Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, …Prisca and Aquila, …Epenetus, …Mary, …Andronicus and Junia, …Ampliatus, …Urbanus,…Stachys, …Apelles, …Herodion, …Tryphena and Tryphosa, …Persis, …Rufus, …Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them, …Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas…. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my compatriots. I, Tertius, who am writing this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus the city treasurer and our brother Quartus greet you. (NET)

Reflection

When I read this list I can’t help but think of the first days I arrived in Brazil in 1977. So many names I had never heard of before! I was used to names like John, Jim, David, Jane, Sally, Liz and so on. Now I had to learn new names I had never heard before, and not only that, but the nicknames that went along with them as well: Zé, Zí, Malu, Nando and so forth.

Perhaps the above list with so many strange names impresses you as well. But if you can see beyond this, you will find something quite extraordinary: Paul had many friends and they were intimate friends. And another thing: he knew that what was important in this life was relationships. Sure, theology is important. Biblical exposition is important. Very important. After all, he used alot of ink with sound theology and biblical exposition in this letter. But at the end of the day, relationships and friendships were also important. Why? Because the justification by faith which is the subject matter of the first eight chapters not only puts us in a right relationship with God, but it also estabelishes right relationships with our neighbor, for example, among Jews and non-Jews, the subject matter of Romans 9-11, and also among different people within the church, the subject matter of chapters 12-15.

Now it is important to understand that right relationships do not negatively refer to simply to those relationships that are not oppressive or egoistic. They also refer positively to relationships guided by love, the basis of all friendships (the two words, love and friendship, have the same root in Latin).

So, just as Paul greets his friends with such care, I want to greet each of you with the same love. Our friendship is very important and I miss you you when we are away for long periods of time. God bless you at this end of the year as we reunite with friends and family to celebrate the One who makes redeemed friendships possible, because the justice he brought about in us is manifest through our friendships.

Prayer

I thank you, oh Father, for the reconciliation to you in Christ Jesus. I thank you for the reconciliation made possible with our neighbor that sprounts from this your work in us. In Jesus name. Amen.

This is the reason I was often hindered from coming to you. But now there is nothing more to keep me in these regions, and I have for many years desired to come to you when I go to Spain. For I hope to visit you when I pass through and that you will help me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. But now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia are pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. (NET)

Reflection

Wow! Did you follow all of that? Rome, Spain, Jerusalem and even Macedonia and Achaia. Paul’s ministry led him to all these places, and here, in just a few verses! He wanted to visit the Romans and planned to do so on his way to Spain. But first, he needed to deliver an offering that he raised during his ministry in ancient central Greece (Philippi, Thessalonica and Corinth).

Life and ministry can sometimes be pretty complex. In no time we can easily have so many and so diverse tasks that divide our attention and take us in different directions. Is that your situation as well? No need to fret. Seek first the direction of the Holy Spirit and take each task one at a time and in the proper order. That makes the road before us easier to travel.

The Christian life and the ministries it brings are simply fantastic. Praise God for the opportunities He brings us. Trust and rest in Him.

Prayer

Loving God. We thank you for the commitments you bring us and for our role in your reign. Grant us wisdom and faith that we might put our trust in you for the strength we need to go forward. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ. (NRSV)

Reflection

Already beginning to conclude his letter, Paul can look behind him, evaluate a good career as apostle that included the missionary tours mentioned in Acts (and he will yet continue his ministry  with a trip to the island of Crete and possibly, on his return to Ephesus, on to Macedonia and once again to Rome to appear before the tribunal). He was always busy with his service to the Lord and affirms with certain (justified) satisfaction: “in Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God…” That is, he has good reason to “boast”!

As we approach the end of the year, I hope you can say something similar as you look back over the year of accomplishments at work, with your family and friends and your community of worship. Thanks be to God!

One detail…isn’t it interesting the way Paul expresses himself: “my work for God” and “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me…”. Paul knows how to boast about the right things without calling praise or merit for himself.

Yes, we boast. But we boast in what God does among people.

Prayer

Dear Father, we want to thank you for using us as instruments. We want to thank you, for by your Spirit we can experience and share wonders. In Jesus name. Amen.

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”;

and again he says,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”;

and again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”;

and again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (NRSV)

Reflection

About fifteen years ago I was invited to speak to all the moderatores of local church mission committees for the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. The topic I was given was: “why missions should have priority in the church.” Fair enough, considering the audience. And easy enough considering I had just completed 18 years of missionary service (today I complete 34 years) as a church planter and then preparing Brazilians for cross-cultural ministries.

That affirmation, however, somehow seemed a little too hasty to me. And I began to pray and study. And I eventually found the answer I was looking for in the passage above.

Should missionary work be top priority in the church? Well, if by “top priority” you mean something like “ultimate goal”, then the answer is a resounding “No!” The work of mission is not top priority simply because this is not our ultimate goal. Worship is. (I learned this, by the way, from John Piper). And though I am neither a musician or liturgist, to this day, corporate and individual worship continues to occupy the highest priority in the work of the church, in my view.

The missionary challenge exists and persists because the worship of God still does not fully exist. Worship is the ultimate goal of the church. The worship of God must have priority in the church, not mission, because God is ultimate, and not we as human beings.

Now if you stop to think about it just a little, you will find that this view increases rather than diminishes the importance of mission. That all the peoples of the world shall worship the Lord “as the waters cover the sea” means they need to know and be known by God. And that essentially is the work of mission.

When this era ends and representatives from every tribe, race and nation bow down before the Lamb of God, the work of mission will then be complete and “over”. But the work of worship will just be getting warmed up. And that, in God’s renewed garden!

Prayer

Loving Father, help us to see that which is most important. We give you praise and adoration. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” …. so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NRSV)

Reflection

Still thinking of what we talked about last week…

It is not the role of the “strong” to clobber the “weak”. Their role is to support them. Why? Because the weak are at another stage in their spiritual development. The role of the strong is not to “win” the theological dispute with the weak and thereby crush them. Their role is to please, in the sense of building up that fellow believer. Make sense? Consider the example of Jesus, who suffered immensely on the cross, did not try to “please” fleeing that situation. He confronted the most difficult challenge as an innocent person, humbled himself to the condition of a guilty person and was condemned. What an example for us!

All this has a goal that Reformed leaders have emphasized for years: to glorify God. And how can we glorify him in worship if we are divided and arguing among us? Therefore let us think together with one mind, certainly difficult advice to follow in a world to values heavily freedom of expression and the right to disagree. Think agreeably, that is our goal…choose to agree, on behalf of our neighbor’s well-being.

Prayer

We thank you for the supreme example of Christ, the strongest of all, yet became weak and gave himself for us, the real weak. In his name. Amen.

But whoever vacillates is condemned if they eat, because they do not act by faith, and whatever is not of faith is sin. (translation mine)

Reflection

Most translates read “doubt” where I have translated “ vacillate”. Both are possible. The range of possibilities include “to judge, “to discern”, “to discriminate”, and  “to differentiate”. At any rate, this changes slightly the orientation given in the last reflection of the two preceding verses where it says we should not insist when, by faith, we feel some behavior is okay but another fellow believer, also by his or her conviction and faith, believes otherwise.

The above verse raises the other side of the coin, when someone adopts a particular behavior as legitimate or not, but without any conviction, and so is not acting out faith. In this case, the person should not remain in their lack of conviction. We are obligated to help them arrive biblically at some conviction or other.

Part of environmental education falls within this concept. We should know well God’s Word in order to assist others in defining and acting on their convictions with more solid foundations…without forgetting what Paul said previously.

Whatever we do, may we do it in favor of justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (v. 17). May we do it with grace and may we do it in unity, trademarks of the work God is doing in our history.

Prayer

Father, it is so easy to act out of egoism, always wanting to  “win”. Free us from this demon of wanting to be superior and wanting to “win” the disputes with other believers in Christ. Grant us the Spirit of Christ Jesus. In His name. Amen.

I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean….So do not let your good be spoken of as evil.

For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

(NRSV)

Reflection

In Genesis we learned that God considered everything He created as “good” (1.10, 12, 18, 21, 25), even “very good” (1.31). Paul, in the above passage, and following the example of Jesus (Mt 51.11, 18), said impurity is your head and not the thing itself. Perhaps you, like me, want to protest or qualify that affirmation. But if we love and respect the Word of God, there is no way out. Impurity is not inherent. It is derived. It is the use of things that determines their positive or negative value. What are the implications of this insight for Christian involvement in the world? I will risk a few thoughts…

Consider Christian social environmental responsibility. For instance, the essential goodness of creation increases our responsibility as stewards. That should seem pretty obvious. And the fact that it is possible to exploit “for evil” the creation also is obvious, which leads us to the next observation that we certainly neither idolize or romanticize the physical world around us. So how are we to understand the verses above? Perhaps like this…

While the new heavens and the new earth are part of God’s eschatological project, there is a greater goal still: the establishment of justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. That is the ultimate reason and goal of the new heavens and new earth and our role as guardians and stewards. Not because of the thing in and of itself, as much as the created world reflects the very hand of its Creator. Here I emphasize the “social” part of social environmentalism. The new heavens and the new earth that we will inaugurate (strange? read Romans 8 again!), establishes the context for justice, peace and joy. What do you think?

Prayer

How can we not admire your majesty before your created works and in light of your amazing project? We thank you for calling us by your grace to be co-workers of your work and your plan. Amen.

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions….Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another.

Reflection

There are some topics that are hard to talk about in just any Christian circle. Some people just don’t understand. Or perhaps they think that Christians should not be talking about certain subjects. Ever get that impression? Well that is exactly the syndrome of the stronger that Paul is talking about in the passage above. Let’s break it down to simple terms:

First, we are to welcome everyone, be courteous and pleasant. We should make people feel at home with us.

Second: no silly arguing. Arguing does not get us anywhere because when two persons dispute an issue, each one wants to impose his or her own position. And when we argue, we are heard as transmitters of opinion, not of fact. If to argue is to impose, imposition rarely causes inner change.

Third: do not criticize, at least, not destructively. That kind of criticism “inferiorizes” the other person and therefore, too, does not cause real inner change. Besides, when we “inferiorize” the other person, we eliminate the possibility of being corrected by that person. And that is never good in the long run, right?

Therefore, Paul’s words are simple and practical…so appropriate for each of us. Don’t you think so?

Prayer

Loving Father. Flood us with your Spirit that we may look more like Christ and welcome others as he welcomed us. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. (NRSV)

Reflection

Why all the fuss over the number “thirteen.” Thirteen has nothing to do with bad luck. Consider the following passages: 1 Corinthians 13, Hebrews 13, and Romans 13 all speak of the preeminence of love (but don’t include Revelation 13!). The first breaks all the records for wedding meditations. And Hebrews surpises us with the affirmation that when one demonstrates hospitality we may be entertaining angels in our home without knowing it! But as lovely as the first is and surprising as the second, Romans 13 is the most unexpected of them all. After all, Paul just spent 11 chapters of this letter with long and detailed elaborations, with lots of biblical quotations, to reconceive the law from the perspective of faith… no easy task. And here in chapter 13 he simply sums up those thousands of words in nine (seven in the Greek original): “the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

Shall we test this “theory”? Let’s see… the one who does not commit adultery, kill, steal or covet. And we can continue, right? The one who does not deceive, oppress, impose and so forth. It is even possible to turn the principle into a positive affirmation: the one who loves, cares for his neighbor, exercises justice, loves what God loves, cares for creation.

Easy, right? Now read all of Romans 13, perhaps in a new light.

Prayer

We thank you for your great love, oh Father. Fill us with that love that we may love truly. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

…do what is good… (NRSV)

Reflection

This phrase, “do what is good,” is repeated several times in chapters 12 and 13. It was a well-known Greco-Roman saying directed to those persons of greater social and finantial means who should be societal “patrons”, especially for the welfare of the least privileged. Paul, however, applies this mandate to the whole community of faith, thereby democratizing an obligation whose application otherwise seems rather conservative. And, as it turns out, according to recent studies by a widely respected sociologist, Rodney Stark, the social ministry of the early church indeed was a major factor in the transformation of Roman sociedade, inverting unjust structures of social hierarchy by the exercise of extraordinary acts of mercy during their first 300 years of life, thereby gaining the respect and sympathy of the them emperor Constantine.

In this Letter to the Romans, full of biblical quotations (more than 55) and dense in theological reflection, why did Paul appeal to a popular injunction? Why not quote, for example, Micah 6.6-8 or any one of numerous other biblical references? Quite frankly I do not know. I won’t even guess. But there does seem to be a significant lesson for Christian ethics and evangelism. We do not always need to make appeal to biblical references, not even for church goers!

For many that probably is obvious, for others, possibly heretical. Thank God for Paul’s example! Please do not misunderstand. I am not suggesting we should not use Scripture as a basis for our actions. Sure we should. It is God’s revelation and clarifies much. It is just that we do not always have to do so. Sometimes, perhaps many times, an appeal to common sense is enough. That seems to be the assumption of God’s imagem being implanted in all humankind. When necessary, of course, we will be challenged by the truth of the gospel.

Prayer

Father, we need discernment and your grace. Clothe us with the likeness of Christ, full of your Spirit that we may fulfull our role as good stewards of your creation. In Jesus’ name. Amen.