able to help their brothers in
the faith (v. 4); and not only did they help materially—and beyond their means (vv.
3, 5)—but they also contributed personnel (v. 5).
These Christians in Macedonia provide us with a fine example of magnanimity:
they could easily have felt excused from coming to the aid of their brothers, in
view of their own poverty; instead they were more than generous in almsgiving.
“Magnanimity”, St. Escriva teaches, “means greatness of spirit, a largeness of
heart wherein many can find refuge. Magnanimity gives us the energy to break
out of ourselves and be prepared to undertake generous tasks which will be of
benefit to all. Small-mindedness has no home in the magnanimous heart, nor
has meanness, nor egoistic calculation, nor self-interested trickery. The magna-
nimous person devotes all his strength, unstintingly, to what is worthwhile. As
a result he is capable of giving himself. He is not content with merely giving. He
gives his very self. He thus comes to understand that the greatest expression
of magnanimity consists in giving oneself to God” (”Friends of God”, 80).
1. “The grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia”: it
is not possible to translate this phrase literally. St Paul seems to be saying two
things: on the one hand, he is referring to the collection, which he calls “grace”,
made by the churches of Macedonia; but this generous work of charity is, at the
same time, a grace of God to the Macedonians. The Greek preposition transla-
ted as “in” has this dual meaning.
The term “grace” appears quite often in chapters 8 and 9, with different nuances:
sometimes it refers to God’s benevolence and love towards men (cf. 8:9); some-
times to the blessings the Christians enjoy (cf. 9:8, 14); and also to the works
of charity which this divine grace helps them to carry out (cf. 8:1, 4, 6, 7, 19: on
some occasions RSV has “favor”).
2. St Paul stresses the paradox of the Christian life—joy in tribulation, wealth in
poverty (cf. 7:4). This point would possibly have been useful for the Corinthians,
among whom the pride of some had given rise to considerable dissension (cf. 1
Cor 1:10-4:21; 6:1-11; 8:8-13). The afflictions to which he refers may have gone
back to the very earliest days of these communities (cf. Acts 16:20ff; 17:5ff). He
also refers to them in 1 Thess 1:6; 2:14ff.
5. The wonderful generosity of those early Christians of Macedonia — of Philippi,
Thessalonica and Beroea — is borne out by the fact that they gave not only mate-
rial aid but their very selves, for, comments St Thomas Aquinas, “that is the or-
der that should obtain in giving — that he first be acceptable to God, for if one is
not pleasing to God, neither will one’s gifts be acceptable” (”Commentary on 2
Cor, ad loc.”).
In referring to the generous dedication of these Christians, St Paul may have in
mind of some his most loyal co-workers, who came from these communities —
for example, Lydia and Epaphroditus, from Philippi (cf. Acts 16:11ff; Phil 2:25ff);
Sopater, from Beroea; Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica (cf. Acts
20:3-5).
7-15. The Apostle now appeals directly to the generosity of the Corinthians and
reminds them of our Lord’s example (v. 9). They are already noted for other cha-
risms — “in faith, in utterance, in knowledge” (cf. 1 Cor 1:5; 12:8f); now they
should be seen to be outstanding in charity. He tells them this is not a command
but rather advice (vv. 8, 10) and then encourages them to complete the collection
they have begun; it is not designed to impoverish them but to have them help
those in need.
7. “In your love for us”: the New Vulgate, which relies on the best Greek manu-
scripts, translates this as “in the love that we have given you”. St Paul is refer-
ring to Christian charity towards others, in which he formed them during the
years when he preached to them. The variant, found in RSV and other versions,
is not in our opinion as suitable to the context.
8. “By the earnestness of others”: this must be a reference to the generosity of
the Macedonians, whose example he has just proposed to them.
9. Jesus Christ is the example of detachment and generosity. Our Lord, because
he is God, was in need of nothing; but by becoming man he voluntarily despoiled
himself of the splendor of his divinity (cf. Phil 2:6f) and lived on earth as a poor
man—from his birth in poverty in Bethlehem to his death on the cross; sometimes
he did not even have the bare necessities of life (cf. Lk 9:58).
“If you do not believe that poverty is enriching,” St John Chrysostom comments,
“picture your Lord and you will doubt me no longer. For had he not become poor,
you could not have become rich. By a miracle which men cannot understand, po-
verty has produced these riches—the knowledge of God and godliness, liberation
from sin, justification, sanctification, the countless good things which he has be-
stowed on us and will bestow on us in the future. All those things have accrued
to us through his poverty — through his taking our flesh and becoming man and
suffering what he suffered. And yet, unlike us, he did not deserve punishment
and suffering” (”Hom. on 2 Cor.”, 17)
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.