Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! We've been reading the Bible clear through this year. We are finishing the New Testament, so read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

Father,

When the fullness of time had come, you sent your Word in the One who said, “Whoever sees me, sees the Father.” No revelation can surpass this until Jesus comes again. By your gift, the Church continues to receive unfathomable riches from the inheritance handed on from the Apostles and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit.

Let the Spirit who inspired the writing of today's pages "guide me in the truth and teach me" to follow Jesus ever more closely, until he calls me to follow him to the Kingdom where he lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

Today's chapters are 1 Corinthians 9-11.

To understand Paul's defensiveness in chapter 9, we have to grasp something about the role of "patrons" in the ancient world. This is sometimes called the "patron-client" relationship. In the ancient world, highly stratified societies without organized social services (whether run by governments or international organizations!) tended to structure themselves along "patron-client" lines: the wealthy ("patrons") provided jobs, commissions, public services, and even food for the poor. The recipients ("clients") aligned themselves with a patron, promoted his interests, defended his honor, and (not least!) sang his praises. Teachers, too, naturally looked for a local patron who would provide them with lodging, support, students, and (hopefully) praise. It was an exchange-based relationship. Money or goods from the patron: Services, deference, and praise (very important in the ancient world) from the client. And when a patron's interests conflicted with those of a client, it was clear whose would take precedence.

This is what Paul is rejecting by working for his own keep: He will not be beholden to anyone in the Corinthian Church. He will preserve his apostolic freedom to preach the Gospel to everyone without restraint. (This is what makes his acceptance of financial support from the community of Philippi so striking.)

In Chapter 10 we move into our most ancient description of the Christian liturgy, and in Chapter 11, our oldest written account of the Last Supper (and of the "Institution Narrative" of the Mass). The Eucharistic words are a real treasure! Paul ties the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist to the unity of the Body of Christ that is the Church community. Typically, since we are in Corinth, the whole treatment is occasioned by problematic behavior in the local Church. 

Start reading here

For additional background

N.T. Wright's Paul: A Biography is the book I would recommend to someone who wanted to read one (only one) book that combined the life and letters of St Paul. Written by a noted Scripture, this is a flowing narrative that is scripturally enlightening and historically sound. Wright gives the reader a way of following Paul through the Acts of the Apostles and the writing of his letters, making Paul the person that much more approachable, and the letters themselves more readable as a result of having a social and historical context.

While we read Paul's letters to the Corinthians, you might also enjoy A Week in the Life of Corinth. This historical novel is set in first-century Corinth and outfitted with historical footnotes and archaeological sidebars. Ben Witherington III is a Scripture scholar in the Evangelical tradition, so there are some points in which his description of the worship in the Corinthian community mirrors that tradition rather than the Jewish roots of the liturgy we know so well, but his description of the social life and values of ancient Corinth may be extremely helpful in understanding things Paul takes for granted in his letters.