St Paul Session #4

Session 4 was held on Tuesday, July 22 from 7:15 to 9:00 pm. Fr. Sebastian presided. There was a GREAT turnout; 16 round tables with 5-8 people per table.

Anita started the gathering by noting that the Pope’s message from World Youth Week in Australia was—make time for personal prayer!

Fr. Sebastian remarked that today was the feast of Mary Magdalene and she shows us that there is always a possibility of change—change for the better.

Fr. Sebastian provided a copy of his notes (attached, see p. 13-17) that were presented as a series of overhead slides.


Fr. Covered the first part of 2 Corinthians; Chapters 1-9.15. St. Paul was a tremendous example of conversion to Christ and we will be hearing more about this over the 9 weeks.

For 2 Corinthians we need to understand the background—why Paul wrote the 2nd letter. Paul formed the Church in Corinth and later sent Timothy to teach there. But Timothy reported that there were lots of problems in the Church. So, Paul went back himself and he was humiliated and rejected by the people. He went back to Athens and wrote a letter to the people instead of making another trip. He expressed his emotions in a tearful manner. Titus took the letter and the people were very moved. In fact they sent Paul money to help the Church in Jerusalem. Paul responded in another letter to their generosity. Thus, 2 Corinthians is made up of a number of letters from different times.

There are three main parts to the letter;
I. Crisis, chapters 1-7
II. Theology of Sharing, Chapters 8-9
III. Response to challenges to Paul’s authority, Chapter 10-13

Parts I and II are covered today and part III will be covered next week by the Msgr.

Apollo preached the philosophy of Plato—wisdom and freedom. His followers were called the Spirit People. They emphasized the Glorified Christ. Later St Paul showed the people that you cannot separate the Glorified Christ from the Crucified Christ—they must go together.

In these early days the center of the Church moved form Jerusalem to Antioch and then finally to Rome.

The Jewish Christians of the time (Judaizers) came from Antioch and emphasized the Mosaic Law. In contrast though this, Paul taught conversion to the gentiles, and not rituals. A representative sent from the Church in Antioch (a Judaizer) came to Corinth and questioned Paul’s authority to teach-he did not have a letter of introduction from a Church, and he was not teaching per the Mosaic laws.

Paul’s response to this challenge included:
Smart Diplomacy
Crisis Management
& Forgiveness

Any community has ACTORS = the performers (get things done)

And REACTORS they need to move up

In a typical community of family you find;
1. Leaders
2. Contributors—all can contribute their gifts
3. Sleepers—indifferent or passive
4. Critics—ok only if constructive
All members of the community should strive to be #1 or #2.

St Paul explained a Theology of Ministry;
God is the source of authority, not another Church via a letter of recommendation. In Paul’s case Jesus asked him to preach (on the road to Damascus), he founded the Church of Corinth, and the people of Corinth are thus his recommendation letter.
Appreciation of the Superior Status or Quality of Christian Ministry;
The New Covenant which is written on our hearts leads to glory and freedom
While the Old Covenant which is being renewed is written in stone and is external leading to death
A Christian community is based on love for one another, not on rituals.
Paul’s ministry is the extension of Jesus’ ministry.

St Paul said that suffering/sacrifice and life are inseparable (starting with birth)—
Jesus created new Life (in the New Covenant) by his suffering
A minister must also be willing to sacrifice
Leading to Apostleship

Note that all religions except 2 (Buddhism and Janusism) believe in resurrection in some manner.

Resurrection of the body leads to a continuity from mortal to risen
A transformation
To view a person as a Spirit, a New Creation

We are HOLY by participating in the mission of Jesus; reconciliation.

Part II covers the interdependence/connection of the various churches throughout the world, especially with respect to money
Bounty shared among the various churches
Will lift up others and give them Life