Wordsmith

I selected the text for today and was struck by an ancient to modern disconnect.

"From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!" -Philippians 1:1

I didn't keep reading far past the word "slaves." I thought, oh I can't cut and paste this text without a significant comment. That is a loaded word for this country and its history. I was reading from the New English Translation (NET2), my current recommended Bible translation for study online. I knew the Greek word, but clicked on the notes for their reasoning of translation. Here are a couple of important nuggets:

Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”

The word in focus, δοῦλος (doulos), is often translated as “servants” or “bondservants.” However, doulos does not mean a free individual serving another. A servant is free and compensated, both of which are preferable! A bondservant sells themselves into slavery for another, but this is archaic and not well known. The issue is partly our understanding of slaves and slavery. Being a slave in Biblical times was far better than early America. For background on this, I recommend the book, "Four Hundred Souls" edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. In the Middle East, being enslaved was not a walk in the flower garden, but was typically for a term and certainly not hereditary or through the construct of race.

You might recall that Jesus said, "I no longer call you slaves (doulos) but friends" (John 15:15). The disciples were no longer pledging their lives into learning, but had taken the lessons to heart. So, why then would Paul choose a word that is problematic and a bit of a backstep? Paul is known to be a wordsmith, choosing

words carefully and often fashioning or bending them into a new usage for what would become the Christian worldview. He started the letter to the Church in Philippi with a word choice to represent a strange new reality. He used a strong word for emotion, devotion, and passion. Paul had chosen to turn over his whole life, time, and resources for God's doings. He reached a point where he realized there is no significant life without intently following every word that God utters. He found the miraculous protection and providence that defied the secular odds. Paul had recognized that the risen Christ is a master of kindness, generosity, and full spectrum love. It might not roll off the tongue, but given the words that follow, I think a better English translation for doulos would be, "self-enslaved." Opening a letter with a loving description of a life devotion to Christ Jesus is a better match to the overall positivity. Read on and you will see that he is writing from a perspective of joy and grace-filled appreciation. That doesn't happen in typical human enslavement!

"I thank my God every time I remember you. I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace together with me. For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God."

Loving God,

May we know more fully your meaning and understanding of love, so that we would not hurt or exploit one another, but help and heal each other. Guide our lives into a greater reality of community. Remove from this generation all vestiges and stains from our past, and lead us in correcting the wrongs of our ancestors so that all your beloved may live in full harmony, fairness, and equality. In our own time, strengthen us to do the hard work of reconciliation and peace. Through the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.