Again, this class Fr. Lucio brought us back to the beginning of Christianity, especially the Early Christian Community. We end up by the report on “The Role Played of Paul in the Great Expansion of the Primitive Church”
11/5 Hellenism, Old Testament, Judaism, Jewish Tradition
13/5 Acts
18/5 Peter, Antioch, Paul Apostles of Gentiles
20/5 Conclusion of Paul Primacy of Peter
25/5 Spread of Christianity
27/5 The Reason of Roman Persecution against Christianity
1/6 Edict of Milan 313
3/6 Heresies in the Catholic Church
8/6 St. Augustine, Doctor Gratiae
10/6 Final Examination
I summited the report on “The Role Played of St. Pual in the Expansion of Primitive Christianity”
Introduction
Paul is the great apostle who brings the universal message of Christianity out of its Jewish limitations. He is really a man from the inside, a Jewish who has rooted in his Jewish heritage. His missionary life has not only proclaimed the good news but rather opened Christianity to other cultures. His mission is a bridge through which the message of Christianity may cross from the Jewish world to the non-Jewish world.
In this short essay, I would like to present the role played of Paul in the growth of Christianity. First of all, I will portray the life of Paul through some sources of information we have. The life of Paul will also reveal his personal character. Then, I will depict the call of Paul to the vocation as an apostle of the Gentiles, while many scholars call this experience as conversion but I would like to call it vocation. His missionary life will be portrayed that we would be able to learn the strategy of his mission. Consequently, I will render his writings which include pastoral guidelines and theological teachings which I call him the great writer.
Life of Paul
We can basically know the life of Paul through the evidences we have. Basically, we got his writings, the epistles, as the primary sources. We also include the Acts of the Apostles as secondary sources. From these resources, we can obviously get to be familiar with Paul.
Saul was a Hebrew name of Paul who was born in Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 21:39; 22:3). It was a metropolis of the Roman province[1] outside the confines of the Palestine of the New Testament. Being born in the Roman Empire, Paul is a Roman citizen by birth (Acts 22:28) which later on offers him certain privileges in his missionary vocation. He also mentioned some definition about Tarsus as a “no mean city” (Acts 21:39). It implies to us that Tarsus was a very important city. It was a large prosperous port and commercial center that welcomed traders from all over the known world of that time; a center of learning that produced and exported a good number of famed scholars and philosophers[2]. This fully supplied region allows Paul to be brought up with well educated in Ancient Philosophy and Greek Literature which will be very useful in his mission.
Paul has a Jewish background as it was mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 21:39; 22:3). His family is from the tribe of Benjamin (Rom 11:1). Like other Jews, Paul also lived a Jewish religion. He was circumcised (Phil 3:5) and trained strictly in the law under the great Rabbi, Gamaliel in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3). This rigorous education made him to be a zealous Pharisee who once persecuted the Church. He strictly lived out his life in righteousness according to Torah with blameless (Phil 3:6). He also believes in the resurrection as the Pharisees do (Acts 23:6-9).
Paul learned a manual and common trade, tent making (Acts 18:3), which might probably be an occupation of his parents. This skill also helped him to provide personally for his own support (1 Cor 4:12) without being a burden for the churches. He did not want to receive any love offering from any community except from the Philippians (Phil 4:10, 14-19).
From this point of view, we are able to say that in Jewish culture, Paul spoke Aramaic and knew Hebrew. In the Hellenistic world, he wrote in Greek, “Koine” Greek of the common people at that time. He made use of the knowledge of philosophy in his arguments[3].
In addition, through his own writings, we can know some of his characteristics.
1.) He is not a fairy speaker as he puts;
For someone will say, "His letters are severe and forceful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible." (2 Cor 10:10)
And again in 2 Corinthians 11:6
“Even if I am untrained in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.”
2.) He has some physical disorders
2.1. He refers to the condition as a reason for his prolong in Galatia .
“you know that it was because of a physical illness that I originally preached the gospel to you, and you did not show disdain or contempt because of the trial caused you by my physical condition, but rather you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus”. (Gal 4:13-14)
2.2. He once mentioned about “the thorn in the flesh” in 2 Cor 12:7-9
“…Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”
Stendahl, [4] suggested that the thorn in the flesh is an illness or physical disability. It might be an eye-trouble as he refers to in Gal 4:15. He might also have epilepsy. These difficulties or weaknesses do not cause Paul to easily give up in his mission but he realizes that whenever he is weak, he is strong (cf. 2 Cor 12:10).
There is no record about his death, but according to the tradition, Paul probably beheaded in Rome. Most scholars put his martyrdom around the year 67 C.E[5].
The Call to be an Apostle of the Gentiles
In his genuine letters, Paul has never discussed about his Damascus experience but only in Gal 1:13-17 that he mentioned about the call to be an Apostle of the Gentiles. We are, therefore, able to know his Damascus Experience through the records in the Acts of the Apostles. Though the Acts of the Apostles intends to deliver the theological teachings, but it also has many historical themes. Luke has narrated the accounts of Damascus Experience for three times in three different places and to different audiences.
In Acts 9:1-9, Luke narrates the story of Saul, the zealous Pharisee who persecutes the followers of “the way”. He obtained letters of authorization from the high priest to arrest and bring the traitors Jews to Jerusalem. Suddenly on his way to Damascus, Luke told us, he met the risen Christ and that was the beginning of his new mission. The experience on the road to Damascus was told again in the second and the third time but in Paul’s own speech of his self-defense (Acts 22:6-16; 26:12-18). It is good to have a synopsis of these accounts.
| The first account | The second account | The third account |
| Acts 9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. 4 And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; 6 but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. | Acts 22: 6-16 6"As I made my journey and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, `Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' 8 And I answered, `Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, `I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, `What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, `Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And when I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, `Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And in that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, `The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' | Acts 26:12 "Thus I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, `Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.' 15 And I said, `Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, `I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and bear witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles -- to whom I send you 18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' |
According to Dianzon[6], Luke has intentions to put some spiritual significance in each account. The purpose of the first account of the Damascus experience is to insist that Saul actually saw the risen Christ. It is an objective of Luke to introduce Paul, like other disciples, is entrusted the mission of proclaiming the good news to “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). And this is the reason that from chapter thirteen up to the end of the book, Luke narrates the story of Paul as the main character up to the end of the Acts of the Apostles with the arrival of Paul in Rome (Acts 28:16) which is a geographical symbol of “the ends of the earth”. Obviously from Chapter thirteen we have his new name as “Paul” (Acts 13:9).
The second account of Damascus experience, Luke presents it as a speech of Paul before his Jewish fellows in the tribunal. Luke intends to give this account as the religious meaning of Paul blindness. Paul was not able to see the brightness of the light. The Greek word is “δοξα” which should be translated as “glory”. Therefore the cause of blindness of Paul is not the light but “the glory of that light”. This expression indicated how Paul’s experience of the risen Christ far surpasses that of the other apostles.
The third account is presented in the form of another speech of Paul before the Jewish king, Agrippa. Luke tries to prove that Paul is a prophet and that his mission is the extension of the mission of the Servant of Yahweh in the Book of Isaiah. Dianzon attested that the mission of Paul has a similar language of one of the songs of the Servant of Yahweh in Isaiah 42:7. The mission entrusted to Paul is fulfilling the command of Christ before his ascension to heaven. The good news becomes now a universal message for all people.
I do not call the Damascus experience of Paul a conversion but rather a “vocation”. His experience could not be considered as a transfer from one religion to another. Because it is still the same One True God (Monotheism) that he worship as a Jew and later on as a Christian. Though the call to be an apostle had reversed the direction of his life, but Paul still remained the same in many ways. He was a zealot fully and totally committed to the course to which he felt called by God.
The Damascus experience of Paul has brought him an apostolic mission, a religious meaning of his vocation and a prophetic mission. He has given a new life and new mission which is a mission to the gentiles as it is said “to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18). For Paul, this experience has an inner significance much more than only an external dimension. The inner changed makes him to become an apostle to the gentiles. Moreover, he liberates Christianity from Jewish culture to grow to be a universal religion for all.
The Great Missionary
We can evidently find the Missionary Journeys of Paul from the Acts of the Apostles through which Paul also mentions his frequent travels and shipwrecks (2 Cor 11:25-26). He use both land and sea routes. I will, then, elucidate the Missionary Journeys of Paul and try to analyze his strategy of mission which will be good lessons for all of us.
The First Missionary Journey began after his Damascus Experience. Paul then went to Arabia for three years after that he moved to Jerusalem. His first journey launched from Antioch, where the apostolic life and missionary work to the Gentiles became clearer. We can excerpt this journey from chapter thirteen to fourteen in the Acts of the Apostles. He founded churches in Cyprus, where the conversion of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, in Paphos was his greatest success (Acts 13: 7-12). Paul then moved on to the Southern Galatian cities of Perga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium and Lystra, where people took Barnabas as Zeus and Pual as Hermes (Acts 14: 12-13). Returning to Antioch the apostles visited the founded communities in reverse order and installed presbyters (Acts 14:23). From there they went back to Antioch (Acts 14:26).
Between the first and second journey, there is a great remarkable event in the history of the Church, the First Council of Jerusalem. This significant Council falls on around the year 49 or 50 C.E. Paul and Barnabas joined the apostles who came together with the elders to consider the matter of conflict regarding circumcision between those who were from Judaism and those who were from Paganism. The solution from this council may be called as the “Four Clauses of St. James” which demanded the Christian pagans to 1.) abstain from the pollution of idols 2.)be aware from illicit sexual relations 3.) be aware from strangled animals 4.) be aware from blood.
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey is told in (Acts 15:36 – 18:18), it brought him to western Asia Minor and Greece. Departing from Antioch, Paul took Silas along and made a visitation to the south of Galatia, the communities founded earlier in Syria, Cilicia and Lycoania. In Lystra, he met Timothy who became his most liked and faithful disciple (Acts 16: 1-3). Then going for the first time to Northern Galatia and Phrygia, he crossed over to Macedonia from Troas. In Troas, Luke also became his companion (Acts 16:10). He visited Philippi, Apollonia, Thessalonica (Phil 4:15-16), and preached the gospel in Beroea. Then he went to Athen, where he converted Dionysius who later became the first bishop of Athen (Acts 17:16-18). Paul went to Corinth and stayed there for eighteen months. Here he wrote the first letter to the Thessalonians. From Corinth, Paul proceeded to Ephesus, Caesarea and then to Jerusalem.
The Third Missionary Journey is portrayed in Acts 19:1 – 20:38. After spending some time in Antioch, Paul made his trip through Galatia and Phrygia and came to Ephesus where he preached with success for three years. In Ephesus, Paul wrote the Letter to the Galatians and Corinthians (1 Cor 16:7-9). After making a painful visit to Corinth, Paul left Ephesus for Troas. He cross to Macedonia and proceeded to Achaia and Corinth. From Corinth, Paul went to Jerusalem by way of Macedonia, Troas, Miletus.
These missionary journeys of Paul have brought tremendous outcome. We are able to learn many lessons from his missionary life. I then would like to present some significance from his strategy and technique.
Being a Roman citizen, Paul straightforwardly moved throughout the Graeco-Roman world[7]. He enjoyed certain advantages in his missionary journeys, commonly called the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) and the network of roads and bridges built throughout the Roman Empire. These factors provide Paul an extensive travel.
Being born in a city, Paul usually evangelized in the cities first. He chose cities as missionary centers, such as, Antioch, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, Colossae, Athens etc. From the cities the gospel would spread to the countryside. The cities where Paul preached and built the communities were the centre of Roman administration, of Greek civilization, of Jewish influence or of some commercial importance[8].
He goes to the land that no one has proclaimed the gospel before[9]. Paul and his fellow apostles hit upon a highly effective missionary strategy. As they tried to spread the faith, they focused on the cities, where people were most likely to be receptive to new ideas. Country areas were often not evangelized until much later. Within the cities, they went first to the Jews, who had the greatest knowledge of the background to their message, and to the circles of sympathetic pagans who formed a fringe around most Jewish communities. These God-fearers were characteristically trying to live by Jewish morals and beliefs without actually converting. They were often the most fertile mission field.
He founded the communities. His goal was to establish faithful communities by training local leader. By doing so, Paul could be free to preach to other places and build communities. He followed up the founded communities, installed presbyters and made several visitations. He would have always wanted to revisit the communities he founded to strengthen them.
Paul saw himself as an itinerant missionary whose primary call as apostle to the Gentiles. His plan was apparently a steady expansion toward Spain and the outer reaches of the Roman Empire. He expressed his will to go to Spain by the help of Christian’s community in Rome (Rom 15:24, 28).
The Great Writer
The Early Christian Community regarded the writings of Paul as a reverend scripture although they are difficult to understand (2 Pet 3:15-16). The Greek, he used, is clear and forceful. Absolutely, he was a brilliant writer and theologian. His profound writings become central in the development of the Christian teaching up to this day. He formed a theology of the Gospel message[10] through which the Christian theology is liberated from Judaism.
Paul wrote many letters to different communities in order to encourage, teach, and exhort the communities which he has sowed the seed of faith. There are only thirteen letters left to us but there might be much more than that. Among these letters, the scholars suggest that these following letters were composed by Paul: 1Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philemon and Romans. They are called Proto-Pauline letters meaning to say that there is no doubt about Paul as the one who write, which is also, called homologoumena. The other six letters are said to have been written by some of the disciples familiar with the Pauline theological traditions. These letters are Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus. They are called Deutero-Pauline letters or antilogomena[11].
As I have mentioned already that he wrote in Greek and often quoted the Old Testament in its Greek version, the Septuagint (LXX). He also knew how to use a secretary and he dictated his letters[12], which has mentioned the name of “Tertius” in Rom 16:22. Then in Gal 6:11 he puts that he is writing in his own hand. The writings of Paul were occasioned by pastoral problems that arose in his communities. Each community reserved the letters and continued to read it in the liturgical gathering[13]. Even after the problem had been solved, they still kept on reading them.
In general, we are able to summarize the basic messages of Paul through all the writings that left to us. He preached the death, resurrection, and Lordship of Jesus. It was Paul also who influent us in calling the Lord as “Jesus Christ” which seems that Christ is the family name of Jesus. Actually, he wants to emphasize that the Messiah, meaning “the anointed one”, whom the Jewish are waiting for is Jesus. The Greek word for Messiah is “Cristo.j” which is translated in English as “Christ”.
Conclusion
Saint Paul, after the experience on the road to Damascus, came to realize his vocation as it was the Will of God for him to bring the Good News to the Gentiles (cf. Gal 1:15-16). Although he was not an eloquent preacher, but he did not give up his ministry, rather he found that there is nothing can separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:38-39). He used all gifts, privileges, authorities and possibilities he has given for the mission.
As a missionary, he went to many places and founded communities of the believers. There were many difficulties and sufferings as an apostle through which he was so proud of “Five times I have received from the Jew the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked… on frequent journeys, in danger from river, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sister…if I must boast, I will boast of my weakness” (2 Cor 11:24-30)
As a writer, he wrote several letters to the communities he found, and even to the community he did not found, Rome. He was guided by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the truth through his writings. He expressed the profound doctrine of Christianity as it is a universal message for all.
These roles of Paul are very important in the expansion of Christianity. There might be various titles given to our beloved apostle, Paul. But the one of the titles, I think, we should offer him is that the Imitator of Christ, as he also encourages us to be.
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1)
Bibliography
Benedict XVI. (2007). The Apostles. Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor
Bokenkotter, T. (1990). A Concise History of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday.
Collins, M. & Price, M. (1999). The Story of Christianity 2000 years of faith.
New York: DK Publishing.
Dianzon, B. (2008). Glimpse of Paul and his message. Pasay City: Paulines.
Rasmussen, M. (2005). The Catholic Church the first 2000 years. San Francisco: Ignatius.
Sanders. E. P. (1991). Paul: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.
Socias, J. (2005). The History of the Church: A Complete Course. Illinois: Midwest Theological
Forum.
Wright, N. T. (1998). What Saint Paul Really Said? Michigan: Grand Rapids.
[1] Gebhard M. Heyder a. S. Laur, , Herman Mueller.(Trans.), (1994). Paul of Tarsus: Synopsis of His Letters. Manila: Logos Publication, p 7.
[2] Bernardita Dianzon. (2008). Glimpses of Paul and His Message. Pasay City: Paulines. pp 14-15
[3] In Acts 17:18, Paul quotes the saying of Stoic philosopher. He also wrote against Epicurean hedonism in (1 Cor 15:32-33; 1Thes 4:10-12)
[4] Krister Stendahl. (1995). Final Account: Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p 2.
[5] Gebhard M. Heyder a. S. Laur, , Herman Mueller.(Trans.), (1994). Paul of Tarsus: Synopsis of His Letters. Manila: Logos Publication, p. 18.
[6] Bernardita Dianzon. (2008). Glimpses of Paul and His Message. Pasay City: Paulines, pp. 21-25.
[7] E. P. Sanders. (1991). Paul: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, p 11.
[8] Ibid., pp 23-31
[9] John Samaha. (2008). The Perennial Paul, Homiletic and Pastoral Review. (April 2008), pp. 64-67.
[10] James Socias. (2005). The History of the Church: A Complete Course. Illinois: Midwest Theological Forum, p. 46-47.
[11] Gil A. Alinsangan. (2009). 365 Days with the Lord: Liturgical Biblical Diary 2009. Makati: St. Paul Publishing, pp. XIV-XIX.
[12] E. P. Sanders. (1991). Paul: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 5.
[13] Bernardita Dianzon. (2008). Glimpses of Paul and His Message. Pasay City: Paulines. p. 32.
No comments:
Post a Comment