Tenth Sunday After Pentecost

By Dan Carew, Lay Preacher

According to the lectionary calendar this has been a summer of Romans, or perhaps a Roman holiday without the comedy and romance but heavy on the drama. And no one in the preaching rotation has touched on any of the Romans passages… not sure what that means, but I am determined to (hopefully) bring some insight and encouragement.

So let us start with answering some questions that will help us to understand Romans and this morning’s specific selection. First, What is Romans? The section known as Romans in the New Testament is sometimes called “the book of Romans” which is fine for helping us separate it as its own entity, but in reality it is a letter or more specifically an epistle, which is a letter consisting of moral instruction. This letter was authored by the Apostle Paul between 54-58 AD and sent to the church in Rome.

Our next question to answer is: Who is Paul? Paul is the second most recognized figure in the New Testament after Jesus. Born in Tarsus(modern day Turkey), he was a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin, a Jewish-Roman citizen. He was a persecutor of early Christians before his conversion to a follower of Jesus. In the New Testament he is referred to as both Saul and Paul, this is a matter of his first language, Hebrew, versus his cultural language, Greek.

The final question, Why does Paul write a letter to the Roman church? While Paul’s full intention in writing is not fully known, we are able to make some well founded hypotheses. We know that Paul, at the time of writing his letter, had not visited the church in Rome despite his missionary travels around the Mediterranean. We also know that he was seeking support from the church. As indicated in chapter 15, he had hoped that it would be a passthrough point on his way to western parts of the empire, specifically Spain. Lastly, Paul is writing to the Roman church to share his understanding of the gospel and to help the Christians there navigate social dynamics in their community.

The Roman church at that time was composed of Jewish and gentile Christians, and affected by recent political events. Around 49 AD, during the reign of Claudius, as documented by Suetonius, there had been disturbances by the Jews and in response the emperor expelled them from Rome. This edict lasted until Claudius’ death in 54 AD. It seems like this may have been the crux of the drama in the Roman church. Prior to the expulsion the Jesus followers in Rome would have been a blend of Jewish and gentile christians, who shared common beliefs and practices, that were likely more influenced by Jewish customs and traditions, such as religious observances, practices (ie. circumcision and dietary restrictions), and the Mosaic law. However, during that expulsion time(4-5 years), the church in Rome would have been made up of gentiles and any new converts would also have been gentiles. The Jewish customs were absent.

After the death of Claudius, and during the reign of Nero, Jewish Christians returning to Rome would find the church they were part of had changed; the adherence to the Mosaic law and customs had waned. Imagine how the Jewish Christians felt. The community you were once part of had greatly changed. The communal practices you once shared are no longer

reciprocated. The laws you upheld to be in right standing with God are not observed. You are likely questioning your identity as part of God’s chosen after being “exiled” from Rome, and trying to make sense of God’s blessing being shared with so many gentiles.

Now imagine you are a gentile Christian in Rome after the death of Claudius as Jewish Christians begin returning to the church they were formerly part of. You are perplexed and questioning their customs. You are annoyed by their insistence of specific religious customs, especially their dietary restrictions. And if you are a male, you’re sure as hades not going to participate in circumcision! You begin to justify your standing with God. I don’t follow any of the Jewish customs and I have found favor with God. Maybe they have fallen out of favor with God, they are troublemakers and were kicked out of the city. I think our way of being Christian is superior.

That was the church Paul was writing to. Phew!
Now let’s look at our reading from today’s lectionary. This selection from Romans 9 is a hinge point, in that Paul has just finished a lengthy explanation of the human condition and righteousness by faith(ch.1-8). He then begins laying out a clarification of the Jewish people’s stake in the story of Jesus (ch. 9-11).

Verse 1 is interesting in that it could belong to today’s reading or it could go with the previous chapter which ends with Paul proclaiming, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So, Paul is either trying to solidify what he just said in chapter 8, “It’s true! Nothing can separate you from God’s love,” or he is implying that what he is about to say is true. Whichever way it is, he is invoking the name of Christ to emphasize his certainty.

Paul then shares with the church that he is greatly pained and desires to rectify that which pains him, even at the price of being separated from Christ. This is intriguing because he just told his listeners that nothing could separate them from God, yet Paul would do it for the sake of his “own people”, his “kindred”, the “Israelites”. This type of sacrifice shouldn’t surprise us - this idea of relinquishing one’s life for another but rather why is he willing to be cut off? So that they might know Christ, the Messiah. This seems clear from his statements in verses 4 and 5, about his people,
“to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all”.

A new thing has come about from the Jewish faith. It is grounded in the Abrahamic covenant and Mosaic law, a Messiah has come - Jesus. We need to remember that Jesus did not come like a violent, vengeful redeemer as many would have likely assumed by the culture of the day.

He came in an antithetical way to war, killing, and committing violence. He demonstrated non-violence. Surely this was NOT the prophesied Messiah. And so there would have been
some in that time that would likely have seen Jesus as little more than a joke, someone easy to dismiss. Clearly Paul did until his Damascus road encounter. Now Paul is trying to articulate this to the Jews in Rome, and these verses in chapter 9 are the beginning. He goes on through chapter 11 explaining how Jesus is an extension of the people of Israel’s story.

What does this mean for us, here and now?

I think there are two pieces of encouragement we can pull from this.

First, church communities change. While grounded on common beliefs, the makeup of congregations change based on the demographics of the congregants, the style of leadership of the church and the progressions of the society in which they exist. This was very true for the Roman church and in my experiences in different Christian denominations, I would say it is still true. In the past 7 years I can’t recall any major change here at Saints James and Andrew but beyond that time period many of you are able to recall numerous changes. Whether that be the merging of parishes, seeing a beloved rector move on to serve in other capacities, or the inglorious scandals of the past. We have experienced change within a church community, and now we are 7 days into a fairly significant transition period - we are rector-less. Over the coming months we will feel uncomfortable at times and that is to be expected. In order to make this a fruitful time of discomfort, we will need to work together, disagree with civility, and prayerfully pursue what is best for our parish with God’s help.

The second piece of encouragement is this: we are connected to an ancient tradition. Here and now, 2000 years later after Jesus, we are part of a long standing religious tradition that has changed and morphed over millennia as humans have sought to make sense of their world and draw close to God. In a commentary on this passage from Romans, Matt Skinner, Luther Seminary Professor said, “We do not appropriate Israel’s rich heritage of adoption, covenants, and promises. We participate in it, in a derivative but nevertheless real way, through Christ.” Christ has expanded the revelation of God. Christ has widened our access and understanding of God. We all are in Christ.

“... and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

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