The Three Musicians - by Pablo Picasso
An image of unity, harmony, diversity - would it have been for Paul a good image of being in Christ?
Take a moment of prayer:
Open our stories to any chapter, a friend will have a page there.
Look closely at our roots, compasions nourished what holds us.
As about our migration, our paths; strangers became neighbours became loved ones.
Listen to the cadence of our song; a symphony of lives soars through each note.
Watch us shelter beneath soft wings; friendship gentles our weariness.
Discover our tables set with bread and laughter; for we share what we have received.
Sift the sands of daily journey; the grains of God's kingship glimmer everywhere.
Amen
Keri Wehlander, Joy is our Banquet, Wood Lake Books, 1996
Chapter 7 – Life Together in Christ
Paul great passion seemed to be being community “in Christ” “in the Spirit” or “into one body”. Why was community so important? The context for Paul was urban ministry, where traditional family systems had broken down. He used "new family” language to address his fellow believers as a way of connecting on a more intimate level.
Can you think of church communities you have known where newcomers come or came to seek a home base in a new city? How is the church different from bowling, curling, quilting clubs? It is not just a social club, but one with an agenda – for Paul this agenda was recognizing the “new age” and “new creation” initiated by Christ. Paul dealt with varied, diverse converts - being "in Christ" was his response to conflicting traditions. To be “in Chrsit” “in the Spirit” “in one body” was to be – A NEW CREATION!
Borg & Crossan talk about “share communities” – which are not the same as communes, or the Jerusalem community from Acts 4:44-5: All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.
Why was the share community important to Paul?
1) Hunger was important to Jesus - distribution of bread.
2) Reality of economic fragility in the urban areas – financially secure only as work was available, therefore the "family" took care of one another.
3) 2 Thess. – Deutero-Paul - there were freeloaders taking advantage of “share community”. In 1 Timothy – the community was already supporting widows – 3rd Paul says to choose between the truly needy and those who had other sources of support.
Characteristics of Paul’s share community:
1) Galatians – there arose the question of whether or not male Christian gentiles needed to be circumcised. Paul argued it should not make a difference – Abraham believed first before his descendents were circumcized.
2) In I Corinthians – class division should not be visible at the Lord’s Supper.
3) Also in 1 Corinthians – there should be no hierarchy of persons based on gifts, but the highest gift should be love, which is accessible to everyone regardless of talent.
4) In Galatians – the "flesh" was not embodiment, but finite, material obsessions. Paul encouraged them to choose the fruit of the Spirit over material things – the Spirit transplanted into flesh by our life choices.
Paul has “transplanted the Spirit” because of his attitude towards things finite and things spiritual – Philippians “the secret of being well-fed and going hungry, of having plenty and being in need.” In this way, Paul is like modern saints, for example, the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Bonhoeffer, Aung San Suu Kyi.
We looked at Paul's summery of his theology as found in Phil 2:6-11, from different translations.
Question for Reflection:
What is "Christian community" for you? Is it a common practice of meditation/worship? Is it common values? Common beliefs?
Epilogue:
The story of Paul's death is not recorded in scripture. The tradition tells us he died in Rome as a martyr. We know he planned to go to Spain, but did he go there and write 2nd and 3rd Paul? Or did he die in Rome?
Borg & Crossan suggest that Paul went to Jerusalem to promote Christian unity with donations to “the saints” and infuriated Christian Jews had him packed off to Rome under arrest. Then he probably died in the martyrdom of Nero (with Peter) circa 64 CE. Ultimately his goal was Christian unity and he died for it.
Why is unity/community so important?
Why is it that we can’t just reject those we don’t agree with?
I want to close with this story –
One weekend two brothers got together at the family cottage and had a wonderful time - fishing swimming, playing with their grandchildren, enjoying creation. Saturday night, sitting around the fireside, the brother who was an elder at his church told his brother, who never went to church, that he would drive home that night so he could be at church Sunday morning.
His brother asked: WHY? Can’t you worship God in creation? I feel closer to God here at the lake than I do in a church with a stuffy preacher telling me what to do!
At that his brother took the tongs from the fire, where the coals were glowing red together, and lifted one coal out of the fire, and put it off to one side, by itself. Within a minute the red glow of the fire had left the coal, making it grey and cold.
And that was all he said.
Thanks for being part of our study - in person or online! Hope you will join us again - we will likely do another study for Lent! Elizabeth
