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Salt and Light Salt and Light An Exegesis of Matthew 5:13-16 Rachel Stacy Earlham School of Religion B-302 Fall 2010 Table of Contents 1. Narrative Exploration of the Text a. Matthew 5:13 in 1st century Rome b. Matthew 5:14-16 in early Quakerism 2. Exegesis of Matthew 5:13-16 a. Source Analysis b. Literary Analysis c. Historical Analysis 3. Contemporary Conversation and Conclusion 4. Appendix a. Synopsis of Kurt Aland, Synopsis of Four Gospels: Greek-English Edition of the Synopsis Quattuor Evaneliorum b. Greek New Testament, Salt and Light Entry Stacy 2 Narrative Exploration of the Text: Systematic theology and exegetical analysis break down texts to examine the place of a particular piece of writing within different contexts. This is a very intellectual process that appeals to the workings of the mind. Narrative theology, formally recognized in the last century but in existence since the beginning of civilization, is the study of how texts appeal to the heart.1 This paper attempts to pair the heart and the head in the exploration of Matthew 5:13-16: You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and tramped under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (ESV) The first part of this paper weaves together stories of fictional people in history and how they may have responded to this text in their historical contexts. Historical facts are cited and many of the descriptions come from my own travels to these places. Please see the foot notes for specific references. The second part of this paper is a formal exegetical analysis of the text looking at the worlds within and behind Matthew 5:13-16. The last part of the paper examines the use of the text in relation to contemporary understandings of empire 1 Bausch, William J. Storytelling: Imagination and Faith. Mystic, Conn: Twenty-Third Publications, 1984. Stacy 3 Matthew 5:13 in 1st Century Rome I was not born in Rome but I’ve lived here all my life. No, I was born much farther east. Most of my family was born across the small sea too. We are all immigrants and refugees. The year and place of my birth, the Temple burned. It was the second year of the reign of Emperor Vespasian2 and the Jewish zealots had risen in rebellion against the Roman Empire.3 Fearing for our lives, my parents fled Jerusalem with me, only a babe in arms. I have never seen even the walls of the old city, but I know Jerusalem well from the stories of my family. My parents had been the last of their families to leave the old city. My father’s parents had lived in Tyre4, by the sea when a strange and wonderful man came through the city speaking of a new life. This man, whom his followers called Jesus, spoke of a way of life that gave power and inspiration to the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged. My grandparents were poor Jews and upon hearing Jesus speak they left their families and followed this strange man. They traveled all over the land until Jesus’ death in Jerusalem. There, in the old city, they settled and raised my father. They were part of the first Christian communities and raised my father, not as a Jew, but as a Christian. Once my father was grown and married to my mother, my grandparents chose to travel the land and visit old friends who had settled in Christian communities throughout the Empire. Their travels led them to Rome where they unfortunately arrived in time for the fires. It was the tenth year of the reign of Emperor Nero. Legend tells that Nero set the fires himself, but regardless of the source, the city of Rome burned and the Christians were blamed5. The fires consumed the city on the North East side of the Tiber River. The Christians were living with other refugees in the decrepit Trastevere. The river protected them from the fires and therefore they were blamed, even through the Emperor was also spared.6 All Christians were banned from inside the city walls. My grandparents settled in a small rural village South East of the city.7 2 Today’s dating system did not come into common use until the 800’s A.D. Before this time various dating systems were used. Most common during the time of the Roman Empire was the simple reference to the year of reign of the current empire. 3 González, Justo Luis. In The Story of Christianity, San Francisco, California: Harper & Row, 1990. 4 There is evidence in Matthew 15:21-28 that Jesus traveled through the land of Tyre. 5 González, Justo Luis. In The Story of Christianit , San Francisco, California: Harper & Row, 1990 6 During my travels through Rome I learned that the word Trastevere means “Across the river.” This historically Christian neighborhood is literary across the Tiber river from the rest of Rome. The Roman city walls extended to include this neighborhood but it was the only neighborhood within the Rome on the other side of the Tiber River. See http://nolli.uoregon.edu/wallsOfRome.html for details concerning wall constructions in various periods of Roman history 7 The Appian Way is a collection of small villages that reside on top of the largest maze of Christian catacombs in or near the city of Rome. These villages were not within the city limits of Rome but rather stretched straight east away from Rome’s center. The catacombs were not formally ‘managed’ until the end of the second century but Christians lived in the area before that time. The Vatican has more information about Italy’s catacombs at: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_commissions/archeo/inglese/documents/rc_com_archeo _doc_20011010_cataccrist_en.html Stacy 4 When Nero killed himself and we had the year of four Emperors, Christians were gradually allowed back into Rome. My grandparents and many of their friends choose to stay in their village outside and make a living as farmers. They found that the dark volcanic earth was rich and produced great bounties of crops. The same earth, when dug deeply hardened as it was exposed to moisture.8 They buried their dead in mazes of catacombs beneath their fields. The damp moderate climate was also perfect for an extended growing season and the village was close enough to Rome to trade for what they needed and to send their children to school. It was into this village that I came as an infant. Life was simple and hard. I grew up among other Christians hearing the stories of our grandparents and of our beloved Jesus through the eyes of our parents. We gathered often in each other’s houses to pray, sing, and tell the stories of our faith. Letters from other Christian communities circulated through our village9 and we in turn responded in greetings and with the occasional theological question. I was sent with my cousins to Rome to learn to read and write Greek and as I became more and more learned in my subjects, I took over reading the letters and collections of stories about Jesus. I have my own family now with children of my own. It is my turn to pass on the stories and lessons of the faith. I have the duty to gather people together to pray and to study the stories. I have found from my studies that one collection of stories, written by a man named Matthew,10 captures my heart more than others. It is from this collection that I teach my community. One night, I gathered my children and the community in my small dark house. The floor is simple, hardened earth of the same volcano as our catacombs. The walls are cold field stone and the roof is framed with timber from the forest. This night was no different than any other night: damp and foggy. The fire in the hearth cast shadows across the walls and the heat from the flames cut through the chill as the children huddled together for warmth. I remembered nights like this one when was a child, the shadows of the fire dancing across my imagination, breathing life into the scriptures, and illuminating the lessons of our faith. 8 My description of the catacombs is extracted of my own experience during my travels in Rome. However, St. Jerome also visited the catacombs as a young adult and wrote about his visit. Consistent with my experience, Jerome describes that he found “himself in a vast labyrinth of narrow galleries, usually from 3 to 4 feet in width, interspersed with small chambers, excavated at successive levels, in the strata of volcanic rock subjacent to the city and its environs, constructed originally for the interment of the Christian dead.” http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/C/CAT/catacombs.html 9 The letters of Paul to various Christian communities across the Roman Empire are found in the present Christian canon and make reference to other leaders traveling and teaching. The letter to the Romans indicates that there was a flourishing community of Roman Christians who corresponded with various other Christian communities across the Empire.
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