The bottom line is that “through love,” they were to “serve one another” (5:13b). Though this can be heard in the general sense of Christian service, it can also be taken more literally and we can hear Paul insisting that all take the opportunity to be servants at the meal table. Just because somebody was responsible for serving at meal tables (women, slaves) outside the church gathering, that did not automatically mean that they were to be the servants at the church gathering. Indeed, Paul insists that the appropriate attitude is “You must love your neighbor as yourself” (5:14b). Just as their service was not some generalized service, so too this “love” is not some general, undefined love. Paul quotes from the nineteenth chapter of Leviticus, making allusion to all that surrounds the specific quotation.
We will gain further insight into the social dynamic that is at work when we look to that passage in Leviticus and find “You must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord. You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him. You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. You must keep My statutes” (19:15-19a). Clearly, Paul has this in mind when he appends to his thoughts “However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another” (5:15), which, interestingly enough, is language connected to a meal table.
If we bear in mind the Levitical allusion, and even though there is some intervening material dealing with the operation of the Spirit and the subsequent contrast between the works of the Spirit and the works of the flesh, do we not hear the Levitical pronouncement heavily informing the introduction to the sixth chapter, as we hear Paul speaking and saying “Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too. Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (6:1-2)? Certainly, the words that lead into the opening statement of the sixth chapter could be brought into service here, as Paul writes “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another” (5:26). When we hear these words at a mixed meal table, cognizant of all of the potential sources of divisions and classifications and groupings that would be a natural component of every other meal gathering that would be known and even participated in by those that compose the church of Galatia, they should take on an even more profound meaning.
So how does all of this knowledge about Paul’s purposes in relation to intra-church conflicts, cultural dynamics, and societal norms aid us in better understanding “Now the one who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with the one who teaches it”? (6:6). Well, since it is possible and probable that slaves and masters were sitting side by side at the meal table (and hopefully learning to love their neighbor as themselves by engaging in conversation in a mutually up-building way), and because it is also most likely the case that a slave would, oftentimes, be chosen to preside over the meal and the symposium, it would also make sense to believe that, on frequent occasions, it would be a slave that is offering up a word of prophecy or sharing some form of instruction (be it a tongue, an interpretation, a song, or what have you) for the building up of the church.
Yes, a slave, or perhaps even a woman, might very well be responsible for imparting instruction to the assembled body, as they participate equally in the symposium, teaching and expounding upon the word of God for the purpose of advancing the kingdom, or of advancing the understanding of the way in which the church is to function in and for the kingdom of God. Likewise, when viewed from the perspective of the Jew, it may be a Gentile from whom instruction is being received. Either way, there was to be no delineation and no discrimination, when it came to the remuneration of those that were instructing and serving to build up and strengthen the body. In every other meal association, not only would it be unheard of to allow those with no honor, as assigned by the community at large, to teach (as if somebody lacking any honor could impart useful information), but it would also be problematic. For the church, this would not be problematic, but it would be an opportunity to display the only proper delineation, which would be the delineation that demonstrates just how incredibly unique was the body that represented the world’s true King and His kingdom.
Just as it would have been customary for an orator or one skilled in rhetoric, and therefore held in high esteem, to be compensated for the exercise of their particular gifting, with nobody thinking twice about the appropriateness of compensation, so too should there be no hesitation in providing compensation to anyone, be it a slave or woman, who performs such a role. This equal sharing owing to teaching, regardless of one’s social status outside the church gathering, along with the necessary disavowal of any pathetic divisions or classifications within the church body, would be evidence of the operation of God’s Spirit within the community. It is in accordance with this way of thinking that we can then hear Paul saying “Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit” (6:7-8). Though it remains a component, clearly, the instruction to “share all good things with the one who teaches it” goes well beyond its customary use to provide justification for giving to one’s church, and thereby showing respect for the teaching.
No comments:
Post a Comment