Which Would You Rather Have, Righteousness or Food?

Romans 14:13-23

What is it that ultimately gives a community its shape and its resilience? Is it the restrictions and prohibitions that are maintained? Is it dietary customs? Is it the normal manner of dress? Paul answers this question in terms of the people of God when he writes, “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:17-19). Paul would rather have followers of Jesus Christ concentrate their efforts on the fruit of the Spirit, and particularly on bearing one another in love, than on any single law or custom. What God seeks most in creation is lives of joy focused on loving God and one another. When we are able to do this we will meet all the requirements necessary. Don’t be concerned just for yourself, but “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” Focus on “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” which is very different from the sort of rules and regulations that punish or demean others.

We spend a great deal of time condemning others for their lifestyles or for their choices, and in truth there are actions that must be resisted. But if our first response to any disagreement is to lash out at or to pull apart from those with differing opinions we have failed to meet Paul’s terms. Recently I was politely told that the denomination with which I am affiliated has—in the past few decades–moved away from certitude on many points and now seems to offer either/or choices. I accept that as both a fact and a challenge, for it seems to me that what some call certitude is really self-centeredness and bigotry while what some consider to be an unwillingness to commit on issues is really a recognition that there are no quick or easy answers to some questions, and never have been.

But that doesn’t mean we can quit listening to and for the word of God, for it is in an open and honest consideration of others and in a mature and prayerful approach to God’s will that we find the greatest chance to build community while bringing joy to our creator.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we reject others for the sake of our own opinions or pride. Help us to hear your word of peace and joy and to live accordingly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Faith, Not Fanaticism

Romans 14:13-23
A brief but important phrase comes at the end of the Romans passage for this morning. There Paul writes, “…for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23b). I find the implications of these words to be far reaching and not entirely clear cut. Throughout the Letter to the Romans Paul has been building a case for faith and how it should guide the life of the believer. In the immediate context he calls on Christians to make decisions based on how they will affect others, not simply on what the believer holds to be true. So faith is not a blind acceptance of a set of principles. It involves consideration and thought, looking beyond our own circumstances to the needs of others. This would seem to make faith adaptable, almost fluid, which makes it more difficult to define.

But faith must be focused on the proper object – Jesus Christ – because the alternative is sinfulness. But what does it mean to be faithful to Jesus? How does one live in faith within a community? Paul has been giving us a great deal of information, insight, encouragement, exhortation to do what is just and righteous, to live in proper relationship with God and others. There is a right way and a wrong way to live and a reason to strive toward God’s will lest we fall short.

What then shall we say about these things? Faith is essential to the life of the Christian. But it demands more than blind loyalty which is not faith but fanaticism. It requires us to use our heart, soul, mind, and strength in a constant effort to serve God by serving one another. Who can do such a thing? Paul would say that we can, as long as we pay attention, as long as we struggle, as long as we look beyond ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we allow faith to become something we define, ignoring what you would have us believe and do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Matter of Life AND Death

Romans 14:1-12

“We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:7-9). So writes Paul to the church in Rome. His intent is to remind readers that arguing over what days on which to worship or what foods to avoid creates unnecessary division within the community. Judgment belongs to God not to us, Paul says. We, in turn, belong to God in both our living and our dying. Human opinions and perspectives are not the basis for our faith.

There are a number of implications to these words, but I want to point to just one. If, whether we live or die, we are bound up in God, then we must learn to accept others who also belong to God whether or not they act like us, or talk like us or, vote like us, or own a car like purs. We should be far too busy experiencing God’s grace to get tied up in details and lose our way. In short, when it comes to God and God’s relationship with humanity it really is a matter of life AND death, which is to say that living or dying we belong to God.

Prayer: Lord forgive us when we allow the most insignificant of issues to stand between us and others. Instead give us eyes with which to see your love poured out for the whole world.

Faith v. Faulty Towers

Zephaniah 1:14-18
Luke 13:1-9
The prophet Zephaniah offers this warning to the people of God: “Neither (your) silver nor (your) gold will be able to save (you) on the day of the Lord’s wrath…” (Zephaniah 1:18). It is a familiar idea in scripture, that wealth is no guarantee of salvation, and anything can be turned into an idol. But when set beside today’s reading from Luke Zephaniah’s words, as emphatic as they are, still take on a heightened meaning.

In Luke, Jesus is told about a group of Galileans murdered by Pilot as they offered sacrifices in the temple. “What do you think about this?” Jesus asks his listeners. “Was this God’s judgment on them because they were worse sinners than others? And what about the 18 people killed by a collapsing tower? Were they any worse than others living in Jerusalem at the time?” No, says Jesus, neither they nor the Galileans were worse sinners than anyone else. But unless you repent (literally “turn around” in your living) you can expect to perish just as they did (Luke 13:1-5).

It all has to do with our relationship to God. To invest hope in wealth or comfort, to treat any other aspect of life as though it were a god, is to be separated from the one true God. You might as well have a tower fall on you for all the good it will do. Instead, trust in God, live to God, be focused on God and God’s will. Then falling towers will become nothing to fear. As the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:7-8). Perhaps it is all about perspective. Those who count on their own wealth or abilities in life have no hope. But those who trust in God live in hope and, when the time comes, die in hope as well. And that is something that no amount of money in the world could ever buy.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us to live our lives in the hope that you alone can offer, trusting in you and your merciful grace. Amen.