MATL - Philippians Reflection

Prompt: Reflect on the major theological themes in Philippians I.

Continuing the theme established throughout our study of Paul, the Letter of Paul to the Philippians presents a theological discourse in discipleship and community and identity formation.  The letter is considered largely warm and positive in tone; despite the time it spends contemplating possible execution of Paul and the existential nature of his existence.  Though Paul debates his own mortality and his desire to join Jesus in salvation, he also continues to offer advice and wisdom to his readers as both an encouragement and entreaty to remain faithful to their path.

Paul’s use of a hymn in the letter is “one of the most poetic passages in all Paul’s writings,” and serves as an insight for the reader into the language and ritual of the early Christians. The imagery and style of the hymn is reminiscent of the Nicene Creed used in contemporary Catholic mass, though the content is different. As with the Nicene Creed, this hymn outlines the major beliefs of the community it serves- in this case, the belief and imagery of Christ as a being possessing equal status with God, who willingly humbled himself and embraced the will of God as an example to all humanity how best to follow God and come to Salvation.  The imagery of complete subservience to God’s will both calls forth the Hebrew Bible teachings of Covenant and obedience (thus illustrating Paul’s own background and heritage) and also sets the stage for the later works of Mark and his interpretation of discipleship.

Paul spends significant time exploring the idea that Jesus’ life should be imitated by his followers (Kugler/Hartin, 450.) Again, readers outside of Paul’s intended audience can appreciate the symmetry of Paul’s words to those of the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, and to some extent even John.  Paul’s intended audience receives this advice without the context of the gospels, of course, but it serves the same purpose.  In outlining the importance of following Jesus’ path as a requisite of salvation, Paul provides a concrete example and expectation for his audience: it is not enough to merely believe or provide devotion, but one must willingly follow God’s interests rather than one’s own. This is, of course, a theme that occurs throughout the entire Bible, beginning with Abraham’s obedience to sacrifice his own son.

Paul wrote the letter from prison, exploring his own mortality and the possible consequences of his mission. He explores the rewards of death in the service of Christ as a parallel to Christ’s own service and obedience to God.  To Paul’s audience, this served as a reminder of the expected and possible outcomes of following Christ’s path, and as a reassurance that all would ultimately be well, even in the faith of death.  To those outside of Christianity, and perhaps even to a modern reader, this passage seems somewhat self-deluded or extremist. It is interesting to consider how Paul must have appeared to his opposition- while his devotion and faithfulness are a credit and inspiration for believers, his passion may also ring of zealotry to a non-believer.

Of course, this also contributes to Paul’s intentional community and identity building.  Serving as such an effluent and effervescent example discipleship would reinforce the tendencies of those who already converted, and perhaps appeal to those looking for a revolutionary sense of community or belonging.  Though the theme of community building is not as prominent in this letter as in Thessalonians, it is clearly a favorite theme of Paul’s.

Overall, I have struggled with Paul. I appreciate his zeal and devotion, but his tone is off-putting. I suppose this relates more to my rather logical and cold approach to religion, rather than the more emotional and transcended experiences that many relate, and is not really a fault of Paul’s style- it just doesn’t speak to me. I appreciate the guidance and reminders within the lecture to consider Paul within his own context and motivation, rather than letting the contemporary setting overly color the writings.

MATL - Thessalonians Reflections

 Prompt: Reflect on the major theological theme within Thessalonians I.

The theology of Paul, as we learned last week, resides largely in communicating with the early Christian communities about how to come into and grow within the existing covenant between God and the Jewish people. That is, Paul wrote not as a revolutionary founder of a new religion, but rather as a prophet or teacher explaining the fulfillment of a traditional teaching and the evolution and fullness of the Jewish faith.  Keeping this in mind, then, contemporary readers of Paul’s letters are challenged to refrain from overly evangelizing Paul’s works while still evaluating and examining the materials for applicability in the contemporary world.

In the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, Paul deals with two major theological issues. The first touches on the status of the Thessalonian believers within the covenant of God, and the second deals with a concept of apocalyptic eschatology (Kugler & Hartin, 430.)  The significance of these theological themes in the world behind the text likely reside in the efforts of Paul to build a community different and distinct from the surrounding gentile communities. When examining the world in front of the text, the themes provide an enduring continuity and relevance to the contemporary Christian community, and also provide some comfort and perspective on the concept of salvation and resurrection to an audience still waiting for the second coming of Christ.

When considering the theology of covenant, Paul uses deliberate and thoughtful language in greeting and identifying his audience.  As noted in the lecture, using words such as “beloved” and “chosen” are specific to the conversation of Covenant, and clearly reflect Paul’s intent to remind the Thessalonian community of their participation as part of God’s people, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. This significance was significant to the world behind the text, again as noted in the lecture, because it likely explains the circumstances of the Thessalonians and why Paul felt compelled to write a letter in the first place.  By differentiating themselves from their surrounding communities, the Thessalonian community likely experienced social prejudice, pressure, or even punitive actions.  It is interesting to consider these conditions perhaps inspired the Gospel writers- particularly Mark- to narrate the necessity of suffering and service as a path of discipleship.   The importance of including all gentiles into the covenant with God within the world behind the text also presents interesting parallels to the efforts of the Ancient Israelites to form and discern their identity as a distinct and innovative people among the Mesopotamian cultures.  In a contemporary setting, readers take comfort knowing they too can enter into the covenant with God, and that there is an all-encompassing message of salvation envisioned by Paul.

The second major theological theme in this letter is about the concept of resurrection and salvation.  Within the work, Paul’s purpose is straightforward.  The concern for those members of the Thessalonian community who died must have been extremely frightening in a mindset where the second coming was considered imminent. (Horrell, 2075.) Paul offers comfort and assurance that God will acknowledge and save all of his people, even those who die while waiting for Christ.

The text emphasizes the practicality of Paul’s work.  Therefore, it is unreasonable to examine his letter as a metaphorical exploration of the second coming of Christ- indeed, it seems reasonable that Paul expected a living, breathing Christ to return, just as he rose from the dead.  However, just as Paul “was not aware that he was starting a literary movement…that would be authoritative for Christian believers through the centuries,” (Kulger/Hartin, 430) it is possible that Paul’s work speaks to a more metaphorical interpretation than he intended.  Specifically, the apocalyptic eschatology as explained by the text, wherein Paul embraces an idea that “(c)hristians live between these two poles” of the time between the first coming of Jesus and his return (Kulger/Hartin, 431.) Paul teaches his church to live in a way that readies the believers for the return of Christ, which they considered imminent. Now, two thousand years later, contemporary Christians are still waiting for the return of Christ. This might feel discouraging without the comfort of Paul’s words, reminding readers across generations that the time and hour of Christ’s return are unknown and unknowable, but that the continued good works of people to follow Jesus are necessary.  More deeply, contemporary readers may see an unintended metaphor in Paul’s writing.  That Paul believed Christ would physically return is undeniable. However, when one examines Paul’s own words, “For we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord,” (Thessalonians 3:8) and his ongoing encouragement of the people to live like Christ and receive salvation without any physical resurrection of Christ occurring before their death, the power of hindsight may permit a reader to speculate. There is an enduring truth to Paul’s words that do go deeper than his intent. It is, perhaps, part of the mystical quality of the Bible, that the intent of the authors so often transcends time, culture, and language.  There is a theological case here that Paul’s advice and comfort is sound, but that the second coming of Christ occurs within each of us, daily, as we strive to live our lives according to Jesus’ teachings. It is through Jesus we found salvation of ourselves, even in the face of persecution and discouragement. Like the Thessalonians, we toil and sweat deeply on our journey, so that God- like Paul- may rejoice that we remained faithful in the absence of Christ among us, and trusted in his message.

MATL - The Gospel of John - Reflection

Prompt: Discuss the major theological theme in the Gospel of John, in 2-3 pages.

All of the Gospels demonstrate significant theological themes surrounding the identity of Jesus, and the nature of discipleship.  The theological themes within the Gospel of John are conceptually very different from the Synoptic Gospels, and yet present an important thread of continuity through the writings. The two major themes, as outlined by Kugler and Hartin, are related to the divine nature of Jesus, and on discipleship. The concepts are related to one another, and provide a compelling and final chapter to the narrative of the Gospels in their entirety.

 John presents Jesus as a divine and revelatory figure, unique from the more humanistic depictions found in Mark and Matthew, and more eternal than the depiction of Luke.  Rather than seeking to explore Jesus as a son of both Man and God, John depicts a being who is “a true reflection of God…[who] captures the idea of communicating knowledge of God” (Kulger/Hartin, 492.) This depiction of Jesus as an embodiment of God on Earth, and as an eternal figure who existed before, during, and after the time spent on Earth as a man, who is part of God, and from whom the Holy Spirit flows, is an early depiction of the concept of Holy Trinity, which of course becomes a key component to some of the later formalized Christian religions.  This new conceptualization of Jesus is also one way that John illustrates a deeper theological message- that salvation and eternal life comes only through belief in Christ. It is not sufficient, according to this Gospel, for believers merely to imitate Jesus. They must also believe in Jesus’ identity, and subsequently in God, and stand witness to that belief.

This transitions to the second major theological theme of the Gospel- the concept of discipleship.  Discipleship features in all of the gospels as a major theological them, and in John, discipleship is about witness. While this reads very differently from the more ethics based calls of Mark and Luke, or the call to teach in Matthew, when the four Gospels are read as a cohesive document, there is a clear and logical progression. Mark reminds the reader that sacrifice is necessary, as is service, in order to follow Christ.  Matthew calls disciples to teach one another. Luke implores readers to form a meaningful relationship with God as well, introducing the idea that it is not enough merely to do the works or pay lip service to Scriptures. Finally, then, John instructs readers to witness to the truth of Belief, and in so doing, experience each of the lessons and observations offered by the Synoptic writers. Jesus models what it is to Witness,[i] while simultaneously reflecting  the nature of God and presenting himself as the sole path to the God (Kugler/Hartin, 492.)

Contemporary readers are challenged to remember that the intent of each Gospel writer was likely focused on their readers and on their specific message. It was the later editing and compiling that created the multilayered narrative that is so powerful and enduring. So, as noted in the lecture, while contemporary readers should not view John’s depiction of Christian replacements as supersessionism, they should acknowledge that theme may well have been the intent of those who compiled the Bible as it exists today. However, because this is an example of transmission and interpretation, readers must also accept that interpretations may change and even may be flawed or incorrect, held within the lens of one’s own experience and expectation.  In some ways, this makes John the strongest of the Gospels. The work is almost mystic in nature, focusing on messages of love and eternal life, while emphasis on the Jewish traditions are set to the side. They are not demeaned, as noted earlier, but they are no longer the primary focus of the story: John is not concerned with fulfilling the prophecies of Ancient Israel, he is focused on communicating a deeper and more universal message. These ideas are more relatable to the contemporary world than the ideas of Ancient Israel.

Works Cited:

Kugler, Robert A., and P. J. Hartin. An Introduction to the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2009.

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[i][i] The word is capitalized to indicate it is a function and embodiment, similar to that of Reason or Wisdom, but I realize this may not be the correct way to make such an indication.