24. IN CHRIST - A NEW CREATION AND A NEW
COMMUNITY
2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 3:28
Leela Manasseh
Guidelines for the Leader:
Before the session:
* Request your group members to come prepared to
share signs of hope that they see in their immediate community in spite
of the problems of economic crisis, on which they can build a new
community, crossing barriers such as socio-economic, cultural, gender,
etc. (Ref. Previous Bible Studies in this section).
* Request them to read 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and
Galatians 3 in English.
* Request them to read 2 Corinthians 5:17 and
Galatians 3:28 in different translations including their mother tongue.
During the session:
* Welcome new members, if any. Briefly explain
or review the effects of globalization on women. If they have
read the daily newspapers or watched the TV news bulletin they may
contribute some aspects to the discussion. Kindly encourage that.
* You may read the introductory Case Study or let a
member read it loud. Allow two minutes for interaction.
* Explain the text and pause wherever necessary for
members' contribution, e.g. to share an incident/case study from real
life situation.
Or Have the members share about the follow-up
activities given in the Bible study lessons on Jubilee and Magnificat.
Or You may have them share the follow-up
activities at the end of the study.
* Prayer: Give the option to each one to close in
conversational prayer, remembering any needs that have been shared.
After the Session:
* If possible, split the group into small groups of 3
or 4 preferably locality/area wise. Encourage them to identify
the concept of new community in the families, church and the
neighborhood and write at least one story narrating how people (adults,
youth and children) are involved in reshaping or restructuring the
world.
* Encourage them to share the stories with the
congregation on different occasions, e.g. Harvest Festival, Christian
Home Week, Mission Sundays, Women's Sunday etc. Perhaps they may want
to do that through a dance, skit, story-play, song or poem, poster,
flip chart, or any creative methods. They may also be encouraged to
share the stories in their family get-togethers.
IN CHRIST A NEW CREATION AND A NEW COMMUNITY
2 Cor. 5:17 & Gal. 3:28
Introduction:
As we have seen in the introductory essay and the
studies in this section, while globalization benefits some groups, yet
there are conflicts between economic and political forces which affect
relationships in the family, church/community and society.
However, it is evident that in spite of discrimination, barriers, and
problems, people are challenged to find hope and to participate in
creating a new order in which to live, love and serve.
As the title of this study indicates, the purpose of
our time together today is to realize once again that in Christ, God
has empowered us, women as well as men, girls, and boys with the
dynamic of the Spirit to create a New Community. We begin our
study together with a story from a real life situation.
Case Study:
Shanti is a high school teacher in Bombay. She
and her husband, Raj, have a daughter and a son. About four years
ago, Raj had a personal encounter with Christ in a Home Bible Study
conducted by a Christian Youth Fellowship. Since then, Shanti and
Raj have been studying the Bible and praying together regularly.
After a few months, in another Bible study, they
were involved in a discussion on `Christians’ attitude towards
dowry. Dowry, as we all know, is a demanded gift from the father
or parents of the bride. As Raj was reflecting on the issue of
dowry he was convicted by the Holy Spirit to say sorry to Shanti for
having demanded and taken dowry from her father at the time of their
marriage. Shanti was extremely happy about the change in Raj's
attitude. She, then, explained to him the difficulties her father
underwent in borrowing the amount and clearing the debt. Further
discussion and prayer with Shanti enabled Raj to visit her father, not
only to say sorry to him, but also to return the amount.
Reflect on this case study ...
Often we come across people feeling sorry about
taking or giving dowry, but very seldom do we come across people who go
to the extent of returning the dowry. Nevertheless, we affirm
this action which is a valuable contribution to the reshaping and
restructuring the world, beginning with ourselves and our immediate
relationships within the family.
The Texts Explained:
Now let us read 2 Corinthians 5:17 together:
When anyone is united in Christ, there is a new world. The old
order has gone and the new order has already begun (RNEB).
May we have this verse read in other translations.
Perhaps some of you may like to read this verse in your mother
tongue. Many of us have grown up memorizing this verse from older
translations, such as King James Version: "If any man is in Christ, he
is a new creature...."
We have heard preachers and evangelists perpetuate
their own biases as truth, based on older translations, and many of
these biases have influenced the way we understand the status and role
of women.
For example, the English word "creature" used here
puts emphasis on new life in Christ as individual, personal
transformation, and the individual "man" is understood as male.
But the original Greek (reflected in newer translations) means there is
a new creation, or a new world which includes all humanity, both male
and female, not just the individual, as well as human's relations with
the whole created universe.
Another bias often read into this passage is that
new life in Christ is an exclusively "spiritual" transformation,
separating the soul or spirit from the body and the world, both of
which are viewed as evil and sinful, and this understanding of sin is
frequently linked with women's sexuality. Eve, the temptress, is
blamed for man's fall, whereas the scripture clearly says that God held
both Adam and Eve equally responsible for the fall (Gen. 3:1-19).
These biases need to be challenged and
changed.
One way is to read several newer translations,
looking at an incident from other perspectives, discussing the passage
together in a group, relating it to the present time and situation,
rather than simply accepting what has been handed down to us.
Let us reflect on 2 Cor. 5:17, remembering that it
is an intensely personal letter. Paul is pouring out his feelings
and his faith as he faces disappointment, counters slander and
disloyalty, while he carries out the Great Commission as an apostle.
Although Paul is talking about himself in 5:17, that
his outlook has been transformed and made new by `being in Christ,' his
favorite expression for a Christian, yet the implication is that `being
in Christ' is the status of women just as it is the status of everybody
else. All the possibilities of being in Christ or in the New
Community are open to women also, since they also have all the
potential and the resources for the New Creation.
The new age has dawned with the advent of Jesus
Christ. Jesus inaugurated the new community through his teaching
and interactions with people, which is the model for how we are to view
women and men, young and old, by overcoming barriers, e.g. of gender,
race, creed, class, authority and power, prestige and position.
Jesus Christ calls us to live in a community where there is
unity. In other words where there is oneness - a total acceptance
of each other. There can be no second class citizens. And
the call is to overcome barriers in creating the new community.
Thus, Paul in writing to the Galatians illustrates
this point clearly: Let us read Galatians 3:28 together:
There is neither Jew nor Greek
there is neither slave nor free
there is neither male nor female
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
This is thought to have been a baptismal creed in
use in the early church, which Paul has used to illustrate that all
racial, class and gender barriers are broken down in Christ (read v.27).
In the society of Paul's day there was a tremendous
difference in the social status and sense of personal worth and human
dignity between the paired categories of people mentioned here.
Therefore, every Jew would recite the three-fold daily rabbinic prayer
(Swidler: 323):
Praised be God that he has not created me a Gentile!
Praised be God that he has not created me a woman!
Praised be God that he has not created me a slave!
(Tosephta Berakhoth 7, 18)
It was taken for granted that the Jew was superior
to the Gentile (Greek), the male to the female, and the freeman to the
slave.
However, Paul states that in the new community in
Christ, the distinction between male and female, along with the
distinction which existed between Jew and Gentile and slave and free,
all of which existed in Judaism, no longer exist. In other
words, all are baptized in Christ, clothed in Christ, and therefore
there are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free,
male and female, but all are one in Jesus Christ. Furthermore
Paul makes it clear that in Christ, each person stands before God as an
individual of worth and independent of race, caste, status and
gender. In other words Paul points out that faith in Christ has
brought a new relationship to God which is accompanied by a new
relationship of believers to one another, namely Jew and Greek, slave
and free, male and female which encompasses all humanity (Martin:
1988:18).
It is the mission of the Christian community to live
out this concept even within the complexities of its contemporary
situation. In fact it is precisely in those complexities that the
Body of Christ (the Church) is to demonstrate to the world this
astounding reality. And the Church or the Christian faith of
today is still presented with this same challenge!
However, for all its clarity, this concept is the
source of great debate. Controversy centers on how far the
principle of equality is to be applied. In other words, in what
are we equal? As Paul makes clear, the principle of believer equality
is meant for other relationships besides Jew and Gentile. For instance,
remember in Paul's time slavery was common, and Paul sends the slave
Onesimus back to his master Philemon, though he requests him to
consider Onesimus not as a slave but as a dear brother (Phl.
v.16). However, it took 18 centuries for slavery to be considered
wrong in the majority of countries. In fact, there are many
evangelical women who actively campaigned for the abolition of slavery
in the USA and England, as part of the Abolitionist movement. A
few of the most famous are: Harriet Beecher Stowe, the Grimke sisters,
Sojourner Truth (an ex-slave), Antoinette Brown, Anne Knight, and
Hannah More. Although some of them did not participate in the
woman's rights movement, which was contemporary with the anti-slavery
movement, it is widely recognized that evangelical Christianity was a
vital force in the 19th century both for the abolition of slavery and
in the women's rights movement. [Storkey: 1985: 141-144].
Furthermore, Romans 16:1-16 clearly shows that
Paul's actions were consistent with his theology expressed in Gal
3:28. In Rom. 16, of the 28 people Paul names and greets as
"co-workers," 10 are women, ample evidence of the fact that Paul worked
alongside women, recognized their leadership, and considered that the
Gospel gave women the freedom to exercise their gifts alongside
men. In fact, Phoebe is referred to as a diakonos, which is
elsewhere used in reference to angels (Heb. 1:4), and to Paul and
Barnabas where it is usually translated "deacon." However, when
it refers to Phoebe, it has been translated "deaconess." Do
"deacon" and "deaconess" have the same connotation for you? If
not, why not? [Here we are back to the question of translation
and bias, raised earlier].
Of the three groups which Paul declares as equals in
Christ, it is with regard to equality between women and men that the
church continues to wrestle today.
Therefore, it is important to hold 2 Cor. 5:17 and
Gal. 3:28 together in drawing out implications for creating a new
community in a pluralistic society in our context. Our Indian
society is multi-caste, multi-lingual, multi-class, multi-religious and
multi-political in nature. In such a society `being in Christ'
defines who we are and how we are to enjoy the blessings and
responsibilities equally. Thus, any prior distinctions are
unimportant, i.e. religious, social and gender barriers should
go. In Christ the wall of divisions or all partitions should be
broken down (see Eph. 2:13-22). Christ's redemptive work frees us
from hierarchy as the fundamental principle for male-female
relationships. We are called to live according to the vision of
the new creation which looks forward to a day of complete
reconciliation among people of all races, every social standing, and
both genders.
We, as women as well as men, are called to strive to
reflect this vision in our present corporate life through structures
and relationships that promote community. In other words, we set
the new creation against the old.
Application:
1. In the light of this study let us review the
reflections on the opening case study. What Raj did, as told to
me by Shanti, shows that his union with Christ changed his outlook on
dowry practiced in their culture. Shanti definitely has played a
significant role in Raj's attitude towards dowry. How often, we
women fail to take a bold step to redeem persons and situations from
inequality, discrimination, corruption and injustice. God in
Christ has empowered us to transform human problems into opportunities
to create a new community.
(Kindly share the signs of hope that you see in your immediate
community on which you can build a new community crossing barriers).
2. Secondly, the plural nature of our society offers
opportunities to dialogue with people of other faiths in every day life
situations. How important it is to understand our neighbors and
their religions as well as to engage in the inculturation of the Gospel
and sympathetic communication of the Good News in our own
locality. In many situations Christian women can spontaneously
and with much ease bridge the gap between various conflicting religious
or caste groups and help bring social harmony.
For example, a few months ago, in one of the suburbs
of Bangalore, there was a communal riot between Hindus and
Muslims. A Christian woman took the initiative to work along with
the Muslim and Hindu women in her locality to bring harmony in her
local situation. She discovered that the women had a common goal
i.e. to promote peace and harmony. They were willing to cooperate
with her, at any cost. As they worked together for peace, God was
in their midst, empowering them and using them, an example of sharing
the goodnews.
3. Another example comes from a recent gathering of
Christian women leaders from about 20 Protestant Church denominations
from 15 states, which met in Pune in February 1998, under the umbrella
of the Evangelical Fellowship of India and Asia. Their task was
to envision women's ministries in India for the 21st century. One
of the participants, Venu, shared her experience,
I knew that God was preparing me to be the Principal of a Bible School
where I had been teaching for several years, and for which I was the
best qualified candidate. But when the time came to appoint the
Principal, I was rejected because I am a woman. Though a man was
appointed in my place, I continued to do most of the work. I
faced many difficulties, and was frustrated and disappointed over this
injustice. However, I believe that God led me to Pandita Ramabai
Mukti Mission, where I have been able to serve with the same vision for
women's awakening which led Pandita Ramabai to start the work a century
ago.
In response to Venu's sharing, the delegates urged
leaders of the Church, the Body of Christ, to listen carefully to
women's muffled cries and screams of pain, as they point to injustices
against them. In obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit in the
voices of women, the Church should free women to respond to God's call
to ministry. If a woman is called for leadership in ministry, the
community should affirm it and respect her.
Conclusion:
In Christ, we are a new creation and a new
community. In this community, women and men will work together to
remove obstacles in the way of women's and men's full
participation. Women as well as men can pool resources, be
innovative and creative, learn from one another, and support one
another, to restore the dignity of those who are marginalised in our
society.
In Christ let us encourage one another to share the
dynamic of the Holy Spirit, to change the world.
Prayer Time:
Beloved, God has helped us to reflect on creating a
new community. Let us converse with God about some of these
issues and needs. The person who prays at the end will close the
prayer time by saying `in Christ's name, we pray.' Amen.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bilezikian, Gilbert, Beyond Sex Roles, Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House, 1985.
Grenz, Stanley, Created For Community, Wheaton:
Victor Books, 1996.
Guthrie, D & J. A. Motyer, The New Bible
Commentary, London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975.
Herbert, Beulah, "A Biblical Perspective on the Status and
Dignity of Women," A paper presented July 16, 1994
at Vishranti Nilayam, Bangalore, EFI's Theological
Consultation, 1994 (unpublished).
Martin, Faith, Call me Blessed: The Emerging Christian
Woman, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
1988.
Smith, Marilyn B. Gender or Giftedness. A Study on the Role
of Women, prepared for the Commission on Women's
Concerns of the World Evangelical Fellowship,
1997 (Unpublished).
Storkey, Elaine, What is Right with Feminism? London:
SPCK, 1985.
Swidler, Leonard, Biblical Affirmations of Woman, Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, 1979.