Colossians Remixed

1. Colossians Remixed Subverting the Empire: Session 2

2. Opening Prayer: For Sound Government O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Lord, keep this nation under your care. To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties. Give grace to your servants, O Lord. To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations. Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

3. Opening Prayer Cont. To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served. Give grace to your servants, O Lord. And finally, teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name. For yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Amen. (BCP, p. 822)

4. Reading Colossians • A letter written to small group in city that disappeared after earthquake in 60-64 A.D. • Written in a different era • What questions will help us understand the letter? • Issues of the culture • Dominant worldview • Nearby cities • Cultural events and symbols

5. Letter to Colossians in Context of Empire • “Empires are • Built on systemic centralizations of power, • Secured by structures of socioeconomic and military control, • Religiously legitimated by powerful myths and • Sustained by a proliferation of imperial images that captivate the imaginations of the population.” (p. 58)

6. Systemic Centralizations of Power • Power revolved around the paterfamilias • Father controlled and directed economic resources and upheld the cultural values • Laws explicitly granted the father control over the financial resources of their sons • Even freed slaves were legally bound to their masters • Caesar was the ultimate father-figure of the Empire • “Thine age, O Caesar, has brought back fertile crops to the fields.” • The emperor “has wiped away our sins and revived the ancient virtues.” (Horace, as quoted onp. 54) • “The ultimate patron” (p. 59) • Does Paul uphold or undermine the paterfamilias in Col. 3:18-4:1?

7. Discerning Empire • Purpose of games and festivals to celebrate the emperor and the empire’s victories • Role of morality in the empire • Unmarried people were penalized by law • Production of children was rewarded

8. Socioeconomic and Military control • Rome first conquered and then exploited its territories for economic gain • “So what Rome needed in order to exploit a province economically was above all the provision of an infrastructure, though this was tailored to its own needs. If the term ‘development aid’ had already been in existence it would have been just as much a euphemism for exploitation as it is today.” (Klaus Wengst, p. 60) • “If the empire elevates economic greed and avarice into civic virtues, while Paul dismisses such a way of life as idolatrous, then how does a Christian community shaped by Paul’s gospel live its life in the empire?” (p 61)

9. The Myth of Pax Romana • According to this myth Rome brought • Peace • Fertility • Prosperity • New age of blessing • In Colossians, Paul speaks of a Christ that is a victim of the empire, but who is in reality its sovereign • Gospel bears fruit in the whole world (Col. 1:6) • Rescue from the power of darkness (Col. 1:13) • Makes peace through the blood of his cross (Col. 1:20) • Treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3)

10. Imperial Images • “Soon political symbolism could be seen on every imaginable object made for private use, indeed on virtually everything that could be decorated at all: jewelry and utensils, furniture, textiles, walls and stuccoed ceilings, door jambs, clay facings, roof tiles, and even on tomb monuments and marble ash urns.” (Paul Zanker, as quoted on p. 54) • Paul’s letter to Colossians says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15)

11. In the Shadow of Empire • One thematic approach to the Biblical narrative is living life in the opposition to empire • Egypt • Assyria • Babylon • Persia

12. In the Shadow of Empire • Two foundational stories of the Hebrew Bible • Creation • Humanity is made in God’s image • Exodus • God defeats the army of the empire to free its slaves • Israel, now freed, is called to be a light to the nations (Isa. 49:6) • Israel’s laws run counter to the laws of empires • Care for the foreigner, widow & orphan (Ex. 22:21-24) • Gleaning (Lev. 19:9-10) • Prevent interest charges (Ex. 22:25-27) • Wages for work done (Deut. 24:14-15) • Sabbatical year and slave redemption (Deut. 15) • God is the king of Israel & seeking a king “like other nations” leads to trouble (I Sam. 8:4-18)

13. Exile for Israel • Israel’s exile the result of a failure to live up to her calling • Even in exile, God has a plan • Jer. 29:5-7 • Hebrew Bible’s equivalent to “Pray for your enemies” • “This is a call to be God’s people by bringing shalom and healing to places of brokenness and despair. And what could be more broken and more in need of healing than the place of oppression, the heart of the empire?” (p. 68)

14. Luke – The Gospel of the Colossians? • Paul’s greetings to the Colossians from Luke may indicate that some form of this gospel known to the church at Colossae • Luke’s gospel pointedly states who is the power occupying Israel • Luke 1:5 • Luke 2:1-4 • Luke 3:1-2 • Mary’s song speaks of a God who brings “down the powerful from their thrones and lifts up the lowly” (Luke 1:46-55) • Jesus proclaims a kingdom in which the master serves and the cross is a throne

15. Fruitfulness in the Face of Empire • Colossians 1:5-6, 9-10 • Colossae part of an empire • Claiming responsibility for fertility & prosperity • Surrounded its citizens with symbols of the empire • Used its military power when necessary to retain power

16. Counterclaims to Empire • Israel’s God, Yahweh, is the true provider for all the earth, bringing a fruitfulness affiliated with justice and righteousness (Ps. 146:5-9) • Year of jubilee brings restoration (Lev. 25) • Sabbath is the proper antidote to conspicuous consumption (Is. 58:13-14) • Prophets exhort Israel to remember who provides for their needs (Hos. 2:8)

17. Counterclaims to Empire • Jesus echoes and enriches all these themes • Parable of the sower (Mt. 13:23) • A tree is known by its fruit (Lk. 6:43-45) • What sort of fruit? (Lk. 6:27-28) • “Love your enemies” • “Do good to those who hate you” • “Bless those who curse you” • “Pray for those who abuse you” • “This is an image of overflowing abundance growing out of generosity—a generosity of heart as well as possessions.” (p. 74)

18. Colossians God creates the world & provides for all creatures Gospel (euangelion) is bearing fruit in the people Fruitfulness is justice and faithfulness The Empire Empire bestows abundance and blessings on its citizens Gospel (euangelion) announces military victories and emperor’s proclamations Fruit of the empire is… Subverting the Empire

19. Hearing with Old Testament Ears “Paul’s language would have evoked a whole other way of political and economic being in community, rooted in Torah and God’s calls to justice and care for the disfranchised. This path of covenant faithfulness leads to a fruitfulness for the whole earth that God alone can provide. For those who knew the story of Jesus, Paul’s language suggested a call to an alternative ethic in the face of the empire, an ethic rooted in Jesus and his act of reconciliation on the cross.” (pp. 75-76)

20. Subversive Poetry-Colossians 1:15-20 • Empires keep their stranglehold on society through • Monopoly of markets • Military muscle • Holding hostage the imagination of their subjects • Ancient Hebrews understood life under the tyranny of empire • Early Christians lived surrounded by the imagery of the Roman Empire • Caesar’s portrait on variety of objects & buildings • Empire became the only way to imagine life

21. Subversive Poetry-Colossians 1:15-20 “In a world populated by images of Caesar, who is taken to be the son of God, a world in which the emperor’s preeminence over all things is bolstered by political structures and institutions, an empire that views Rome as the head of the body politic in which an imperial peace is imposed—sometimes through the capital punishment of crucifixion—this poem is nothing less than treasonous. …Paul subverts every major claim of the empire, turning them on their heads, and proclaims Christ to be the Creator, Redeemer and Lord of all of creation, including the empire.” (pp. 83-84)

22. Subversive Poetry-Colossians 1:15-20 • Caesar’s “image” in the ancient world (p. 90) • Savior • Said to have “put an end to war and … set all things in order” • “god-manifest” • Thrones, dominions, rulers & powers all created by God • Refer primarily to earthly powers, not spiritual powers • Powers (exousia) the way to speak of earthly authorities exercising power • Governors and caesar • Clients and patrons • Slaves and masters • Think about the kind of spiritual power behind this earthly power structure

23. Questions for Postmoderns (p. 93) • “What are the images that (Paul) is confronting in his imperial context?” • “What are the images that we confront?” • “What is it that seeks to captivate our imagination?” • “What are the imperial forces of our existence in the twenty-first century?”

24. Targum on Colossians 1:15-20 • Walsh & Keesmaat challenge our imagination with their “targum” on this Colossians poem • Special guest – Jan MacNally reads the targum

25. Toward a New Creation • All earthly authorities are subject to Christ • Purpose of subverting this misuse of power is to bring these earthly authorities into reconciliation with God • Biblical story addressed “oppressive social structures” • Exodus • Judges • Prophets • Jesus • Purpose of the church is to give embodied form to work of new creation that God began in Jesus

26. Closing Prayer: “You who command” By Walter Brueggemann, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth, p. 29

27. Bibliography • Background Clipart. Microsoft Office Online. http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us (16 Jan. 2005) • Brueggemann, Walter. Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2003. • Walsh, Brian J. & Keesmaat, Sylvia C. Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004.