September 22, 2009

Positive Theology (i): Grace and Peace

This semester I am taking a class on the letter to the Galatians and the professor opened my eyes to something deeply profound that I have read many times. Normally, the words "grace and peace" sound too cliche to pull off in normal conversation without sounding corny or hokey. While that phrase might sound cliche today, it wasn't at the time of the New Testament.

Grace, or charis, was the regular greeting that Greeks used. When a first-century Greek citizen greeted someone else, they didn't say "what's up?". They said "grace". Peace, or shalom, was the regular greeting of the Jews. So when a Jew would greet another Jew, the would often say "peace".

Two different ethnic and cultural groups with two different greetings.

This understanding becomes signficant when we look at Paul's greeting to the ethnically diverse churches throughout the Roman Empire (also Peter and John in different epistles). "Grace and peace" may be one of the earliest, most compact and profound gospel statements. And it was used to combat a major problem of the early church that still exists today: racism. The racism between the Greeks and Jews, in particular, was creating quite the problem. They were having trouble accepting each other as part of the new eschatological family in Christ. (If you want to know what racisim looked like in the first century, read Acts 10 or Galatians 2:11-15.)

So when Paul takes two standard greetings from two groups who were having serious problems of ecclesial exclusion and weds them together, it seems that he is doing far more than just saying "hi". He is proclaiming the gospel of reconciliation and inclusion of all nations into the people of God in Christ through faithfulness. Interestingly, Paul puts the greeting of the Greeks before that of greeting of the Jews: "grace and peace".

Not only is this a combination of two greetings (affirming both Gentiles and Jews), but it is one of the most compact forms of the gospel: the grace we receive from Jesus provides peace of life. But this peace is not individualistic meant for the spiritual naval gazer. It's a peace that starts with grace and looks towards. It's a peace that makes two into one.

May you be blessed by the good news of the reconciliation that is in Christ.

Grace and peace.

4 comments:

Nathan said...

What do you do with the Pax Romana ideal of Grace and Peace as well? Do you think that this could also be a political statment that Paul is making when he uses it?

I mean, the χαρις of the Roman Caesars to the poor people who deserve nothing and the ειρηνη of Rome that was falsely passed on and attributed to the Caesars (starting with Augustus) was a common thread of knowledge. Is it possible that Paul, who always attributes the Grace and Peace specifically from God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (also a politically charged statement) was meant to confound the authority of this letter.

It seems as if Paul is not just greeting, but that he is giving a political start to a letter that is written to a Kingdom made up of not just romans, but Greeks and Jews and all else who follow God, who gives "grace and peace" rather than Rome and the Caesars.

p.s. I love you

Chad said...

Nathan,

Thanks for your comment. Dido.

I do think there would have been these overtones when a Greek citizen would have heard either "grace" or "peace". Grace was a word used to connote physical blessings from the patrons of which Caesar was the greatest patron. And Pax Romana was a slogan that many believed in, so it is possible that Paul, Peter and John were all using this as a type of "hidden transcript" or even just a slighting of the political system of the day.

However, I do not think this was there primary concern in Galatians (and perhaps the others as well). It seems that Paul's primary purpose was to promote church unity and reconciliation between two people groups. This would have inherently stood in contrast to the political ideologies of the day, and probably even smacked loudly in the realm of political propaganda of the Roman Empire. For the temporary graces and the false "pax Romana" of the day only paled in comparison to that which comes from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

J.P. Robinson said...

Well, now I know what our new greeting to each other is gonna be!

G&P,

-jp

Nathan said...

I hear what you are saying Chad, but the fact that Paul combines Grace and Peace with the source of it... "From" the LORD of us, GOD of us... it seems like Paul uses the phrase to pack a lot of political power behind it... and it is also the source of his authority that Paul sees himself writing from.

So, I guess I see the fact that there is ethnic communion in Grace and Peace, more from the fact that it is a part of this new Political movement that comes From God as Lord rather than from Caesar.