Corpus-Paul

[Bob MacDonald <bobmacdonald AT shaw.ca>]

My heart is inditing of a good matter. Psalm 45 is a song for the king; its
first line speaks for its content.

Hyam invited an understanding of visions and so on through modern
psychology. On this week when the Parashah is Numbers 16, psychology is
indeed appropriate to think of. Our humanity produces a need for
forgiveness. Our sins against each other are a part of Paul's message and a
reflection of his own character also. When he says that "God has shut us up
in disobedience, that he might have mercy on all" (Romans 11:32), he speaks
of himself too and immediately moves into praise and then his 4 chapters of
exhortation. In his early life, did his zeal indicate something to hide?
Does his faith protect him from shame? (Romans 1:16, 9:33) Paul running from
himself and finding Salvation in the death of Jesus is an example of the
working of a human pattern that is also seen in the guilt offerings of
Torah. By such gifts we learn to live with ourselves as forgiven. The
liturgies of our religions work this way even today.

In Luke Timothy Johnson's book on Religious experience in earliest
Christianity, he laments with a mountain of footnotes (so many books!) that
scholars exclude the experiential from their scholarly reasoning. As has
been noted on the list before, if we want to understand Paul, we cannot
exclude the Spirit.  LTJ's book is an appeal for a study of the experiential
in the NT (and I might add the TNK also).

Today of all days we need the mercy spoken sung about so clearly in the
Psalms. I suspect it is akin to the experience of the Spirit in the NT. And
I suspect it is foundational for the experience of Abraham and Moses. (I
wonder to what extent the rite of circumcision so graphically portrayed in
Exodus 4 in the bridegroom of blood incident is relevant to the issue of
forgiveness. I have not read Hyam's arguments on this, but it seems to me
not so much related to human sacrifice, but a reminder that much of our sin
against each other comes from our generative capacity). Purity issues around
reproduction are also deeply ingrained in this thought.

In the midst of our war, what is the knowledge of God's mercy? Is it a
knowledge of the presence, awesome, invitational, tender, and pure? The
king's beauty in Psalm 45 is inspirational here.

How would this relate to Jew and gentile in Paul's century? As Johnson
points out, Paul appeals to experience repeatedly: the receiving of the
Spirit both from his own personal point of view and those of his hearers
(e.g. Galatians 3:2-5). He also shows clearly what is incompatible with
God's call (e.g. 1 Corinthians 6 and in the deutero-Pauline Ephesians 5).
The repeated "Know ye not" in the KJV shows the issues he is concerned about
(Romans 6:3,16, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:9,15,16, 2 Corinthians 13:5).

With this background, I think there is a pointer to the drinking of the
blood metaphor. There are as I noted earlier several strongly related
concepts here: blood, life, spirit, body as temple, life in our mortal
bodies.

I see the experience based on Paul as this: we participate in the sacrifice
of Christ (Romans 6:1 ff, 1 Corinthians 10:16 ff); we discern the body (the
Body of Christ, the new Temple) (1 Corinthians 11:29); we by the Spirit do
put to death the deeds of the body and we then find life (Romans 8:13); we
cannot partake of the cup of Christ and the cup of demons (1 Corinthians
10:21); and so on. It seems to me that his imagery hangs together and is
consistent with John's gospel (we drink the cup - which is life (John
6:53) - John has no institution because the whole gospel is Eucharistic from
beginning to end.)

Now the phrase from TNK "The life of the body is in the blood" (Genesis 9:4,
Leviticus 17:11, 14 Deuteronomy 12:23)- comes to have a totally new
meaning - the Spirit gives the life of the body through the death of Christ
to each one who in him believes and is baptised (Acts 2:38). Therefore the
blood is no longer forbidden to drink but essential. The life of the Body of
Christ is in the blood of the covenant.

I also see a feasible psychology in Jesus that would have known of the guilt
of humanity and could have foreseen his gift to the world through his death
as atonement (so interpreted by the writer to the Hebrews). This act also
creates a new altar (Hebrews 13:10), his feet. Tearing off our flesh in this
death (Colossians 2:11) and touching his feet makes him our bridegroom of
blood (Exodus 4:25). The linking of this metaphorical priestly garment is a
task to be done, a joy to be understood. This is not fundamentalism or
conservative thinking - it is metaphorical and incarnational thinking. For
me, it is of the essence to show that the first century interpreters of
Christ in the Hebrew Scriptures were thinking this way. Then we can begin to
explain the love that they clearly spoke of. But explaining is not the real
issue - knowing is (John 17:26).

I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the
pen of a ready writer... I will make thy name to be remembered in all
generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

respectfully,

Bob


mailto::BobMacDonald AT shaw.ca
+ + + Victoria, B.C., Canada + + +

Catch the foxes for us,
   the little foxes that make havoc of the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in flower.   (Song 2.15)
http://bobmacdonald.gx.ca