|
 



 

CONTEXT AND LIFE

   

Following the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI to

celebrate a year dedicated to the figure of Paul of
Tarsus, we take up this challenge to study this great
apostle full of fire for Jesus and His Church.
In this journey we look at Paul of Tarsus«who he
was and what he was able to do.
We will understand Paul in two moments«
± In the first place we look at his life and his missionary
journeys (Acts of the Apostles)
± Then we move on to examine each of his letters (Pauline
Epistles)
So let the journey begin«
 |

 

We will use the following article to

understand the context of Paul
± C. H.  ,
, Background Reading Material
for the Teacher» in Y
  
  
 ,
, ed. Robert u
,

, SCM Press,
1970.
We will also view the following film:
± |   

 ,
, Daughters of
St. Paul, Bandra, Mumbai.
 Æ 
 

A casual reader of the Gospels will be astounded at

the ë


 ë 

as we move to the   ë  
ë .
. From the narrow confines of Palestine ±
Judaea and Galilee ± one moves to the   




 ë ë ë ë 
 
 .
This is the 

ë


± a multi-
multi-cultural
world bound by the use of the Greek language with
Greek social and political ideals.
± It is the result of the
 ëë
 
  .
.
After his death there was decline and dissolution.
 Æ 
 
à then comes on the scene. At first it is one
more competitor for power - a brutal and ruthless
one. In the end it turns out to be a force that
ëë
 

 on the Hellenistic world
bringing to the existing cultural unity political
cohesion.
Hence it is appropriate to speak of the 



à 

.


.  ë   ë ë is largely
responsible for turning the aggressive power into
the presider of a civilized international society. He
reigned in the transition from BC to AD.
± The imperial rule is accepted willingly by most of the
eastern subjects barring pockets of discontent (Jews of
Palestine). After years of anarchy and misrule the people
realized that their lot had improved.
 ¯

 

 



  
Augustus emerged as master of the whole
Hellenistic world as far as the Euphrates.
± Within the empire there were a few  

ë
used as a buffer for administrative convenience.
Most of the other areas came under a 



ë  governed with business-
business-like and
efficient bureaucracy.
± 
ë were placed under military governors
with legionary ë and these governors were called
µ
 ë.
ë. They were under the direct supervision of the
emperor.
± 


ë away from the frontier had civilian
governors with the title µ
ë
µ
ë

.. They were appointed
by the Senate with the indirect pressure of the emperor.
± 
ë ± like Judaea were administered by
governors of inferior rank called µ

µ
  or µprefect¶.
 ¯

 

 



  
Within the province the  ëë

 

ëand


ëand was subject only to the
remote control of the Emperor. He was responsible
for justice and headed a court.
However there was room for


.

.
In the eastern provinces there were many ë
 ë


ë ± ancient


ë ë like Athens
or Ephesus; or others founded by 

ë

 
ë such as Antioch-
Antioch-on-
on-the-
the-Orontes ± the
capital of the province of Syria; or à 


ë such as Phillipi in Macedonia.

The
ë had their own magistrates and senate
and were led by former legionaries who took pride
in being Roman citizens and had some autonomy.
This was much less than the Greek times, but still
there was 



ë.




ë.
 ¯

 

 



  
In most cities there were

ëë.


ëë. They were
valuable settlers and were given favorable treatment.
± And, at the same time there was an undercurrent of  
ë in many places fuelled by jealousy more than
by religious motives. On the other hand, many showed
interest in some aspects of the ë 
,
ë 
, and this
had an impact on Hellenistic thought.
The  
ë 
 à 

ë had an 




 evident in some forms of popular assembly or
town meetings to look after some of the administrative
elements of society.
± These municipal committees tended to mirror the 


ë 
ë
  of imperial society as a whole. At the
 was the Roman 
 with wealth and ample
privileges and at the  ë was the ë


ëë whose
labor held the entire edifice up.
 ¯

 

 



  

ë had a hard life ± though the Romans gave
them some protection against extreme brutality.
ë
ë
 had its alleviations. Some
masters were considerate and treated the slaves as
subordinate members of the family.
± Many of the slaves were 







and handled
specialized employment. As valuable property they had to
be treated carefully.
± It was possible for a slave to buy his freedom if he worked
hard enough. Others were emancipated on their master¶s
death. These passed into the free community. Many of
them entered the civil service and were µrising men¶.
 ¯

 

 



  
For the remaining parts of the population who were
neither the nobility or slaves there were hardly any
civic privileges. They could join

ë or 
 
ëë
 ë which had harmless activities such as
social intercourse and religious festivals.
Some of the µfriendly societies¶ included both free
men of the poorest sort and slaves, and were a
means of humanizing a very hard lot.
These perhaps provided the 

 the
structure of the  
ë ë 

ë.

ë.
± They had open membership, regularly appointed officials, a
common fund maintained by the members contributions
and their social meals with a religious complexion.
 Ú
 

 
Varied      are evident in the
Greco--Roman world. In the eastern province there was a
Greco
strong 

ë






.

. With a large

  

it was common to see the figure of the µstreet
corner¶ philosopher. People in general were open to 
 ë
this was specially so as trade began to flourish and people from
diverse places and cultures began to live together.
The most common philosophical system followed was

ë..

ë
± The core doctrine of Stoicism concerns
ë

ë
(logos) and human freedom, and the belief that virtue is to
maintain a will that is in accord with nature.
± With an elaborate logic and metaphysics, it incorporated the most
advanced natural science of the time. But its greatest influence
was in the matter of  
ë
 
ë..
± Even though not many followed its strict ethical code, it informed
the µconscience¶ a remarkable achievement in a society without a
moral anchorage.
± The four cardinal virtues of the Stoic philosophy are M
,

,

,, 
 
,


, and 



 Ú
 

 
The à   is marked by diversity.
In  
ë Greek philosophy had been





 


ë.



ë.
Slowly there was a  


..
Some felt this was due to the
ëë



 ë under stress and fearful insecurity.
Others felt that it was due to  

 

 
 
ë
 
ë.. Man began to feel the need for
redemption from these evil forces.
Consequently more than returning to traditional
religion of Greek and Rome with their pantheon of
gods, people began to   ë

ë

ë of Egypt, Iran and the semitic east ±
including Judaism.
 Ú
 

 
These 
ë!
 were often shrouded in
mystery with only the initiated aware of the significance and
belief system.
± In many of them there appeared 

ë:


ë: the


 (or drama) and the 
 (or myth). While the myth
would 
  the 
ë 
 ,

ë 
 , the ritual action
would 
 with dramatic symbolism  
 
 
  ..
± The person partaking in the cult would thus be able 
 
 
 
  
ëë


.. While it in not clear
how many entered into these cults, it is certain that they had a
deep influence on the thought and ethos of people.
With the merging of these popular religions and philosophy
there was a widespread belief in the realm of
 ëë 


  .
 .
±  ë
 ë

   

 

 ëë
 


 " This was   

ë

 

   
. It was more like a
ë

 

   
.

 ë
ë with a goal of attaining union with
the divine. It led to a very strong belief in the influence of the
stars on people¶s lives.
ñ
 


 

 


 

 

It was to these people that the  
 ë ë

brought their message.
They brought 

 that took
seriously the powers of darkness while also
presenting a buoyant


 

  ë
 
 

ë.

 

ë.
Like the mystery cults it had a certain
  

ë
ë though with a simple rite of   ±
washing in water; and, the drama of its central
mystery was no more than a ë 
 

 in memory of the Lord.
ñ
 


 

 


 

 

There was a tale or myth behind this action ±

though the tale was no fiction but  



  
ë ë
who had lived not so long ago.
± The death-
death-and-
and-resurrection had taken place
within the living memory of many of the listeners.
In the two symbolic rites ± baptism and the
eucharist ±   ë ë

ë
ë,, and the believer shared in the
death and resurrection of Christ thus
entering into union with Him.
 " | !

The pioneer leader in the Christian approach to the Greco-

Greco-
Roman world was the apostle Paul. We know him thanks to
 

 and the narration of his missionary journeys and

other activities in the Y
 
 Y
.
Y
.
It is true that on some points there seems to be some
discrepancy between what we find in these two sources.
± But as far as the missionary journeys are concerned it is
apparent that the author of Y
 was well-
well-informed. Given that
some of the later texts use the first person plural it seems as if
the material is drawn from a kind of travel diary.
This makes it likely that the author was one of Paul¶s traveling
companions who was an eyewitness to the events narrated.
Probably it was Luke ± the Greek doctor ± we are talking
about. (Col 4:14, 2 Tim 4:11, Philemon 24). The narrative of
Y
 can be used as an historical frame within which to place
Pauline activity.
 " | !

Paul was born in Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 21:39), an ancient Greek

city, and later a strong centre of Hellenistic culture. His parents
belonged to the Jewish colony there. He was brought up as a
Pharisee (Acts 23:6; 26:5; Phil 3:5). At the same time he possessed
the coveted Roman citizenship, which meant that they had a
superior standing in the local community.
At home he was Saul ± named after the first king of Israel; and,
outside he was Paul, citizen of Tarsus.
He was bilingual, conversant with both Greek and Aramaic. (some
say tri-
tri-lingual since he could also read the Hebrew Scripture). He
was a citizen of two worlds - familiar with Greek thought (some of
his works bear traces of Stoicism) even though he was not deeply
versed in Greek philosophy ± and also with his Jewish roots.
He studied the Hebrew scriptures in Jerusalem under the famed
Gamaliel and learned the Rabbinical method of interpretation. He
was thus perfectly equipped to the task of mediating Judaism to a
Hellenistic audience.
 " | !
It also is apparent that Saul the Pharisee and Paul
the Roman


  under the
same skin. There are signs of psychological tension
with the Pharisee part predominating his early life.
He is proud of his privileges as a member of the
chosen people (Rom 9:4; Phil 3:5-3:5-6) He had an
irresistible urge to excel. And he sees himself as
the perfect Pharisee. He was not faultless though.
He admits as much in Rom 7:21 ± ³So, then, I
discover the principle that when I want to do right,
evil is at hand. For I take delight in the law of God,
in my inner self, but I see in my members another
principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me
captive to the law of sin that dwells in my
members.´
 " | !

Psychology notes for us that such




ë very often

#
with the choice of an object on which to vent
this anger and fear. It was  ë that 

  
ëë
ë
 of the Christians. His first contact with the
³Nazarenes´ comes in his encounter with a radical and
aggressive representative ± Stephen.
It was reported that the latter was constantly ë  ë
 ë
 
 
.

 
. Hence, he approved of his
murder. Indirectly he was led to hate everything that Jesus
Christ - who though man claimed to be Messiah - stood for.
After Stephen¶s death his ire was raging against all the other
followers whom he persecuted with his characteristic energy
and initiative. He wanted to destroy all the enemies of the
Law and be the best at this task (Acts 9:1 ff).
Ã "#$%|
It was when pursuing this mission on the way to Damascus
that Paul had a life-
life-transforming experience. There are three
accounts of this event in Acts (9:3-
(9:3-9; 22:4-
22:4-11; and, 26:12-
26:12-
18). But they are just narratives of a deeply spiritual
experience.
± We are told of a
  and a 


.. The voice identified itself as
belonging to Jesus who Paul was persecuting. It was a very
personal experience and many times in referring to this Paul
clearly mentions that he had ë 
ë ë. ë.
The effects of this experience were far-
far-reaching. From being
a persecutor he now becomes a follower. It brought about a
solution of his personal problem.
He now threw in his lot with the persecuted. He broke from
his previous group ± the Jews and the Pharisees to belong to
the µoutlaw group¶ (Gal 2:20). He is now in the service of a
new master. He is not the centre of his life ± it is Christ that
lives in him.
Ã "#$%|
We can only imagine the uproar that resulted when the
young Pharisee began ³preaching the faith he once tried to
destroy´ (Gal 1:23). Before long, the Jewish religious leaders
opposed to the Christian movement were seeking to kill Paul.
The persecutor had become the persecuted. So he fled to
Arabia (or Nabatea) for awhile. Eventually, he returned to
Damascus, but he had to flee once more, barely escaping his
enemies by being lowered secretly in a basket through the
city wall.
He now moves from being strictly within the Jewish fold and
begins to proclaim the Gospel beyond.
± It must have been difficult to move from a closed mentality of
the minority community (Jews in Greek territory) to a wider
vision, grander interests and indefatigable energies.
± The dividing wall that he had set up between Jews and others in
his mind was torn down. His new mission was clear ± the
strategy took some time to develop.
ô "&$%|
About Paul¶s early years as a Christian we have little
information. He definitely faced persecution from his
erstwhile friends whom he had now deserted to become the
hunted. In 2 Cor 11:23-
11:23-33 he mentions all the troubles he
had to face:
± Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus
one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,
three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on
the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers
from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from
Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers
at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship,
through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst,
through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure«If I must
boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. At
Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded the city of
Damascus, in order to seize me, but I was lowered in a basket
through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.´
ô "&$%|
Only three years after his conversion was he able
to enter Jerusalem to get acquainted with the
apostles, to be taught by them and to seek their
recognition of his own vocation. He stayed awhile
with Peter and continued preaching.
Then, once again facing dangerous opposition, he
withdrew into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, his
home province where he spent about 12 years (Gal
1:21). Tarsus was his hometown ± a place of
security.
It is after his arrival in Antioch (Acts 11:25ff) that
the story of Paul¶s missionary career begins.
ô "&$%|

We don¶t know for sure the details of this period, sometimes

called the ³unknown years´ of Paul¶s life. But we do know
that, eventually, the apostle ended up in 


,, the great
metropolis of Syria.
It is here that the numerous local followers of Jesus were first
called ³Christians.´
The community of Antioch included a substantial proportion
of non-
non-Jewish converts. This gentile element acted as a
stimulant for proclamation. We see a community that wants
to reach out to a still wider public in the Greco-
Greco-Roman world.
Barnabas ± a Cypriot Jew is chosen and his companion is
Paul. The junior colleague soon slips into the leading role
given his vigour and determination.
Paul now begins a decade of remarkable and successful
missionary journeys throughout that part of the world.