On the Way to Wonder

         This week we looked at Paul’s introduction to his letter to the Romans.  He had not met them but they were on his “do meet” list.  They were people he had prayed for and now was longing to meet in person.  He is convinced that as they shared their stories of faith he would hear how they too were not ashamed of the Gospel in a culture unfriendly to Christians and he would hear that the Gospel was the power of God for salvation in their lives and produced the power of righteousness through faith.

         As I pondered what hymn carried that deep desire to walk closer to God and God’s people daily, growing in grace and faith, I came up with two of a similar title.  Day by Day (and with each passing sorrow) and Day by Day (dear Lord I pray).  Enjoy.

         Paul presents his thesis to the church in Rome in his opening chapter, Romans 1:16-17;

 ^“16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel;

 it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 

¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’^”

Paul, who identifies himself as a “slave,” proposes the idea that faith in Christ aligns him with the “power of God.”  A powerless slave finds power in a master who enables him to live by wisdom in this world.  The world does not understand.  He no longer answers to the whims of people but has found the God of the universe who has all power and is willing to come to his slave’s aid.  God is not a taskmaster sitting off in the clouds evaluating his work but a being that incarnates and empowers him to be his better self for his own fulfillment and for the betterment of the world.  Gospel, which we often call the “good news”, tells us that God has come to us and we have power as we believe.  Perhaps power is not your thing but being valuable enough to help is a desire in all our hearts.

         Paul also talks about the righteousness of God that is found through the Gospel.  Righteousness is being “right” with God.  We use the word forgiven.  We could also say whole, having our record wiped clean, having no barriers between the eternal and myself.  God is not out in the clouds offended by my humanness but partnering with me, as I will allow him, to make life better.  The slave has been given voice and vote in the relationship with the Almighty.  The Gospel is the good news of available relationship, as we believe, faith.

         “Faith” like love or peace or joy is one of those words we can only see in action.  It is relational, not theoretical, and not contractual.  Faith opens the door to relationship with a God who shares power and righteousness with his creation.  Today we might think of the places where we feel powerless or unrighteous.  We can invite the God of the universe to help us cope and clean up those areas.  That is good news for sure.  We are not in this alone.  Blessings.

         Today we read in Romans 1:16-17 one of the favorite verses people memorize from Romans and the theses of the letter Paul is writing to the people in the church in Rome.  He’s introduced himself, thanked them for their ministry that is talked about around the empire, and now he makes a foundational statement that resonates within us, reminding us of our core identity.  We are people who profess a gospel, good news that we believe. 

^“16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’^”

         Paul is not ashamed of his faith.  Mass media today has identified Christian faith with so many causes and beliefs that a profession of being a Christian can be embarrassing.  Or at least we think twice before saying it as we evaluate how the other might interpret our statement.  Many identify it with ultra conservative political beliefs that might even advocate violence.  Others can dismiss Christians as just do-gooders, trying to save the ecology.  And there is a whole host of other baggage that people connect to a profession of Christian faith.

         Paul says he is not ashamed because the gospel is the power of God and the righteousness of God.  I suspect today in our culture we might say we are not ashamed of the gospel because it is the love of God through faith or we might identify it as the forgiveness of God through faith – for all, Jews and Gentiles, Americans and nonAmericans, men and women…all people. 

         Let’s take a minute and honestly ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts.  Are we ashamed of the Gospel?  When we think of the Gospel do we think of power, righteousness of God, love or forgiveness?  What is core to the Gospel that gives us courage to share with another?  Blessings as you reflect.

         We are pondering Paul’s introduction to his letter to the Romans.  He does not know them so he first introduces himself as “a slave” of Christ Jesus and then as an apostle under assignment, “called.”  Paul wants to meet these young Christians whose reputation of faith is known all over the civilized world then.  They were his heroes or models.

         When I was a young adult I attended a street rally held by a politician running for governor who later became President of the United States.  I did not get to meet him but I had his signature on a card I kept pinned to my corkboard.  Once I stood with my brand new baby in arms as the President of Kenya walked by and he paused, pointed his ruler’s stick at my daughter and proclaimed, “She too will go to this school.”  And she did.  We all have heroes and people we admire that we would love to meet or at least be in a meeting with.

         Paul is not giving thanks for a good deed done to him, from which he benefited.  He writes, “I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you. (Romans 1:8)” He is thanking God for how the Roman Christians have lived their faith in the middle of a pagan city.  He wants them to know that he is one of the prayer warriors, one of the unknown masses praying for them constantly and he is trying to figure out a way to meet with them so they can share their faith.

         Is there someone who has been a model and mentor to you that you might want to thank for how they have lived their life in a way that deeply impacted you?  “Thank you for being you, cause it has helped me to become me.  Perhaps we say nice things on birthday cards or anniversaries but today perhaps there is someone you could write a just-because card to with words of affirmation.  Some of our mentors and heroes have passed on but we can ask God through Jesus to relate our gratitude for their lives.  Gratitude is a powerful force for good in our lives and in our world.  Take time in prayer to remember those who have blessed you and whom you would love to meet with and have a good chat about life!

^“ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 

⁶ including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, (Romans 1:5)”

         Paul’s first sentence in his letter to the Romans is definitely a mental challenge.  We pondered his introduction as a “slave” of Christ Jesus and what title we would choose.  Then he says he was “called” to be an apostle to the Gentiles and Jews because of his direct encounter on the road to Damascus.  I suspect our Christian identity is not necessarily something we lead with as we introduce ourselves to others but we wait for “the right moment.”  In this same sentence that introduces not only Paul as the author but also his message he is about to introduce, Paul now says we too have grace and apostleship through “the obedience of faith.”  Hmmm. Paul does not set faith and works as opposites like many are prone to do when talking about salvation.  Paul sees faith working hand in hand with obedience, the living out of the faith we profess.

         Romans is going to confront us with the integrity of our faith.  Today the question is “Do we walk the talk?”  Paul does not want this to be a question just for those other guys whom we identify as “sinners” but he is going to build a message that challenges his readers to take their own spiritual temperature, honestly reflecting on how well they have integrated their faith with their lives.

         Let’s take that question out of the “hell fire and brimstone” context we often put it in and let’s put the question in to the context of how we want our friends and family to understand us.  Do we want to be known as a “player” or as “one inch deep and a mile wide” or “all blow and no show”?  The rubber meets the road if you ask me how I want to be seen in the eyes of my grandchildren and my friends.  I want my faith to bring about obedience to the wisdom of the God who made life and knows how it works best.

         May we join Paul today and pray that we grow in our ability to submit our will, obedience, in faith to the God who has revealed himself to us and desires to grow a relationship of grace with us.  Lord, help.

         We are looking at Romans 1, the greeting of a letter written by Paul to the church in Rome where he hoped to visit.  He is introducing himself.  The Roman church might have had many characteristics like our urban churches that are multicultural, multilingual, and hence facing the challenge of maturing Christians that have diverse backgrounds and beliefs.  I suspect it is similar to people marrying from different ethnicities or even different areas of the States.  We can find food for our lives!  Paul’s introduction might be somehow similar to me introducing my “date” to my parents who had not met him and who had their own ideas of what someone raised in Kenya might be like.  I suspect that in that back of their minds were questions about his intentions.  Paul writes to the church in Rome and first says he is “a slave of Christ Jesus” but then he continues on to identify himself as “called to be an apostle.”

         We can find his experience of being “called” in Acts 9 that tells how he encountered a bright light and voice on the road to Damascus.  For Paul who was formerly called Saul and who was committed to eliminating Christians, it was a life changing experience, personal and direct.  “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. (Acts 9:15)” Paul is not volunteering but understands himself to be sent by God to tell others about the Gospel of the promised Messiah from the line of David and divine as proved by his resurrection. Paul clearly opens his letter identifying himself and intentions, credentials, for desiring a meeting with the Christians in Rome.

         We thought last week what title we might use to describe our relationship to Christ Jesus.  Most of us would not say slave.  Also most of us would probably feel a bit squeamish to tell another we feel “called” to share the gospel with them.   We prefer a more friendly approach, not so formal.  So let’s ponder today what might draw us into a conversation where we would share our core beliefs about reality.  Might it be: concern for the other’s eternal security, or a direct question about our belief, or a life threatening medical issue, or perhaps a counseling session to clarify a cloudy situation, and for students it could be a course on world religions.  I ponder how often I share just because I am so grateful for the difference God has made in my life and it just bubbles over in my conversation.  An attitude of gratitude is always contagious.  Blessings and may you have eyes to see God blessing your day!

         Last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost.  The actual day of Pentecost was this last Thursday, 40 days after Easter, the Resurrection.  We celebrated Ascension as recorded in Acts 1.  That was when Christ ascended or returned to his original glory in heaven.  Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, recorded in Acts 2.  One of the favorite Pentecost songs is “Spirit of God Descend Upon My Heart.” George Croly of Dublin, Ireland, who became an Anglican minister in the slums of London wrote the hymn in 1854 expressing his deep dependency on the work of the Holy Spirit in situations that seem hopeless.  We had the hymn sung at our wedding as a prayer for our marriage.  Perhaps it is appropriate for your situation today!

1. Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
   Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move.
   Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
   And make me love Thee as I ought to love.
3. Hast Thou not bid me love Thee, God and King?
   All, all Thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind.
   I see Thy cross; there teach my heart to cling:
   Oh, let me seek Thee, and, oh, let me find!
5. Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh;
   Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
   To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
   Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.
7. Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,
   One holy passion filling all my frame;
   The kindling of the heav’n-descended Dove,
   My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.

         My father’s favorite book in the Bible was Romans.  He loved the middle chapters where Paul talks about the struggle to do what we know is right but failing.  I picked up a commentary of Romans that said Romans is probably one of the most influential epistles in the Bible as it seeks to explain basic tenants that came out of the resurrection.  The Pentecost season that we are now entering is a time when we reflect on the meaning of living believing that Christ is risen and alive in my world and in my life today.  Paul’s long sentences scare me but let us spend some time gleaning its truth for us today.  But first let us look at the context.

         The author is believed to be Paul, formerly known as Saul, the persecutor of early Christians.  He is the voice of an “outsider” who became an “insider.”  He is writing to the church in Rome, the center of the Western civilized world as it was known then.  Civilizations in Central America, Asia or Africa were unknown, perhaps points of trade.  But Rome was where the political power lie and its language was far spread.  Paul knows of the church in Rome that is surely composed of Jews and other nationalities as church in capitals are prone to be.  He is writing to a more cosmopolital congregation, probably ethnically mixed, and already exposed to some teachings of Christianity.  Our churches today are facing the challenges of multicultural congregations too.  Paul writes to introduce himself and who he is.

“Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus…” (Romans 1:1)

         I have only begun the first sentence of chapter 1 and I already am challenged to stop and think.  Paul calls himself “a slave.”  That is a loaded statement.  We put the whole American history into those words and the trauma and injustice and powerlessness those words imply.  Paul will later pull out his long list of credentials as an educated, trained, well known somebody by human standards but he opens his letter understanding himself as “a slave.”

         What word would you use to describe your relationship with Jesus Christ?  We like “child of God,”  “friend of God,” “servant of God,” or perhaps “creation of God.”  My family might say, “adopted by God.”  Few of us self identify as slave.  Draw two columns.  Put “slave” at the top of one and your word at the top of the other.  How are the two words similar and how are they different?  Sit with your title now and talk with God about the rights and privileges it implies.  How does your word prepare you to face into the unknown future?  Let’s thank Christ Jesus for his presence with us in our day no matter what our title.

“If you love me, keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. (John 14:15-17)”

            Today is the actual day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection.  There are passages that talk about the work of the Holy Spirit but I like this one. The Holy Spirit is identified as my “advocate.”  Advocacy is a big word these days and often I am prone to equate it with marches and riots.  I am guessing that if the word “advocate” is dissected, “ad” implies adding and “voca” means voice.  Advocating is using your voice for people who cannot speak for themselves because of poverty, ethnicity, education, finances or a myriad of other reasons.  The powerless need an advocate to speak for them because they do not have social power or prestige to speak for themselves.  It’s something like that. 

         It is not comfortable to see ourselves as powerless.  Compared to another I pull out my credentials that I hope make me into a person of value.  Compared to God, I come up short.  By definition God is perfect and I am imperfect.  Jesus says God will send an advocate, someone to give me voice when I have no right to voice, and who will also be with me forever.  The Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of truth.”  The Spirit gives voice to the truth of my value before God.  I am his child.  He gives voice to my prayers when I do not know what to pray.  His gives voice to truth, speaks truth to me, when I try to deceive myself.  He teaches me truth when I am ignorant.  He is with me when I feel abandoned and alone.

         We often associate the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues, or assisting us to worship the unseen God we are growing to know.  That is important but let us focus today on his role as our advocate.  He is in our corner, not just for worship but also in all the places of our life.  Wow.  Thank you, Lord.