November 19, 2021 – 2 Corinthians 10:1-18

“I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards. Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. We are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.

Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we. Now, even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. I do not want to seem as though I am trying to frighten you with my letters. For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.” Let such people understand that what we say by letter when absent, we will also do when present.” 2 Cor. 10:1-11

It appears that the Corinthians had actually sunk to taunting Paul about his personal appearance — they jeered that he was weak, and they scoffed that he was no speaker. It is possible that they were right. A description of Paul’s personal appearance has come down to us from a very early book called “The Acts of Paul and Thecla”, which dates back to about A.D. 200. It is so unflattering of Paul’s appearance describing him as “a man of little stature, thin-haired upon the head, crooked in the legs, of good state of body, with eyebrows meeting, and with nose somewhat hooked, full of grace, for sometimes he appeared like a man and sometimes he had the face of an angel.”

It appears the Corinthians had actually sunk to taunting Paul about his personal appearance — they jeered that he was weak, and they scoffed that he was no speaker. It is possible that they were right. A description of Paul’s personal appearance has come down to us from a very early book called “The Acts of Paul and Thecla”, which dates back to circa A.D. 200. It is so unflattering of Paul’s appearance describing him as “a man of little stature, thin-haired upon the head, crooked in the legs, of good state of body, with eyebrows meeting, and with nose somewhat hooked, full of grace, for sometimes he appeared like a man and sometimes he had the face of an angel.”

So let’s review — it appears that Paul was a short, balding, bandy-legged man, with a hooked nose and shaggy eyebrows. And no, this is not a very impressive picture – but neither was Gandhi, or Mother Theresa, or even possibly Jesus. And while it may well be that the Corinthians made fun of him, we also know that while the outside appearance may seem slight, frail, or even “ugly”, what is inside is what really matters.

William Wilberforce was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement in the United Kingdom to abolish the slave trade. A native of Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming an independent Member of Parliament. One description of him went like this: He was so small and so frail that it seemed that even a strong wind might knock him down. But once Boswell heard him speak in public and afterwards said, “I saw what seemed to me a shrimp mount upon the table, but, as I listened, he grew and grew until the shrimp became a whale.“

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, help me remember that it is not the size of the man or woman or their appearance that makes them a leader in the church, but the size of their willingness to make an appearance and speak up for Jesus and his love, mercy and grace. Amen.

Pastor Dave