I recently did an exercise for my coursework where I undertook a narrative reading of Ephesians. This was an enjoyable and illuminating experience, which also provided some cause for reflection. I took away the following lessons:
- I was surprised by the collective nature of the call. Perhaps the individualist culture in which I live has coloured how we read scripture – that is, ‘it is all about me.’ The exercise brought home very clearly the witness to the ‘powers’ is a corporate exercise.
- The other surprise is the relationship between the corporate collective witness and individual mundane behaviours. The behaviour of individuals is still important, but not because of how we typically think if it: that is, the individual’s ultimate destiny based on moral behaviour. Rather, the collective ‘supervenes’ off the individual behaviours. I think that Matthew Croasmun’s breathtaking book “The Emergence of Sin: The Cosmic Tyrant in Romans” has been the key to unlocking how I look at Ephesians (and Paul) and the relationship between the individual and the collective. “Supervene,” the word I used above, comes from ’emergence and complexity theory’ which Croasmun uses to understand and take Paul’s thinking seriously. I highly recommend reading “The Emergence of Sin.”
- The power of ‘story’, both at the individual and collective dimensions. As our individual story gets taken up into the story of God’s redemptive activity, we become co-agents participating in the new humanity for the redemption of the world.
- The importance of unity. I wonder what Paul would make of the current fragmentation of the body of Christ. My guess is that ‘angry’ would not go far enough. Surely it has compromised our witness to the Powers. The exercise has renewed my determination to find a way to build a model of collective witness and participation in the renewal of all things as expounded in post #5. This seems an impossible task, but I can think of no nobler calling, and surely it is the one that faced Paul of Tarsus. And, according to Ephesians, it belongs to all of us who have allegiance to Christ.
Something to take into account when reading the attached. According to my supervisor, I placed too much emphasis on a historical reading of Acts; I overstated the influence of the cult of Artemis in the life of the city (there were many others); and made things a little too specific to Ephesus if indeed, the letter was a circular letter. These are all good points and shows that a narrative reading requires augmentation with historical-critical methods for effectiveness. My approach (in my defence?!) was to interpret the text as it is presented. In any case, the reader should be aware of potential pitfalls of a purely narrative reading.