2 Corinthians 2:12-17, Triumph in Christ

12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Reflection:

Paul went to Macedonia to find Titus, who was returning from Corinth. Titus was a Greek and probably one of Paul’s converts. Paul trusted him with delicate commissions as a US president would with a secretary of state. Paul was so concerned about the Corinthians that he passed up a good opportunity to evangelize Troas and went quickly to Macedonia.

“Triumphal procession” is a curious phrase. It seems to refer to being led around in a Roman procession of triumph. Paul is not saying that he is being led around in triumph, but rather that, like captives in a triumphal process, he is being treated rudely while in the service of God. Evidence from the early first century period strongly suggests that those being led in the triumph were being led to their own execution. The aroma may come from the practice of sprinkling spices in front of the procession by the people or it may just be the smell of the prisoners!

As God drags Paul around as his slave, the knowledge of Christ emanates from Paul wherever he goes. He is the sweet aroma of Christ, at least to those being saved. But for those who are perishing the smell is repulsive: it is the smell of death that leads to death. God leads his own agent (Paul) through the empire in order to reveal his own presence, precisely through the weakness of his agent. Paul asks who is equal to this task of conveying the very presence of Christ and his character and “smell” to the world. To carry this out is to be Christlike to the core, and in Paul’s mind, no one is up to the task. Yet the very course of Paul’s life reveals God because his life reveals the message and meaning of picking up one’s cross to follow Jesus.

Here we are at the heart of one of the great Pauline paradoxes: power in weakness, victory in death, and a victory procession that leads to death—eventually Paul’s own death. The Corinthians were looking for a leader powerful in speech, deeds, and personal presence, exuding confidence as an agent of God. Paul does not fit their bill, and perhaps that is the argument against him. To the Corinthians, he is no apostle.

Reflection:

How do you reconcile the Pauline paradoxes? Lord, give me the wisdom to know and live in these paradoxes.