Reading from a Distance – to Understand and Follow Paul writes to Timothy in c. 67 after 2 yrs house-arrest in Rome, travel to Spain and back to Aegean area. After Rome’s fire in 64, Nero’s slaughter of Christians in Rome, made it illegal to be a Christian in the Roman empire. Paul urges them to stay engaged by Faith-Gospel but to pray for emperor and for quiet life with honor. Christians vulnerable to accusation and execution. We read from our modern post-Christendom, individualism, freedom, more ignored than physically endangered. Our tradition often reads this text as a check-list of laws for church elders. Challenges in crossing centuries: Givens of Greco-Roman society (1) Patriarchy in law (2) Honor- shame culture based in evaluation of others, (3) Patronage, (4) Polytheism. Christian faith was threatened on all these fronts. People breathed this given reality as they organized life.
Why to Timothy and Titus, who’ve work with Paul 15+ yrs in difficult situations. Don’t they know? Why should overseers be married? Paul earlier (1 Cor 7) urged staying unmarried, like himself. Why so much about accusation, conflict, honor and so little about spiritual gifts as earlier. Why must pagans speak well of the overseer? Who is the “accuser” (diabolos, devil, human)? To understand the language, it helps to understand what’s at stake, what Paul is trying to do. Paul knows Timothy and Titus know the spiritual gifts needed for leadership (Rm 12, 1Cor 12...). He focuses on particular needs for leadership in the troubled churches in Ephesus and Crete.