NOTES for Co2 7:10

Continuing the discussion of the sorrow that Paul's rebukes caused in the hearts of his Corinthian brothers, the apostle distinguishes between it as a purely psychological reaction ("worldly sorrow") and what he calls "sorrow for God's sake" (v. 10). Any reproach or rebuke, of course, cannot fail to provoke a response in the person to whom it is addressed. The human psyche, in a certain sense, is no less vulnerable than the body, and the soul's reaction to reproach and rebuke, in its sharpness and involuntary nature, resembles the body's reaction to sudden piercing pain. But the first reaction is not the same as reflection and judgment.

The causes of pain can differ, and those who cause it do not always wish us harm. Medical procedures meant to help us are often painful. The same could be said of emotional pain: those who cause it do not necessarily wish us harm at all. Resentment at pain as such is, of course, not sin; it is more a kind of spiritual immaturity, an unwillingness to understand the cause and learn to distinguish it from the effect. But if that resentment turns against the people who caused the pain, the situation changes.

Of course, there are cases when pain is inflicted maliciously, and then resentment is fully justified. But sometimes pain is caused with the good of the sufferer in view, when that good cannot be reached otherwise, or it is caused unintentionally; then rejection and repulsion toward the one who causes the pain can become a sin against a person who is not at all guilty of the sufferer's distress. The right attitude toward someone who has become, willingly or unwillingly, a source of pain can come only from understanding the situation, not from the first immediate reaction. And if that understanding is sound, then a just rebuke becomes an impulse leading to repentance and a new turning (v. 11). In that case the person rebuked is no longer grieved by the emotional pain of hearing the rebuke, but by the sin that called it forth. The relationship between the one rebuked and the one who rebukes then naturally does not suffer, and Paul, seeing that this is the case, rejoices over the success of his rebuke (vv. 12-16). And not only because his relationship with the Corinthian church was not damaged, but above all because only an adequate spiritual assessment of rebuke allows the person rebuked not to lose the Kingdom to which the apostle's whole life bore witness.

An important point for us in this passage is Paul’s distinction between “worldly sorrow” and “sorrow for God.” We understand very well what “worldly sorrow” is. But how does sorrow for God differ from it, and do they have anything in common at all? How can this be combined with Paul’s call to “rejoice always” (where is that from)? How can we understand the difference between the repentance God desires from a person and self-torment, “self-abasement worse than pride”? Paul proposes one possible criterion: their fruits. Where does sorrow ultimately lead; is there any way out of it? Does that way out correspond to the Gospel?

In today’s reading the apostle Paul emphasizes that holiness is the norm of life to which all Christians are called. The logic of his words rests on what he wrote in the preceding lines, at the end of chapter 6 (although the original letter, like all manuscripts of the first centuries, was not divided into chapters, so the thought was not interrupted). Thus, the apostle spoke of God’s promise to adopt the disciples of Christ as His children. Then, in today’s reading, he continues: precisely because this promise has been given to us, we should cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. Not for the sake of the state of the body or spirit in itself, but for the sake of the promise, because God receives us. The words “perfecting holiness (άγιοσύνη, holiness) in the fear of God” speak precisely of reverent awe before the unmerited and immeasurable love of the Almighty. This is important because we are prone to succumb to the temptation of asceticism for its own sake. That is not what is needed at all. As the Lord Himself says: if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. Only then will we find the desire, the strength, and the ability to do so. This is why the central theme of the apostles’ preaching is Christ’s self-giving love on the cross, not threats of retribution.