On the Way to Wonder

         Paul is sharing the advantages he is experiencing from being justified – put right with God – by his faith.  He starts Romans 5 talking about the peace he experiences from his faith.  Paul goes on to say that he can even “boast.”  That word is a conversation stopper, like “justification,” and draws us into reflection.  Paul writes,

“and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, (Romans 5: 2b-3)”

Oxford dictionary defines boasting as, “talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one’s achievements, possessions, or abilities.”  The word boast for most of us implies a certain amount of self-focus, and excessive pride that does not seem appropriate with the humility of faith.  Faith comes from coming face to face with our limitations, our sinfulness, and crying out for mercy and forgiveness.  Paul has just convinced us that everyone is a sinner and that salvation is a gift so how can we boast about something we cannot take credit for?

         I was at a lunch gathering last week and the leader asked us to share something unique about our fathers.  People shared a special memory of the special moment with their father.  That makes me think that Paul would say his father, God, gave him hope to face the future, hope of sharing glory with God.  The glory would not be the wonderfulness of Paul’s accomplishments but he would be there when God is truly glorified by his creation.  Paul not only boasts about his hope for being present in God’s glory in the future but he boasts about the past, his sufferings.  Faith gives us a lens to look through to understand that our sufferings are purposeful.  Perhaps it is not a one for one relationship like saying the insurance company paid me enough money in my car accident so I could buy a better car so really the trauma had a benefit.  It is not that obvious most of the time.  Paul realized that as he looked to God in faith during his sufferings other lives were impacted and for that he could boast.

         So, what do you “boast” about right now?  I still stumble at the word boast but I can replace it with thanksgiving that credits God and not me.  I am not happy that my husband is declining in health but I am thankful for how friends have supported and how I know God is present with him.  Take a moment and look as some of your hard moments and see if you can’t see a silver lining in that cloud.  Jot it in your journal as a memorial.  Blessings.

         Chapter 5 of Romans begins with “therefore.”  Paul is going to describe the benefits of being justified by faith as a gift and not as something we have to work for.  Justified, remember from last week, means we are forgiven, redeemed, have credit with God, are covered with his love and our record is wiped clean.  Paul continues.  Because we are justified, just as if we never sinned, we have peace with God.

5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand;

         We may not appreciate the relative peace we have in the United States but we need only turn on the news and see the pictures coming out of Ukraine and listen to the nightly pleads for aid from their President, to know peace is a gift to be highly desired.  Through peace the verse says that we can stand in the grace we have obtained.  We do not have to live in bombed out apartment buildings, huddle in subways, or mourn the anxiety of not knowing where loved ones are.  Loss of peace in any area of our life is horrible.

         Let us take a few minutes to try some breathing exercises to remind ourselves that we have eternal peace with God.  As we inhale, thank God for peace.  As you exhale, give God something you are concerned about.  Keep repeating this exercise, turning over to God your concerns for self, family, friends, and the world we live in.  God is listening. Communication channels are open because you are at peace with the God who holds all our lives.  Thank you, Lord.

^“19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” (Romans 4: 19-21)

Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady reaches a point of frustration with the professor, leaves the house and finds her admirer waiting.  She breaks into song: “Words, words, words, is that all you blithers can do…”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NGlmFlcSR8 .  I sometimes wonder if God does not feel the same way about how we treat his promises.  We read the words, we say the words but do we believe the words and “walk the talk?”  Paul ends Romans 4 and makes his point that Abraham encountered God, before he was circumcised, while a Gentile like many of us, living among people who worship multiple gods by multiple names with multiple powers.  Abraham did not allow his faith in God to be defined by the limitations of culture or by his own personal history.  He knew he was old and his wife was barren.  In the face of reality, he believed in a God who kept his promises and could bring about that which Abraham could not even imagine.  Wow.

         So where do we stand today.  Are we pulling out our hair with Eliza or are we standing with Abraham believing the promises, the words of God?  God promises us forgiveness, His presence, guidance, comfort and a future to all who believe and trust in him.  May we be people who see beyond culture and beyond our own eyes and ears and put our faith in the Word of God.  Blessings.

“How Great”

         Tomorrow our psalm of the day is Psalm 145:8-14 and focuses on the graciousness and compassion of the Lord.  Jesus is talking to his followers and the crowds.  John the Baptist, the charismatic prophet who called many to repentance and who was preparing the way for Jesus, is in prison.  We know a fickled ruler will behead him.  Life is unfair and we are plagued with problems.  But in the midst of the reality of the struggles of life that often leave us with doubts and questions, God’s people choose to praise and affirm his goodness.  Please enjoy this modern version of the psalm put to music.  Blessings.

         In chapter 4 of Romans, Paul is trying to impress on us something very significant about Abraham’s encounter with God in Genesis 15:1. “After all this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision”. Christians believe that God speaks personally to people and calls them by name.  We see this repeatedly through Scripture.  God spoke to Moses in the bush that did not burn.  God spoke with Solomon when he dedicated the Temple.  God, Jesus, spoke with Paul on the road to Damascus.  Abraham’s righteousness is linked to a personal encounter of specifically hearing God’s word and believing.  Unlike the Baals of the time that were regional or were topical, Abraham encountered a God that was personal, knew him and came to him.  And this happened before circumcision when he was living in a culture with multiple gods like the Romans or like the United States today.  Abraham believed God as a heathen, Gentile.

         Secondly God initiates the gift of righteousness.  Abraham did not earn him righteousness; he was gifted because of his faith.  Paul gives a secondary support in verses 7 and 8 of chapter 4 by quoting King David from Psalm 32. 

• God “credits” righteousness. 
• God “forgives” iniquities. 
• God “covers” sin. 
• God “does not record” sin. 

God speaks to us personally and as we respond in faith, we are gifted with credit, with forgiveness, with covering, and with a clean record.  Those four ways of talking about righteousness are huge.  Take one of the pictures here and think about it.  For example, “cover” brings to mind being tucked into bed at night under my favorite quilt made by my grandmother.  I’m warm.  I’m safe…  Take one of the words and run with it as you pray!  Blessings. 

         Genesis 15 records a defining moment in Abram’s (who has his name changed to Abraham) life. God encounters Abram and promises, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’  In chapter 12 God had promised Abram to bless his children but Abram remains childless and in chapter 15 when God repeats his promise, Abram reminds God of this discrepancy.  God tells Abram to count the stars, as that is the number of offspring he will have.  We read,

“⁶ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

          Paul argues that Father Abraham was not justified because of the act, the work, of circumcision, but by this moment of trusting God’s promise before he was told to circumcise the males in his house.  Abraham is the father of all people who believe God’s promises, not just the Jewish people who are biologically related to Abraham.  When we believe in God’s promises given through Jesus, we become children of Abraham.

         Even as Paul argues that all people, not just circumcised Jews, are children of Abraham because of faith.  Christians might be called to task for believing they are saved because of baptism or because of confirmation or because of belonging to a certain church.  None of those things mean much unless the person has a relationship with the identity they claim through a ritual.

         Relationships are not just defined by some ritual like saying, “I do.”  Relationships grow, have seasons of highs and lows, and remain intact when we are silent and when we are out on a date, chatting.  Relationships are not just a piece of paper.  Abraham believed God.  Is there a defining moment when your relationship with God began to grow?  Perhaps spend some time now thanking God and renewing that covenant in your heart.  Blessing as you reflect on moments of being blessed.

“What then can we say that Abraham found,.. (Romans 4:1)”

         Paul is weaving faith and works together to explain righteousness.  And so in chapter 4 of Romans Paul goes to the “Father of the Faith,” Abraham.  Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all claim Abraham as their starting point and a foundational historical person to whom they can refer to as an example.  We all claim to be children of Abraham.  So it is probably wise that we understand Paul’s reasoning here!

         But let us first think of whom we might refer when we think of spiritual giants that have modeled Christianity for us and impacted our lives.  There was a moment when it was a fad to wear a WWJD (What would Jesus do?) bracelet.  For many of us though, we have a closer person from our lifetime that has impacted our faith journey.  Who would you like to be proud of your faith walk?  What do you try to emulate from that person’s life.  Try to name a couple characteristics or remember a couple key teaching moments that stand out in your memory.  Perhaps write out, “I am grateful for the life of __________ and that person’s impact on my faith journey.  Help me to _____________ like that person.”  Blessings.

“Let There Be Peace on Earth”

By Voices of Hope Children’s Choir

Today is the 4^th of July in the United States.  Our family tradition is to watch the movie “Independence Day” where humanity is saved from the aliens invading.  We love the humor of Will Smith and the universal tone.  Near the end of the film Smith tries to fly the alien vessel only to discover the gear shift label is backwards.  David, the IT nerd comments, “Let’s try this again without the ooops.”  Our family loves that line and we often say it to each other as a way of laughing at our mistakes and expressing the togetherness that the 4^th implies.

I have associated the song with Christmas but it can be sung all year round.  According to Wikipedia Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller wrote the song in 1955 during a time in her life when she felt suicidal but experienced “life-saving joy of God’s peace and unconditional love.”  An International Children’s Choir in Long Beach, CA performed it.  In 2002 it was performed at the White House by a group of children from many nations.

May we thank God today for our freedoms but may we also have the humility to laugh at our mistakes and the mistakes of others and say, “Oooops, let’s try this again together.”  May our prayer be that all are free and be able to live in peace with each other.  Blessings.

“For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3: 28)”

         The end of chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome touches on one of the big struggling points of the Protestant Reformation.  We talk about the four “Sola” statements by Martin Luther that are foundational in Lutheran thinking.  Christ alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone, and God alone are four cornerstones.  Luther was super sensitive about turning a person’s faith into a “work” that saves the person rather than what was accomplished by Jesus on the cross.  We tend to shy away from testimonials that sound like the person’s coming to faith in some deeply emotional experience is what saved the person.  Those testimonials appear deeply focused on the person and the person’s experience with forgiveness.  Buying indulgences sold by Tetzel was frowned on.  The epistle of James that talks about faith and works Luther is famous for call it “straw.”

         All branches of Christianity proclaim salvation by grace through faith but just exactly what that means is a source of debate.  “Grace” speaks to the giftedness of salvation.  God gives, we do not earn.  “Faith” speaks of the cry for relationship by the created for the creator.  “Works” is the outworking of the love.  “Faith without works is dead.”  Works to earn favor with an angry God is not true to the Gospel.  Paul continues to say in verse 30, “For God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”

         Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please (God) for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  Tomorrow we, in the United States, will celebrate the 4^th of July.  One of the core freedoms we are grateful for is the freedom to decide for ourselves how we understand and work out faith and works in our lives.  That is a wonderful freedom we should not take for granted!  Blessings as you thank God for salvation through faith in Christ.

         Tomorrow we will read parts of Psalm 89 in our worship services.  Marty Haugen, one of my favorite liturgical hymn writers put this psalm to music in 1988.  You might remember Haugen as he wrote the Holden Prayer music.  Our theme for tomorrow is about the rewards of “singing the goodness of the Lord.”  And so, this song is very appropriate.  Think of reasons you would like to sing about the goodness of the Lord and lay aside for a moment all the grumps of these present trials that test and purify our faith and focus on the blessings of this week. Blessing.