Colossians 3:18-4:1 NRSV (tongue in cheek) I don’t know about you, but these are some of my favorite passages in scripture. (sigh). Honestly, actually, these are the kind of passages I tried to avoid for years. They’re based on an assumption of hierarchy where men are more important and valuable than women. Where children are less than adults. And where slavery is a thing, and masters are more important than the people they *owned *. I
can’t even pretend to get behind these ideas.
But, as I prepared for today, our macro planning just listed Colossians 3 and 4. We didn’t have specific verses. And as I read, there was so much good stuff…life-affirming stuff.
• seek the things that are above
• you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive[d] language from your mouth.
• there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
• clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience
• Bear with one another
• forgive each other
• Above all, clothe yourselves with love
Those words are so wholesome and important, especially in a week like this one, or a country like this one, where we like to focus on the things that divide us, often neglecting our manners or charity of spirit. Honestly, I was ready for some fluffy feel-good Christianity that focused on the heart of who we are this week. And then I remembered…this is the series on the texts we don’t like…the hard ones, the burdensome ones, the life-sucking ones and I knew I didn’t get to do the good verses. I had to do these.
• Wives submit to your husbands.
• Children, obey your parents, for it is your duty.
• Slaves obey your earthly masters.
And I groaned. Ugh….Not only am I not a fan…but I know how much damage these verses have done at the hands of those who are power hungry and only want to read the scriptures their way. And for any of you who have had these verses wielded against you…, I’m sorry. Deeply sorry. The Bible is not a weapon. The Bible is a tool, a library, a hymnal, a poetry book, a storybook, but it is not meant to be a weapon (except maybe against the devil, but that’s a different thing). It is not meant to enable us to do harm against one another. The Bible is about the Good News of a God who loves us and chooses us, over and over again, despite our failings…and ways that we can find restoration, redemption, and reconciliation in doing life together.
As I read them, these verses are not life-affirming. Unless, of course, you’re the one who holds the power….if you’re the husband, the father and the master…then you’re good because everyone will submit to you. But the Good News of the Bible isn’t meant to elevate one type of people over the rest. The Good News of Jesus is that he came for all of us…equally, without regard to cultural standards or expectations. We need to exercise caution when our interpretation of a passage diminishes the value or place of a person.
Alright, let’s dig in to today’s passage. The value of these words is fairly easy to find. And I think there are 2 main pieces to know.
1) Paul wrote this message in the Greco-Roman world where patriarchy ruled…men were the power players. They were in charge. At home and in the fields. Women, children, slaves were all considered property. They didn’t have standing. Period. We don’t have to like it. But we do have to understand it. The cultural norm was one of social hierarchy. Men of power and wealth were at the top.
2) Originally, Paul’s words did two things
a. He tried not to stir the social pot too much. He felt like the best way for Christians to be Christians was to not make a stir, and instead to follow the order of society (this included eating what was served at the dinner table—even if it didn’t meet regular dietary restrictions).
b. His instructions actually pushed on the norms. He didn’t simply say: Wives obey your husbands. Kids obey your parents. Slaves obey your masters. He admonished and taught the husbands and masters.
i. Husbands, love your wives and do not treat them harshly.
ii. Fathers don’t provoke your kids or cause them to lose heart.
iii. Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly,
iv. You have a master in heaven—(remember, you’re not actually top dog.)
I know that for the 21st century reader, those things may not sound all that redemptive. And they likely don’t go far enough in valuing the person. But before we rip it from the pages of our Bible, we have to remember the context mattered. Holding men accountable in their relationships was a powerful ask. It was radical. No one felt the need to honor and respect property in those ways—even if your property was people. If you were the top you were the top. But Paul challenged that. He said there was mutuality. Relationships should be handled in love. In this part of the similar letter to the Ephesians, Paul calls each party not just to obey, but to look to and emulate Christ. That’s a high calling.
So, if we can sift through the cultural chains of this passage and get to the heart of the message, I think there is something good and valuable here—we are called to look to and emulate Christ. And if we take that lesson and use it at our starting point instead of that of the first century, I think it offers some pretty powerful things. Christ claims the full value of each person. He rejects cultural norms that exclude. He invites us into community and relationship. He offers forgiveness. He invites us to a life of wholeness and obedience. And, if we are following Jesus, then we claim the full value of each person. We see that people aren’t property. And women and children don’t just have something to offer but are on equal standing with men. And, Lord have mercy if we can’t reject slavery outright and reject any *need* for slaves to be instructed.
Do you see how this passage might have something to offer a modern-day Christian? It’s not simply an old archaic, culturally bound passage that we should ignore. But it is one that requires some research. You have to dig a little to understand it in context. Otherwise, we run the risk of doing terrible harm to one another.
We don’t have to scrap every passage that is off-putting. But we also don’t have to accept them at face value. We can dig. We can talk. We can research. We can study. We can look for context. And hopefully, we can find it. And, we can ask each other how a passage might give life, and how some of our interpretations might not.
1)I used *owned* loosely here as I don’t we are ever meant to “own” another human being—despite what history and others may have taught us