Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
Life and Death
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[13] Because God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.
[14] For he created all things that they might exist, and the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them; and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.
[15] For righteousness is immortal.
The origin of evil and death
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[23] [F]or God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity,
[24] but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.
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Commentary:
1:12-15. The central assertion here is that God is not the author of death, but that death came as a result of sin. This leads the inspired writer to see physical death as a symbol of spiritual death, which is true death, that is, permanent separation from God (cf. 3:1-9). These words become clearer in the light of 2:23-24, and from them St Paul interprets that death is a result of original sin (cf. Rom 5:12-15). These verses of Wisdom mean that we can take an optimistic view of created things; the germ of corruption does not come from creation, for God is the author of life and what God desires – righteousness – never dies.
1:16-2:24. This section describes the way the ungodly think and behave, and their error in so doing. Righteousness is immortal; but the ungodly think that life ends at death and therefore they try to strike a bargain with death (1:16-2:19). Moreover, they hound the righteous man because he thinks and acts differently from the way they do (2:10-20). They have no idea what life is all about (2:21-24).
2:21-24. The mistake of the ungodly is to think that nothing lies beyond death. But this way of thinking stems from the wickedness of their lives which prevents them from knowing God's purposes and causes them to despise the way upright people live. The inspired author takes issue with them and spells out God's plan for man and how death came to be (vv. 23-24). But here again "death" has a far-reaching meaning: it means losing that incorruptibility which, as the author sees it, lies beyond physical death. The death that entered the world through the devil's envy, the death experienced by those who belong to the devil's "party", means to be reduced to nothing, to become "dishonored corpses" (4:18), through losing the incorruptibility that comes from God. What the author is saying here presupposes the Genesis account of how man was created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26) and therefore with a seed of immortality, and how the devil tempted man to commit the original sin that resulted in the loss of immortality (cf. Gen 3-4). But the author of Wisdom goes further than that: he says that only those who belong to the devil lose the "immortality" (which he terms "incorruption") of the human person as an entity made up of soul and body. On the basis of this interpretation and in the light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, St Paul teaches that death, both physical and spiritual, reaches all human beings through the sin committed by Adam; but Christ, the new Adam, redeems all from death.
The devil, in Greek diabolos, means "accuser, calumniator" and is the usual translation given for the Hebrew "Satan". These verses do not quote Genesis explicitly, but Genesis is in the background, for it is there we find the serpent identified as God's enemy and man's. The New Testament writer remind us that the devil was a murderer from the beginning (cf. Jn 8:44); and in its account of the battle between good and bad angels, the book of Revelation will say: "The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world" (Rev 12:9).
Appeal for Generosity
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[7] Now as you excel in everything--in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in your love for us see that you excel in this gracious work also.
[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 poverty you might become rich. [13] I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, [14] but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their want, so that their abundance may supply your want, that there may be equality. [15] As it is written, "He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack."
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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 showing 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 Jerusalem 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 provinces 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 supernatural plane. He also mentions our Lord (v. 9), who, in his Incarnation and throughout his life, gave us a wonderful example of generosity and detachment.
The Apostle also appeals directly to the Corinthians, reminding them of their earlier readiness to contribute and encouraging them to complete what they started to do so eagerly.
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 charisms--"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 manuscripts, translates this as "in the love that we have given you". St Paul is referring 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.
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, poverty has produced these riches--the knowledge of God and godliness, liberation from sin, justification, sanctification, the countless good things which he has bestowed 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).
14. The spiritual abundance of the Christians of the church of Jerusalem can relieve the spiritual indigence of the new Christians of Corinth (cf. 9:12-14). St Paul also says in his Letter to the Romans in connection with this collection: "for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they agree also to be of service to them in material blessings" (15:27).
15. St Paul supports with the authority of Sacred Scripture what he has just been saying about equity (v. 14), by referring to the manna which God miraculously nourished the people of Israel in the wilderness. Everyone was gathering the manna--some more, other less--"when they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack; each gathered according to what he could eat" (Ex 16:18). St Paul is saying something similar: every Christian should have what he needs, and should be helped by his brothers in the faith wherever necessary.