Dearest e-votees-
I trust and pray that this e-missive finds you well. Our appointed epistle lessons continue to come from Paul’s letter to the Romans. We will let that portion of this Sunday’s lessons shape our time this week.
Peace,
Karl
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Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:9-21, NRSV
This text reminds me very much of the 13 chapter of 1 Corinthians (another writing of Paul’s that gets lots of play, particularly at weddings). It is rich and strong. It speaks deeply of love. It is full of instructions and commands. It can be easily misused.
This beautiful passage evokes in me the same warning I share in pre-marital counseling with couples who insist on having 1 Corinthians 13 read at their wedding—“This passage should be used as a mirror rather than a club.” In other words this is a great text to use as a lens for self-study and personal evaluation. We don’t need to go out of our way to tell others how they aren’t living out this verse sufficiently well in our estimation.
A therapist I know has a cartoon taped on his desk. There are two bookshelves that the character is standing between. The one is about self-improvement. It is full to the brim with books for someone to examine their own life, their failings, their weak spots and do the hard work of sanctification. The adjoining bookshelf is about fixing your spouse. That shelf is picked clean.
As we read the text this week perhaps we can make a concerted effort to read it with the “self-help” glasses on rather than the “fixing the other” glasses.
The Romans text is so rich. It would be easy and fruitful to do a preaching series honing in on a verse each week. Themes of love (that deep, sacrificial, ah-gah-pay love), mutual affection (philadelphia—love of brother), hospitality (philoxenia—love of stranger), humility, seeking peace, empathy, disarming counter-responses and the like are the stuff that the deeper walk of faith exudes. When I look at myself through the lens of this text I’m not there yet.
But I hold onto another passage of Paul’s (Philippians 1:6, NRSV):
I trust and pray that this e-missive finds you well. Our appointed epistle lessons continue to come from Paul’s letter to the Romans. We will let that portion of this Sunday’s lessons shape our time this week.
Peace,
Karl
-------------------
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
This text reminds me very much of the 13 chapter of 1 Corinthians (another writing of Paul’s that gets lots of play, particularly at weddings). It is rich and strong. It speaks deeply of love. It is full of instructions and commands. It can be easily misused.
This beautiful passage evokes in me the same warning I share in pre-marital counseling with couples who insist on having 1 Corinthians 13 read at their wedding—“This passage should be used as a mirror rather than a club.” In other words this is a great text to use as a lens for self-study and personal evaluation. We don’t need to go out of our way to tell others how they aren’t living out this verse sufficiently well in our estimation.
A therapist I know has a cartoon taped on his desk. There are two bookshelves that the character is standing between. The one is about self-improvement. It is full to the brim with books for someone to examine their own life, their failings, their weak spots and do the hard work of sanctification. The adjoining bookshelf is about fixing your spouse. That shelf is picked clean.
As we read the text this week perhaps we can make a concerted effort to read it with the “self-help” glasses on rather than the “fixing the other” glasses.
The Romans text is so rich. It would be easy and fruitful to do a preaching series honing in on a verse each week. Themes of love (that deep, sacrificial, ah-gah-pay love), mutual affection (philadelphia—love of brother), hospitality (philoxenia—love of stranger), humility, seeking peace, empathy, disarming counter-responses and the like are the stuff that the deeper walk of faith exudes. When I look at myself through the lens of this text I’m not there yet.
But I hold onto another passage of Paul’s (Philippians 1:6, NRSV):
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
God isn’t done with me (or probably you, either) but will continue to bring that work to completion. As we take what we find in ourselves after the self-study with the Romans text to God in prayer and repentance God’s new mercies will flood our day again. Thanks be to God that our salvation and our growth are much more dependent on God’s faithfulness than ours.
God isn’t done with me (or probably you, either) but will continue to bring that work to completion. As we take what we find in ourselves after the self-study with the Romans text to God in prayer and repentance God’s new mercies will flood our day again. Thanks be to God that our salvation and our growth are much more dependent on God’s faithfulness than ours.
God, shape us this day to be more like the one Paul writes of in our Romans text. Help us love others and ourselves deeply and give glory to you. Amen.
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