Thanks to a good friend, I am now receiving the meditations of Richard Rohr.  He is very good!  Rohr’s works suggest to me that the daily struggles are also an opportunity for daily growth.  According to Rohr, Paul was a both/and thinker, rather than an either/or thinker.

I think that Rohr is right.  I call Paul’s means of communication as “BOOM! and back off.”  What I mean by this is that the Apostle Paul will communicate a truth to his reader.  It will be very strong.  Indeed, it is often a categorical statement—almost too strong.  In other words, “BOOM!”

But then, immediately, Paul will make a balancing statement.  That is the “back off.”

Perhaps a couple of examples will illustrate what I mean.

Philippians 2:12^b: “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.”  (“back off.”)

Philippians 2:13: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”  (“back off.”)

Galatians 2:20^a: “My old self has been crucified with Christ.”  (“BOOM!”)

Galatians 2:20^b: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”  (“back off.”)

Of course, I could also say that Paul tends to be more balanced than he is often thought to be.  However, “balance” is such a boring word.  And whatever you think about Paul, there aren’t many folks who would call him boring.

On the other hand, Paul’s vivid communication style can and does lead to misunderstandings.  Some of us tend to hear the first statement and ignore the second one.  Some reverse the order of what we hear.  Some hear only one side of what Paul says and radically disagree.  Others hear only one side of what Paul says, and agree.

As in every case of human communication, there is always a high probability of miscommunication.  Alan Greenspan is reported to have said, “I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”  The same might be said of those of us who think we understand Paul.

I’ll close with these wonderful words concerning Paul from Rohr:

“He now knows that he is both sinner and saint, as we too must trust. Once the conflict has been overcome in you, and you realize you are a living paradox and so is everyone else, you begin to see life in a truly spiritual and compassionate way, which demands that you let go of your too easy dualisms.

Paul often presents two seemingly opposing ideas, such as weakness and strength, flesh and spirit, law and grace, faith and works, Jew and Greek, male and female. Our normal, dualistic thinking usually wraps itself fully around one side and then fully dismisses the other—thinking this is truth—when it is much more just a need for control or righteousness. Like Jesus, Paul invites you to wrestle with the paradox. If you stay with him in the full text, you’ll see he usually comes to a reconciliation on a higher level, beyond the conflict that he himself first illustrates. Many readers just stay with the initial dualistic distinction he makes and then dislike Paul. It seems you must first seek an often dualistic clarity about the tension—but then grace takes you to a higher level of resolution instead of just choosing sides.  Some of us call this “third way” thinking—beyond the usual fight or flight responses.”