2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians is the most emotional of Paul's letters. He writes after a tense period with the church, defending his own ministry against critics who called him weak and unimpressive. His answer is the opposite of a résumé: he lists imprisonments, floggings, shipwrecks, hunger and the daily anxiety for the churches. Here is the image of "treasure in clay jars" and the passage of the "thorn in the flesh", with the line that sums up the letter: "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness". Chapters 8 and 9 deal with generosity and the collection for the poor in Jerusalem, with principles still widely used.