Farewell Sermon - Letters and Clay Jars

Paul was clearly having problems with the church at Corinth. You can see from his opening sentence in this chapter that he was under criticism. They thought he was always promoting himself and wasn't nearly as good as he thought he was. They'd clearly forgotten that he'd spent 18 months of his life teaching them and building them up.

So how does he respond?

He says, he doesn't need to commend himself because he has them as his letter of commendation. Their spiritual maturity, that they're so proud of, is his CV. He says they're a letter prepared by him and the other apostles, but written with the Spirit of the living God.

I chose this passage because it has a certain resonance with how I feel about St Thomas'. Not that I've experienced the sort of criticism that Paul experienced. In fact the opposite: people have been far too kind, far too blind to my shortcomings. But there is this we have in common: all the commendations people have been making over the last couple of weeks are unnecessary because this congregation is all I need to show that God has been with me. Like Paul, I too can say that you're written on my heart. In fact one of the temptations we'll face as we leave here and look for another church to belong to will be the temptation to compare other churches to this wonderful church.

So, has all the praise you've heaped on me valid? Am I really as good as some of you want to make out?

If you think that then I'm afraid you haven't been listening to me for the past 18