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The "New Characteristics" of Paul the
Christian
Paul's
experience of the Spirit as the "Spirit of Christ reborn in him" distinguishes
his life as a Christian from his life as a Hebrew. The Spirit brings
about
the indwelling of Christ in us and also causes his Word to dwell in us.
 Present in the life of the Christian, the Spirit helps that person to
understand Jesus and everything that refers to him, helping him/her to
live like Jesus. It is the Spirit who "carves Jesus" on our hearts so
that we become "visible letters," that is, "the word of God," which we
must then communicate to others. It is interesting to observe that Paul
does not list among the rules of the Christian life the command to "read
the Scriptures." Instead, he says: "Listen to the Spirit" (cf. 1 Thes.
5:13). In revealing the meaning of the Word that is Jesus, the Spirit
distinguishes between the words of the Christian and the words of Jesus,
rendering the divine message appropriate to the times. Christians do not
possess a pre-established code of behavior to be applied to every situation;
rather, they rely on their experience of the living Christ, dwelling in
them by means of his spirit. Through the action of the Spirit, Christ
brings about his will, that is, his law, that transcends every human law
and makes it possible for us to communicate with each other on a profound
level. On this level, "we speak out of the abundance of our heart."
The action of the Spirit
A significant text with regard to concretizing the Word is 2 Cor.
3: 1-18, in which Paul says: "You are a letter of Christ." That
is, you are a letter written by Christ and everyone should be able
to read that letter without effort. This leter is not hidden but
"known to all people," which is to say it is understandable, decipherable.
"Written not with ink": it is not a "dead" letter, which
can be manipulated and interpreted at will; instead, it is a living letter.
"...but through the Spirit of the living God; not
on tablets of stone, but on the living tablets of your heart."
Paul says that the Spirit fulfills the function of ink:
it is the Spirit who renders Christ visible, sketching out features and
characteristics in us. To say that the Spirit "writes" the Word in us
is the same as saying the Spirit "sketches out Christ in us." It is interesting
to note that Fr. James Alberione spoke this way to the Daughters of St.
Paul who were writers: "You do not write on paper but on the hearts of
people, dipping your pen in the 'ink' of the Holy Spirit" (01.30.1932).
The Christian life is characterized by relationships,
which are constructed under the impetus of the Spirit who works in our
hearts to lead us to communion with God and with others--a communion
that
we have termed "communication in its globality" because it is a communion
expressed by means of our communication with God, with ourselves, with
others and with all creation.
Paul: Apostle of the Word
Animated by the Spirit, Paul the Christian enters into
profound contact with the Word of God, which he interprets in the light
of Jesus. Luke reminds us that Paul sets up a "school of the Word" when
dialoguing with the Jews: "When it was dark the brothers immediately sent
Paul and Silas away to Beroea, where they went to the Jewish synagogue
as soon as they arrived. Here the Jews were more noble-minded than those
in Thessalonica, and they welcomed the word very readily; every day they
studied the scriptures to check whether it was true" (Acts 17:10-11).
aul the Christian sees the entire Old Testament as leading
to Christ, just as he sees it is Christ who explains the Scriptures. His
ongoing relationship with Christ helps him to understand that:
a) the Word of God is not something separate from the
person of Christ;
b) the Christ that he preaches must make an impact on
his (Paul's) life. If the Word of God is not identified with the person
of Christ, then that Word runs the risk of being presented as a rule
or
as a "dead letter," a meaningless message.
Paul's Life and Words are Scripture
2 Peter 3:15-16 testifies to the fact that from the very
beginning the Christian community considered the letters of Paul to be
Scripture, that is, the genuine Word of God: "In all his [Paul's] letters
there are of course some passages which are hard to understand, and these
are the ones that uneducated and unbalanced people distort, in the same
way as they distort the rest of scripture."
 In Paul's work of evangelization, we can identify the
following trajectory: Christ fulfills the Old Testament; the Old Testament
leads to Christ. But the words of Paul, announcing the living Christ,
are also scripture, that is, the Word of God. In fact, his letters are
read when the Christian community gathers together to celebrate the liturgy
because those letters are the Word of God.
At this point, we can say that we have reached the third
stage of Paul's experience as a Christian--the stage in which his preaching
is transformed into communication, into a discreet and authoritative proposal
of a way of life, into a pressing invitation, into a gift.
Paul's writings do not express personal opinions, which
are open to discussion. No, they are Scripture because they transmit
the Word of God who is Jesus. Paul shares with the Christians his relationship
with Jesus, who transformed his entire existence. He is not reaffirming
doctrine but is rather presenting Jesus by means of his own experiences.
In this way, his communication is a true "gift" that is well received
because that communication is two-way. Paul is the model of the Apostle-communicator.
In speaking, he reveals himself; in giving, he gives himself, just as
Jesus did. In Paul, message (word) and messenger (apostle) are profoundly
united. Paul the man is always present in his letters, in which he frankly
expresses his grief, fears, tenderness, severity, susceptibility, humility,
sufferings, and joys.
The "constant elements" in Paul's communication
Let us take a look at the First Letter to the Thessalonians.
This, Paul's first letter, is called a "letter of thanksgiving." One of
the things for which he gives thanks is the effect the Word of God is
having on its messengers and on the lives of the Christians. Paul shares
what it means to him to proclaim the Word and how that Word is to be proclaimed:
"Our Gospel came to you not only in words, but also in power and in the
Holy Spirit and with great effect. And you observed the sort of life we
lived when we were with you, which was for your sake" (1 Thes. 1:5).
In accepting Paul's preaching, the Thessalonians accept
Jesus, who renders himself present by "incarnating himself" in the life
and words of Paul and the other apostles.
Paul's message has the following characteristics: (1)
it is proclaimed by means of human words through the power of the Spirit,
and (2) the compatible of the life of the missionaries who announce it.
The Word of God: the Gospel announced by Paul
(that is, by means of his entire personality: words, character, gestures,
writing), through the action of the Holy Spirit, and through the witness
of a life lived in coherence with this Word. These three characteristics
also distinguished the life of Jesus who, under the guidance of the Spirit,
spoke in a way that everyone could understand and bore testimony to his
message by means of his behavior.
The Thessalonians welcome the Word of God with the joy
of the Holy Spirit, responding to it by leading lives coherent with that
Word in spite of trials. Thus their life becomes "Word" --a message that
communicates life. In this way, they become models for all believers.
The life of the Thessalonians becomes a message--a Word that communicates
life to others not because it is spoken but because it is lived.
This is the experience of the Thessalonians: they embraced
and lived the message announced by Paul. Their conversion experience involves
three aspects: (1)conversion to God by giving up idols (faith); (2) service
of the true and living God (love); (3) looking forward to the coming of
the Son (hope).
The first two aspects are based on the values of the Hebrew
Scriptures, while the third is Christological in orientation. This formulation
witnesses the unity Paul brings about between the God of the Old Testament
and Jesus, who incarnates himself in human cultures.
Paul's certitude
God entrusts the Gospel, which is Jesus Christ, to his
missionaries. he gives them the courage and uprightness of conscience
they need to proclaim this Word. They must announce their message with
the same trust and fidelity that God manifests toward them. 1 Thes. 2:4
sketches out the figure of the evangelizer/communicator: these are persons
called by God and who remain faithful to the mandate they have received;
they do not allow themselves to be "sidetracked" into pursuing human goals
or into pleasing their listeners by "sweetening" or "toning down" the
message they proclaim. It is this that distinguishes the true prophet
from the false one. True prophets do not base their words on scientific
reasoning or human authority. They consider themselves to be ambassadors
who are responsible to God for what they say and who must not alter in
any way the message they have been sent to proclaim. True prophets also
identify themselves with their message. Paul himself refers to his message
as "my Gospel."
Thus there is a big difference between communicating the
Word and communicating our own words. Proclamation of the Word requires
us to remain faithful to God and to others. Communicators of the Gospel
are called to immerse themselves totally in the message they announce: "We have the same spirit of faith as is described in scripture--I believed
and therefore I spoke--we, too, believe and therefore we, too, speak"
(2 Col. 4:3). The Word remains the Word if the apostle remains "on the
cross" by facing problems and struggling to attain self-detachment. Paul
says that missionaries of the Gospel must not seek glory from human beings,
which was the typical behavior of the many religious hypocrites of his
time (cf. Mt. 6:1ff; 23:5, 27, 28). Like Jesus, a genuine apostle of
the
Word seeks to please the Father.
The price of faithfully communicating the Word
We cannot remain ambiguous before God because he sees
into the depths of our heart and discerns the things that motivate us.
Paul declares: "We do not adulterate the word of God, as so many do, but
it is in all purity, as envoys of God and in God's presence, that we speak
in Christ" (2 Col. 2:17).
Apostles must be ready to make themselves "all things
to all people" but they must also be ready to be disliked if this means
attaining the good of their neighbor. Paul says firmly: "It is not your
possessions that I want, but you yourselves" (2 Col. 12:14). He asks
his fellow-Christians to pray that he might announce the Word sincerely,
in
coherence with his role as an ambassador of Christ.
In assuming this attitude of Paul, Alberione said: "We
must be distinguished by our love for Jesus Christ and for souls and we
must also make a clear distinction between what is apostolate and what
is industry or commerce" (Circ. 57). "The purpose of our apostolate is
to bring God to souls and souls to God. In carrying out our mission, we
do not seek money but souls" (Circ. 70).
Paul says that words that do not communicate life are
expressed in messages and attitudes which he identifies as: adulation;
selfishly motivated; colored by the desire to dominate others, to glorify
oneself or to gain prestige.
Paul's attitudes toward the Word
The Word that Paul proclaims springs from a life that
is free of all the negative attitudes listed above. And therefore his
message is accompanied by:
an attitude of self-forgetfulness that enables him to
understand and listen to others;
a willingness to face problems;
a lack of human power ("we didn't let our authority weigh on you");
gratuitous and attentive concern for others;
a selfless affection that seeks to offer one's life, along with the Gospel
(at this point, the word preached is "the Word" and the apostle's life
is a witness to it);
physical labor so as not to be a burden to anyone;
a type of behavior that has nothing to hide;
words of exhortation;
encouragement
the urgent plea to respond to God.
The response of the Thessalonians to Paul's preaching
"As soon as you heard the word that we brought you as
God's message, you welcomed it for what it really is, not the word of
any human being, but God's word, a power that is working among you believers" (1
Thes. 2:13).
This verse uses two verbs that are fundamental to our
them: "to hear" and "to welcome":
a) "to hear" is used in reference to Paul's words
b) "to welcome" is used in reference to the Word of God
The verb "to welcome" is more powerful that the verb "to
hear." "Welcome" indicates an attitude of responsibility toward the Word
of God, whereas "hear" indicates that the Word was received because the
person made "space" for it in his/her life. "To hear" and "to welcome"
are verbs that indicate true communication is taking place. When we "hear"
something without "welcoming" it, our relationship is cold; indeed, it
can also be blind, deaf, and mute: we don't see very deeply; we don't
listen well, and we don't respond. Paul says: "You welcomed [the Word
I preached] for what it really is, not the word of any human being, but
God's word, a power that is working among you believers."
In speaking about the Word of God "as it really is," Paul
emphasizes the fact that the words he speaks are truly God's words. And
because of this, the Word is by its very nature opposed to human words,
which often descend to compromises. Because the Word Paul proclaims is
the Word of God, it leads to action. This idea is consistent with the
tradition of the Old Testament, which declares that the Word, having
come
forth from God, does not return to him without having completed its mission
(cf. Is. 55:11ff; Jer. 23:29).
Conclusion
Paul the evangelizer and the communicator of Christ the
Word is the perfect model of person who carries out communication in its
globality.
1. If by this term we mean communication with God, with
ourselves, with others, and with society as a whole, then it is obvious
that we are speaking about the type of communication Paul engaged in.
Beginning with his first meeting with Jesus, Paul carries out a genuine
communication with God, the Father of Jesus Christ and our Father; with
himself (he knows who he is and what he wants out of life), with others
(his brothers and sisters, who are loved by the Lord), and with society,
understood as the human-historical context in which he "makes himself
all things to all people." The "innovative element" that distinguishes
Paul is that, beginning with his meeting with Jesus, all his communications
take place from the perspective of God. He relations are no longer bi-lateral
but rather tri-lateral: "We--God--You." His speech is no longer di-alogue
but rather tri-alogue: We speak to you in God, under the action of the
Spirit.
2. Paul is a true communicator because, in his personal
experience of Christ, he relates to others by living the following three
aspects in a unified way:
a) I am loved by Jesus Christ, who loves everyone
else the same way he loves me. (Paul sees others from God's point of view.)
b) I have received Jesus, therefore, I am a gift to
others and others are a gift to me. (He listens to the needs of others.)
c) I live for others to the degree that I am "with" them. (He
responds to the need to "incarnate" himself in concrete
situations.)
The Pauline who listens to and communicates Christ the
Word as Paul did is a person who is able to see, hear, and respond. Thus
he/she is a person who listens in a profound way to God, to others and
to him/herself; a sincere and straigh forward person. He/she continually
examines self to see if he/she is genuinely seeking the interests of the
Lord.
The Pauline who listens to and communicates Christ the
Word as Paul did is a person "moving ahead" in life; a person who has
chosen the "path of the cross" because he/she knows it is the sole Way
leading to the Truth and the Life.
The Pauline who listens to and communicates Christ the
Word as Paul did is a person who, having given God everything, strives
to bring this self-offering to maturity so that it might bear fruit.
Thus the Pauline is a man or woman of the Word--a Word
from which he/she draws nourishment, being attentive "not to let a single
word fall to the ground of all that she has heard"(cf. 1 Sm. 3:19).
Instead, the Pauline puts that Word into practice, allowing it to dwell
fully in his/her life, and communicates it to others with the entire
being,
wherever he/she may be.
For personal reflection and prayer
Reread 1 Thes. 1:6-2:13 and reflect on:
1. Some of the characteristics of the Word, according
to Paul.
2. The attitudes of Paul toward the Word that you feel
are most important.
3. At least two attitudes of the Thessalonians toward
the Word they received.
4. One aspect regarding Paul's evangelization/communication
that was not discussed in this presentation but that struck you when you
were re-reading this Bible passage.
(By Sr. Filippa Castronovo, FSP; International Encounter
on Jesus Master, WTL, 1998).
At the Center: Jesus
Master | Prayer to Jesus Master | Why
St. Paul | Getting to Know Paul the Apostle
Mary, as Mother, Teacher and Queen | Apostolic
Spirituality and Holiness | Communicating
Christ
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