NEW TESTAMENT: 2 Corinthians 13: 11 - 13 (all)

2Cor 13:11 (NRSV) Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

h/t montreal Anglican


This letter, which Paul now concludes, shows a lack of harmony among Corinthian Christians. Paul exhorts them to restore the “order” and “peace” which God expects. The “holy kiss” (v. 12) was a symbol of communal love among Christians; it was shared at the Eucharist. The “saints” are other Christians. Note the order in v. 13: the “grace of ... Christ” leads us to “the love of God”; this love flows into common participation in God and with each other. This verse is known as the Grace.

Verse 12: “a holy kiss”: See also Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14. [NOAB] [NJBC]
Verse 12: “saints”: Christians in western Macedonia or Illyricum (Albania and Montenegro). [NJBC]
Verse 13: Ephesians 5:23 is comparable with this triadic tradition, which is not a trinitarian formula in the dogmatic sense. [NJBC]
Verse 13: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ”: See also Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 16:23; Philippians 4:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:28; Philemon 25. [NJBC]
Verse 13: “the love of God”: In Romans 8:39, Paul says: “nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Verse 13: “the communion of the Holy Spirit”: In Philippians 2:1, Paul says: “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete” meaning there definitely are these qualities in God. [NJBC]


GOSPEL: Matthew 28: 16 - 20 (RCL)

Matt 28:16 (NRSV) Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

After his resurrection, Jesus has told Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” (v. 1) to “tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (v. 10). Now Jesus appears to “the eleven” (v. 16, less Judas) on “the mountain” where he was transfigured. Some worship (v. 17) him, but others doubt. He has received “all authority” (v. 18) from the Father, so he now sends out his followers to “all nations” (v. 19, not just Israel) to:
* baptise in the possession and protection (“name”) of the Trinity, and
* to carry on his teaching ministry.
To help in this daunting task, he is, and will be, with them until the Kingdom of God comes fully.
See also Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:36-39; John 20:19-23; Acts 1:9-11. In Luke, Jesus appears to his disciples in Jerusalem and vicinity. [NJBC]
Verse 16: “the mountain”: As in 5:1, 15:29 and 17:1, 7 (the Transfiguration), Jesus reveals his purpose to his followers on a mountain.
Verse 17: “worshipped him”: Literally prostrated themselves in worship. [NOAB]
Verse 18: “authority”: This notion is also found in 11:27 (“All things have been handed over to me by my Father ...”); Luke 10:22; Philippians 2:9 (“... God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name”); Ephesians 1:20-22. “authority”: See also Daniel 7:14 (“To him was given dominion and glory and kingship ...”); 2 Chronicles 36:23; Matthew 6:10 (the Lord’s Prayer). [NJBC]
Verse 19: “all nations”: Not just in Israel, as in 10:5-6 and 15:24. The Gentile mission has been hinted at in 2:1-2; 4:15; 8:5-13; 10:18; 15:21-28; 22:1-10; 24:14; 25:32; 26:13. For the mission to all nations, see also Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8. [NOAB] [NJBC]
Verse 19: “in the name of”: Based on Psalm 124, the meaning is in the possession of and under the protection of.
Verse 19: “the Father ... Son ... and ... Holy Spirit”: This triadic formula may have its roots in the apocalyptic triad of God, the Son of Man (or Elect One) and Angel found in Daniel 7 and Ezekiel 1. See also 1 Enoch 14. [NJBC]
Verse 20: “obey”: NJBC translates the Greek as observe.
Verse 20: “I am with you”: In 18:20, Jesus says “‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them’”. While Paul is in Corinth, God tells him in a vision: “‘I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you ...’”: see Acts 18:10. [NOAB] [NJBC]
The gift of the Holy Spirit is not specifically mentioned as it is in John 20:22 (“When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit”) and Acts 2:1-4 (Pentecost), but in Paul the Holy Spirit is at times the presence of Jesus among us. In 2 Corinthians 3:17, Paul writes: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”. [NJBC]