Sunday, July 20, 2008“

Living in the Spirit” by Dawn Rolke

Readings: Romans 8:12-25 (Translation: The Message by Eugene Peterson)

Various excerpts from Reformation writers regarding women

Marcus Borg, a name we hear often at Eastside, mentioned once that he has created a list of the 10 worst things Christianity ever did for the world. I don’t have such a list, but if I did, I’d have to include the subject I addressed in last Sunday’s sermon: the way that Christianity has wrenched notions of spirituality apart from notions of sexuality, making spirituality basically good and sexuality basically bad (unless it is expressed in the context of marriage). As I said last week, I believe that spirituality and sexuality come from the same place in us: the intuitive life force that we call God or Spirit.

In concluding the message last week, I mentioned that this split is connected to misinterpretations of two words that we’ve been reading in scripture for a long time, namely: the words ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit.’[1] So, today I want to pick up where I left off. And to begin that process, please look at the NRSV translation of our Romans text: “So then… if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (vss 12-13). What does Paul mean when he says this; when he talks about flesh and spirit?

First of all, Paul is NOT using the word “flesh” to condemn the things of the body. Rather, for Paul, living in the flesh means living with our lives centered in something other than God. It means placing our allegiance or our loyalty somewhere other than in God. Conversely, living in the spirit means living with our lives centered in God. Remember this because I will return to it later. For, this is the very heart of the Book of Romans. It is the very heart of Paul’s message.

So, now, I want to say a few words about the other quotes and material you have in your bulletin insert. Notice quotes from Martin Luther, John Calvin and others.[2] I wanted you to see some of our influences from the Reformation Era and even much earlier resources (the quote from Clement in 150CE). John Crossan, a Jesus scholar, says for the past few centuries we’ve been interpreting Paul through the eyes of Reformation writers. These writings give us a glimpse of what he means. We are deeply influenced by them, whatever our denomination, even though in the United Church, quotes like this may be covered over and seldom discussed. In any case, I want you to notice, here, the connections between a negative attitude towards the flesh and how that attitude morphed into a negative attitude towards women. We see it most in the quote from Luther. Women have larger hips. They are here for childbirth, keeping house, raising children (doesn’t even make sense, really)... therefore we are not wise. Calvin is a little clearer about the mind/body split, stating that man is the head of the house, which connects to the physical head and being a thinker, whereas women are made for things of the body. There are very complete and intricate arguments trying to make these points over hundreds of years and I encourage you to do the research for yourselves. These beliefs have shaped us in ways we don’t even know. In the literature, you will also note that the idea of flesh being negative extends to people of colour, people with physical and mental disabilities, gay and lesbian people, and people who are poor and thus make their living through a trade or using their bodies. Slavery is also built on the premise that bodies (people) which do manual labour are less human than people who more often use their heads to think. Dig into history. You will find that the subjection of almost every marginalized group for the last 2000 years is tied into the dualism of ‘bad flesh’ and ‘good mind/spirit’. Christianity didn’t invent this. But.... we did buy into it and perpetuate it.

So... what’s the point? The point is related to our text for today, and the larger body of writings attributed to Paul. Paul, as you may know, is credited with writing almost of the New Testament: 13 books in all. But of those 13 books, only 7 are authentic Paul, including: Romans, 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon. Now, this is not new information. It’s been common knowledge since I was in seminary 20 years ago (and before that) and there is actually massive scholarly consensus on the authentic books of Paul. Of the remaining 6 books, 3 of these are probably not from Paul, and the final three (1^st and 2^nd Timothy and Titus) are definitely not written by Paul.

The reason for the judgments around the different books is as follows: major differences in style, tone, vocabulary and content. But here’s the dicey point: we are now learning that the last three books attributed to Paul are not just small differences or paradoxes we should try and resolve. The writings in the last three books actually undo or reverse the things Paul said in his authentic writings. And yet, these are the books that the reformation followed when it came to understandings of women, slaves, the body and flesh.

John Dominic Crossan says it this way: the first 7 books, including Romans, give us Radical Paul, radical like Jesus. This Paul assumed that men and women were equal in the Christian family and you’ll notice that it’s barely mentioned, except when Paul is delegating tasks wherein he gives tasks similarly to men and women. Paul knew perfectly well these rules didn’t apply anywhere else in the Roman Empire. But… as in Jesus’s small groups, norms of equality do apply in the household of faith. Second, Radical Paul preached that in the Christian family, no one person could be the slave or master of another. Again - completely the opposite of the Roman Empire in which the early Christians lived. Third, Radical Paul preached, as did Jesus before him, a household of faith where food, goods, everything... was distributed according to need, rather than according to had power and who did not.

In the next three letters (Colossians, Ephesians and 2^nd Thessalonians), the ones considered “probably not” Paul, we see a slide, a slip into ‘small c” conservatism. Slavery is now accepted by the author, but slave owners are admonished to treat their slaves well. Similarly, husbands are allowed to have power over their wives, but are commanded to treat their wives well.

And, finally, there are the last letters or books which Crossan considers “reactionary.” He also calls them “anti-Paul” because they actually undo everything that Paul (and Jesus before him) stood for. An interesting note is that - for the past many decades, we have called 1^st and 2^nd Timothy and Titus the “pastoral” books. This is where we find the writings about women being silent in church, slaves being obedient to their masters, and numerous other admonitions to all Christians to fit in and be respectable. This idea of “being pastoral” is also a warning to those in pastoral ministry, a strong message to pastors to keep the peace. Don’t rock the boat. Don’t challenge the powerful. Don’t upset the status quo.

It almost makes a person weep.

Faced with scripture that liberates, and scripture that oppresses, many of the most influential people in our founding denominations choose the scripture that oppresses. But here’s the thing: we are in a new time. We are always in a new time. And we need to stop interpreting Paul through the eyes of the Reformation writers and those who wrote to keep the peace.

At the U of R this week, I saw a professor wearing a t-shirt which had “unlearn” written across the front. And that is really what we need to do: unlearn what we have been taught. We need to unlearn so that we can learn... something new.

Which brings me back to the central point in Romans and the central point of the writer, Paul: living a life in the Spirit meant living a life of allegiance to God. Understand the language: Paul was writing in the midst of Empire where you had to have an allegiance to someone, namely Caesar. Paul is saying: not Caesar, but God.

Life in the spirit means centering oneself in God. And this had political implications. It implies that we will love as God loves. It implies that we will love WHAT and WHO God loves: namely, the world and its people. But that’s not all. Living in the spirit also has internal, personal implications. As the text says: It means that we will receive a tremendous inheritance. NOT eternal life. Don’t go there. Paul didn’t care about this anymore than Jesus did. The inheritance of living a life in the spirit is inner freedom. As the text says, “You will know who you really are.” To me, this means we will be free from the lords of our culture, whatever those lords are: fear, anxiety, violence, terror, rampant consumerism. This is what Paul meant when he said, over and over, “I have crucified by Christ.” Those parts of him that were afraid, anxious, enslaved to the world... those were gone... and out of their ashes, a new identity had been born.

So... is Paul saying that suddenly we are new people because we turn our lives toward God. Yes and no. Like Jesus, Paul says, “Yes, today, you are a new person - no longer afraid, no longer anxious.” But he also says that it’s a process. And so we wait, like pregnant women.... and God is in the waiting with us. Amen.

Questions for Reflection:

1. How do feel about the idea that some of Paul’s “letters” are authentic and some are inauthentic? How does this make you feel about reading scripture?

2. Have you ever noticed a connection between negative ideas of ‘the flesh’ and negative attitudes toward women, gay and lesbian folks, people of colour and people with disabilities?

3. What is one thing you need to “unlearn?”

4. How does this sermon relate to your spirituality, if at all?

Sermon Sources:

John D. Crossan, God and Empire: Jesus against Rome, then and now. 2007.

John D. Crossan, In Search of Paul. 2004. www.johndcrossan.com

www.textweek.net (particularly “Coming Out in Scripture” – Resources for reading the text from a GLBTQ perspective.

Miguel de la torre, A Lily Among the Thorns: Imagining a New Christian Sexuality, 2007.

John H Bratt, “The Role and Status of Women in the Writings of John Calvin,” Renaissance, Reformation, Resurgence. 1976.

The writings of Martin Luther, including Table Talk and A Letter to My Wife. 1530.

The sermons of John Calvin.