Countercultural Caregiving

Countercultural Caregiving. Romans 1:1

Catch: Caregiving in America today is as countercultural as Christianity was in Jerusalem in day of Jesus, and in Rome in days of Paul.

Christianity began in Jerusalem: Temple, Law, Priests, Passover, Arrest, Trial, Crucifixion, Resurrection, All disciples Jews there, Missions began here, First Sermon: Pentecost (5000 saved from 10+ diff regions of world), Persecution began in Jerusalem when Herod killed James, First churches planted, Real want realized by Christians.  Butt it quickly transitions to Rome—center of world, based on Greek ideas + Roman law. 

What was society like there: 

Religion cold, formal, cultural, distant, outward focused, rote memory, void of life. But Jesus promises peace like river, joy like fountain, eternal life, spiritual rebirth, rivers of living water, love like an ocean, born again—born of spirit. Our hearts cry “ABBA, father!” 
 
Society heavily patriarchal. Every matriarchal value was devalued. Yet Jesus & Paul assert dignity and responsibility and authority of women, and with it maternal values like love, charity, kindness, goodness, grace--all with humble service. Pricilla, Lydia, (at least) 4 Mary’s, widow casting mites, 2 who poured oil in Him in worship, 

Hierarchical society based on power, law, control. But in Christianity the last are first, first last, greatest serves most. We are slaves of gospel, Christ, the lost, church and of others. While they were based on 100% hierarchy, Paul and Jesus took forms of lowest slaves, washing feet, being imprisoned and whipped. 

Justice grounded in retribution, the lex talionis, reciprocity cycles. An eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. There was no place in Roman culture or Jewish law for forgiveness. If you acted on principle of doing something kind to someone for sake of kindness, or even worse, doing kindness to someone in the face of their hostility toward you (praying for an enemy, giving them your coat if they take your shirt, turning cheeks to offensive attacks), you were mental basket case and threat to your culture, and a shame to your family. 

Yet Christianity injected idea that truth is more important than your honor and shame, in fact truth acted on is sole basis for honor, and to reject truth vertically toward God and horizontally toward man is to bring worst and greatest and eternal shame. 

The other aspect of Christianity radical was use of written word. Letters were very rare, expensive, in ancient culture--reserved mostly to kings & generals. Archeologists have collected about 13,000 letters from ancient times. The average letter is 500 words long. Letter to Romans is whopping 7000--longest letter preserved in all of ancient human history. By contrast the longest letter written by Cicero is 2000 words. 

In Paul’s day 15% of people could read or write any language, and so it is extremely unusual and rare that the New Testament has 27 written texts. It speaks of his vast network he could pen and send dozens of letters in all directions, and have them circulate to other cities and regions and continents. 

The idea is that Christianity is true, can be known, grown in, tested & shared, then transmitted to others. We can know it, and do it (doxos, praxis). Every other religion is static, you learn its secret truth, or you follow its dead human founder,. And yet there is evolving sense in Christianity of growth and development and expansion around the world. 

Consider purpose of Romans: to convince conquering Romans they are equally under sin as the Jews, whom God seemed to be replacing with Gentiles. At same time Paul has to convince Jews that these wild, barbarian Gentiles are just as loved, forgiven, redeemed, and received as Jews themselves (even more so!).