The New Testament letters or epistles, from Romans through to Jude, are rather like a row of shops. There is great variety of topics and issues being dealt with, different writers and audiences, varied purposes.
What if you walk down a street of shops in a different country, a different culture? It can be hard to make sense of - you need to understand the culture before can find what you are looking for. There are lots of wonderful things, but what are they for? You either need a guide, or you will need to work a bit harder to work it all out. This is more like our experience in hearing the Epistles - some things are immediately clear and obvious, others seem irrelevant and obscure.
So as we are taking some time this lent to listen and explore the variety of epistles on our New Testament ‘shopping expedition’, let’s think about how we can understand what is on offer.
To understand what these epistles are saying we need to transport ourselves back to the first century, and the Greco-Roman world around the Mediterranean where all these letters were written and received. They are called Epistles from the Greek word Epistole, which was used for a letter, or any communication between people who are separated. The letters were written in Greek, the international language of the region for trade, politics and religion, despite the fact it was dominated by Latin speaking Roman empire, they had not yet managed to change the language.
The culture of the letters is very different therefore from the Hebrew culture of both the Old Testament and the Gospels and Acts. The way of thinking was largely gentile, Hellenistic (greek) philosophical mode, together with Roman Imperial mindset, into which the Hebrew background of Jesus and the many Old Testament references had to be interpreted.
The letters are the earliest New Testament documents, with 1 Thessalonians believed to date from 50BC, 20 years before the gospel of Mark, while some later epistles seem to refer to the Gospels, so must have come after them. For some letters, the context can be narrowed down quite accurately, in terms of who, where and when the letter was written, who it was to, and why. Acts sometimes helps with this, as well as the letter itself. Others are more general - not 1-1 letters, but round robins - more literary in style and purpose.
One thing to listen out for is any information about the occasion for the letter - when where and why it was written. This helps to understand what issues were being raised and why. This is easier when we hear the whole letter, rather than just reading a few verses. Understanding the situation helps us to ask what does this mean for us? How is our situation similar or different? Is this where we need to shop to find what we are need for our situation, or is it more like background - a place to window shop?
Some letters are to persecuted churches, others are to safely established churches which were going astray. Others to divided churches fighting amongst themselves, to very new churches. Then there are letters to individual church leaders.
Some letters are sent as sermons - to be read in front of the gathered church, others are more personal. One thing that has struck me as I have been listening to them is the personal character of the letters, which comes out when you hear them read at length. Emotion seeps out as you listen to long sections - Paul, and the other writers clearly care deeply for those they are writing to. (It is possible, though, to distinguish a variation between some particularly personal and individual letters addressed to a person or a church in a particular situation (Corinthians, Philemon, Timothy) and more general letters, aimed more generally, which are more literary but without much personal detail (Hebrews supremely). No less valuable for that, just different.)
Overall, the letters are about the church. They demonstrate how the church was shaped, how from the earliest times it wrestled with many of the same issues we struggle with today, suffering, leadership, human frailty, living in a materialistic and hedonistic culture, differences within the church, how to behave well as a Christian, prayer, as well as deep reflections on the relationship between God and people. What is more, they are a great inspiration to mission - they were written in a time of massive growth for the church, when the gospel spread out all around the ‘known world’.
Churches were established and growing in a wide variety different places, in the face of great struggles going on within the church and with the surrounding culture.
Where do the Epistles fit in the context of the whole Bible? Bishop Tom Wright has a valuable way of describing the Bible as a play in 5 acts. The acts are Creation, the Fall, Israel, Jesus and the Church - and the Letters (together with most of Acts) represent the church - God’s people living in the light of Christ. The point of this idea is that the play actually has not 5 acts but 6. We are the 6th act - the church today. The previous 5 acts help us to know how we should behave as we play out the 6th act with God’s help. The letters have a key place in helping us to do this, as they relate to people living in the light of Christ as we are. All the previous sections, up to and including the gospels, build the foundations of our faith, but without the Epistles we would have a very much harder job in being the church. We find a variety and complexity of the problems that the early church had, as we read in the letters. If we can learn form them, who first had to solve these problems, we can save ourselves an awful lot of trouble!
So which letters are relevant to us? We need a high level overview to grasp this. So here it is - a 2 minute walk down the high street - viewing the main themes of the letters:
Romans is foundational - Paul’s fully developed presentation of the gospel, a commanding letter which has re-ignited the faith of the church in each generation. A great inspiration to take the message to the world.
Corinthians - 2 letters to a very lively but divided and troubled church, with important teaching about Holy Communion and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians - exploring the freedom which the gospel gives and how it relates to Old Testament law, like the 10 commandments.
Ephesians - the mystery of the gospel, the importance of prayer and of the church, and how to behave as a Christian.
Philippians - Joy and peace from Paul, despite personal suffering (in prison) and opposition from some in the church.
Colossians - How about adding some trendy spiritually to the gospel? No way! Jesus is all we need says Paul.
Thessalonians - encouraging each other, especially in the face of death, and preparing for Christ’s return.
Timothy and Titus -advice on choosing and being good leaders in the church.
Hebrews - A special focus on the Jewish aspects of Christianity - a bridge backwards to the Old Testament.
James - Teaching about our well being - money, stress, speech - much like the teaching of Jesus, widely attributed to the Lord’s brother James.
1 & 2 Peter - A bridge to the gospels, Peter’s voice with warm recollections of Jesus earthly life, and the inspiration to live holy lives in response.
1-3 John - Combating false teachers with a call back to true faith, and a reminder of the wonderful hope we have in Christ.
So for us, these letters are a BRIDGE in various ways:
A bridge from the Hebrew origins of Christianity into the surrounding Hellenistic and Roman culture.
A bridge from Jesus - the teacher, saviour and Lord, to the Church - his followers in the world.
A bridge from the world of the 1st Century to our 21st Century world.
It is in these pages that the life, vitality, passion and mission of the early church, operating in an international, multi–cultural context come alive for us. As we listen to them, the question for us is how can we live the gospel with more clarity and compassion in our times?
I hope that this will help with your walk through the varied shops of the epistles. Which shop will grab your attention, and will you find something for yourself, or perhaps a gift for someone else? I hope you enjoy your listening and find it rewarding.
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