“I see now that Paul's proclamations were demanded of
him. At that time Christianity was still a heresy within a larger tradition;
Saul’s persecution of Christians, his conversion, and his consequent wrangles
with the priests in the Temple—these events were all in the family, so to
speak. At the time when the Pauline Epistles were written, the biggest question
for the new religion was whether or not to accept Gentiles; once that quandary
was settled, more mundane issues (Can they remain uncircumcised? Must they obey
the Judaic rules of diet?) were the order of the day. The disciples attempted
to thread a path through the existing Old Testament laws; they sought an
extension, and fulfillment, of Judaism. Paul’s public needed concrete rules, so
he gave them restrictions to hold onto; Wife, obey your husband; husband, love
your wife—just as you obey Christ and He loves you. Children, obey your
parents. Servants (this is the tricky part), obey your masters—followed by a
telling conditional: ‘according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in
singleness of heart, as unto Christ’ (Ephesians 6:5-6). And because pictures
are worth a thousand words, he gave them metaphors: the Church as a bride,
Christ as bridegroom, and martial imagery sure to delight a city devoted to the
huntress Diana. Gird the loins with truth, slip the feet into the Gospel of
peace, take up the breastplate of righteousness and the shield of faith! Blatant
theatrics, but it worked.”—Former American poet laureate and essayist Rita
Dove, “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians,” in
Searching for Your Soul: Writers of Many Faiths Share Their Personal Stories of Spiritual Discovery (1999)
The image of St. Paul accompanying this post was created
by the Spanish Renaissance painter El Greco (1541-1614).
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