Long Ago God Spoke
Part 13: “Love of Brother and Sister”
5 Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”[Hebrews 13:5 Deuteronomy 31:6] 6 So that with good courage we say,
“The Lord is my helper. I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”[Hebrews 13:6 Psalm 118:6-7]
Any Christian practice cannot be
understood without taking into account God’s gracious action, which is, of
course, a vital component of the logic of belief. Once we take this into account, everything
changes, for everything no longer depends entirely upon us.[Nicholas Healy, Hauerwas: A (Very) Critical Introduction (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 113.]
When the Bible calls for action it
does not refer a man to his own powers but to Jesus Christ Himself. “Without me ye can do nothing” (John
15:5). This sentence is to be taken in
its strictest sense. There really is no
action without Jesus Christ.[Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics, The Library of Philosophy and Theology (The Macmillan Company, 1962), 166.]
Let mutual love continue (Hebrews
13:1).
Introduction
The question is fair: what does
theology have to do with the way life is actually lived? Several books have been published recently
asking this very question but in these instances the question is being raised
by theologians themselves rather than critics.
Practice and practices have taken on new life in the theological
realm. A number of Christians have grown
weary of the more technical academic sides of Christian thinking to the
detriment of practice itself. This has
affected seminary curriculums and ministerial training in general. One could well say that there has been a
return to one of Friedrich Schleiermacher’s key ideas: ministerial learning
should result in informed practice.[Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834), the ‘father of modern theology,’ divided the study of theology into three areas: philosophical, historical, and practical. He was especially interested in the education of ministers so theology was to find its fulfillment in actual practice. Theological study since Schleiermacher has generally followed the division of Christian theology into biblical, historical, systematic and practical concentrations.]
For this lesson the focus is on Christian practice. “Practice’ as a term carries several levels
of meaning. Consider two examples. Before teams engage in a game against one another
the respective teams ‘practice’ so that each is prepared to do well for the
contest to follow. In addition consider
how a physician is looked upon. He or
she is said to have a ‘practice.’ Both senses of ‘practice’ occur in the lesson
since one is not to be isolated from the other.
Aristotle, for instance, taught that a person becomes good by doing
good. The repetition of an action leads
to a habit of doing good, thereby instilling the growth of character in a
person. While Aristotle’s approach is commendable
a Christian has to wonder if Aristotle’s account is complete.
What makes a practice, ‘Christian’?
Is a practice Christian because it is done by someone who calls herself/himself ‘Christian’?
Is there something inherent in a deed
that makes it Christian? If so, what is
that? In a sense the topic of Christian
practice is not new for us. Each Sunday
in one way or the other various practices are encouraged. After all, that is what Christianity is all
about---loving God and serving the neighbor. Christian practices have been
defined as “things Christian people do together over time to address
fundamental human needs in response to and in the light of God’s active
presence for the life of the world in Jesus Christ.”[Craig Dykstra and Dorothy C. Bass, “A Theological Understanding of Christian Practices,” in Practicing Theology, ed. Miroslav Volf and Dorothy C. Bass (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002), 18.] The value of this
definition is that it brings together belief and action, theology and practice,
rather than treating them independently of each other.
A portion of chapter 13 in the
book of Hebrews will be used to illustrate Christian practice. If Hebrews 11 is the chapter on significant
witnesses to faith, chapter 13 is the putting into practice of faith in a
variety of contemporary forms, both first century and currently. Thus we begin Christian practice by returning
to Hebrews and the issue of Christian practice touched on in the last
lesson.
Philadelphia as Framework
Most people are aware that the
city of Philadelphia is advertised as “the city of brotherly-love.” Technically, the city could be more
accurately advertised as “the city of sisterly-love.” This altered claim can easily be checked by
examining I Peter 3:8 and other passages.
“Love as brothers” in 3:8 (NIV) is one word in Greek and when
transliterated into English is philadelphoi. The “oi” ending indicates the term is
a masculine plural noun so “brothers” is an apt translation. In today’s lesson from Hebrews 13:1, philadelphia
(“mutual love,” NRSV/”loving each other as brothers,” NIV) appears in the Greek
text with a feminine plural ending (“ia“). This feminine ending is actually the more
familiar and common spelling, appearing in such places as Romans 12:10; I Thessalonians 4:9;
I Peter 1:22, etc. In fact, the only
place where philadelphoi with its masculine ending is used in the Greek
New Testament is I Peter 3:8. Thus if
someone argues today that Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is not a city of
“brotherly-love” but of “sisterly-love” he or she has spelling ammunition to
back up the claim in more than one way!
However to overemphasize a
feminine or a masculine ending is to miss the mark in this morning’s text,
although it is tempting to score a social point or two. More significantly is
the fact that the major occurrences of “philadelphia”
or “philadelphoi” in ancient Greek
literature appear in Christian sources.
The term(s) represents a Christian usage that is more than simply
“friendship” (philia), the nearest Greek philosophical analogue, and
carries different dimensions than the agape love found in the New
Testament. For the Greeks, friendship
represented the ideal relationship to be found amongst adults living in
community. In his Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle
defined friendship as “reciprocated goodwill” (Book viii, ch.4). Children were thought to be too immature to
realize true friendship. Older people
were judged to find friendship less often since they are “worse tempered and
enjoy meeting people less.” For
Christians agape love primarily[The term “primarily” appears here since sometimes Christians speak as if agape only applies to God’s love, especially God’s love towards us. Even a quick perusal of a Greek lexicon shows numerous references of agape in terms of human love towards someone else or of human love toward God (2 Cor. 12:15; John 12:43, 21:15f.; Lk.11:43; Rom. 1:4.)] refers to God’s love, so agape sets
the standard for human relations.
Noticeably absent in Hebrews is agape
as a major term. In fact, agape or a variation is only found in
four instances:
Heb 1:9– “...you have loved
righteousness.... [quoting the Old Testament].
Heb 6:10–
“...love that you showed....”
Heb
10:24– “...provoke one another to love
and good deeds....”
Heb
12:6–
“...the Lord disciplines those he loves....” [quoting the Old
Testament].
Hebrews is addressed to a
community of Christians who are undergoing trials. The book is meant as a means of encouragement
(Hebrews 13:22). Having covered the better
way of the new covenant and of its suffering Christ, the author is now closing with
a series of concrete steps in keeping with the better way outlined earlier in
the book. In chapter 13 the term chosen
to set the framework is not friendship, not agape,
but philadelphia. “Hebrews does not recommend a general love of
humankind, but a love of the ‘brother and sister.’” [Harold Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Fortress Press, 1989), 385.] Women and men are
given the same admonition in Hebrews 13:1–“Let mutual love (philadelphia) continue.”
“Mutuality” is not a typical
subject, either in the Library of Congress index or in various ethical
treatises. Mutuality suggests response
and perhaps even reciprocity. In many
ethical discussions what matters is what is in the person. If I am to show Christian love, it is the
love I have and what I do with that love that is said to be important. [A significant alternative is the view of Martin Buber. For Buber, love is what ‘happens between’ two parties, not what one possesses, as if a person had a certain amount of love.]If I give that love and it is not
reciprocated, I may believe that “I did my Christian duty.” That is enough, but is it? Not hardly!
A love for one’s brothers and sisters is set forth in the text. Thus the
question for today: How does one, so to speak, practice philadelphia?
Hebrews 13:1-6
Let
mutual love continue. 2Do not
neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have
entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember
those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are
being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. 4Let marriage be held in honor by all,
and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and
adulterers. 5Keep
your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for
he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” 6So we can say with confidence, “The
Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”
Let philadelphia continue! The text is a call to ethical living, of
gracious living. In syntax the text is
similar to what has gone before.
Exhortations provide guidance for those who follow the Son. The author lays
out the type of community appropriate for those who live in the gratitude and
godly fear of what God in Christ has done for them. “Let
us give thanks,” the writer says, “by which we offer to God an acceptable
worship with reverence and awe” (12:28b). The author employs four pairs
of carefully thought out exhortations.
1. Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality.
2. Remember those who are in prison, as
though you were in prison and being tortured.
3. Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let
the marriage bed be kept undefiled.
4. Keep your lives free from the love of money,
and be content with what one has.
Gareth Cockerill observes that
the four pairs of exhortations can be viewed as an expansion of the “mutual
love” (philadelphia) with which the
text begins. [Gareth Cockerill, The Epistle to the Hebrews (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 679.]The first two pairs (1 & 2) directly
express what brotherly love is. The
second two pairs (3 & 4) forbid conduct that violates philadelphia. These exhortations
reflect themes common in Christian and Jewish moral teachings in the first
century. However they go beyond what is
found in Hellenistic literature since they are given new meanings in the
context of the awe-filled gratitude for the all-sufficient work of Christ.
Mutual love (philadelphia) figures prominently not only here but throughout the
chapter, setting a tone for what is to follow.
Outside of Christian literature philadelphia
is the term for the natural bond that joins actual brothers and sisters and the
mutual support that should characterize such relationships. We have already seen in Hebrews that the
writer has made it clear that those who respond to God’s word are his children
whom the Son views as his “children” (2:10-18), as his “brothers and sisters”.
Brotherly love, then, is paired with hospitality. Show
hospitality [philoxenia] to strangers
(13:2), he urges. As Cockerill puts it,
“Love of brother [philadelphia] let
it continue; love of stranger [philoxenia/hospitality]
do not forget” (680). In other words,
there is to be a genuine sharing that takes place. By doing it some are said to have entertained
angels without knowing it.
Both Jews and Gentiles placed
hospitality high on the list of virtues.
This virtue was also important to the early Christian community, since
leaders and others traveled from place to place. [On the topic of hospitality as practiced by the early church and its subsequent development within Christianity see Christine D. Pohl, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999).]Occasionally unscrupulous
people took advantage of hospitality, leading the early church to look with
suspicion upon strangers who stayed more than one day. [For instance, see the Didache 11:4-6: “Let every Apostle who comes to you be received as the Lord, but let him not stay more than one day, or if need be a second as well; but if he stay three days, he is a false prophet. And when an Apostle goes forth let him accept nothing but bread till he reach his night’s lodging; but if he ask for money, he is a false prophet.” The Didache (i.e., teaching) is widely regarded as a manual of Church instruction and is dated either late first or early second century.]The reference
to angels in the verse is thought to be a reference to Abraham and his
entertainment of three guests (Genesis 18:1ff) or possibly Lot (Genesis 19:1-22), so
thought Philo and Josepheus. The intent is to insure that hospitality is not
overlooked even if some people take advantage of the situation. As Marcus Dodd
noted several generations ago, whatever form hospitality was expressed that it
be seen “not as a duty they did not already practice, but, gently, as that
which they might omit through forgetfulness and as that which might bring them a
message from God.”[Marcos Dodd, “The Epistle to the Hebrews,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament (Hodder and Stoughton, 1897-1910), vol. 4: 375.] Hospitality brings unexpected results in terms
of the fellowship it makes possible.
Hospitality is coupled with
remembering those in prison (13:3). Concern for prisoners repeats an earlier
theme (Heb. 10:32-34) with its mention of “reproaches and afflictions.” Solidarity reigns, as the reader is to
remember prisoners “as though you were in prison with them,” even to the point
of torture. Those in prison would
include those who are suffering for Christ.
While the letter’s recipients may not have been imprisoned as yet they
are subject to such treatment. Prisons
at the time were dark, dirty, cramped and those who kept them were often harsh
in their treatment and open to bribes.
Often given little food and no clothes, prisoners were dependent upon
those outside for meeting basic needs.
The third practice then is to honor marriage (13:4). The text
provides an explicit affirmation of the marriage bond, making clear that
marriage is not disparaged in favor of some ascetical ideal. Here, three really is a crowd! Lust is incompatible with the sanctity of the
Christian community. Those guilty of
such immorality, whether fornication (a general designation covering sexual
immorality) or adultery specifically come under the judgment of God. This is coupled with the issue of how one
values the topic of money. So the fourth
practice is to “keep your lives free
from the love of money” (13:5-6).
Marriage and money are commonly linked in early Christian
literature. The “love of money” as a
term appears more frequently as one moves toward the end of the first century
and into the second century. As people
with higher incomes were won to the Christian way, this particular admonition
became more common. The writer to the
Hebrews then adds: “be content with what you have.” This is based on the writer’s confidence that
God “will never leave you or forsake you.”
Trust in the presence of the One who gifts the recipients of the
document is enough. The writer then
concludes: “So we can say with confidence,
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?”(Psalm 118:6)
Doing Things
Together
Earlier Christian practices were defined
as “things Christian people do together over time to address fundamental human
needs in response to and in the light of God’s active presence for the life of
the world in Jesus Christ.” [Craig Dykstra and Dorothy C. Bass, “A Theological Understanding of Christian Practices,” in Practicing Theology, 18. Unless noted otherwise, the remaining paragraphs are indebted to these authors with material drawn from pages 22-29.]Christian practices then are constituent
elements in a way of life termed “Christian.”
According to Craig Dykstra and Dorothy Bass, by participating in such
practices Christians are taking part in God’s work of creation and new creation
in a four-fold manner:
1. Christian practices address fundamental human
needs and conditions.
2. Christian practices are activities imbued
with the knowledge of God and creation.
3. Christian practices are social
and historical activities people engage in together over time.
4. Christian practices share in the mysterious
drama of fall, redemption and grace.
Therefore, as constituent
elements and not simply regulative, Christian practices are deeply intertwined
with one another. Several examples of their
interdependency can be mentioned (as noted by Dykstra and Bass):
When practicing
hospitality, one is drawn into forgiving those once considered alien, and into
perceiving one’s own forgiveness as well; in keeping sabbath, one honors the
body, reorders the economics of the household, and grows in capacity to
participate in the practice of saying yes and saying no. Other connections emerge as well: we begin to
understand that the family table, the table provided for the destitute, the
table of holy communion, and the eschatological table where all people will
feast in the fullness of God are not isolated from one another, but are part of
a coherent whole constituted by the encompassing, unifying reality of God’s
active presence for the life of the world.
I became a member of the Church
of the Nazarene in Sumter, South Carolina while serving in the United States
Air Force. It was a good fit. It was a
familiar practice in that setting (1956-1959) for younger folk to call the
older folk ‘brother’ or ‘sister,’ so it was Brother Fowler, Brother Motley,
Sister Mitchell, Sister Witherspoon, and on and on. The pastor was Brother Huff, not pastor or
Harry. There was something respectful
and endearing in doing so, not to miss relational as well. Young and old, male and female made church
life a joy; a very good thing in the life of a service member. It felt good and proper at the time. It still does. It was philadelphia!
We may not be “Philadelphia
lawyers” and thus knowledgeable in the most minute aspects of the law but we do
not need to be. The book of Hebrews articulates
clearly a perspective on life, written for the sake of guiding people more
fully into what the book of Acts termed ‘the Way.’ In some respects, the author is telling the
readers who they are, who they really are by noting practices that exemplify
what God is pleased for his children to do.
It has been said that
The church
exists today as resident aliens, an adventurous colony in a society of
unbelief.... To speak of the church as a
colony is to speak of the colony not as a place, a fortified position be it
theological or geographic. The colony is
a people on the move. . . breathlessly trying to keep up with Jesus.[Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony (Abingdon Press, 1989).]
How does one breathlessly keep up
with Jesus? One way is through philadelphia.
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First Church of the Nazarene
3901 Lomaland Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
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