We are continuing a study on the readings from 1 Corinthians during Epiphany season. Today we look at this upcoming week’s reading from 1 Corinthians 2:1-12.
A Pivot After Failure? – Paul starts off chapter 2 by reminiscing about his time in Corinth. Acts 18 tells us that Paul went to Corinth directly after having been in Athens where he had his famous “Mars Hill” debate with the Athenian philosophers. Even though Christians normally regard Paul’s debate at Mars Hill to be a marvel of contextualizing theology with popular culture (Paul makes connections to God from Greek poetry and an altar to the unknown god), it appears that Paul may have seen his Mars Hill experience as a failure because when he gets to Corinth he “did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.” 
Reminiscing – Regardless of the reason for Paul’s approach to the Corinthians, he does reminisce about his first time in Corinth. He reminds the Corinthians that he came with three things: a.) simplicity rather than elaborate wisdom, b.) weakness, fear, and much trembling, c.) demonstrations of God’s power rather than men’s power (and seemingly, rather than his own power). The rest of Scripture seems to show that Paul was an excellent orator, so we do wonder what it was that caused him to seemingly abandon his strengths when first speaking with the Corinthians.
Secret Wisdom – We might start to wonder about Paul initially when he tells the Corinthians that “we impart a secret and hidden wisdom.” Yet this wisdom is far from being like the hidden rituals of a secret society. What Paul means is that the wisdom of God is hidden in Scripture, the Scripture that forms Christians and is different than the mode of operation for the outside world. We see this “secret” still today when people marvel at why Christians do seemingly counter intuitive things like forgive one another, care for the sick and poor, and dwell in unity despite sociological differences. All of this has been and still is our “secret wisdom” given by the Holy Spirit.
Depth of God – The end of this reading explains a part of the role of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the very life of God that understands the depth of the Father in a way that is deeper even than just mere intellect. Our personalities, our faith, our being, our love – all of these are the deeper things of who we are as humans, things that we understand as being in the realm of our spirits. Likewise, the Spirit of God understands and communicates God’s depth beyond intellect or understanding.
The Soul of the World – In an early Christian document, “the letter to Diognetus,” the anonymous author states that “What the soul is to the body, that is what Christians are to the world.” In this segment of 1 Corinthians, Paul seems to be explaining that the way that Christians get to understand how to “be the soul of the world” is to embrace the Spirit who animates our own souls – that Spirit who reveals His wisdom to us in Word and in Sacrament.