A Reflection on Paul's Letter to Philemon

~The Freedom of Christian Slavery~

Perhaps the cross serves as the best, though seemingly unlikely, place to find understanding in the Letter to Philemon. While on the cross, Christ considers those mourning his loss in John 19:26. Although the Lord has prepared them theologically and eschatologically for His departure, He now considers the abiding physical void that His departure will leave in the life of his mother, Mary and his beloved disciple John. He considers that Mary will be without a son, namely this son, whose thirty three years of life have affected her exponentially more than she affected Him. Then there was John, who was without a beloved Covering. He no longer had one to share such intimacy as that shared with his Lord and God. Jesus, then, gives a provision that serves to inform the Church on the practical implications of the presence of God, “Woman, behold your son, Son, behold your mother”.

Central to the fellowship among believers is the concept that they exist in an abiding hope-filled fellowship, where which Christ has left the practical ethic of His presence. Indeed, the Christ who has promised to be with us until the end of the Earth has kept His promise in many ways. He is with us in daily devotion, where one eats the bread of His word and drinks the water of His Spirit. He is with us in the struggle of Christian living, where His Spirit convicts, comforts and sets free. He is with us in Christian work, empowering our witness so that a lost world might see Him and know Him through the transforming power of the preached gospel. He is with us in worship, where we eat His flesh and drink his blood, where He washes our feet and invites us to do the same, where he breaths the breath of His Spirit on us and even encourages us to touch His wounds, so that we might believe.

However, through the with-ness abiding in our adelphoi, Christ has provided another, more practical and physical way for Him to be with us. Simply put, among all the ways Christ has left His presence, He has placed it “in me for you” and “in you for me”. Likewise, He left it in the Beloved for Mary, and in Mary for the beloved; in Peter for James and in James for Peter; in Paul for Timothy and Timothy for Paul; In Philemon for Onesimus and in Onesimus for Philemon.

The Letter of Philemon is far from a request for manumission. Rather, it is a call for Philemon to regard Onesimus as one who bears the presence of Christ, moreover the call of Christ. He essentially is being asked have a higher regard for Onesimus, so he might live out his days as a slave with Philemon, not for Philemon. This regard of brotherhood is essentially an acknowledgement of their mutual enslavement to Christ and the gospel, which practically calls each of them to the life-long service of the other. No longer are they slave and master, but slaves of the master and servants of each other.

This concept should impact American Christianity in a variety of ways. First, it should remind us that the common testimony of Christ makes us brothers and sisters; a relationship that has preeminence over all other bonds. Perhaps this impact should inform how the doctrinally and culturally separated American Church should interact within itself. It is not enough to seek multicultural ministries. Such is highly appropriate, in instances where the community is multicultural. However, it calls for mutual affirmation and fidelity with the one another; where which we fellowship with, learn from and grow with one another. This should be done, whether or not the outside culture reaches cultural unity. Of course, when one says cultural, it implies all that separates the church (i.e. racial, geographical, doctrinal, political, economic and historical).

Lastly, we are reminded that Christians are not emancipated beings. That is to say, we were not freed from sin and endowed with gifts and power so that we could use them to chart our own course and lay out our own destiny. Rather, we have been freed from sin and bought with a price, so we can do the Master’s will. We are slaves to Christ and prisoners of the gospel. We go and do as He commands. We do this with the constant reminder that He is with us; not only with us in Spirit and power, but with us in each other.


Samuel J. Doyle

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The Elephant Room 2 DVD & Fallout

This video follows the viewing of the 'Elephant Room 2' dvd discussion, featuring James MacDonald, host, and  Bishop T. D. Jakes. For additional background please see the link below. You may google James MacDonald, who, as a result of his invitation to T.D. Jakes to participate, was pressured to resign as a board member from the Gospel Coalition, of which he was a co-founding member.

http://www.gracefamilybaptist.net/voddie-baucham-ministries/blog/elephant-room-2012-01/

Remembering Dr. King

In observance of the national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this generation has decided to observe through cancelation. Schools, banks and government buildings all across the country have closed down, allowing students and employees to reflect on what King means to this nation. Moreover, students and employees whose institutions do not observe the holiday usually take the day off in protest. Among them was my college humanities professor. As she reviewed her course schedule, she told us that there would be no class on the following week, because we needed to, “Remember the dream”. I sincerely hope that those who advocate for this observance do far more than simply stay home to catch up on well-needed rest. Rather, we should do as my professor suggests and “remember the dream”. We can do this through observance, reflection and service.

The worst thing a person can do on days like this is stay home. It is an insult to both our struggle and our hope. This day not only commemorates a man, but it honors the generation that stood with such a man. It honors our teachers, who in younger years sat at lunch counters only to be dehumanized. It honors our pastors, who marched with King, only to be greeted by water hoses and dogs. It honors, most importantly, those we never met: they hung from trees and were pulled out of rivers. They were killed in freedom rides and gunned down like animals. They paid the price of freedom with their lives and should be honored with living efforts. The King Holiday commemorates a time when staying at home was no option. Therefore, let this holiday be a day where something is done in a deliberate act of observance. Attend a service, read an article, watch a documentary, pass our history down to another generation. Whatever you do, do not regard this as a meaningless vacation. I spent my younger years in a white school that neither observed the holiday nor taught black history. This presented my parents with the task of teaching us themselves. They were my black history scholars. They taught me about a proud history of people, who were made in the Image of God, and who demanded the right to walk in the dignity and excellence of that image. We owe it to the gravity of that history not to take days like this lightly.

Of course, empty nostalgic observance is pointless. It must be met with deep reflection on the present state of our people. This involves an honest assessment of how the dream has is being realized. Such a reflection should also involve a serious analysis on how the struggle should continue. Historically, our struggle finds its roots in the black church, specifically because injustice is objectively evil from God’s perspective. And God put His words in profound voices to express this reality. This conviction was deeply imbedded in the heart of the prophetic movement of King and the Civil Rights movement. It started with discrimination in public accommodations, expanding to voting rights then to war and poverty. Four decades later, these seem to be the foundational pillars that the Civil Rights movement still builds upon. With this structure in mind, people have been marching and fighting, primarily for the legislative equality of the poor and marginalized. However, there has been a recent attempt to expand our foundation, politicize our convictions and commercialize our struggle. Our foundation is expanded through attempts to liken the Civil Rights struggle with the gay agenda. Our convictions are politicized through attempts to polarize the black vote, pushing us to the left and painting us blue. Our struggle is commercialized, because our leaders no longer speak for us, but to us, backed by corporate money and mass media. One only needs to watch MSNBC’s Politics Nation for a clear example. So, when we pause and reflect on the gravity and the direction of the movement, we can find a clear path back to authenticity and relevance.

Finally, sincere observance and reflection can only be actualized through service. Let this holiday be a day of service. Do something that will have a lasting impression and will impact the life of someone else. Dr. King did not have to go to Chicago or Memphis and engage poverty in such a way. He could have done like present-day scholar-preachers who lead lectures and speak at expensive banquets on days like this. Like them, he could have found a job at a prestigious church or an ivy-league school. From positions of comfort, he could have been a tireless critic and advocate for change, but instead he decided to be an active servant. When he came to Chicago, he stayed in the slums, so as to live in solidarity with those he fought for. He had the heart of a servant and it cost him both luxury and life. You may think his heart of service came from his years studying Gandhi, or the theologians at Boston University. However, service of this magnitude can only come from the living God, who showed us true service in Jesus Christ. Let the King Holiday remind us all, that our greatest accomplishments in life will not come from successful jobs or grand fortunes, rather from a life that carries a cross all the way to the end.

Samuel J. Doyle

GOD, AMERICA, & THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH

In 2010, PBS: Frontline-American Experience, broadcast a three-part series entitled God in America. The series followed a strict timeline highlighted by events that helped shape and steer the country at various times, and in various ways, with varying results. The very production is one of those constant reminders that the question God is perpetually apart of the cultural and political conscious.

The producers of this captivating documentary succeed in historicizing the importance of God and religion in our country’s formation and discourse. The series also succeeds in making the viewer conscious of the impact that faith has in society, economics, politics, culture, war, and race matters.

If I may now share a more personal motivation in recommending the watching of the series, it would be because of its presentation of the critical depiction of Christianity from the arena of African American Ecclesiology, and the churches contribution in America.

This series further led me to a pale place of critical thought. Considering the escalation of unbiblical trends and doctrine within the African American church experience over the past 30 years, one must question to what extent are we today manifesting the authentic, orthodox, biblical Christianity that has previously defined African American ecclesiology? Watch and wrestle.

The following link below has been provided for your viewing pleasure. Be blessed.

http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/


Posted by Z.M.D. McGregor

An Emerging Pastoral Theology

A few weeks ago, Pastor Romell Williams of Lilydale Baptist Church, Chicago, Ill., referred me to the blog of Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. He shared with me that he had written a very insightful blog on what he had learned during the course of his preaching/pastoring journey, thus far. Though a brief blog entry, Charles's recalling of his experiences and the conclusions and realizations that they eventually led to, reads as the record of a battle scared servant in a moment of humility and peace. While very personal, the list contains elements of what appears to be the making of a pastoral theology, with some serious discussion and clarity required on various points. The following link is recommended reading for pastors and those who enjoy wrestling with a variety of theological presuppositions and conclusion based on the experience and journey of others.
http://hblogcharlesjr.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-12-05T09:08:00-05:00

Posted by: Z.M.D. McGregor

An Appraisal of Race: A Theological Account

If you are not acquainted with acclaimed Duke University Divinity School professor J. Kameron Carter’s, his intriguing work Race: A Theological Account, Oxford, 2008, is just what the doctor order to introduce you this serious scholar. To further wet your appetite and provide some insight for those who prefer it, the following is an abbreviated review by Professor Ernest Gray, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL., with some additional commentary by Z. M. D. McGregor.

Description

In Race: A Theological Account , J. Kameron Carter appears to be a constructive attempt to identify the origins of race and racial understanding. As such, the broad spectrum for which Carter draws from to mitigate his thesis places it in a category of its own.

The Problem. Essentially, modernity's racial imagination has been incongruently informed by an epistemology embedded in Western Christianity; a strain of Christianity that has erroneously divorced its Jewish roots and assigned an enlightenment epistemological category to the Jews as a racially oriented body. This harmful endeavor has worked much mischief into the trajectory, reasoning, and means by which Christian theology has formed and subsequently been deformed. Essentially, to racialize the Jews is to racialize Christ and establish a category which dichotomizes Christ from his flesh.

Carter's proposal. In his section, the Drama of Race, the author adopts Irenaeus' exegetical method of refutation of the Gnostics to dislodge the problematic exegetical practice that Irenaeus encountered and do so in an analogous way within the modern racial discourse. And according to Prof. Gray, this section is essential. Throughout his work, Carter will go one to engage rich luminaries, including but not limited to, Albert Raboteau, James Cone, and Charles Long, just to name a few. Like with most works, over time one can anticipate that the value of this text will be realized. Some will prefer to avoid engaging this text due to the exasperation over yet another text admonishing racial understanding. To those who would avoid Carter's treatment of the subject, one could only summarize it as unfortunate.

*Reviews

“An intellectual tour de force! This book demonstrates great intellectual range and theological imagination; it should be read by all students of theology, religious studies and African American religion and history. I have nothing but praise for this work by a young African American scholar who must be reckoned with.” –James H. Cone, Charles Augustus Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary

“Jay Kameron Carter has written an extraordinarily insightful and sophisticated analysis of race as it has been constructed in modern philosophy and theology. His study reconceptualizes modernity and demonstrates the centrality of religion to any understanding of racism.” –Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College

*Additional Reviews provided are taken from the date of it's initial release. 

Book Reviewed by Ernest Gray.                                                                   Post by Z.M.D. McGregor

Words of Welcome

For the contributors and creators of this blog, there is no deeper treasure than the infallible Word of God. We read it, teach it, wrestle with it and are constantly being changed by it. We believe, even in such an era, that His word is both living in and speaking to all who will engage it with an affirming, "Yes Lord".

Therefore, it is with great anticipation that we welcome you to our conversation. We further invite your heartfelt response as we continuously seek to engage what we are seeing with what God is saying.

God Bless You and Keep You,

Samuel J. Doyle, Contributor and Founding Member