A Better Pastoral Understanding of Anxiety Part 2
What is the context of Paul's letter to the Philippians?
Here is the second part of my research paper on merimnaō in Philippians, often translated worry or anxiety, but is that really a good translation?
We were required to use German sources, so this section has two quotes in German - don’t worry, I translated them in the footnotes!
The Context of Philippians
Emotions are contextual. They have objects based in a situation and they spark necessary action in that situation. The situations that give rise to emotions matter for understanding the emotions. I will examine the context of Philippians to set the stage for this discussion of μεριμνάω. Philippians is considered one of Paul’s prison epistles. While the traditional view is that he wrote it during imprisonment in Rome,[1] other suggested locations are Caesarea and Ephesus.[2] It is likely dated in 60-62 CE,[3] though some suggest 54-55.[4] There was no existing Jewish community in Philippi before Paul’s evangelism efforts. It was a Roman colony of 10,000 people, a walled city and surrounding land, including waterfront property where Paul met Lydia. The imperial cult was likely an important religion in the city.[5]
Because Paul was not writing to Jews, he did not quote Old Testament scripture in the letter, though there are intertextual allusions.[6] Fee writes that Paul assumes the “early Gentile believers were thoroughly acquainted with their Bibles…knew the OT infinitely better than most Christians do today” and could understand how Paul was applying the texts to their circumstances.[7] Paul’s own emotions were likely shaped by the Jewish socializing figures in his life, and the approaches to rejoicing in God and reacting in thankful prayer he gives the Philippians in this letter are thoroughly Jewish emotions. Though Paul was in hard circumstances, “the attitude that permeates these letters is not of fear or mourning, but rather of joy and victory…Faith helps him overcome the direst situations and the most menacing threats.”[8] Paul’s own emotional achievement of contentment is the grounding from which he instructs other believers about their emotions.
While Paul was in prison, the Philippian believers sent their own member Epaphroditus to visit Paul, carrying a donation for his mission. Epaphroditus got sick, possibly on the journey over or after he arrived, and almost died. The church in Philippi may have heard of his illness, setting off a cascade of worries: their worry for Epaphroditus, and his and Paul’s worry about their worry. Paul planned to send Epaphroditus back to them, carrying a letter, to assure them of his health, which would also make Paul feel better. Timothy, Paul’s longtime friend and co-worker, co-wrote the letter with Paul. Paul planned first to send Epaphroditus and then to send Timothy to Philippi a short time later, hopefully able to give them news of the outcome of his imprisonment. Timothy would then return to Paul with news from Philippi. Perhaps the Philippians were expecting Timothy to arrive, yet Epaphroditus would be coming instead, and Paul’s letter would serve as a commendation for him. It’s possible that when the Philippians sent Epaphroditus to Paul, they intended for him to serve there a long time. If his time was cut short by his illness and lack of full recovery,[9] there could be shame involved. Paul’s kind words about Epaphroditus could help restore his honor.[10]
The illness is one key facet of the text because it is a source of emotion. The Philippians may be worried about their emissary as well as worried about Paul in prison, and Paul is worried that they are worried.[11] Another possible cause of concern could be their “opponents.” Verse 4:6 comes after a section of the letter warning the believers against enemies and admonishing them to stand firm in the face of “the serious opposition the Philippians face.”[12] Some of Paul’s possible opponents or threats to the Philippian church were people who preach Christ but do so from bad motives, people who persecute the church, Jewish Christ-believers who were promoting legalism, and Gentile apostates.[13]
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