Conversations at Midnight #14: The Night Socrates Forgot To Finish His Wine

Over at the Foundations for Family Life in first-century Ephesus, servants refill cups with watered wine while the philosophers fall into a natural debate on authority. Plato reclines comfortably on his sofa and Socrates accepts yet another glass. Several merchants are confidently extrapolating family life despite having spent most of their time avoiding it.

The symposium is in full swing.

Out of the wings a figure steps forward. Small, weathered, easy to miss except... there's something about him. A murmur begins to ripple. "Who is this?"

The master of ceremonies squints to look, then races towards the curtain to head him off.

"Oh yes. We have one last guest this evening." He fumbles with a wax tablet, nonplussed.

"Let's see here... philosopher? No." The audience chuckles.

"Politician? I'd say not. The laughter gets louder.

"Aha! There you are, the... ahem...the tentmaker."

A double take gallops through the room. A tentmaker sharing the stage with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle?

The introduction feels anticlimactic, yet as the man steps into the light, the room begins to still. His hands are calloused from hard labour. Scars trace their way up his arms and faint lines cut across his cheeks and neck. Beatings, shipwrecks, sleepless nights, prison cells, and miles and miles of dusty Roman roads have all left their signatures upon him. This is not the bearing of an ivory-tower philosopher. And yet... while the scholars before him exude intelligence, this man carries presence—and the aroma of leather, salt, and road dust.

Socrates reaches for his cup and Paul enters the conversation.

"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless behaviour," he says, "but be filled with the Spirit...

The room freezes as Socrates pauses mid sip.

The old tentmaker pauses to survey the room. His eyes find the politicians, merchants and philosophers: Submit yourselves to one another out of reverence for Christ...

A collective gasp sweeps through the hall. The word submit has that effect.

Socrates sets down his cup, leaning forward, eyes bright. "Intriguing," he says. "Tell me, what do you mean by 'submit to one another'? Do you mean the wise should submit to the foolish? Or the master to the servant?"

Plato, fingering the goblet in his hand, considers Paul's words in silence. Humility does not offend him either, but in his thinking, a just and harmonious society requires each person fulfilling the role they are best suited for. He wonders, "if masters submit to slaves or rulers serve servants, where is the harmony? What becomes of justice? What becomes of the order of the city?"

Aristotle pauses, fig forgotten. Surely some are born to rule while others are naturally fitted for service? If they were to follow Paul's philosophy, the implications would reach far beyond the household. They would touch the very foundations of how societies are built.

Not missing a beat, Paul settles his gaze upon a few women seated towards the front.

Wives, to your own husbands...

Aristotle blinks, Plato lowers his goblet and Socrates raises an eyebrow. The audience of men gasp again—what will Paul say next?—and the women are listening just as intently!

Wives were expected to submit to their husbands. No one disputes that. But speaking to them directly? This is not how Household Orders of Conduct are, well, conducted!

Let's pause the symposium to pass out our emergency theological helmets. Anyone who's spent considerable time in church, has probably encountered at least three arguments, two podcasts, and a small church split over this subject. The problem begins when we begin with verse 22, wives submit. But Paul didn't. Not with wives, nor husbands, not even with households. He began with, Be filled with the Spirit.

Immediately afterwards he leans into worship, gratitude:

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Have you ever noticed that happy drunks sing? Apparently so do Spirit-filled Christians!)

Only then does he move into the submission discussion. Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ. (We will cover this more in the next post, or you can visit the blogs on 1 Peter for more understanding.)

Finally he addresses marriage. The order matters because he's building something new, line upon line, precept upon precept. He's building a Kingdom People, formed by spirit more than rules.

While the philosophers have spent the evening asking, "Who is in charge?"

Paul asks a different question. What is filling the household?"

One rearranges authority. The other transforms hearts.

Till next Friday at five...

P.S. This post falls on the weekend of National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada. As someone with Cherokee roots who has spent a great deal of time learning from Indigenous communities, I didn't want the day to pass without acknowledging its significance. Rather than adding those reflections here, I've written a separate post, to be published on June 21...in honour of my native relatives, and with gratitude for the many friends, Elders, and teachers who have walked alongside me, helping to shape both my journey and deepen my understanding."