Colossians is the first of the epistles whose authorship is hotly debated. While the author of the commentary I've been following says it is almost definitely not Paul that wrote it, websites I checked varied from saying it is generally accepted as Pauline, to 50/50 scholarship acceptance/rejection of Paul's authorship, to agreeing that it wasn't his at all. The questions that are raised are whether Paul would have changed so much over the years- and/or how much leeway would a scribe have had. The outline is Pauline, the greeting includes Timothy's name. Did Timothy do the actual writing and, maybe, influence the style and vocabulary and even the theology enough to explain the differences from the undisputed letters? It is all quite interesting and made me approach this letter a bit differently from the previous ones. Having just read the undisputed letters I can see why there are questions. It does sound quite different in some parts, but other parts do sound like Paul - so I, in my totally subjective, uninformed opinion, like the idea of Paul writing it together with someone else, maybe Timothy, acting as scribe and adding his own comments/ideas.
Whatever the reason, I struggled a bit with Colossians this time around. Maybe it was because I had the suggestion in my head that this wasn't actually written by Paul. Maybe it was the translation I was reading. Maybe it was that it was different in more ways than I consciously noted. Maybe it is just some summer lethargy setting in as I am working on this. But I found the long exposition on Jesus as light, as the human incarnation of God, hard to read. I took issue with the "elemental spirits of the universe" mentioned in 2:8 & 20. I even felt patronized by "Wives be subject to your husbands" (3:18). I do not think, however, that my issues negate the central lessons of this letter.
The writer wants the listeners to live a new life in Christ and for Christ. They can know they are made whole through Christ. They don't need to be side tracked by scholars' musing about various philosophies and theologies or by long standing traditions. They can focus on Christ and, through his life and ministry, can learn to put off what is earthly (sin) and put on what is Godly (compassion, kindness, humility, meekness & patience - chapter 3:12). They should also make sure their lives are such that give a good opinion - like wives being subject and husbands not being harsh. They can achieve all this through prayer & thanksgiving.
All these ideals are within what Paul preached and, for the most part, what we have heard before. But in Colossians it repeats that there is no longer Greek & Jew etc - but leaves out male and female. This, put together with the "Haustafel" - rules for wives & husbands - gives a different feeling than previous Pauline epistles. It also affects people's opinion of Paul and his views. So I don't know if Timothy wrote it, with Paul giving a general gist of what he wanted to say and Timothy filling in the actual words, or if someone else wrote it to encourage the Colossians or if it is just different because the situation was different. I guess it doesn't matter so much - except for all the proof texting. So many people take one little verse (Like 3:18 Wives, be subject to your husbands) and extrapolate a whole life philosophy (Men are the head of the households and should make all the decisions and not have to answer to their wives while women should do whatever their husbands/fathers/brothers tell them). This, for me, is a problem and makes me want to, at least partially, write off parts of the letter as not really as valuable as others.
The funny part is, that my husband and I chose Colossians 3:12-17 as our wedding text; So this letter obviously has value for me. The ideas of clothing ourselves with characteristics that honor God and speaking to and teaching each other with hymns and Psalms and spiritual songs speak to me and encourage me. There are times when life feels so overwhelming and I start tending toward my default of either lashing back or hiding - but sometimes, with a deep breath and sober second thought I can figuratively put on the clothing of God and act in a way that is more loving (not mention appropriate). So often a hymn or song has helped me through a difficult time - given me the assurance or insight I needed right then. I have been spoken to and taught by music. So, whether Paul wrote this or not, I do find value and encouragement in this text.
I think this letter has a lot of good things to say, good encouragement to be what we should be and warnings against getting distracted or letting our wants rule, and I think we can take that as inspired by God, whether Paul wrote it or not. What do you think?
Monday, 31 August 2015
Monday, 17 August 2015
James - Faith Aive!
James has always held a special place in my affections. In so many ways, it feels like it was written directly to me. It is not couched in all kinds of archaic language and unintelligible examples - it is pretty straight forward. The message is not always comfortable - but it is quite clear.
As a teen I often felt like life wasn't fair (what teen doesn't?) - but James starts off with - if you face trials of ANY kind (even teenage angst) consider it nothing but joy (1:2). Barely into the letter and already being challenged. With adolescent earnestness I wanted to know WWJD (What would Jesus do) - and James promised that if one asked God for wisdom, it would be provided "generously and ungrudgingly." (1:5) Sometimes it felt like everyone else, well at least some of the other girls, had more money, nicer clothes, fancier vacations (etc.) but James assures us we should "boast...in being brought low" (1:9) and on and on it went. This was a book that spoke to me then, and still does today.
One of the biggest challenges for me was (and is?) the challenge to tame the tongue. I have a tendency to argue, to use sarcasm, to subtly (and not so subtly) bring another person down in order to win an argument and/or to make my position stronger, or just in an attempt to be funny. It is taking a lifetime of working at speaking the truth in love, building up not tearing down, and having my words be a blessing to those around me. I fail on a regular basis but the words of James still ring in my ears and I keep working on it.
And I guess that is the beauty of James. Almost every section provides a challenge that is still a challenge today. When I read it right after reading Romans, especially reminding myself of the emphasis on salvation as in the present, it is even more powerful. Romans talks about the power of faith and James tells us more about that faith - how it can make a difference in our day to day lives, how it is revealed through actions. If our faith, our trust and reliance on God as revealed through Jesus, does not give us the ability to act differently, to live differently, it is not real. The faith that saves us gives us the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Gal 5:22-23) that enables us to seek wisdom, rejoice in suffering, control our tongues, avoid judging, and so on. While many people in the past, most notably Martin Luther, saw James as in contrast to Paul - arguing it was faith alone that brought about salvation and that James promotes salvation through works - I would say they work together beautifully.
In some ways I am amazed that I still like James so much. After all these years I still do not manage to live up to the challenges found in this document. It can be rather harsh in its condemnation of those who fail. Yet I still find it inspiring and encouraging. This is what being a Christian is about - "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."(1:27). All the politics and superficial pretention we bring to our churches and our services really have nothing to do with following Christ - and James cuts through all that. Menno Simons agreed. He speaks of true evangelical faith which does not lie dormant but comes alive through the words and deeds of the Christian. Sometimes I wonder how we have strayed so far.
In conclusion I claim another promise found in James: "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." (5:16). I may not be righteous, as a matter of fact I know I fall short of that in many ways, but prayer is still powerful for even the likes of me, and I pray that I and my fellow Christians will grow in faith and that our faith may change into a living thing that makes a difference, in ourselves but also to those around us. May our faith truly come Alive!
As a teen I often felt like life wasn't fair (what teen doesn't?) - but James starts off with - if you face trials of ANY kind (even teenage angst) consider it nothing but joy (1:2). Barely into the letter and already being challenged. With adolescent earnestness I wanted to know WWJD (What would Jesus do) - and James promised that if one asked God for wisdom, it would be provided "generously and ungrudgingly." (1:5) Sometimes it felt like everyone else, well at least some of the other girls, had more money, nicer clothes, fancier vacations (etc.) but James assures us we should "boast...in being brought low" (1:9) and on and on it went. This was a book that spoke to me then, and still does today.
One of the biggest challenges for me was (and is?) the challenge to tame the tongue. I have a tendency to argue, to use sarcasm, to subtly (and not so subtly) bring another person down in order to win an argument and/or to make my position stronger, or just in an attempt to be funny. It is taking a lifetime of working at speaking the truth in love, building up not tearing down, and having my words be a blessing to those around me. I fail on a regular basis but the words of James still ring in my ears and I keep working on it.
And I guess that is the beauty of James. Almost every section provides a challenge that is still a challenge today. When I read it right after reading Romans, especially reminding myself of the emphasis on salvation as in the present, it is even more powerful. Romans talks about the power of faith and James tells us more about that faith - how it can make a difference in our day to day lives, how it is revealed through actions. If our faith, our trust and reliance on God as revealed through Jesus, does not give us the ability to act differently, to live differently, it is not real. The faith that saves us gives us the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Gal 5:22-23) that enables us to seek wisdom, rejoice in suffering, control our tongues, avoid judging, and so on. While many people in the past, most notably Martin Luther, saw James as in contrast to Paul - arguing it was faith alone that brought about salvation and that James promotes salvation through works - I would say they work together beautifully.
In some ways I am amazed that I still like James so much. After all these years I still do not manage to live up to the challenges found in this document. It can be rather harsh in its condemnation of those who fail. Yet I still find it inspiring and encouraging. This is what being a Christian is about - "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."(1:27). All the politics and superficial pretention we bring to our churches and our services really have nothing to do with following Christ - and James cuts through all that. Menno Simons agreed. He speaks of true evangelical faith which does not lie dormant but comes alive through the words and deeds of the Christian. Sometimes I wonder how we have strayed so far.
In conclusion I claim another promise found in James: "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." (5:16). I may not be righteous, as a matter of fact I know I fall short of that in many ways, but prayer is still powerful for even the likes of me, and I pray that I and my fellow Christians will grow in faith and that our faith may change into a living thing that makes a difference, in ourselves but also to those around us. May our faith truly come Alive!
Friday, 7 August 2015
Romans - Faith is 'enough'
In his introduction to Romans, Marcus Borg (Evolution of the Word) emphasizes that when Paul speaks of being saved, he is not referring to going to heaven but talking "about transformation this side of death -- the transformation of ourselves and of "this world"." This puts an interesting twist on the whole justification by grace through faith. With today's view of Christianity and moral living as a hardship, it is an interesting exercise to encourage oneself to look at the relationship with Christ and the benefits of having faith here and now as the prize for which we are going. But if you think about it, it makes sense. I just read a novel where the antagonist was going after the protagonist just because the hero was happy and his, seemingly more successful, 'friend' wasn't. With faith, through grace, we can be happy - even if we aren't the richest, the most successful, the most talented (etc.). There can be an underlying joy, even in times of hardship and sorrow. We can influence the people around us, not by winning popularity contests, but by being an example of living fully with whatever we have. Reading Romans with this in mind is exciting and a different kind of challenging.
Another point Borg makes is that 'faith' had a different meaning then than it does for many people today. We emphasize believing the right set of claims about Jesus to be true. But in Paul's day these 'beliefs' were assumed, and faith meant loyalty to and trust in a person. So if you didn't have faith, it wasn't that you didn't believe 'facts' about Jesus, it was that you were anxious, doubted Jesus and what his life meant. In today's stress filled society - I guess many of us fall short of truly having faith in Jesus.
We are all affected by our surroundings, our context. So it is difficult to read Paul's letters exactly as he meant them. For me, this time, what I kept seeing was "do not judge" (2:2), "all are under the power of sin" (3:9); "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (8:1); "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law"(13:10) "Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister?...For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God" (14:10) "Let us therefore no longer pass judgement on one another" (14:13) etc. In these days I see the liberal and conservative factions of the church passing judgement on each other on a regular basis. I see, even within our small congregation, people judging each other and feeling justified in bad behavior/rhetoric because the other faction is found wanting - and I do it too. I judge the people who verbally attack people I respect. How do we stand up for what we believe, and for those we care about, without judging? How do we live by love? This is a quandary. Romans says love is the goal - we need to work harder on that. So, once again, I found a real challenge in this letter.
I also found myself fighting what seems to be a defense of predestination in Chapter 9. It makes it sound like some people are just destined to have "hardened hearts" . I don't really have an answer. When I read it another time it reads differently to me and I can read it as God seeing who will accept mercy and who will not instead of determining it. This is something I will have to ponder further another time.
In general, though, I found Romans to be a wonderful, uplifting book. Thinking about how true faith can change lives and make such a difference in outlook. Salvation is not about what we do - for we do the things we don't want to do and don't do the things we do want to (7:19). It is not about whether we are Jew or Gentile (or what form of Christianity we choose, for that matter) - we all mess up but, through faith, have all become children of Abraham and therefore heirs to God's promises. It is God's amazing grace that gives us a centre - something to trust, something to rely on no matter what is happening around and to us. For we can know "all things work together for good for those who love God..." (8:28)."If God is for us, who is against us?" (8:31); "...in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.: (8:37). "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (10:13).
In other words we can relax, rest in the knowledge that we are good enough. Actually we can't be good enough - but God has declared us good enough to receive love and acceptance just as we are. We don't have to stress. We can be happy - not necessarily the bubbly smiley bouncy kind of happy - but filled with an inner joy that comes from the assurance that God is watching over us God loves us and will take care of us. When others "persecute" us, or things go wrong, it doesn't matter because we know what is really important - We are precious children of God. When we make mistakes, we don't have to hang our heads in shame - God loves us anyway! We are forgiven not perfect. There is such peace in knowing that we don't have to work so hard to be what God wants us to be - we already are. Yes, there is still the challenge to present our "bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God". But even that is easier when we know that we are already holy and acceptable to God. We still want to do good, we want to praise God with our very being - in all we say and do - this is a way of saying thank you for all God does for us - but when we are tired, or say or do the wrong thing - we can keep going because we know - we have faith - that God loves us and accepts us anyway.
I don't have the right words to express how much this brings me hope. As someone who deals regularly with depression and guilt and even shame - sometimes over things completely out of my control - there is a relief in knowing it's OK not to be good enough on my own. It's OK that I can't do everything so many of the amazing women I know can do. It's even OK that I don't have as many close friendships as so many other women seem to have. It doesn't feel OK - and I won't promise that it won't bother me - but if I focus on the promises, the arguments, the words of the letter to the Romans - I can rest in the knowledge that it is OK - that I am OK - not because of who I am or what I do - but because God has said so and I choose to believe.
"Now to God who is able to strengthen you ...be the glory forever!"
Another point Borg makes is that 'faith' had a different meaning then than it does for many people today. We emphasize believing the right set of claims about Jesus to be true. But in Paul's day these 'beliefs' were assumed, and faith meant loyalty to and trust in a person. So if you didn't have faith, it wasn't that you didn't believe 'facts' about Jesus, it was that you were anxious, doubted Jesus and what his life meant. In today's stress filled society - I guess many of us fall short of truly having faith in Jesus.
We are all affected by our surroundings, our context. So it is difficult to read Paul's letters exactly as he meant them. For me, this time, what I kept seeing was "do not judge" (2:2), "all are under the power of sin" (3:9); "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (8:1); "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law"(13:10) "Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister?...For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God" (14:10) "Let us therefore no longer pass judgement on one another" (14:13) etc. In these days I see the liberal and conservative factions of the church passing judgement on each other on a regular basis. I see, even within our small congregation, people judging each other and feeling justified in bad behavior/rhetoric because the other faction is found wanting - and I do it too. I judge the people who verbally attack people I respect. How do we stand up for what we believe, and for those we care about, without judging? How do we live by love? This is a quandary. Romans says love is the goal - we need to work harder on that. So, once again, I found a real challenge in this letter.
I also found myself fighting what seems to be a defense of predestination in Chapter 9. It makes it sound like some people are just destined to have "hardened hearts" . I don't really have an answer. When I read it another time it reads differently to me and I can read it as God seeing who will accept mercy and who will not instead of determining it. This is something I will have to ponder further another time.
In general, though, I found Romans to be a wonderful, uplifting book. Thinking about how true faith can change lives and make such a difference in outlook. Salvation is not about what we do - for we do the things we don't want to do and don't do the things we do want to (7:19). It is not about whether we are Jew or Gentile (or what form of Christianity we choose, for that matter) - we all mess up but, through faith, have all become children of Abraham and therefore heirs to God's promises. It is God's amazing grace that gives us a centre - something to trust, something to rely on no matter what is happening around and to us. For we can know "all things work together for good for those who love God..." (8:28)."If God is for us, who is against us?" (8:31); "...in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.: (8:37). "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (10:13).
In other words we can relax, rest in the knowledge that we are good enough. Actually we can't be good enough - but God has declared us good enough to receive love and acceptance just as we are. We don't have to stress. We can be happy - not necessarily the bubbly smiley bouncy kind of happy - but filled with an inner joy that comes from the assurance that God is watching over us God loves us and will take care of us. When others "persecute" us, or things go wrong, it doesn't matter because we know what is really important - We are precious children of God. When we make mistakes, we don't have to hang our heads in shame - God loves us anyway! We are forgiven not perfect. There is such peace in knowing that we don't have to work so hard to be what God wants us to be - we already are. Yes, there is still the challenge to present our "bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God". But even that is easier when we know that we are already holy and acceptable to God. We still want to do good, we want to praise God with our very being - in all we say and do - this is a way of saying thank you for all God does for us - but when we are tired, or say or do the wrong thing - we can keep going because we know - we have faith - that God loves us and accepts us anyway.
I don't have the right words to express how much this brings me hope. As someone who deals regularly with depression and guilt and even shame - sometimes over things completely out of my control - there is a relief in knowing it's OK not to be good enough on my own. It's OK that I can't do everything so many of the amazing women I know can do. It's even OK that I don't have as many close friendships as so many other women seem to have. It doesn't feel OK - and I won't promise that it won't bother me - but if I focus on the promises, the arguments, the words of the letter to the Romans - I can rest in the knowledge that it is OK - that I am OK - not because of who I am or what I do - but because God has said so and I choose to believe.
"Now to God who is able to strengthen you ...be the glory forever!"
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