Chapters 5 & 6 November 22 2010

In these chapters, Borg and Crossan explore some of Paul's teachings around subjects fundamental to our understanding of Christian faith and shed a new light on some of our misperceptions about what Paul really said.

We begin with a prayer by Keri Wehlander that reminds us of the eternity and universality of God's care - no matter how great or small we may be.

O God, we are tangled in our schedules, surrounded by demands,

caught up in the spectacular, the superb, the superior.

One day we discover we never have enough; we never accomplish enough;

we never are enough.

O God, in the midst of this chaos, may the still, small voice tug at us

until we stop - listen - consider.

And turning around in our tracks, see ourselves and this world again,

through your eyes, Amen.

Joy is our Banquet, UCPH, 1996.

Chapter 5 – Christ crucified

Christ Crucified was Paul's first-century equivalent to a bumper sticker message - along with Christ is Lord and In Christ, his short-hand summary of the gospel.  And yet that emphasis on the cross has led many in the church to over-emphasize the death of Christ as ransom for our sins.  Borg and Crossan invite us to re-interpret “substitutionary atonement” (Christ died as a payment for our collective sin to appease God) for “participatory atonement” (in following Christ we die and rise with him.)  Substitutionary atonement is a relatively new theology in Christianity - only 1000 years old, and based on the writings of Anselm. 

For example, God did not demand Jesus’ death – Jesus died because he would not bend to Rome or the corrupt religious authorities.  According to God's wisdom, in foolishness there is wisdom, in failure, victory.  Jesus' is God's contradiction of human wisdom – we participate in his life/death/resurrection in order to have new life or God's kingdom on earth.  A true sacrifice is not an ransom payment, but a gift – what we give up for God.

Jesus’ gave his life “for God” and “for us – but in that he became our model or example of life lived faithfully with God.  The resurrection is God’s stamp of approval.

Borg and Crossan focus exclusively on First Paul – Romans, Galatians, 1 Corinthians.  The disputed and pastoral letters contain few references, and those in passing as dealing with more pragmatic matters.  In Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”  Colossians 1:20 “and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace thorugh the blood of his cross.”  1 Timothy 2:5 “Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.”

We watched Marcus Borg speaking about "Salvation” on a DVD resource from Tim Scorer's Experiencing the Heart of Christianity, Wood Lake Books, 2005, which led us into discussion of: 

Chapter 6 – Justification by grace through faith

The phrase represents an important question for the Protestant Reformation, and many other kinds of reformation.  When people of faith become too enmeshed in tradition and ritual, how do we sort through our priorities and return simply to questions of faith?  Borg and Crossan remind us that we need to see Paul as a 1^st century Jew, not a 16th century Lutheran! They also suggest that the ultimate goal for Paul was UNITY:  between Greek(Gentile) and Jew; between Jew and Christian; between Christian Jew and Christian Gentile.

The preponderance of Paul's writings suggest that his goal was universal understanding on the basis of the gospel.  The gospel could not be limited to ethnic heritage or language or ritual or diet.  Only faith was accessible to everyone.  So he asked these questions:  1) What does justice/righteousness mean?  2) Is God revealed in Torah or in Jesus?  3)Is there still "law", and how is it related to grace?

I especially appreciated their quote about working out one's salvation with “fear and trembling”: We can only conclude that the reason we should fear and tremble about our salvation is not because God will punish us if we fail, but because the world will punish us if we succeed.

To explore these images of atonement, justification and grace, we looked at a number of our traditional hymns and creeds: 

How great thou art

Just as I am

Come let us sing of a wonderful love

I need thee every hour 

Sometimes the most "conservative" hymns are found in our seasonal necessities:

Lent/Easter: 

When I survey the wondrous cross

There is a green hill far away

Jesus Christ is risen today

Advent/Christmas

Come thou long expected Jesus

Hark!  The Herald Angels sing

Once in royal David’s City

The first nowell 

We also looked at the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the United Church of Canada's New Creed (1968).

While I don't believe we need to "purge” our hymn books of the traditional favourites, I prefer interpreting their message and balancing them with more diverse interpretations, allowing people to come to their own relationship with God.

For our closing we read the following prayer by Keri Wehlander (see above for reference):

Consider the dance of clouds, the smell of autumn leaves,

 the gurgle and slap of waves on the shore

May we be still and know God again.

Consider the harmony of crickets, the strength of an outstretched wing,

the velver touch of a purring cat.

May we be still and know God again.

Consider the deep laughter of friends, the embrace of a loved one,

the fragrance of a treausred memory.

May we be still and know God again.

Consider the comfort of a sweater, the arona of baking bread,

 the rhythms and melody of a favourite song.

May we be still and know God again.

consider the common, present moment and name it holy, as God does.

May the God of mustard seeds and sparrows

gently bless us and grant us peaceful spirits, Amen.

Chapters 3&4 - November 15 2010

Our opening prayer is taken from Keri Whelander’s Joy is our Banquet, UCPH, 1996.

The Spirit seeks us:  calling each name with compassion.  “Fear not,” she sings, scattering seeds of promise on every timid heart’s soil.  The Spirit leads us forth:  teaching us new geographies, and uncommon mercies.  Each step weaves grace and justice into the fabric of our actions.  The Spirit befriends us:  Strengthening tender hopes and weary dreams.  “Courage,” she murmurs, unbinding fear’s knot and breathing us into resurrection.  Amen

Chapter Three of our study book is called:  The life of a long-distance apostle.  Borg and Crossan offer some insights into how they understand the background and context of Paul’s ministry and how it shaped his vision.

They describe the community of Tarsus, where Paul was supposed to have been raised, in terms of 3 important qualities:

VISTA – Tarsus was at the crossroads between Asia and Europe, and was influenced by Eastern and Western philosophies, cultures and politics.

LABOUR – It was a community that was known for its hard work, ambition, and creativity in solving problems.

EDUCATION – Both Jewish and Greek educational institutions were established in Tarsus and Paul would have been exposed to the highest level of learning from both.

Question for Reflection:  What kind of community culture affected the shape of your life today?

One interesting fact about Tarsus, which may also have affected Paul’s life, is a high incidence of malaria – it boasted the kind of warm, humid climate and poor drainage that mosquitoes thrive on!  Borg and Crossan suggest that Paul’s references to physical infirmity in Galatians 4:13-15 might have been symptoms of malaria, also 2 Corinthians 12:6-10.  Check different translations of those passages and see if they provide any better understanding!  Other theories include epilepsy, blindness, bipolar disorder, etc..

Chapter 4 is called Jesus Christ is Lord:

Borg and Crossan suggest that Paul deliberately contrasted the “lordship” of Christ, crucified and risen, with the arrogant “lordship” of Caesar, who also coincidentally considered himself to be the Son of God.  Both claimed to bring peace.

Caesar’s peace was brought about by believing that Caesar was God, or Son of God, defending his honour and expanding his frontiers in war, and through victory, bringing about the “peace” of political suppression.

In contrast, Jesus’ peace is modeled after God as householder, the “father” of a household who ensures that each member of the household has the nourishment, resources and love that they need to flourish.  Faith in Jesus’ God would lead to a commitment to non-violence (their explanation for Romans 13:1-7), and justice, which would lead to peace by participation, not suppression.

By playing up the stark contrast between Jesus and Caesar as “Lord”, Paul revealed himself to be the truly radical revolutionary.

Question for Reflection:

How do we as Christians today stand in contrast to the values and “empire” of society around us?  How do we live in a society when our gospel challenges many of its values?

Closing Prayer: (also from Joy is our Banquet)

O God, where hearts are fearful and limited; grant freedom and daring.

Where anxiety is infectious and widening; grant peace and reassurance.

Where impossibilities close every door and window; grant imagination and resistence.

Where distrust reshapes every understanding; grant healing and transformation.

Where spirits are daunted and dimmed; grant soaring wings and strengthened dreams,

Amen.

Chapters 1-2 - November 8, 2010

In these chapters, Borg and Crossan help us to discover the story behind Paul’s epistles.  Keri Wehlander has leads us in a prayer about being faithful witnesses and storytellers (Joy is our banquet, UCPH, 1996)

Take a moment to focus on her words of prayer:

O God,

We are witnesses and storytellers; we are part of the unfolding tale of faith.  Precious words and sacred memories are carried by every one of us.  If we go and tell what we have seen and heard, each one becomes like a chapter, a verse, a paragraph.  When we risk spinning these yarn, when we listen and speak, when we carefully gather the fragments us… We discover there is good news all over again!

Reviewing Chapter 1

Why is Paul important to us?

-          Earliest written Christian scripture preserved in “original” form

Paul wrote between 45-60 AD, the earliest gospel, Mark, took shape a decade later, though it was drawn from oral tradition and earlier accounts.

-          Paul brought the good news to non-Jews, who became the next generation of those who followed Jesus.  Paul did not understand this mission to be outside the Jewish teachings, or that he was beginning a new religion.

-          Paul is responsible for the formation of some of our fundamental Christian beliefs, such as justification by faith, and the power of the resurrection.

-          Paul became the vision-keeper, around whom a dispersed community could gather, who drew the line between true and false teachings.

-          Paul was the inspiration of both Augustine, one of the foremost fathers of the Roman tradition & Martin Luther, of the Protestant Reformation.

Borg and Crossan share their perceptions of Paul in their Protestant and Catholic education.  It is clear that Paul’s writings were more central in Borg’s Lutheran background, and it was Paul as a martyr of the church alongside Peter which had the greatest impact in Crossan’s memory.

Crossan and Borg’s 3 foundational statements:

1.       There is more than one Paul;

2.      Paul was shaped by his historical context;

3.      Paul was a “Jewish Christ mystic.”

1.“Taming of Paul” – in order to survive as a faith community, watering down the radical message of the gospel to make it palatable within the Roman Empire. Even the book of Acts teaches us more about the spread of the gospel than the person and theology of Paul, more radical than the early church wanted to be perceived.

2.Paul’s historical context, as found in the epistles, are presented as four concentric circles.  At their core, Paul was writing to a specific community in a specific situation.  More generally, he was writing to them as followers of Jesus.  That movement was contained within the realities of 1^st century Judaism, and those realities were shaped by the social and political context of the Roman Empire.

3.Paul was a Jewish Christ mystic – impressions of the word “mystic”may lead us to think of those who separate themselves from society, but Paul was very much involved in the world around him.  He was deeply moved and changed by a vision of the risen Christ, which led to action, and to life-transforming choices.

READ 1 Corinthians 15:3-11

Reviewing Chapter 2

Letters and epistles are significant to us if we can figure out the story behind the letter, which broke into the isolation of these small communities – it was generally support (or challenge!) from beyond.

On Slavery:

First Paul is indirect but challenging in Philemon – not commanding but appealing to Philemon that Christian love must be “in the flesh and in the Lord.” 

Onesimus should be “slave no longer”.

Second Paul is more direct:  READ Col 3:22-4:1 or Ephesians 6:5-9, defining a “Christian” relationship between slave and master.

Third Paul, in Titus 2:9-10, is commanding, doesn’t even address the slaves, but speaks of them in the third person, it also neglects a Christian master’s responsibility to slaves.

Question for Reflection:

Borg and Crossan suggest that it was, in part, Paul’s identity as a “Jewish Christ mystic” which gave him the courage and vision to challenge the hierarchy of his time (later it was watered down in other letters attributed to him.)  What kind of spiritual support or practice do you need to challenge the dominant culture around you?

Our Closing Prayer is also taken from Keri Wehlander’s resource:

O God, keeper of stories and weaver of dreams, set our voices free.  Grant us the courage we need to be tellers of truth and speakers of the sacred.  Unstop our ears, that we might recognize the wisdom of the witnesses in our midst.  Empower us with your love, that we might spin new yarns with confidence and grace, Amen.