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| parousia, which has a general meaning of “arrival”
or “coming.” But parousia, in its ancient technical sense, also signified the coming of the emperor or king to a city for judgment. If the city welcomed and greeted the emperor well and demonstrated p 282 its fidelity to his rule, the city would be blessed at his parousia. But if the city did not greet the king, and if it failed to honor him and comply with his laws, it would be severely judged. Paul takes this technical sense of parousia, which in the Roman world induced fear of displeasing or disobeying Caesar, and employs it to encourage the Christians that in the end the only parousia they need concern themselves with is the ultimate parousia of Jesus, when he comes in glory to judge the world. Here again, Paul takes the language of lordship used for Caesar and applies it to Jesus. Jesus is the true king, of which Caesar is but a pale parody. Corinth: Counter Cult, Countercultural Thriving cities in antiquity dealt with their growth and extended their political and economic power by establishing colonies. These colonies were created by founding or refounding a city that served as a satellite to the mother city, with leading citizens organizing and structuring the colony to ensure that the cult, culture, and social structure of the mother city was replicated in its political daughter. Julius Caesar established Corinth as a Roman colony and settled many freed slaves of Rome and veteran soldiers there, thus ensuring that the Greek city of Corinth was thoroughly Romanized. This policy made Rome the hub of the empire from which the newly planted colonies were like so many spokes, forming the ever-expanding wheel of Roman rule that sought to encompass the world. Similarly, Paul sees himself as planting new communities (1 Cor 3:6) and as a “master builder” building on the “foundation” of Christ (1 Cor 3:10), forming a network of communities loyal to a single “Lord,” Jesus. Paul’s travel itinerary reveals that the cities he selects to plant the gospel of Jesus—cities like Philippi, Antioch, Pisidian Antioch, Paphos, Ephesus, Corinth, and even Rome itself—are all strategic centers of Roman rule. This is corroborated by the fact that Paul visits Athens only for a brief time, while waiting for friends, in order to move on to the more strategic Roman colony of Corinth. Paul takes the gospel of Jesus Christ right to the center of the key cities of the Roman world, making use of Rome’s established network of colonies to spread the Gospel to the end of the world. The Corinth of Paul’s day was a thriving city, teeming with people. With its narrow isthmus bordered by the Aegean and Ionian seas, Corinth straddled p 283 two busy ports and was a hub of trade and business. Corinth was the location of the Isthmian games, second only in popularity to the Olympics. Ancient writers describe a great tent city growing up during the games and more than doubling the city’s size. This explains Paul’s long stay in the city as a tentmaker; his handiwork served to supply the tents needed for the games. Caesar Augustus, the sponsor and benefactor of the Roman world, changed the name of the Isthmian games to the Caesar Augustus Isthmian games, which simply became known as the Caesarean games. While athletic events were the focus of the games, cultic sacrifices were offered to Caesar at the opening ceremony and on each day of the games, followed by great feasts. Such cultic sacrifices, both at the games and for the feast days of the Caesar cult throughout the year, took place at the imperial temple dedicated to Caesar, which overlooked Corinth’s forum. In addition, numerous other temples and statues dominated the architecture and culture of Corinth. Pagan temples, which doubled as restaurants, offered sacrifices followed by feasts marked by drunkenness and sexual immorality. Paul writes to the Corinthians telling them that not only are they not to go to these immoral pagan feasts and banquet halls (1 Cor 8–10), but when they gather for the Christian Eucharist, they must be modestly dressed (1 Cor 11:2–16) and must no longer get drunk (1 Cor 11:17–22) as they would at a pagan festival. Instead, they must be sober and discern the body of Christ in the bread that they break, lest they be “guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor 11:27). Paul is at pains to point out that you become what you worship, and if you worship Christ, you become his body, which he goes on to describe in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul begins his first letter to the Corinthians emphasizing the crucifixion of Christ. The cross is countercultural and turns the wisdom and power of the world upside down. “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:22–24). Paul concludes his letter with a focus on Jesus’ resurrection (1 Cor 15). Thus, Paul frames his letter to the Corinthians with the death and resurrection of Jesus, showing how the paschal mystery of Jesus frames the Christian life. p 284 The Third Missionary Journey Following his strategy for targeting important cities from which Rome ruled an entire region, Paul travels in his third mission journey (Acts 18:23–21:16) to the large city of Ephesus, where he spends the better part of three years. By planting the gospel in the commercial hub of Ephesus, Paul put the Christian faith in the crossroads of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), where it could quickly spread. Indeed, after Paul’s first two years in Ephesus, “all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10). A good example of how the gospel spreads is found in the city of Colossae, which Paul does not visit but which is evangelized by Paul’s disciple Epaphras. Epaphras learns of the faith in Ephesus and then brings it to one of the smaller, outlying cities. Thus Paul’s work in Ephesus also bore fruit in the many cities that were the spokes shooting out from the hub that was Ephesus. tải về 6.33 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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