An Open Door...

Friday, November 11, 2011 – Romans 15:23 - 33

Paul is on his way. He is going to get to them. The churches where he has been preaching have taken an offering for those in Jerusalem. Paul is taking the money to Jerusalem, and then he will head their way. He asks for their prayers as he goes to Jerusalem. He looks forward to being with them in joy as they refresh each other.

Paul knows that going to Jerusalem is dangerous for him. And, in truth, he is arrested in Jerusalem. A long saga begins and eventually ends with Paul being taken to Rome. You can read about it in Acts chapters 21 – 28.

Thursday, November 10, 2011 – Romans 15:14 - 22

Paul is pretty busy in these few verses…he is wrapping up the letter and echoing earlier parts of the letter.

He affirms the Romans. He believes they are doing a good job in following Christ (echoes of Romans 1:8 & 12). However, he has written bluntly and directly to them about things of which he wanted to remind them.

He has worked extensively with Gentile/Greek communities throughout the region. By God’s grace he has witnessed the work of that grace through the gospel/good news of Jesus Christ in the lives of the people. He has been careful not to build on someone else’s work. He has intentionally kept going where people have not known about the gospel.

He has been hindered, on more than one occasion, on getting to be with them personally (echoes of Romans 1:13). God’s Spirit has empowered him. He has fully and faithfully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - Romans 15:1 - 13

The use of a particular word struck me in this passage. In each of the first three verses is the use of the word ‘to please’. By definition, from Strong’s concordance, the Greek word means, “1) to please 2) to strive to please 2a) to accommodate one's self to the opinions desires and interests of others”.

These verses use this word in terms of how the strong should treat the weak. The strong are to bear the failings of the week and not to please themselves. The strong are to please their neighbors. Why? For their good and to build them up!

Have you ever been told you were a ‘people pleaser’? I can’t begin to tell you the times I have had colleagues in ministry comment on us, as clergy, wanting to please everyone in the church…to be a people pleaser. Yet, I’ve often wondered about this. In Romans, Paul encouraged the Romans to honor and respect each other. In today’s reading, he told the strong to seek to please the weaker believers so that they could do good to the weaker and encourage them in their faith.

So, I’m thinking that if we ‘people please’ in order to strengthen others, to respect and honor them, then we’re OK. But, maybe, ‘people pleasing’ takes a negative turn when we do it for ourselves so that others will like us or accept us more. Do you see the difference? The first is other-focused. The second is self-focused…

...just wondering…

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - Romans 14:1 - 23

In Chapter 14, Paul’s injunctions from chapter 12 to love each other and honor the other above the self met the realities of living in Rome. Jewish Christians had different ideas about when to worship and what foods to eat than the Gentile/Greek Christians.

The Gentile/Greek Christians thought themselves to be better than the Jewish Christians because they didn’t believe in any restrictions regarding food or on what day to worship. The Jewish Christians thought they were better because they DID have beliefs about worshipping on certain, special days and about not eating certain foods. Both groups judged the other…to which Paul cries ‘foul’!

Unity in the body of Christ was paramount. The Christians in Rome were to respect each others’ differences because each tried to follow Christ and be faithful to him as their Lord.

To have peace among themselves and to mutually edify/build up/strengthen each other was the goal. They were to be so ‘other focused’ that they would abstain from behaviors that would cause someone else to stumble. Love and unity was Paul’s insistent hope for them.

Monday, November 7, 2011 - “After Thoughts & Other Thoughts” on Sunday, November 6, 2011 – “Love in Action” – Romans 12:9 - 21

Sometimes I struggle to like the Apostle Paul because he can be so blunt and tough minded. Other times he is thoughtful of others and kind. At those times, I want to hug him!

In worship today, we read the scripture passage three times. One phrase caught my attention in a whole new way and made me want to hug Paul!

In verse 19, Paul is delivering a word that is hard to hear about not taking revenge. But, he softens it by calling the Romans ‘my dear friends.’ He cares deeply that they not seek revenge when wronged or hurt. Paul knows that those words of instruction will be quite difficult for them to hear. He gently tempers his instructions by calling them his friends…his dear friends…a truly huggable Paul moment!!

Friday, November 4, 2011 - Romans 13:11 - 14

Sometimes as we follow Jesus, we may have times when we think that we can take it easy…we can back off a bit from striving to stay faithful to him.

Today, Paul lets the Romans know that they need to wake up and understand the time in which they live. They need to get squared away, let go of the ways of darkness and put on the ‘armor of light’ that is theirs in Christ. They need to put on the ways of Christ…to dress themselves his ways.

Paul lets them know once again that in Christ they are a distinctive people, and that distinctiveness needs to show in what they do as well as in what they don’t do.

Thursday, November 3, 2011 - Romans 13:8 - 10

Finally!! A passage that I get/understand without needing extended commentary to explain it or to put it into context! This passage is a favorite of mine. (But, then again, I have as many ‘favorite’ Bible passages as I have ‘favorite’ hymns…basically, too many of both!) As I read, two things came to mind.

First, if you want to look up the Old Testament passages that Paul quotes in today’s verses, you will find the commandments in Exodus 20:13 – 15 &17; and in Deuteronomy 17 – 19 & 21. The “Love your neighbor as yourself” is from Leviticus 19:18. And, as icing on the cake, Jesus quotes this same verse from Leviticus in Mark 12:31.

Second, in verse 10, we read, “Love does no harm” which reminds me of the first of the three General Rules we have as United Methodists: 1. Do no harm; avoid evil of every kind.

As a closing FYI for today's blog, the other two General Rules are 2. Do good…of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all; 3. Attend upon all the ordinances of God. (The ordinances are worship, hearing the scriptures preached/taught, personally searching the scriptures, communion, prayer, and fasting.)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - Romans 13:1 - 7

Today I defer to Ben Witherington’s commentary, Paul’s Letter to the Romans, because he explains Paul’s context so well.

Remember that Paul writes Romans during the time the new Emperor, Nero, was still a good leader helping to bring and keep peace in Roman territories.

"Paul could in good faith exhort his audience to pay their taxes and do their civic duties and live at peace with their neighbors because there was great and widespread hope…that Nero would keep the peace and govern wisely, fairly and justly …Paul is trying to make clear that Roman officials, including Nero, are unwitting servants of the God, whether they know it or not, and so it can be part of honoring the true God to honor and cooperate with the efforts of the Roman State. (p. 306)… However, Paul would have agreed that one should not compromise one’s faith when the law demands something ungodly.” (p. 312)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - Romans 12:9 - 21

Again, this passage is the scripture passage for next Sunday’s sermon, so we’ll spend time on it then as well as in ‘after thoughts and other thoughts’ the following Monday. So today I’d like us to look at just one phrase together.

Verse 21 reads, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” I love it! On the day after Halloween, when evil is playfully depicted and costumed so well, we have words to help us face the evil we come across in our very real lives.

I don’t encounter much that seems to be evil. The evil-est things I usually come across are things like selfishness, greed, meanness, lying, cheating…things that I usually think of as more in the line of being sins. Whatever they are…to be able to respond to people and situations in terms of giving good to them rings so true and so something Jesus would do…you know…like turning the other cheek…going extra miles…giving away your coat when someone asks you for a jacket…giving good to others no matter what they give/do to you…

In texting terms, I call it being: ‘JLJ’—Just Like Jesus!

Monday, October 31, 2011 - “After Thoughts & Other Thoughts” on Sunday, October 30, 2011 – “Transformed” – Romans 12:1 – 8

A phrase we did not look at this morning is from verse 3: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment(with a moderate estimate of one’s self), in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

What is Paul up to here?

Well…the Jewish Christians thought they were more important than the Gentile/Greek Christians. AND the Gentile/Greek Christians thought they were more important than the Jewish Christians.

Paul is encouraging them to balance their opinions/views of themselves and each other. Then, he reminds them that they form Christ’s body and belong to each other. The gifts they have been given are from God. They are to use those gifts to benefit each other and build community among themselves.