Readings:
Baruch 3-4
2 Corinthians 5

Baruch 3-4

Baruch praises wisdom, and tells all about how good and honorable it is to seek after wisdom. He also condemns the folly and destruction of those who shun wisdom. The implication here is that Israel has forgotten the wisdom of God and done things that were foolish, and so have incurred the wrath of God. They forgot him who saved the, from Pharaoh and bowed down to serve demons instead.

Baruch recounts the events and sins that led to the exile, to remind them that this was brought upon themselves and wasn’t some random occurrence. But even with all the sorrow and pain, he ends with notes of hope in a future return and salvation.

2 Corinthians 5

Paul uses the word “tent” to refer to our earthly bodies, but “building” in heaven to refer to our glorified bodies after the resurrection. The contrast between a temporary shelter in a tent and the permanent structure of a building is meant to be a callback to when the Israelites went from a traveling tabernacle to a permanent building for the temple in Jerusalem.

Paul says we yearn with anxiety to put in that more glorified body while we are here on earth, and that while we’re here we are not with the Lord. But the next part is very often misquoted by those who deny the existence of purgatory. Paul says he’d rather be absent from the body, and present with the Lord. Meaning he’s tired and has done lots of work here on earth, and would enjoy resting in the presence of God.

But the misquote of this text is usually found as “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” Not only does this change the words, it also changes the meaning and doesn’t fit the context at all. That misquote doesn’t even fit in with what Paul is saying. He’s not commenting at all on the state, or location, of the soul between our last breath and our first moments in the presence of God.

Paul uses a phrase “he made him to be sin“ as a shorthand for the Levitical sin offerings. Jesus was and is our sin offering, even though he himself never sinned. God didn’t literally make him sin.

Tomorrow’s Readings:
Baruch 5-6
2 Corinthians 6