Day 43

Entering the Pastoral letters, I feel a shift in tone. These are directed to specific recipients and are encouragement in their faith. Only Philemon is undisputedly written by Paul in this collection. Nonetheless, they are interesting to soak up and wrestle with.

Timothy presents troubling verses on women. Do they matter if Paul didn’t write them? What was the context of those verses? In all reality, they are references that do not translate to our current time – but that doesn’t change how those verses have been used and abused. The Letter to the Hebrews is a masterful sermon on the priestly qualities of Jesus of Nazareth — drawing parallels with the priesthood of the temple in Jerusalem. Philemon has Paul advocating for a slave to go free. Titus is concerned with the duties of bishops and elders.

All of these serve a purpose. And they have a focus beyond their problematic verses. I say this as someone who has had certain Bible verses used against me in the past. What I’ve learned in nearly finishing this entire text is that the Bible is far more concerned with other matters. These books place emphasis on roles and responsibilities. When purity and sexual ethics are brought up, it’s usually an extreme response to some unnamed egregiousness.

Did I enjoy these books? Sure. They were a journey that I eagerly went on. Did they call me to reflect and ponder? Yes! Especially what Hebrews had to say about the definition of faith. I consider Chapter 11 of Hebrews to be one of the finest chapters I’ve read so far. I have a faith that imagines a world I will not see. That is humbling and somehow…sustaining.

One Word for First Timothy: Testy
One Word for Second Timothy: Yearning
One Word for Titus: Ministerial
One Word for Philemon: Liberatory
One Word for Hebrews: Faithful

Parts of the Text That Stayed With Me

1. 1 Tim 1:19, Iceberg Ahead! “By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith…” That might seem like throwing shade by saying ‘certain persons.’ But no, the author names them in the next verse. Poor Hymenaeus and Alexander!
2. 1 Tim 2:9-16, Problematic Verses About Women. The second most famous batch of problematic verses about women in the New Testament. So, here’s the good news. Paul probably didn’t write this letter. Also good news, the verses align very closely with Stoic decorum and expectations of the time. Bad news, I wouldn’t expect a woman to ever heed this. This makes me want to seek out a feminist/womanist reading of these verses.
3. 1 Tim 4:7, Oh the Shade! Timothy is encouraged to avoid “profane myths and old wives tales.” I love the snarky Bible.
4. 1 Tim 5:22, Ordination. “Do not ordain anyone hastily.” Let that be a warning to anyone that comes to me begging to pull strings so they can skip steps on the ordination path.
5. 1 Tim 6:10, Money Money Money! “Love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…” ‘Nuff said.
6. 2 Tim 3:16, Scriptural Literalism. “All scripture inspired by god.” This verse is probably the root of scriptural literalism. The problem is…there wasn’t a New Testament when this was written. The author was talking about the Hebrew Scriptures. How do you like dem apples?
7. Titus 1:12, Casual Xenophobia. Ever wondered why people get called a Cretan if they act foolishly? Here you go.
8. Phlm 1:16, Why this Letter? I wonder why this letter is in the Bible. It’s incredibly brief. I happen to think Paul is encouraging Philemon to free Onesimus from slavery. Some disagree.
9. Heb 1, Setting the Tone. Wow, this letter really starts it off clearly. This sermon is here to prove that Jesus is the salvation of the Hebrew people.
10. Heb 4:9, Rest on the Seventh Day. Just because people have left Judaism doesn’t mean they don’t take the sabbath. This verse encourages it. Noted.
11. Heb 6:9, Holiest of Holies. Jesus is the hope that “enters behind the curtain” into the holiest of holies. This is a description that would resonate clearly with Jewish listeners. Chapter 9 also fleshes out Jesus’ role as high priest. Originally, only the high priest could enter the holiest of holies once a year.
12. Heb 11:1, Defining Faith. I’ve always liked this definition of faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hope for, the conviction of things not seen.” How true it is.
13. Heb 11:13 Dying to Faith. This chapter lays out examples of the definition of faith. From Noah to Abraham to Enoch. Here it’s lifted up that they all “died in faith without having received the promises…” This resonates with justice work. I am working for a world I may never see.

This post is part of a lager series where I read the entirety of Hebrew & Christian scriptures in 45 days. Take a look a the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.