Day 71: Paul's letter to his "Son"

Up until now, Paul's letters have been to congregations, religious communities, but today's letters (and others) are written to individuals, in this case Timothy.  Since we have been reading in the New Testament, we know a little about Timothy.  He was a young man who had a Jewish mother and a Greek father, he traveled with Paul, and was much beloved by him.

Now I'm going to tell you something that might seem a little confusing:  some scholars don't think that Paul wrote this letter.

They believe this because of some of the subjects Paul discusses:  the particular church controversies he mentions and the qualifications for bishops, for example.  And may I suggest that if this is Paul, the tone of the letter is much more staid and (ahem) establishment-sounding than some of the earlier letters that we read.  There's not as much passion in this letter, although there's still a concern for good order and Truth.

Then there's the pronouncements regarding women's leadership in chapter two.  In Galatians, Paul states that "in Christ there is no male or female," in 1 Timothy he writes that a "wife" or a "woman" should learn quietly in complete submission.  (As well, we are not to wear elaborate hairstyles, or gold, pearls or expensive clothes.)  What are we to make of this? 

As a woman, I'm wondering why some churches adhere so strongly to the position that women are to remain silent in the church, but not to the other requirements that women should not wear jewelry or expensive clothes.  Because it seems to me that both of the things that Paul is concerned about have to do with the culture of the time, and what sort of behavior would adversely affect the Christian community and its witness. 

I can't help but noticing that most of this part of the letter (we'll see what develops tomorrow) deals with how to manage the household of faith:  husband and wives, bishops and pastors, servants and masters.  Yet I'm drawn to the simple statement of faith in chapter 1, which is worth the weight of the whole letter, "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners."  Paul goes on to say that he's the biggest sinner of all -- and his whole life is an object lesson of God's mercy.

There's something about this sentence that makes me smile. 

Our whole lives an object lesson of God's mercy.  Maybe that's enough for me.

Day 68: Another Short, Cosmic Epistle

This is another one of those short letter that some people think Paul might not have authored.  Some scholars date this letter slightly later because of some of the concerns named:  false teachers and doctrines, particularly preaching harsh ascetic practices.  Paul writes in part in order to counter these claims and re-assert the claims of the gospel.

Again, I'm struck by Paul's expansive gospel and Jesus:  "All things were created by him, both in the heavens and the earth."  This is a view of Christ that goes beyond the man Jesus who walked on this earth.  Jesus is God-incarnate, and he was around from the beginning of creation.  The gospel is God's secret plan from the beginning of time, not made manifest in the crucified and Risen Christ.  It was a secret, but it is a secret no longer, not since Jesus rose from the dead.

It's possible that Paul speaks this way because he is countering the claims of another religious group that they have a secret access to the gospel not known by others.  Sometimes these religious groups were known as "gnostics".  Paul says that yes, there is a secret, but it has been revealed now, and it's not just available to a few spiritual giants, but to everyone.  what's the secret?  "Christ living in you, the hope of glory."  And that you means all of you, not just a few special people.

As I read this letter I'm also struck by Paul's statement about supplying what is missing in the suffering of Jesus.  I have always been taught that there was nothing missing in the suffering of Jesus, so I'm intrigued by what he means.  What is the meaning of the suffering of Paul, or our own suffering, for that matter?  How does this connect with Jesus?  What does it mean to "supply what is missing?"

You may have noticed that again, Paul gives advice to members of households: husbands and wives, slaves and masters, children and parents.  Even though Paul admonishes masters to be kind to their slaves, I would wish that perhaps the bold Paul could be even bolder with regard to slavery.  Now we have been able to stand up and say that no one should be a slave.  Paul apparently was not able to go that far.  Later one, we would appropriate the Exodus story to work for freedom for those enslaved.  And we still can, despite Paul's caution.

Finally, as I read this letter (and others), I can't help but notice how often Paul speaks of prayer.  He prays, he gives thanks for other peoples' prayers, and he promises to pray for the churches he has visited and the churches he is planning to visit.  Prayer brings a kind of proximity with those who are far away, and binds them all together.

Prayer moves all throughout the letters of Paul.  Let's see if it keeps moving through the next letters we will read.

Day 66: The Expansive Becomes Local

In the second half of Ephesians, Paul (or one of his disciples) writes about what this expansive vision of the grace of God means for the community life of the Ephesians (and everyone....).  "Live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called", he begins, and he goes on to paint a picture of what that will look like.  Humility and patience, compassion and truthfulness -- and most of all, striving for unity, because there is only One Lord, One Baptism, One Faith, even though it looks so much different sometimes (some things never change).  There seem to be many factions and warring sects in the church (much to our detriment, Paul understands), but in reality, there is only one Body of Christ.  Speak the truth, but speak in Love.  Work together.  Come out of the darkness and into the light.  Forgive each other.

Easy words to understand, perhaps.  Harder to do, certainly.

Especially when Paul uses the words, "Be imitators of God, as beloved children."  He just throws it out there, like a bomb, an impossible thing.  In so few words, can you imagine anything so impossible?  Whether you imagine the invisible, immortal, perfect One, or whether you imagine the humble healer, to me it still comes off as mind-blowing and impossible.  Unlike God, we need to practice daily self-examination and repentance.  When Paul speaks about "telling the truth", the first person we need to tell the truth about is ourselves.   (When we get to Philippians, tomorrow, I believe we'll get more insight into just what Paul means by imitating God; at least, that's what I think.)  For the moment, what Paul means by imitating God seems to have something to do with being a Lord who does not lord it over others, does not cling to God's own power.

So one of the exhortations here is to "be filled with the Spirit", not an elective but a required course for anyone who wants to live a life worthy of their calling.  Be filled with the Spirit, guided and directed by the Spirit, returning to the life of God's spirit within you each and every day.

As the letter winds down, Paul ticks off a list of household instructions, some of which might be hard for us to swallow these days, especially those about wives submitting to their husbands.  Paul goes on to explain that Husbands, like Christ, are supposed to be lords who do not lord it over, but still, I think cultural bells go off, that make us say, "even so...."  The advice for husbands to love their wives was radical for its day, and it's interesting that while children are to obey their parents, parents are also not to provoke their children to anger. hmmmm. Interesting.  (I wonder what this would consist of.  Anyone?)

Paul closes with an extended analogy of "the full armor of God."   It is interesting to me that all of the tools are for defense (except the Sword of the Spirit).  They are not for Offense, but for Defense.   In Paul's day, anyway, Christians were much more likely to be wounded than they were to be doing the wounding.  Unfortunately, that is not always the case today.