Mother Martha's Blog

Ephesians Online--Chapter Two and Three

Comments on Chapter Two of Ephesians:

Hope that everyone is reading along in Ephesians. We had two comments this week--from Lucy and Mary Jo. Here is my response:

Chapter Two of Ephesians speaks to sin and grace. I have two primary points on this chapter about context. I'll talk more about sin and grace as we move through the letter. Today I want to add to my comments last week about the religious context which Paul speak to in his Letter to the Ephesians. In her book Spiritual Life of the Early Church, Bonnie Thurston explains about the city of Ephesus and its religious character.

The City of Ephesus: According to Greek legend, Ephesus was founded by the Amazons. There were also several permutations of Ephesus. The silt in the harbor led to there being FIVE different locations of Ephesus over the years. In the first century, Ephesus had a quarter of a million inhabitants and was ranked with Antioch in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt as the three great cities of the Eastern Mediterranean. Ephesus was politically important as it was the capital of the Roman province in Asia. It was a major shipping center and was the terminal of important inland trade routes. The city was laid out in a Hellenistic plan with a stadium and theatre. Here is a good description from Thurston's book: "The luxury of the city in Paul's time(57 c.e.?) is attested to by the remnants of marble streets with statues of prominent citizens and canopied colonnades that shielded shoppers from the weather. The city contained public buildings and temples as well as restaurants, a brothel, and patrician homes. The city had six public baths with provision for both hot and cold water. " (p. 68) I like to think of Ephesus like St Peter's Square in Rome---with all those colannades and statues.

The Religions of Ephesus: Second, in addition to being a major city in trade, population and culture, Ephesus was also a great religious center. First and foremost, Ephesus historically had been the center of the cult of Artemis along with the emperor cults, gnosticism and a magical form of Judaism. Artemis was a very popular form of goddess worship in the ancient Greek world. Artemis was the daughter of Leto and Zeus and the sister of Apollo. She is also known as Diana. In most Artemis worship, Artemis is seen as a virgin hunter and moon goddess who is the protector of maidens and women in childbirth. The Ephesian Artemis was different and was more of an Asian fertility goddess and earth mother. In Ephesus, there was the famous Artemision. The Artemision was a temple which served the goddess Artemis. The temple was staffed by eunuch priests, attendants, and thousand of female slaves (who may have been prostitutes). Magic played a large part in the worship of Artemis. Biblical Scholar B.M. Metzger wrote that "of all ancient Greco-Roman cities, Ephesus...was by far the most hospitable to magicians, sorcerers, and chalatans of all sorts." (quoted in Thurston, p. 69) Thurston states that Ephesus "proliferated in magical practice, the aim of which was to gain power over the spiritual world (which, it was believed, exercised influence over all aspects of human life). Followers of Artemis saw her as more powerful than this demonic realm and that the purpose of Ephesians was to address the power of Christianity in relation to these demonic powers. Take a look at Chapter Two once again: How might Paul be speaking to those Christian Ephesians that had been part of the cult of Artemis?

Chapter Three: This chapter has the great prayer in verses 14-21. If you were listening to the Letter being read in a home in Ephesus, what would you hear in this Chapter? What would you want to know about?

Ephesians Online---Chapter Two

Chapter One--Reply to Comments and More

Initial Kudos! We had three comments to Chapter One. One from our friend Lucy in South Africa and two from Memorialites Mary Jo and Alice B. Well Done! I know that it can be hard to figure out how to comment on line. The best way is to go to my blog OFF the memorial website. Log into mmmeditation on blogger.com. Go down to the comment pencil and click. Other comments will come up and at the end of those comments is a space for you to post your comments. Give it a try! If it is frustrating (which I know it is), just e-mail at mmacgill@memorialepiscopal.com. I'll include your comments in my reply...and if I don't get too frustrated, will try to figure out how to post them. Now, on to Ephesians!

Comments on Chapter One: Our writers noted the long sentences in Ephesians and the great list of blessings. Our commenters also noted trust as being a response to the love of God. Moreover, they wondered about the concept of church in Ephesians. I have three points in reply.
First, the writer of Ephesians (whether Paul or a follower of Paul) was of a Jewish background living in a Hellenistic world. Chapter One follows a very Jewish spirituality. In her book Spiritual Life in the Early Church: The Witness of Acts and Ephesians, Bonnie Thurston notes scholar Urban T. Holmes' view that there are three primary images in Jewish belief and practice at this time: da'ath, shekinah, and berakah. (p. 9) These three images are found in the very first chapter of Ephesians. Da'ath is "knowledge that takes possession of the person known." Shekinah is "the dwelling of God with God's people." Shekinah is present not only in the Temple but in the midst of several people when they gather together to study Torah. Finally, berakah is blessing or thanksgiving. It is "the characteristic response to God and involves blessing God's name and being thankful for all God has done."
Now, give a look to Chapter One of Ephesians. All three images are present--reworked by Paul to include the Christian witness and a Hellenistic audience. Da'ath is found in the sense that God takes possession of us in Christ. Verse 5: "He(God) destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will." Verse 10: "as a plan, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and on earth." Shekinah is manifest in Paul's view that when the people gather in faith God gives them the spirit of wisdom and revelation. That in community "the eyes of your heart" are "enlightened," that "you may know what is the hope to which he has called you." (verse 18). Of course, as many of you have noted, the concept of berakah literally permeates chapter one....blessing upon blessings.
So, first, Paul's writing takes a very Jewish spirituality--and is reworked for the Christian church in a Hellensitic setting.

Second, the concept of church. In response to Chapter Two, I will go into more detail with this in my comments at the end of this week. Two points for now: (1) Paul's concept of "church" in Ephesians is a church that is more than a congregation in one place. The church is more than a temple in Jerusalem. The church is a cosmic church--and church that breaks the bonds of what Jews or Greeks have thought about church. (2) Ephesus was the center of the cult of Artemis as well as a center for magical powers. The writer of the Letter to the Ephesians was grappling with these powerful influences.

Third, in the end, I find Chapter One a stirring spiritual encouragement to those separated from ones that they love. Whether Paul was actually in prison when he wrote this letter, verses 15-19 truly sustained me when I was in South Africa and feeling separated from family and friends back home. The power of knowing that folks were praying for you from across the world was palpable and real. You can feel it! I also learned during my time in South Africa that the very same power was right by my side as I began to pray weekly with my lay ministers (Lucy included) on Monday nights in the church. As we gathered together in St Francis in Walkerville, God's Spirit was with us--the eyes of our hearts were opened again and again. The famous Prayer of St Crystostom in the Book of Common Prayer reflects this: "when two or three are gathered together in my name, you will be in the midst of them." This concept of prayer and blessing is especially important when we are separated from someone we love who is in crisis---whether in the hospital away from home or across the globe. It is also helpful for those of us who want to pray for those we don't know in a hard time---like the people of Haiti. The power of coming together to pray with others in faith and with love for the saints is one of the most powerful tools we have in this world. So pray away!

Assignment for this week: Read Chapter Two as you read Chapter One. What grabs you? What makes you wonder? Is there a time in your life when you felt dead through sin and came alive again?

Ephesians Online---Chapter One

Welcome to the Ephesians Online Course!
This is the first time I've tried an online course at Memorial....so we are all part of a great experiment. My first blog of the New Year gives you some ideas of why I love the Letter to the Ephesians (see my post immediately before this one). Now comes the time to dig into the text. Here are some initial comments about how I am approaching the course.

Getting started with Paul: This will be a six-week course. There will be THREE segments to each weekly class. FIRST, each Monday, I will post an initial assignment for the week. The assignment will include (1) reading from the Letter to the Ephesians; (2) Some preliminary comments by me; and (3) some questions to mull over. THEN comes the SECOND interactive phase. This phase is important and involves your input and comments. As you read and mull over the assignment, I humbly invite your comments on the readings and questions. What strikes you about the reading? Where do you have immediate (even visceral) positive or negative reactions? What do you wonder about Paul, the community he writes to, and the utility of this piece of scripture to your everyday faith. On FRIDAY, the third phase happens. I will take the comments for the week and write my own response. That response will probably include research on Paul and the community of Ephesus, the historical context of the times, what scholars have said, and just general ruminations from me. At the end of the course, I hope that we can gather in person for coffee or tea (and maybe host a local New Testament scholar) to put a capstone on our time together. If this proves to be a popular idea, we can choose another topic for Lent. So here we go with our first assignment.

Week of 2 Epiphany beginning January 18, 2010:

Assignment: (1)Read Chapter One of Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. The Letter comes after Galatians and before Philippians in the New Testament. I would suggest a form of lectio divina type of reading. First, make sure you have some time of quiet without distractions--early morning or late evening are often best. Read Ephesians through once. Then, read Ephesians OUTLOUD slowly. Keep pen and paper nearby and after you have read the text outloud, make notes about what words and phrases struck you. Now think about the passage in relation to my following comments and questions.

(2) Martha's comments: Chapter One of Ephesians takes on a common Pauline formula: Salutation/Greeting in verses 1:1-2, Thanksgiving of Blessings--to God(verses 3-14) and to the hearers of the Letter (15-22). One of the hallmarks of Paul is his concept of faith as a response made in trust. The greek word he uses for this response is pistis. Pistis is usually translated as "faith" but also "trust". According to Paul, the gospel message must be heard and heeded in trust and faith. According to scholar Leander Keck:

When Paul understands faith as obedience, he does not regard the gospel as command. Rather, it is a message that makes a claim on the hearer, one which calls for a response that has a moral quality to it, not merely an intellectual assent....It energizes the will no less than the mind and feelings; trust is a response of the whole self. When that response is to a word that makes a claim on the hearer, that response can be called obedience....To trust is to commit oneself...The more radical the message, the deeper the response. In fact, who we are is determined by whom and what we trust (or distrust), by what we count on. (Keck, Paul and His Letters, Proclamation Commentaries, Gerhard Krodel, editor, pp. 51-52)

In verses 15ff., Paul commends the people in Ephesus (or the churches in Asia Minor where the letter was circulated) for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love towards all the saints. They are commended for their response. This is the part of the letter that grabs me again and again.

Questions: (1) What part of Chapter One of the Letter to the Ephesians grabbed you? That made you sit up and notice? If you were in a home church in Ephesus listening to this letter being read, what would you take away? Or had Paul lost you when he started in on adoption and redemption?
(2)Where does trust figure into your faith life? In what do you absolutely trust in this life?

I'll be watching for comments on this blog all through the week. You can also e-mail at mmacgill@memorialepiscopal.org. It works best if we all post our comments on this blog so, like in a face-to-face class, we can benefit from everyone's comments. Grace and peace, Martha+

New Year with Apostle Paul and the Ephesians

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 1:1-2

And so it begins. Paul, the sometimes cantakerous and always wordy fellow, begins his letter to the Christian church in Ephesus. I've always loved this letter. Our Episcopal lectionary brings the Letter of Ephesians to our Sunday consciousness at Epiphany. It is a letter that brings tidings of hope and celebration.

Scholars are divided as to the authorship of the Letter to the Ephesians. Was it Paul himself who wrote the letter or one of his followers? Ephesians is regarded as a "circular letter" that was not written specifically for the church in Ephesus, but distributed to the churches in Asia Minor. There are significant differences in the writing style and content within the Letter to the Ephesians from works attributed definitively to Paul. Such differences lead scholars to believe that the letter was written by a follower of Paul...someone who had access to Paul's correspondence. If that is the case, so be it. Yet, something in me likes to think that Paul was the author of this letter---at least, the author of the original draft of the letter. For scholars do think, that if Paul did write the letter, he did so at the end of his life while he was in prison.

As one reads the Letter to the Ephesians, the hope and celebration leap off the page---and this is even more palpable when one considers that Paul is writing these words in a jail cell at the end of his life. I find that the Letter to the Ephesians speaks to me when I am particularly feeling in a prison of sorts--often a prison of my own devising. The letter speaks to me when I find myself stuck in some way.

As we begin the New Year 2010 together, I'd like to use the Letter to the Ephesians as a scriptural text for our wondering about hope and celebration in a difficult time. I hope you'll join me in this journey. Add your comments if so moved. Or just come along as you are able. Grace to you and Peace. Martha+

Prepare the Way of the Lord

Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smother; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Luke 3:6

Time to prepare. That's what John the Baptist tells us.
Time to prepare for the season.
In my household as a child, we all knew that the big event of the season was the annual Christmas party at our home.
My parents’ Christmas party really.
I believe that everything from Thanksgiving on was aiming towards that night.
Our Christmas party was a trim-the-tree party.
The Christmas tree appeared sometime the week before the party in our enclosed porch.
Lights were strung.
But no ornaments.
The ornaments would come on the night of the party.
Guests would bring a handmade ornament for the tree.
The next day we would add our own.
As a child, it seemed that the party was little about the tree.
Since, as usual, I was the only child at the party, I got to observe the adult behavior.
There never seemed to be any people around the tree—oohing and aahhing and admiring the twinkling sight and inhaling the pine scent.
There were two places the adults were.
Many were gathered around our dining room table to partake of the goodies.
There were the pigs in a blanket—little hot dogs in crescent rolls.
There was the turkey.
There was the Smithfield ham—ordered by my mother from her hometown and steeped and cooked in a magical concoction of brine for a few days before the party.
I tried to like the salty ham, but preferred to stay with pigs in a blanket.
I often hid under the dining room table with the dog during the party.
While the dog enjoyed the ham and turkey scraps falling from the table, I watched the shiny high heels and black wing-tips glide by.
But the main center of activity was the living room.
That was where the silver punch bowl resided.
And in the punch bowl was the infamous St Cecelia’s punch.
That was my father’s domain.
Like the Smithfield ham and the Christmas tree, St Cecelia’s punch was created over several days.
It consisted of slices of oranges, lemons and limes in a soup of many and varied liquors.
It would steep in the cold garage for a few days before the party.
My father would go out to the garage to observe and stir the punch.
That’s where all the adults congregated during the party.
As the conversation grew louder over the evening in the living room, I stayed by the tree---beholden by its bright lights and beauty.

As we grow older, we take on our own holiday traditions.
Ways of preparing for the season.
As I think back to my childhood, I wonder what would have happened if John the Baptist had appeared at our trim-the tree party.
I imagine him appearing in the middle of the gowned women and tuxedoed men—right by the punch bowl and St Cecelia’s punch.
What would he have said?
Would he have gotten in the front door?

How does John the Baptist enter our holiday preparations?
Does he enter at all?
Do we really want to hear a call to repentance at a time of year that evokes all sorts of tender memories. Tender and painful.
Folks we see no longer. Loneliness.
Parties are ways to combat these feelings. But all too often parties can be occasions to cover up our deepest feelings of the season.
In part, that’s why St Cecelia’s punch is a popular item.

I’m not here to call a halt to holiday parties.
I’m here to wonder today what a spiritual Advent preparation for Christmas might look like.

I hope that you'll join me at the annual Advent Lessons and Carols service at Memorial this coming Friday, December 11. We will gather for a light supper at 6:30 in the Parish Hall and then move to the church for the service at 7:30 pm. Candlelight will fill the church as we hear Advent lessons, sing Advent hymns and enjoy Advent anthems sung be the Memorial choir. Maybe in this time, we can begin to prepare for our spiritual journey in the new year. If you can't be here for this event, check out my blog later in the week. I'll suggest readings to share with a loved one or read by the fire in the days to come.