|
Romans: A House Church Manifesto? 1b (Drake)
|
Romans: A House Church Manifesto?
by Herbert Drake
I. The Shaping of the Letter
(Continued)
B. The Form of the Letter
One literary form that appears frequently in New Testament gospels
and epistles is that of chiasmus, a literary form in which the sequence
of the material presented in the second portion of a literary block is
presented as a mirror image of its presentation in the first portion of
that block (e.g., A B C C' B' A'). Examples of this
form in history are well documented in Homeric and classical Hellenistic
education and are frequently found in the Old Testament,
especially in Qohelet (Ecclesiastes). Paul was probably aware of
the many passages in the Old Testament that featured the device.
Examples are as diverse as Gen. 33:10-11 and Ps. 2:9. Modern
interpreters have found chiasmus very helpful in unpacking such
difficult passages as Mt. 7:6.
When the innermost element of a chiasmus is unpaired, it is said to
have "climactic centrality," the whole structure tending to give
emphasis to the element at its focal point. Examples of this phenomenon
include Eccl. 11:1-12:8 ("but know that for all these things God will
bring you to judgment"), Heb. 12:1-2 ("keeping our eyes on Jesus
the pioneer and perfecter of the faith"), Lk. 1:6-25 (the annunciation),
and even Jn. 1:1-18 (by the incarnate Word we become children of God).
Of significance here is that Paul used chiasmus throughout Romans. In
demonstrating that Chapters 9-11 were a part of the original autograph,
for example, Corley compared the frequency of chiasmus (along with other
literary devices) in Chapters 9-11 with that in the balance of the
letter. Lloyd Gaston cites a particularly good example of a
Pauline chiasmus in Rom. 11:30-31, and another example appears in
Table 5.
Rembertus Ruijs used chiasmus as a tool to relate relatively short
units in Romans 1-8 in order to derive the locus of ideas in the book
and to compare them with other sections in Romans and in certain other
parts of the Pauline corpus. The present writer, however, suggests
that the whole body of the letter is best understood as a
single chiastic structure, and offers Figure 1 for consideration.
Certainly, this suggestion is a departure from the usual occurrence of
Chiasm. which tends to be limited to within one verse or a small span of
verses. But Norbert Lohfink has demonstrated chiasmus in the whole of
Qohelet, and Joel Rosenberg sees the whole of Jeremiah as being
under a chiastic umbrella. Therefore, it should not be too quickly
ruled out that Paul could have selected this form for Romans.
In suggesting a chiastic structure for Romans, the author is not
trying to show that Paul was attempting to compose a work of artistic
beauty. It has already been mentioned that
climactic centrality is effective for emphasis, and the chiasmus
proposed for Romans fits into that category--to emphasize the main
message of the letter, designated element F in Figure
1. Augustine Stock brings up another point about the value of the
chiastic structure that Paul could have found useful in his discourse:
Chiasmus afforded a seriously needed element of internal
organization in ancient writings, which did not make use of
paragraphs, punctuation, capitalization, and other such synthetic
devices to communicate the conclusion of one idea and the commencement
of the next.
Corley had the interesting insight that Paul may not have even been
intentional in its use of the chiastic form:
The presence of chiasm need not imply that Paul intentionally used
it as a literary device: more likely, it was latent to his mentality.
The form does help decipher patterns of thought, especially when
longer sections follow a chiastic order.
| Figure 1. A Working Overview of Romans |
| Rom. 1:1-7 |
A |
Epistolary Frame |
| Rom. 1:8-15 |
B |
Prayer of Thanksgiving |
| Rom. 1:16 |
C |
Theme Statement |
| Rom. 1:17-8:11 |
D |
One family of God--Theology |
| Rom. 8:12-39 |
E |
The need for obedience to God |
| Rom. 9:1-11:36 |
F |
The one family of God |
| Rom. 12:1-2 |
E' |
A plea to be obedient to God |
| Rom. 12:3-15:6 |
D' |
One family of God--Ethics |
| Rom. 15:7-12 |
C' |
Theme Recapitulation |
| Rom. 15:13 |
B' |
Prayer of Blessing |
| Rom. 15:14-16:27 |
A' |
Epistolary Frame |
In the particular case of the Roman correspondence, the writer is
suggesting that the Apostle found that the chiastic form was the optimum
way of encapsulating the important but confrontational message of
Chapters 9-11 so that it might be received in the face of a situation
quite different from that of the other churches with which he
corresponded. In those churches he had a founder's role and could
therefore claim some authority. Furthermore, he knew a great many of the
people and had experienced the culture and setting first hand. In this
situation, however, his letter needed to present a biblical and
theological rationale, to avoid taking sides in the dispute, to be
convincing and inspirational, and to do all these things in a manner
that could be easily comprehended and retained when read aloud. Short of
a personal visit, chiasmus would be an ideal form for meeting that
challenge. Given that he was already committed to embark on a trip in
the exact opposite direction, as noted above, Paul had little choice.
It is not the purpose of the present paper to exegete Romans, but a
brief presentation of each chiastic element is offered below. Sections
D, E, and F will be dealt with in
greater detail in Part II, so the following treatment is intended as a
literary critical overview of Romans as a chiasmus.
- This is the main message, and is placed at the focal point of the
chiasmus. It is a message that needs to be approached with care; if
introduced too early, it could cause offense, especially among the
Gentiles who are Paul's main target and who constitute the majority of
his listeners. The message is therefore encapsulated in the center of
a number of layers designed to prepare the reader/hearer, to provide a
theological foundation for its proper understanding, and to provide
emotional reinforcement and emphasis (See the discussion of climactic
centrality, above).
God's eternal plan, promised to Abraham, has always been to bring
redemption to both the Jew and the Gentile (Gen. 12:3). Paul has
explained the "mystery" of the present Jewish opposition and God's
present openness to the Gentiles through the olive tree allegory. All
members of the Roman Churches need to adjust their behavior to
cooperate with, rather than to oppose, God's excellent plan. A short
doxology follows the message proper--one that marvels over the
unsearchability, wisdom, and freedom of God. Considering the marvelous
"mystery" revealed in this section, the doxology is completely
appropriate.
-
- For the majority of his audience, Paul is an "outsider" who has no
basis for claiming authority. He must therefore apply reason in order
to convince and then inspire his listeners. Having enumerated
the things that God has done on their behalf, they have an
"obligation" (Rom. 8:12) to behave appropriately. Paul begins section
E (Rom. 8:12-39) quietly, but concludes to an
emotional climax just prior to the all-important main message,
F.
Falling immediately after the doxology that concludes the message
of Chapters 9-11, the E' (Rom. 12:1-2) section is
short but powerful. Paul tells his listeners that they must be
prepared to make "a living sacrifice." They must be willing to do
devote their lives as a proper worship of, and obedience to, God.
-
- The doctrinal section is masterful in its construction,
alternating between the Gentiles and the Jews in its
treatment--carefully balanced to prevent upsetting either side past
the point of recovery. Paul first demonstrates the sin of the Gentiles
(Rom. 1:16-32), and then turns to the sin of the Jews (Rom.
2:1-3:20)--both are just as guilty. Also, both can find justification
(Rom. 3:21-4:24) only one way--through faith. The work of Christ, the
Second Adam, is developed in the next section (Rom. 5:1-6:23); that
work is sufficient--it is freely given to both Jews and Gentiles. Paul
then turns to the work of the Law (Rom. 7:1-8:11), and reveals the
real reason for the law: so that men and women might be aware of their
sin. The struggles with sin continue even for the believer, but God
has given each member of his family sufficient power to withstand it
by the Holy Spirit. In this way, the Christian is not condemned, but
will receive a resurrection comparable to that of Christ.
The D' section, comprised of Rom. 12:3-15:6, is
also theological but, since it follows the main message, is concerned
with the embodiment of theology through the ethics of the one family
of God. Of particular significance to this thesis, the ethics
presented are almost entirely ecclesiological, beginning with a
recapitulation of the "church is one body made of many parts" metaphor
of 1 Corinthians 12. The huge block on love (Rom. 12:9-13:10) is to a
large part devoted to love between Christians--that is, within the
church. The remainder of Chapter 13 is laced with "our" and "us"
material, again having to do with the church.
-
- The fullest theme statement appears in the theme position toward
the end of the letter, "Accept one another, then, just as Christ
accepted you in order to bring praise to God..." (Rom. 15:7). This
statement continues through three Old Testament references that
illustrate the need for Gentiles to praise God.
The initial Theme Statement (See Excursus I), located in Rom. 1:16,
has identical content except that it is designed to introduce, rather
than summarize, the main message to the Roman churches. The emphasis
is on "everyone who believes," it being clear that by "everyone" Paul
has in mind the Jew/Gentile heterogeneity to which he that he is
calling, as it contains the phrase "first for the Jew and then for the
Gentile," repeated twice in Chapter 2.
-
- The letter begins and ends with traditional words of thanksgiving
and blessing, somewhat adopted to the particular circumstances of
Rome, and present in nearly all of Paul's other letters. The parallel
structure of Rom. 1:14 is not to be understood to be equating Greeks
with the learned and non-Greeks with non-learned, but simply as
an expanded two-dimensional universe of diverse peoples, perfectly
setting up the theme which follows.
-
- The epistolary frame, likewise common in Paul's letters, comprises
the outermost layer of the epistle. The concluding section is
particularly lengthy, presumably because the letter is to a number of
churches and the Apostle feels the need to compliment all those who
are of importance whether he has ever met them or not.
|
