Romans 12:9-21; Exodus 3:1-15; Matthew 16:21-28
A person does not read Paul once. A person does not read Paul twice. A person does not read Paul three times. However many times a person reads Paul, that person needs to read Paul at least once more, and once more after that, and once more after that. It is not a question of memorizing Paul. That’s not the solution to Paul. Paul’s writing is so compact, so densely written that a reader has to parse every word, every adjoining pair of words, every phrase, every clause, before approaching each sentence, before addressing each paragraph.
Romans chapter 12 is a case in point. Paul has spent eleven chapters assuring the Roman believers that God’s justifying grace is extended to Jews and Gentiles alike. It has been like a proclamation: whereas, whereas, whereas. Chapter begins the great “Therefore....” Now Paul lists the implications of God’s grace for the way we live our lives as individual believers and as Christ communities.
Paul has hitherto been restrained and now he lets loose. Today’s reading is merely thirteen verses, yet those verses contain 23 separate imperatives. And each one, brief as each may be, could unpack into 23 full-length sermons. You no more want to sit through all those sermons than I want to write them.
You don’t need to recall all was said in last week’s sermon on the first eight verses of Romans 12, but let’s begin where the chapter begins:
So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service.
This is the topic sentence for everything that follows. All the injunctions and imperatives that flow in today’s thirteen verse reading find their grounding in that sweeping “therefore” declaration, “This is your appropriate priestly service,” “This is your right and proper worship.” Paul declares that to live in Christ is to worship 24-7.
Today’s reading, with all its imperatives, is Paul’s Labor Day sermon. This sermon was written long before the Knights of Labor were formed in 1869; long before Samuel L. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor in Columbus, Ohio in May 1886; long before John L. Lewis formed the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1935; long before the two organizations joined in 1955. Paul was not addressing workers’ training, safety, hours, benefits, salaries, or seniority. Paul was speaking to the work of living a life of faith in any circumstance.
Every job posting has a description of the position. Verse nine provides the description for the work of being a Christian: Love should be shown without pretending. Love is to be genuine, a self-sacrificial love, a love that cares for the well-being of others. All the gifts that are exercised by the Christ-believer or in the assembly of believers should be expressed in this love. This love is the most accurate indicator of spiritual health in the body of Christ.
From this follows a list of how this love is to be lived out:
- Hate evil, and hold on to what is good.
- Love each other like the members of your family.
- Be the best at showing honor to each other.
- Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic
- Be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord!
- Be happy in your hope,
- Stand your ground when you’re in trouble,
- Devote yourselves to prayer.
- Contribute to the needs of God’s people,
- Welcome strangers into your home.
If some of this sounds familiar, it is because Paul has already offered a similar list in chapter thirteen of the First Corinthian letter.
This job description for the working Christian aims at developing a thriving team member ethos. Believers cannot effectively serve the cause of Christ if they are self-centered, bickering, vindictive, aggressive, spiteful, or apathetic. Believers are to honor each other, recognizing that each one, unique as he or she is, bears the stamp of God’s creative genius.
Most people know how to pretend to love others—how to speak kindly, avoid hurting their feelings, and appear to take an interest in them. We may even be skilled in pretending to feel moved with compassion when we hear of others’ needs, or to become indignant when we learn of injustice. But God calls us to real and sincere love that goes far beyond politeness. Sincere love requires concentration and effort. It means helping others become better people. It demands our time, money, and personal involvement. No individual has the capacity to express love to a whole community, but the community of Christ can.
The next three verses list some special qualifications. Every job has skills which are required as well as skills which are desired:
- Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them.
- Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying.
- Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else.
- Associate with people who have no status.
- Don’t think that you’re so smart.
Paul focused on both the internal working of the community as well as how the community of Christ was going to fit into the larger community. Christians were few in number. They needed to represent Christ well in order to show themselves as people with whom not-yet-Christians would want to associate and to become acquainted with the power of the message of grace.
By doing this, believers would be obeying Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount, “Love your enemies and pray for those who harass you” (Matthew 5:44) and from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Every job description lists responsibilities and required and desired skills. It also will describe how the job performance will be evaluated. The last five verses describe the criteria which will be used for evaluation:
- Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions
- Show respect for what everyone else believes is good.
- To the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.
- Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath.
- If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink, thus you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head.
- Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.
It is obvious that the work of being a Christian is difficult, unnerving, potentially confrontational, and counter-cultural. People who haven’t yet welcomed Christ into their lives will be uncomfortable with the ease, the grace, the simple unflappable love with which believers go about their work. Christians don’t live by the dog-eat-dog, eye-for-an-eye rules of the world, but by the rules of God’s realm that spurns power for authenticity and builds charity rather than division. Christian workers opt out of the coercion and violence that are so popular. As Paul said in the chapter’s opening charge:
Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.
That is the message which Paul preaches for Labor Day, for any day, for every day.
How does the believer respond to that? Here is one response, offered by Brian McLaren:
“Please de-baptize me,” she said.
The priest’s face crumpled.
“My parents tell me you did it,” she said.
“But I was not consulted. So
Now, undo it.”
The priest’s eyes asked why.
“If it were just about belonging to
This religion and being forgiven,
Then I would stay. If it were just
About believing
This list of doctrines and upholding
This list of rituals,
I’d be OK. But
Your sermon Sunday made
It clear it’s
About more. More
Than I bargained for. So, please,
De-baptize me.”
The priest looked down, said
Nothing. She continued:
“You said baptism sends
Me into the
World to
Love enemies. I don’t. Nor
Do I plan to. You said it means
Being willing to stand
Against the flow. I like the flow.
You described it like rethinking
Everything, like joining a
Movement. But
I’m not rethinking or moving anywhere.
So un-baptize me. Please.”
The priest began to weep. Soon
Great sobs rose from his deepest heart.
He took off his glasses, blew his nose, took
Three tissues to dry his eyes.
“These are tears of joy,” he said.
“I think you
Are the first person who ever
Truly listened or understood.”
“So,” she said,
“Will you? Please?”(1)
(1) Brian D. McLaren, posted on Facebook, August 31, 2014.
General Resources: Christopher R. Hutson, “Romans 12:1-9: Exegetical Perspective,” Feasting on the Word, Year A, vol. 4, pp15-19; Life Application Bible Commentary, Romans 12:9-21.
Unless noted otherwise, all scripture references are from The Common English Bible, © 2011 www.commonenglishbible.com.
Copyright 2014 First Presbyterian Church of Waverly, Ohio. Reprinted by permission.
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