Is Ephesians 5:1-11 fuel for silence, denial, deceipt, judgment, sectarianism, stigma, judgmentalism and condemnation?
I believe that some of the imperatives of Ephesians 5 have been incorrectly and dangerously applied in HIV epidemics. However, thanks to the Lausanne movement’s decision to ‘marinate’ in this uncomfortable text for 12 months, I sense that Ephesians Chapter 5 is a good text for us to wrestle with in relation to HIV and AIDS, as we seek to be imitators of God and to live in love as Christ loved us.
A focused reading of Ephesians Chapter 5 is important in the year 2010, because some of the most prominent challenges of the history of Christianity and HIV and AIDS are raised when reading Ephesians 5. This focused reading is crucial this year specifically, because Ephesians is the Biblical text to be studied by the large international, multi-cultural, multi-lingual gathering of the Lausanne movement[1] in Cape Town, South Africa, which will gather in October, 2010. The study plan[2] for this gathering invites people to prepare themselves for the gathering by reading Ephesians throughout the year with the following introductory comments:
God has led us to focus on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as part of Cape Town 2010 (CT2010). We request all leadership, staff, volunteers and participants to linger with the book of Ephesians in the year leading up to the Congress. Our ability to listen for God’s voice together at the Congress will be greatly enhanced by “marinating” in Ephesians beforehand.
The Lausanne Movement and HIV
The Lausanne movement has identified HIV as one of the key issues facing the world today. The movement’s interest in HIV can be seen in the planning of the gathering of the movement, their documentation, and theological consideration.
Introductory statements in the Congress’ online publicity about the 2010 congress in Cape Town state:
“Cape Town 2010, held in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance, will bring together 4,000 leaders from more than 200 countries to confront the critical issues of our time – other world faiths, poverty, HIV/AIDS, persecution, among others – as they relate to the future of the Church and world evangelization.”[3]
“The Lausanne Movement recognizes that credible Christian witness must embrace the issues of the day and that many of the global topics like HIV/AIDS, the environment, poverty, religious conflict and cultural practices are remarkably complex and intertwined.”[4]
The subject of HIV was addressed by an ‘Issue Group’ on Holistic mission, which was hosted by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization in 2004. The resultant Occasional Paper on Holistic Mission listed eleven specific issues which need to be included in global Evangelical responses to HIV (p 65 of Occasional Paper 33, 2004). This list includes the following distinct statements
HIV is a cultural issue…People suffering with HIV/AIDS are stigmatized and there is reluctance to discuss sex…
HIV/AIDS is a deception issue…Condemnation and judgment have replaced grace and compassion…
HIV/AIDS is a world evangelization issue. …If the evangelical church cares for the sick and the dying, comforts the orphan and widow, shares its message of redemption and transformation, disciples its members and works for justice, then the worth and truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ will shine like a light on the hill and the nations will stream toward it.
Since the paper on holistic mission was drafted in 2004, the Chair of the Lausanne Theology Working Group, Christopher Wright has published some of his own thoughts on HIV. In his book, ‘The Mission of God’, Wright observed that reactions to HIV and AIDS, both inside and outside the church, “vary from denial to deceit, from condemnation of the victim to false representation of the ways of God.”
The above references address many additional themes in relation to HIV. I have drawn attention to the above because the themes of stigma, reluctance to discuss sexual activity, denial and deceit, condemnation and judgment, Christian identity as ‘children of light’, and the representation of God are all awakened when reading the first half of Ephesians 5 in the year 2010. The second half of Ephesians 5 is an important text in Christian thought and teaching related to gender. Both Wright and the Lausanne paper also recognise the important relationship between HIV, AIDS and gender. [5] This paper will focus on the reading of Ephesians 5:1-20.
The Lausanne Movement and Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians
Ephesians is a frequent reference point throughout the Lausanne Movement’s key documents, such as the Lausanne Covenant (1974) and the Manila Manifesto (1989). The 2004 paper on Holistic Mission states:
“Paul’s letter to the Ephesians contains one of the clearest and most succinct descriptions of the purpose of the church. He says that God has chosen the church to administer his agenda for the reconciliation of all things and that it is through the church that God will demonstrate this, his manifold and eternal purpose (Ephesians 3:9-11 and Colossians 1:20) Redemption was completed on the cross, but God has given the church the task of administering the process of restoration until his return.”
The Manila Manifesto includes a reference to Eph 4:31-5:2 in support of its section entitled ‘The Integrity of the Witness’. This is the only direct reference to Ephesians 5 I could find in these core documents of the Lausanne Movement, which otherwise makes extensive reference to the other parts of Ephesians.
Eph 5:1,2 [6] states
So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Linking the Lausanne movement, Ephesians 5 and HIV
I perceive more links between the content of Ephesians 5 and the above issues drawn from resources to the Lausanne movement than the single reference to Ephesians 5:1,2. These links are illustrated below, based on a number of documents related to the Lausanne movement and the Cape Town 2010 meeting. The ‘Ephesians Study Plan’ for Cape Town 2010 guides readers to devote the month of April 2010 to read all of Ephesians and to ‘Note phrases in command form (imperative)’, and to ‘Confess and commit yourself to obeying God in a neglected area of your life’. In accordance with this suggestion, I have listed some imperatives from Eph 5:1-8 and linked them with issues and associated comments from the Manila Manifesto (MM), Occasional Paper 33 on Holistic Mission (OP33), Christopher Wright’s observations about HIV, and the World Evangelical Alliance’s ‘HIV Call to Action” (WEA).[7]
Eph 5:1,2 “Be Imitators of God
The Manila manifesto referred to Eph 5:1,2 at the end of the section entitled “The Integrity of the Witness”. This section made the following comments:
“We are deeply ashamed of the times when, both as individuals and in our Christian communities, we have affirmed Christ in word and denied him in deed. Our inconsistency deprives our witness of credibility. We acknowledge our continuing struggles and failures. But we also determine by God’s grace to develop integrity in ourselves and in the church.” (MM, p.12)
A similar sentiment was echoed by the WEA’s HIV Call to Action.
“With brokenness we admit that as Evangelical Christians we have allowed stigmatisation and discrimination to characterise our relationships with people living with HIV. We repent of these sinful attitudes and commit to ensuring that they are changed. We will follow Jesus’ example and identify with those who are affected… (WEA)
Eph 5:3 “Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you”
This may be linked to the understanding of the Holistic Mission Issue Group that “HIV is a cultural issue”, when they said “Sexual practices are imbedded in culture. Changing culture is hard work. People suffering with HIV/AIDS are stigmatized and there is reluctance to discuss sex, death and dying.” (OP33, p.65)
We may also draw links with Christopher Wright’s observation that reactions to HIV “vary from denial to deceit” (Wright p.437)
Eph 5:5 “Be sure of this”
This verse relates to certainty of belief, and might also be linked to ‘false representation of the ways of God’ (Wright p. 437).
Eph 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty arguements”
“HIV is a deception issue”, according to the Holistic mission Group. They go on to say, “Too quickly and uncritically some churches have yielded to the temptation to wonder who sinned, this man or his father. Condemnation and judgment have replaced grace and compassion. Another deception is that HIV/AIDS can be reduced to biology and condoms alone.” (OP33 p.65)
Eph 5:7 “Do not be associated with them”
On the subject of association, collaboration and partnership, the WEA stated, “The HIV pandemic has reminded us that the health of all communities is connected to the health of the most vulnerable and marginalised in our societies. We commit as leaders to equip ourselves and our congregations to follow the footsteps of Jesus. Since ours is the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) we will seek to live out incarnational faith working in partnership with the most marginalised and vulnerable to HIV infection.” (WEA)
Eph 5:8 “Live as children of light”
On the subject that “HIV is a world evangelization issue”, the WEA stated
“We will strive for practical solidarity and sacrificial giving among Christians – person-to-person, congregation-to-congregation, denomination-to-denomination, and country-to-country – in order that Jesus may be lifted up, the Father glorified and men and women brought into His saving grace through the life revolutionising power of the Gospel we preach”(WEA)
The Holistic Mission Issues Group stated
“If the evangelical church cares for the sick and the dying, comforts the orphan and widow, shares its message of redemption and transformation, disciples its members and works for justice, then the worth and truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ will shine like a light on the hill and the nations will stream toward it.” (OP33 p.65)
The problems which may emerge from our reading of Ephesians 5, such as the definition of our identity, denial, silence, stigma, judgment, and gender inequity are cultural problems often associated with how we communicate. This discussion about how Ephesians 5 is read in relation to HIV epidemics by lay readers, such as myself, is important because we read our Scriptures in our own language, often without the advantages of Greek scholarship. I hope that the following thoughts offer stimulus for fruitful discussion including lay readers, Bible teachers and scholars. In what follows, I will explore the above problems in a little more detail.
Silence, denial and deception
Verses 3 and 4 may be influential in explaining the Lausanne committee’s observation about many of our cultures, that ‘there is a reluctance to discuss sex’. Eph 5:3 advises that immorality, impurity or greed must not be mentioned among you. This advice, along with the advice of verse 4, could be seen as a mandate for silence on subjects such as sexuality and wealth if immorality, impurity and greed are understood to be inappropriate subjects for discussion. The advice of verse 3 could also be used to justify the denial of certain sexual or economic practices in Christian communities if this list is descriptive of actual behaviours, which are identified in a community of faith. Denial can motivate deception when information and data emerge which publicly and robustly identifies the presence and effects of ‘unmentionable’ sexual and economic practices in Christian communities.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, many Christian publications have specifically addressed the reluctance of Christians to talk about sex. These publications bear titles such as ‘Breaking the Silence’, ‘Time to Talk’, ‘Teaching And Talking About Our Sexuality: A Means of Combatting HIV/AIDS’, ‘Exploring Solutions: How to talk about HIV prevention in the Church’, ‘Strategies for breaking the culture of Silence’. They reflect an acknowledgement of a widespread reluctance to talk about sex and sexuality, and that intentional HIV prevention efforts require the discussion of sex and sexuality.
Judgment and the representation of God
Verses 5 and 6 call believers to certainty of belief, which is linked to the wrath of God and denial of inheritance in the kingdom of God. These verses link the judgment of God with immorality, impurity and greed. Based on these verses, it is not difficult to see how easy it can be to link HIV infection and AIDS, the result of a sexually transmitted infection, with God’s wrath and eternal judgement.
The English speaking world has experienced decades of public outcry when HIV infection and AIDS are linked to the judgment of God. There is a risk that powerful public opinion has driven the articulation of belief about this underground, leading to awkward silences associated with verses such as Ephesians 5:6. It is not faithful to the text to be silent or to deny the presence of this verse. However, when we read it aloud, we are at risk of both misrepresenting God, and increasing the isolation and suffering of people who are living with HIV.
When Christopher Wright explored HIV and AIDS as a ‘paradigm of evil’, he expressed his own certainty of belief that some people will be denied an eternal inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Without agreeing with it, he acknowledged the opinion of others that either HIV infection, or perhaps AIDS, was a direct judgement of God. This may be one case of what he meant when he said that HIV has induced false representation of the way of God. I would consider a false representation of the judgment of God to be one harmful outcome from the reading of Eph 5:6. Wright articulates another harmful consequence of this opinion as follows…
“Sadly, the opinion that the disease is a direct judgment of God on the sufferer for their own sins, whether externally inflicted or internally accepted, is itself an added ingredient in their own isolation and suffering.”
At the time his book was published (i.e. in the year 2006), he felt the need to answer the question to his readers about whether he considered HIV or AIDS to be a specific judgment of God, and wrote (including the italics)…
I want to make it absolutely clear that I am not, unequivocally not, suggesting that HIV/AIDS sufferers themselves embody evil or sin in any way that is not common to the rest of the human race. Nor do I accept the idea that HIV/AIDS is the specific judgment of God on its victims. Even if we acknowledge that sexual promiscuity is a major cause of infection, and so some people reap what they sow, there are just far too many people (especially women, children and even those unborn) who have become infected or affected by the disease through no fault or sin of their own for their suffering to be regarded in any sense as God’s direct judgment on them. Indeed there are many who have become infected by doing what is pleasing to God – caring for the sick and tending their wounds, both medical workers and family caregivers.[8]
The need for a leading theologian in 2006 to answer this question suggests that he has recognized a contemporary belief that HIV is the judgment of God. Wright does not refer directly to the scriptures in his rationale for asserting that HIV is not a judgment of God. However, he uses two turns of phrase, which link his logic to Ephesians 5. Firstly, he suggests a link to Ephesians 5:10 when he associates some HIV infections with people who have done ‘what is pleasing to God’. Secondly, his italicized clarification ends with an assertion about people’s common humanity. In the second part of this essay, I identify that the Apostle Paul also seeks to maintain an assertion about the common humanity of all people throughout Ephesians 5.
Partnership
Verse 7’s instruction, “do not be associated with them”, raises an additional question, which has gained more prominence since the publications by the Lausanne committee in 2004, and by Christopher Wright in 2006. The issue that it raises is the issue of multi-sectoral partnership. Large scale, coordinated responses to HIV are calling for multi-sectoral and inter-faith collaborations and partnerships. The issue of partnership was acknowledged, more recently, by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), which is collaborating with the Lausanne Movement in the organization of the Cape Town 2010 gathering.
In their 2008 statement, ‘HIV – A Call to Action’, the WEA committed itself to strive for partnership amongst Christians, as well as with people who are marginalized. I understand that the meaning of marginalized includes people who have been marginalized by Christians, perhaps even as a practical application of Eph5:7. People who are living with HIV were specifically mentioned with reference to marginalization. People who are seen as most vulnerable to infection (many of whom are not living with HIV) were also identified along with ‘the marginalized’. The specific identity of people who are most vulnerable to infection will vary according to the location of the HIV epidemic.
The WEA’s commitments to partnership are not qualified by reference to Ephesians 5:7. However, the overall ‘Call to Action’ makes 2 important notes, which demonstrate an awareness of the complexities raised within Ephesians 5 and particularly verse 7. Firstly, it states that the theological reflection and practical action associated with its inclusive mandate “will profoundly challenge us as we deeply long to be a holy people who please God” (see Eph 5:3). Secondly, its concluding remark about global Christian solidarity makes a reference to Ephesians 5:8, introducing a passage which offers a specific response to Ephesians 5:7.
Live as children of light – stigma, judgementalism and condemnation
The imperative of verse 8, to “live as children of light”, poses the risk that people will elevate themselves into a position of superiority over others, and re-inforce this position by attributing negative identifiers to people who do not share their identity. In the case of verse 8, the readers are reminded that they once bore the identity ‘darkness’. Careless reading of this text might result in believers attributing the identity of ‘darkness’ to people around them
The dangerous transference of metaphors is widely acknowledged by people whose lives are affected by HIV. For example, above I quoted Christopher Wright, recognizing that his own examination of HIV as a paradigm for evil could be mis-understood to mean that he might be suggesting that people living with HIV are uncommonly evil, somehow distinct from other human beings. UNAIDS’ Terminology Guidelines (2008) recommends that we don’t use words like ‘fight’ or any combative language “to avoid a transference being made from the fight against HIV to a fight against people living with HIV.” I have seen the ‘War on Drugs’ become direct and lethal attacks on drug users.
As Christians, and people who depend upon metaphors in our communication about the unseen, we are at greater risk of turning our metaphors into stigmatizing and judgmental communication, simply because we use metaphors so frequently in our conversation. In the UNAIDS guidelines for working in partnership with faith-based organizations, ending stigma is at the top of the list roles of both faith-based organizations as well as the role of the UNAIDS when in partnership with one another.[9] In addition to recognising the wisdom arising out of the HIV sector about stigmatization, we need to be vigilant among ourselves about whether we use stigmatization as a tool for maintaining and protecting our cultural and community distinctives, even when we read and interpret the Bible together.
Just as denial can motivate deception, judgmentalism can motivate condemnation. Vs 11 identifies a specific role of light, when it says ‘expose them’. The mandate to “expose them” may be used to justify the public exposure of some one’s HIV status. It may be used to seek access to confidential medical records in services designed to provide health care to people such as men who have sex with men or illicit drug users. It may also be used to expose drug users, commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men to severe, perhaps violent and lethal, law enforcement. The way that we read ‘expose them’, has life and death implications for people.
Live in love as Christ loved us
The interpretation of Eph 5:1-20 needs to be done with reference to the love of Christ. How did Christ hand himself over for us? I would like to make the following observations about Christ’s own words, behaviour and belief.
Christ’s words
Consistency with the teaching of Christ can be assessed by reading Ephesians 5 with reference to Matthew Chapters 5 to 7. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus picked up themes common to the themes of Ephesians 5:1-20. He spoke of sexual immorality, impurity and greed. His introductory remarks about salt and light address the issues of separation and presence in the world. He addressed the fear that people who heard his teaching understood him to be abolishing the law.
Christ’s behaviour
A favourite passage for reference to Jesus and sexual immorality is John 8:1-11. In it, Christ exposed everybody, but only said ‘sin no more’ to one of them. Jesus’ exposure of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees resulted in the saving of the woman’s life, in stark contrast to the way they had chosen to expose the woman. Their exposure threatened to end her life violently and prematurely. Jesus did not say ‘sin no more’ to the woman in public. Instead, having saved her life, he did it in the security of a private conversation, away from her life-threatening accusers. He said it only after exposing all who would put her life at risk. Their exposure was brief and they quickly broke their association with Christ. The woman, however, stayed long enough for the story of her relationship with Christ to become light to us.
Christ’s belief
Light produces righteousness (Eph 5:9). Jesus’ belief about righteousness permeates much of what we know of how he physically ‘handed himself over’. Jesus’ own righteousness was not dependent upon his being law abiding. He was accused of many forms of law-breaking. He was suspected of advocating the abolition of the law. He was publically executed among criminals. In Romans 3:21-26, the apostle Paul draws attention to the link between Jesus and righteousness. Romans 3:21 announces a ‘righteousness of God apart from the law’. The explanation of this statement (vs22-26) may be another example of lyrical writing, as it opens with reference to Jesus, comes to its climax in reference to Jesus and closes with reference to Jesus. The phrase, ‘righteousness apart from the law’ heralds a climax of the Apostle Paul’s commentary on the inadequacy of human righteousness according to the law as a measure of religious identity, relative human goodness, and salvation (Rom 2:1 – 3:20).
Conclusion
This paper began with a reflection on the relationship between the imperatives of Ephesians 5 and some of the serious ongoing challenges facing Christians in relation to HIV and AIDS, which I have identified in documentation associated with the Lausanne movement. In English, the imperatives of Ephesians 5 can be isolated and quoted as powerful instructions outlining how to live in a way which may be ‘fitting for holy ones’. If Ephesians 5 is read as a menu of distinct instructions, we will continue to fuel the problems of silence, denial, deceit, judgment, sectarianism stigma, judgmentalism and condemnation in response to HIV. Such outcomes of reading Ephesians 5:1-11 are inconsistent with the initial imperative of Eph 5:1-2 to be imitators of God and to live lives of love.
Two approaches to reading Eph 5:1-20 have been identified above. One option is silence – i.e. don’t refer to it. Another option is to recognise the concentration of imperatives and to read it as a list of instructions or commands. When Ephesians 5:1-20 is read as a legislative text, it equips its readers for aspirations to holiness, but does not equip us to be responsive either to our own human conditions, or to the diverse contexts in which we live. Three decades of experience with HIV and AIDS have demonstrated the need for us to be responsive to the specific experiences of the Christian communities in which we identify ourselves, as well as to formulate prevention, care and treatment responses which are effective for populations, which do not share the same beliefs.
I propose a third approach to reading this passage. I propose that Ephesians 5 offers a lyrical expression of the integration of sexual, economic, communication, spiritual and social discplines. As such, Eph 5:1-20 is an important reference point for Christians in the HIV epidemics of the early part of the 21st century. I believe that a lyrical reading of Eph 5:1-20 broadens the applicability of the passage in HIV epidemics without losing the readers’ aspirations of holiness.
[1] The Lausanne movement is a worldwide movement that mobilizes evangelical leaders to mobilize for world evangelization.
[2] http://www.lausanne.org/documents/capetown2010/ephesians-study-plan.pdf
[3] Introductory statement on meeting’s home page, http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010
[4] http://www.lausanne.org/global-conversation/conversation-gatherings.html (11 February, 2010)
[5] Christopher J.H. Wright, “The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative”, Intervarsity Press Illinois, 2006, and Dr Evvy Campbell (ed.) ‘Holistic Mission’ Occasional Paper No. 33, Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation 2005, p.65
[6] Quotes from the Bible are from the New American Bible
[7] http://www.worldevangelicals.org/news/article.htm?id=2206&cat=main
[8] Wright (2006), p. 435
[9] UNAIDS, ‘Partnership with Faith-based Organisations. UNAIDS Strategic Framework’, 2009, p.14