Reflection on Romans 8:1-11 (Sunday, July 12, 2026)

Romans 8:1-11 (NRSVue)

¹ Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
  ⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Reflection

The Spirit of Christ dwells in you and you in Christ.  You have heard that before.  We hear this regularly in church just after the Lord’s Supper when we ask that we abide in Christ and he in us, so that we might be given the power of his endless life.  The idea is that the Spirit of Christ actually lives in us, rummaging around in our very selves somehow, directing our ways and our deeds for the good. 

For a long time, this idea was somewhat suppressed in the church.  It is making a comeback now, but the idea was suppressed for, seemingly, a good reason.  People were claiming to speak for God, having been “filled by the Spirit.”  They ordered others around as if they, themselves, were divine.  These church dictators had their say long enough, so the idea of people being filled with the Spirit was allowed to collect dust. 

But the fear of miniature church Hitlers…come on, you have wanted to call them that also…the fear of becoming like them should never have allowed us to forget that the Sprit of Christ does set up housing within us.  As Isaiah promises, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him” (Isaiah 11:2a).  The Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of love and forgiveness, “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” does set up housekeeping within us, nailing a cross to the wall, putting words of truth on the fireplace mantle, and setting a large table with room for anyone to sit (NRSVue, Isaiah 11:2).

I distinctly remember that as very young Sunday School students we were told that Christ lived inside us.  The girl beside me at the table promptly lifted her dress, slapped her tummy, and said “Hello, Jesus, are you in there?” 

Sometimes I wonder the same thing.  “Jesus, are you in there?”  After-all, there are so many times in life that I have acted in ways that were not Christ-like.  A lot of decisions were made impulsively and they hurt other people.  A lot of decisions that I thought were loving decisions ended up causing more pain than healing.  Christ might be trying to steer this RV of mine in right the right direction, I hear he is a good driver, but there is a lot of flesh covering the windshield, making it hard for Jesus to steer.

Paul says that “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” (Romans 8:5).  That is so true.  Fleshy lives make fleshy decisions.  Those who care about themselves set their minds on themselves.  Other people are simply forgotten, not even considered.  Fleshy lives make fleshy decisions.

Paul agrees: “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8).

Years and years ago a young man desperately wanted to break through this flesh barrier though and eliminate it completely.  He wanted to scrape his life clean so that the Spirit of Christ might shine through. 

He heard the promise found in the good news of Jesus Christ.  He heard Paul proclaiming, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).  He wanted the Spirit of Christ and his own Spirit to dwell within each other so closely that those around him would not be able to tell the difference between he and Christ. 

This Christian pilgrim set out on a quest to become one with God.  On his journey, he encountered a faithful man who told him that he could get to his destination by praying without ceasing.  The faithful man told him that:

“The continuous interior Prayer of Jesus is a constant uninterrupted calling upon the divine Name of Jesus with the lips, in the spirit, in the heart; while forming a mental picture of His constant presence, and imploring His grace, during every occupation, at all times, in all places, even during sleep. The appeal is couched in these terms, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me’” (The Way of the Pilgrim). 

And so, with the words, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” constantly in his mind, like a mantra, he set out on his journey.  The idea was that, with those words on your mind constantly, you could not help but be like Christ in all your speech and actions.  Whether you were talking with a homeless man or simply doing the dishes with your children, you could not help but be Christ-like in that very moment if you prayed in a way that constantly asked that Christ be with you and in you.  “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”  “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”  “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”

The young man is said to have found peace once he mastered the technique. 

I tried it once.  My result was not quite as good.  I mastered a superb way to give myself an instant headache.  A fellow religion student in college said that he had pushed beyond the headache and had mastered it to the point that he always felt at one with God and God’s grace.  The truth was that the guy was a pompous pig.  He never had time for you, and he could not possibly listen to you because he had all the answers.  My interpretation was that the prayer made the guy a pompous pig. 

That might be a little harsh.  The technique might work just fine and he had simply failed in living with the prayer.  But my sneaking suspicion is that somehow the wrappings of our flesh will always get in the way.  Christ might be inside us, but the flesh always tries to find a way to lock Christ deep away. 

I emphasize the word “tries” here.  The trappings of the flesh can try to lock Christ away, but do not forget that a hard tomb of death and stone was not able to keep Christ locked away.  If rock is nothing to Christ, then certainly flesh is nothing to Christ. 

No.  The Spirit of Christ cannot be locked away.  It is alive and it is at work deep inside. 

The interior decorating that the Spirit provides might not always seem like progress.  It might seem more like demolishing.  The Spirit may strip beloved corners of your life because the corners were, in reality, empty and meaningless.  That hurts.  But the Spirit will also proclaim that new life is waiting to take over.  New decorations are on their way!  The Spirit can work so much goodness in your life.

The Spirit can awaken your soul from sleep, causing you to care for those around you and strive to live a life full of meaning and in step with Jesus Christ. 

The Spirit can tell you that you have deeply hurt someone and can push you to heal that person’s wound by asking for forgiveness. 

The Spirit can awaken a love that is able to overcome long held hatred and resentment. 

The Spirit can open your eyes to new insight and wisdom that might change the world overnight. 

The Spirit can stir up a fire in the fireplace of your soul even while the rest of the world appears to be growing colder by the minute. 

The Spirit can pray the words that you are unable to utter yourself. 

The Spirit can reunite you to Christ who dwells within, even when you cannot see him through all the flesh. 

Sometimes it is hard to see this work of the Spirit.  Sometimes we need someone like Paul who reminds us that “you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Romans 8:9).  Sometimes our lives get wrapped up in the flesh of our desires and self-serving ways and we need God to send another follower of Christ who hears the call to take off our fleshy wrappings. 

That is what Christ commanded the friends of Lazarus to do, after-all.  They took off his burial wrappings and Lazarus was released to live a second life.  He was given a new life by Christ.  He was given a life with lungs filled with the Spirit of Christ. 

And as the layers are removed from your life, and you stare down at your formerly hidden body, you see that Christ indeed is within you.  The Spirit has been there the whole time and Christ has restored you to true life! 

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

Reflection on Romans 7:15-25a

 

Romans 7:15-25a (NRSVue)

¹⁵ I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸ For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me.
  ²¹ So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. ²² For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, ²³ but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴ Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ^25a Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Reflection

“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15).

Slamming down my golf club after slicing my ball far, far into the weeds my internship supervising pastor brought his club up against his shoulder, turned to walk away and simply said, “Another Romans 7:15 shot.”  I stared at him, wandering off into the weeds to help me find my ball, wondering what he was talking about. I caught up to him and asked.

“You know, Romans 7:15: ‘I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.’  You wanted to hit the ball far and straight, right?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You knew that you should take a nice and easy swing to hit the ball far and straight, right?”

“Yes.”

“But you decided at the very last moment to try to smash the ball as hard and far as you could, am I right?”

“Yes.”

“It didn’t work, did it?  That was a Romans 7:15 shot.  Don’t worry, you will do it again and again and again.”

Well, that was not exactly very comforting.  It was as if smashing golf balls into the weeds was going to be my life!  I can get better at this, can’t I? 

I did not get better.  He was right.  I did it again and again, even though I said to myself, “Don’t smash the ball…Don’t smash the ball.”  At the last second, nearly each and every time, I would decide, “I’m going to smash the ball anyway.”  Why did I do that?  The result was almost always me fishing around in the weeds. 

But here is the thing: the couple of times I connected with the golf ball perfectly, taking me all the way to the green, was enough to make me do it again and again.  Those couple of times, and the cheering from friends that came along with these couple of great shots, were enough to convince me that the correct way was not necessarily the best way.

Do you know people for whom that is their motto?  The correct way is not necessarily the best way.  Do you sometimes live that way?

My internship pastor knew better.  He calmly and carefully hit the ball each time.  It did not go as far as mine, but neither did he have to chop through the weeds.  He won every game.  Smashing the ball was not his Romans 7:15 issue.  “Don’t worry Jira, I have my own Romans 7:15 moments.  We all do.”

And that sort of sums up life.  We all know the rules to do things right, we just do not necessarily follow the rules. 

Biblical scholar Ralph Jacobson once told the story of his youngest boy during devotion time at supper.  The family was working through the ten commandments out of Luther’s Small Catechism and they had arrived at, “you shall not covet your neighbor’s property.”  His young boy asked what “covet” meant?  The older sister wisely explained that it means “wanting something that someone else has.  Like when you wanted your friend’s new bike even though you have a perfectly good one.  That is coveting.  Do you understand?” 

The boy replied, “Yes, I understand,” and then promptly turned to his mother and asked, “Can you put that bike on my Christmas list?” 

It is strange, but sometimes knowing the rules makes you want to do the very thing that you know you should not.  We know in our heads what is good and right (not coveting our neighbor’s stuff…being content with what God has given us), but we fail in our flesh to actually accomplish what we know to be right.  Paul puts it this way in Romans:

“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15).

And further on Paul continues…

“For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members” (Romans 7:22-23). 

The little quirk in human nature that Paul is pointing out is sometimes described as the inability to say “no.”

Of course, we understand that saying, “no” can be a very healthy thing in many ways. 

Saying “no” to the urge to eat more than you need is a simple way to keep your weight under control.  I think that most of us understand that. 

Saying “no” to going out with friends when you need to study for the exam will undoubtedly help you succeed in school. 

Saying “no” to the urge to rush on the highway may save your life. 

Saying “no” to screaming at someone else will probably make sure that you continue to have a loving relationship with them.

I hope that I am not opening some hidden treasures of wisdom here.  All these things are obvious.  But there is one thing that all of these have in common: none are easy.  You just try not getting mad the next time that you get mad!

Just because the rules are not easy does not mean they are bad.  Rules that seek the best for me and those around me are good.  Most of us agree that the rules are good.  Paul agrees: “For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched person that I am!” (Romans 7:22-24).

I constantly find myself doing those things that harm rather than help!  Now, if we all followed the God’s good law, we would all live in peace and health.  Imagine what a wonderful world we could have if everyone just followed the rules.  It is Isaiah’s vision found in Isaiah 11:6. “The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together” (Isaiah 11:6).  Rednecks shall hold hands with Boston lawyers and skip together through the fields of daisies.

As much as I want that world, Paul says that even this vision is not enough to stop me from doing what may cause harm to myself or others.  “Wretched person that I am!” he screams (Romans 7:24).

Of course, people who do not struggle with your particular issue will undoubtedly ask, “Why don’t you just say ‘no’?”

As if it were that easy.

For some people, not stealing is just as hard as me not slicing the golf ball into the weeds.

For some people, not sabotaging the relationship is just as hard as me not saying “no” to the Resees Peanut Butter Cup.

For some people, not keeping their eye on God, “You shall have no other gods,” is simply impossible because they are so lost that they do not even know who God truly is.  They will follow anything or anyone who seems to make any sort of sense to them, no matter how ungodly that one may be.

Just say no.  No one needs to tell us that because we tell it to ourselves over and over again.  “Just say ‘no” this time!” the voice inside our head says.  “You can do it this time,” we say over and over again to ourselves.  And when we fail, yet again?  Well, a classmate of mine once summed it up perfectly.  When his test was returned to him with a bad score, he just sat there in his desk, hitting his forehead with his fist repeating “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

If I could go back in time, I would say to that kids, “Don’t worry. I have my own Romans 7:15 moments too.  We all do.” 

That makes me think of 1 John 1:8-9.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). 

Maybe, it is fine to come to the realization that we just can’t fix ourselves.  After-all how are we going to trust in the Lord if we can do it all ourselves?  Here is the truth: we cannot do it all.  The Holy Spirit knows that.  The Holy Spirit uses our inability to fix ourselves to draw us closer to the one who can fix us and make us whole.  It seems that only when we accept that we have Romans 7:15 moments, do we finally reach out and grasp onto Jesus Christ, who overcomes limitations, sin, and death.

The first step in 12 step recovery is admitting we are powerless over our addiction (over our inability to get it right, over our inability to fix ourselves).  We admit that our lives have become unmanageable and that we need someone other than ourselves to move forward.  It is true for all of us.  My Romans 7:15 moment may not be addiction, but I still cannot overcome my struggles alone.  We all need someone else.  We all need Christ. 

Maybe when we finally cling to Christ and maybe when we see that Christ carries us through our Romans 7:15 moments, we can finally have a Romans 7:25 moment and shout: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).

Reflection on Romans 6:12-23

Romans 6:12-23 (NRSVue)

¹² Do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies, so that you obey their desires. ¹³ No longer present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

  ¹⁵ What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Do you not know that, if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that you who were slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted ¹⁸ and that you, having been set free from sin, have become enslaved to righteousness. ¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms because of your limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, leading to even more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.
  ²⁰ When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ So what fruit did you then gain from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. ²² But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the fruit you have leads to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Reflection

The small group of people called themselves “Angels,” even though they were not actually heavenly messengers.  In fact, they were far from pure messengers of light.  They all had complicated and murky pasts.  One came from a culture of drugs.  One had no parents, having graduated out of the foster care system without a family.  The angels were her family now.  One came from an overbearing, religious home, who felt trapped for years and years under the weight of unrealistic expectation.  Yet another had previously been trapped in a relationship with violence and belittlement. 

They all came from different backgrounds, but the one thing that they all had in common, as they gathered around the table in the church basement, was that God had at one point of another sent someone to help free them from their pasts.  Sisters, uncles, childhood friends, and coworkers had all been summoned by God to step up to the plate and step into their lives to free them from their pasts.  Learning of each other’s new found freedom, they all decided one day to start meeting after church to work together and identify people who were struggling in some way. They planned to intentionally insert themselves into these people’s lives, to help them be truly free.

They were like angels, servants of God, who inserted themselves into people’s lives to bring good news to unsuspecting people.  Thus, they called themselves “Angels.”  But, they also had a few biblical mascots, so to speak.

They loved reading the story of the Good Samaritan, a man who crossed cultural boundaries to help someone in a dangerous situation, investing time, money, and personal risk to share God’s love with that person.

They also loved reading the story of Ruth who left her own homeland to share in her mother-in-law’s grief, help provide for her needs, and be at her side in her struggles.

They read these stories over and over again, allowing God to inspire them as they helped a childless, elderly woman, whose husband had died, leaving her with no family.  The angels became her family and they brought the good news of Jesus in word and deed until her own death.  They helped a teen who left her own troubled home as soon as she turned 18.  They became for her the attentive family the girl had never found with her own parents.  There were so many more people to whom they became personal angels.

It was hard work, full of frustration and anxiety, but at the same time it was loving work.  It was freeing work.  It was fulfilling work that burst forth from the core of who God had created them to be.  They were free to be loving servants of Jesus.  More than that, their hands and feet were “weapons” of Jesus; weapons of compassion and love.

That is how Paul would describe their hands and feet anyway. He says that the hands and feet of those rescued by Christ are “weapons of righteousness” (Romans 6:13).  He says their hands and feet, are no longer “weapons of unrighteousness” (Romans 6:13).  Their hands and feet are no longer enslaved and enlisted to do things that are harmful and destructive.  They have been set free.  Instead, those who are rescued by Christ are set free to be enslaved to someone better: a new Lord, a new master, a new commander. 

Under Christ, their new commander, people are brought out of lives of pain and death and led into lives of love and purpose.  Their hands and feet will no longer be “weapons” that destroy relationships, but Christ will use them as “weapons” of love that seek to bring people together in justice and love.  Followers of Christ may be enslaved, but they are enslaved to eternal love.  Being enslaved to eternal love means they are truly free.

The small group of “Angels” were free.  They were set free to be slaves of righteousness, slaves of all that brings together rather than pushes apart.

Now, in the United States we talk about how we are the land of the free.  We are a nation free from the tyranny of government.  We are men and women who are free to plot our own courses in life.  But that sort of freedom is different from the freedom that the Apostle Paul talks about in Romans.

When we in the United States talk about freedom, we talk about how we are free to choose the direction of our own lives.  And though that has often led to lives of greatness and led to beautiful stories of patriotism, that freedom does not mean that we will necessarily choose that sort of purpose-filled life.  In fact, many people choose lives that enslave them to other’s expectations, enslave them to substances, enslave them to rotten jobs, enslave them to twisted ideals; in other words, enslaved them to lives of destruction.  Some people are literally made slaves, having had their passports withheld by their sponsoring employers so that they can be enslaved as cleaners, technicians, and nannies.  Yes, this is illegal, but it still happens.

In Paul’s eyes, the political freedom that we hold so dear does not necessarily lead us to be free people.  Paul points out that humans have a strong impulse to “present [our] members (our hands and feet) as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, leading to even more lawlessness” (Romans 6:19). 

I think of the man whose infidelity led to the breaking apart of his family, which led to his children hating him, which led to a deep depression, which led to him missing work, which led to the loss of his job.  Being enslaved to sin can result in the complete crumbling of life.  Being enslaved to sin is being enslaved to the wrong master.  What if you were enslaved to a good master?

“But thanks be to God that you who were slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted and that you, having been set free from sin, have become enslaved to righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).

For Paul, the question is not if you are enslaved.  The question is to whom are you enslaved?  Are you following someone who feels compelled to promote life or someone who is chained to ways of struggle and death?  Are you following someone who leads to life and the eternal, or are you following someone who leads to what is not eternal?

Being enslaved to Christ means that we are free.  Jesus Christ has set us free from all that binds.  We are free to be people of grace.  We are free to be people who show love and bring life through all we do!  Why would we turn back to ways that do not promote life and love? 

Why would anyone turn back and be slaves in Egypt after God had set them free from their task masters?

Why would anyone continue to be a helpless leper in the street when God had healed them and made them whole?

Why would anyone face the threat of death by seeking revenge when God has created peace between us and our enemies?

Why would any of us decide to be a slave to sin when Jesus has set us free to be a slave of love and mercy?

You are free from sin.  You are free to love.  You are free to care about someone who is exploited or treated unjustly.  You are free to forgive even when someone does not deserve it.  You are free to live in slavery to Christ’s grace rather living in slavery to your own guilt and shame.

The "Angels" were free.  That small group of people were found by Christ and set free from their shameful pasts.  They were set free from their worldly concerns.  They were set free to choose to surround a lonely boy from the foster care system who kept running away from his placements.  Would supporting him with the good news of Jesus be easy?  No.  Would he be a worthy target upon which to aim their weapons of Christ’s love and grace.  Absolutely.  After-all, they had each been “freed from sin and enslaved to God” (Romans 6:22).  And a little boy was about to find out what that meant.

Take a moment to choose one person to whom you will be an angel; a person to whom you will direct Christ’s love and grace.

Reflection on Romans 6:1b-11 (Sunday, June 21st, 2026)

Romans 6:1b-11 (NRSVue)

^1b Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
  ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸ But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Reflection

The Apostle Paul asks an important question: if we are loved by God as a pure gift, if we are shown grace every time we do something to hurt ourselves or others, then would it not be a good idea keep sinning so that we can have even more grace?  Why not be grace hoarders, filling our rooms and walkways increasingly with life’s junk just so that Jesus can come over to the house increasingly to love us and clean up after us?

And I know that this line of thought can seem pretty heady and academic, but it is not.  In fact, it is something that is very fundamental to who we are.  Let me show you.

Anyone who has ever raised a toddler knows this dynamic very well.  The toddler runs outside and splashes in a mud puddle, having a grand old time, mud in every crease and cranny of the body, and when the dad calls them in for the much-needed bath, it starts.  The toddler laughs as the child gets tickled with the washrag under the arm pits.  The toddler takes in the familiar smell of dad as the child gives a hug, getting their back massaged…I mean washed.  And the child feels snuggly warm in the towel as their dad starts to clean up the grime from the tub.

And it only takes a moment of tub cleaning distraction for it to occur.  And by “it,” I mean the throwing off the towel, the running outside into the mud, and the desire to do it all over again.  Because if playing in the mud means lots of tickles, love, and snuggles, then the child is going to make certain that they get lots and lots more.

Now what seems amazing to a toddler may not be so much for the dad. Because as much as they love the tickles, love, and snuggles, there is nothing more a dad wants to do than clean things he has just cleaned.  That is just a joke, of course.  No dad or mom for that matter wants to add even more cleaning to their list of things to do.  Will they still love their toddler?  Yes.  Will they clean them up a second time?  Of course.  But the whole point of cleaning the child in the first place is so the child can be clean.

And I am certain that this very dynamic is a daily truth for God.  After all, it is not only toddlers who get addicted to the joys of things that dirty up life.  Water is polluted for the sake of progress and the enrichment of only a few.  Do these powerful and rich people care?  Sometimes.  Sometimes they listen and make good faith steps forward to correct the wrong.  But as we all know, progress and riches are very enticing, no matter how dirty.  Families love the good life, and when you care for your family and build a good life for them, then it is easy to overlook how dirty the world around becomes.

God looks down with grace, of course, and forgives us.  But God would prefer that when we have been washed clean, we would remain clean.

Joining the toddlers and the rich are those who muddy up their family’s lives because the desire to feel loved overrides notions of commitment to a spouse and family unity.  Loneliness or excitement or affection, or all the above can drive a person into the arms of those they should not be embracing.  It is a dirty mess that is often washed clean with forgiveness and understanding.  But as we all know, these are powerful emotions, and dirtying the waters of marriage and family life is always a persistent danger that is often repeated.

God looks down with grace, of course, and forgives us.  But God would prefer that when we have been washed clean, we would remain clean.

What entices you and leads you into sin over and over again? 

Of course, it is great that we have been given this wonderful, embracing grace from Jesus Christ on the cross who opened his arms to embrace all of us who fail over and over again, and who raises us to new life over and over again.  But when washed clean, I cannot help but think that God would prefer that we stay clean. 

The Apostle Paul asks, “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” (Romans 6:1b-2).  Good question Paul.  How can we continue in sin when it has been cleared away?  Quite easily actually.

Just the other day I learned that fried food is bad for me.  And no, I am not stupid… completely.  I have known for a long time, as a general statement of fact, that fried food is not healthy.  You have learned that as well.  But McDonald’s and their fries still exist.  Carnivals and their funnel cakes and their deep fried Oreos still exist.  Fried chicken still defines an entire quarter of our nation.  We know it is bad but we do not necessarily understand that it is bad for “me.”  Well, I now know.  I was told that it was bad for “me.”

“So, what do I do when I have no choice but fast food?” 

“Don’t order the fries,” was the answer.

So, I did that.  The next time we ate fast food, I did not order the fries.  I did great.  However, the kids did order fries.  They smelled wonderful.  But I did not steal.  “Thou shalt not steal.”  I was great.  I was good.  I was dead to the sin of fried food.  I was doing great until one of the children uttered those fateful words, “I’m full.  Do you want my fries?”

Yes, of course I wanted fries.  Are you insane?  I wanted the fries.

But I was good.  I replied, “That’s OK, I will just have one.”

“How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” (Romans 6:2).  Is that a serious question, Paul?  Of course, I ate the whole paper sleeve of fries!  You do not let food go to waste!  Well, actually I did…it went to waste…my waste.  But don’t you have to eat it because there are children starving in Africa?  “Eat it all.”  That is what I learned.

And that is my point.  It is all learned.  It is all ritualized.  It is all repeated over and over again throughout our lives.  The mud of hate is repeated from generation to generation.  The mud of addiction is ritualized over years through each drink and puff.  The mud of greed and the blindness to those around is well established.  Of course, we go on living in it because it is our lives.

That is where the gift of God really starts to shine, because God’s solution is not simply a bath, where God, as a frustrated dad, endlessly wash us over and over again as we run back to the exact same puddle and try to horde God’s time and love with cleaning. 

Rather, it is a bath that drowns our ideas of what a good life looks like.  It is a bath that drowns our old identity and then raises us up into a new identity where gymnastics replaces jumping in dirty puddles and the support of team sports replaces the selfish need to horde love.

To this point, my wife relayed, “When checking out at the store, you should ask your checkout person what kind of candy bar they like and buy them one.  I did this today.  Yes, I was at the self-checkout, but I still thought it was a nice thing.”

But, what if you could be transformed from the person who takes the candy for themselves, to the person who buys one and automatically give it away?  What if Jesus can, not only wash your sin off the outside, but also transform your inside; your heart.  That is what your Baptism is about.

Baptism is not a bath that cleans the outside.  It is a drowning that ends the old self so that a new heart can be brought forth.  Paul says, “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:3-5). 

To be forgiven of a sin is a wonderful thing, but it does not necessarily change anything essential about your life.  It does not necessarily change your heart. 

But to be forgiven in a way that drowns your old self and raises you up into a brand new, cross-shaped life is truly a gift from God.  It is the gift of having a new heart.  What if you could just have a new heart, then the old stuff, the old habits and the old rituals would be gone for good.

Here is the amazing thing: this has already happened.  This happened when you were baptized.  You are a new self.  You have a new, cross-shaped heart.  We just forget.  We simply need to be reminded.  Paul reminds us: “You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). 

The job has already been done.  Christ has died, raised, and given you a new life once and for all (Romans 6:9).  You are already that new person of God’s grace and love.  Sometimes, we just need to be reminded.

Paul should know.  When he was Saul, he was a zealous person of God, who somehow got to a point in life where he would stand by and watch people suffering and dying without lifting a finger, without even questioning.  Saul confused his cold heart for faith. 

But even Saul can become Paul.  Even the wealthy and powerful can sit and eat with the hungry.  Even the unstable and unfaithful can be transformed into rocks of love and commitment.  Even thieves can be transformed into givers.  All of us simply need a reminder of who we are.  We are not those old people.  We are new people of grace and love.  We are reflections of the one who gave it all up for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reflection on Romans 5:1-8

 

Romans 5:1-8 (NRSVue)

¹ Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
  ⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸ But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Reflection

“Look at that house over there.  It looks pretty good, doesn’t it?  I helped build that house.  I also almost ruined the entire thing!”  My childhood pastor was pointing to a house out my window as he drove me to church camp. 

“That second floor of that house was almost more like a ramp,” he continued.  “I spent the entire day building the walls on the far side of the house on the ground.  When we went to stand the wall up in place I noticed something right away.  The wall was too short.  Somehow, I had measured wrong.  The wall height was way wrong!”

He glanced over at me.

“You know what this means?  Either the second floor would be like a ramp, and people would literally be able to slide out of bed in the morning, or I would have to put in a step somewhere in the middle of the house.  It was ridiculous!

Luckily, my boss was preoccupied and didn’t see the problem.  He walked away.  I had some time to fix the problem.  But I couldn’t spend another entire day tearing down the wall and starting from scratch.  If I put in the step, the boss would notice.  And the ramped floor just…people used to put ramped floors in church social halls to keep people from dancing.  You notice that!  Can you see my problem?  I panicked.  I didn’t know what to do.  I was going to be fired!

I was so scared and frustrated at my mistake that I took my hammer and slammed it down on the floor, ruining a perfectly good piece of plywood right under my feet.  Great!  Now I would have to fix that!  I picked up the hammer and threw it as far as I could get it from the house.  It soared somewhere over the trees. 

‘That was stupid,’ I raged.  ‘Now I need to spend time searching for my hammer!  That’s time that I don’t have.  I’m so stupid sometimes.’

I needed to cool down.  I needed time to think.  I needed to just sit in my truck and cool down for a bit. 

Well, I have to tell you that at least one thing did go right for me.  When I opened the door of my truck, right there in circle of sparkly sunlight, like a gift from God, sat my hammer, right there on the front seat.  What a glorious sight.

And that sunlight?  It was sparkly because it was reflecting off the thousands of little pieces of glass from what used to be my windshield.  Complete nuclear meltdown does not even begin to describe my reaction.  My boss heard me.  The neighbors heard me.  My parents in Hawaii heard me. 

In just seconds my boss came running.  Great!  Here goes the job!

‘You just go home and rest for the night’ my boss said.  ‘We will talk more about this in the morning.’  I knew how that conversation was going to go.  I needed to start getting my resume ready.

The next day when I got to the job site, I saw that the wall was no longer too short.

‘I fixed it for you, you can relax,’ my boss said.  ‘All you had to do was put in a header on top of the wall to correct the height.  You can always justify the height.  No biggie.  You learn something new every day.’  And that was that.”

After wiping the tears of laughter from my face, I listened to the lessons that he learned that day.  He learned that “justify” means making something straight and acceptable.  He learned that bosses can and sometimes do forgive.  He learned that they usually want you to learn and be better.   He learned that you do not need to fix problems all on your own.  It was the boss who made things right again.  He also learned that you should measure at least three times before you make a cut. 

You only gain that sort of wisdom and character from making mistakes, being rescued from your mistakes, and then learning how to do it better. 

My pastor also learned another thing: his truck’s liability insurance was not going to rescue him from this self-inflicted damage.  How knew?

In other words, my childhood pastor’s story was the lesson Paul is trying to teach us in Romans:

“Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-5).

“Jira, just remember two things:  First, you are not perfect and you cannot become perfect.  Just try to build a house and you will learn that pretty quickly.  Second, remember that you can trust Jesus to forgive you and make things right again, just like my boss forgave and made things right for me.  Remember those two things: you are not perfect and Jesus is the one who forgives and makes things right, and you will always understand what faith is about.”

It was a catechetical lesson on God’s grace that a fourth grader could understand.  I honestly do not remember anything that I learned from the following week at Bible camp, except how to put Vaseline on the outhouse toilet seats so that the next person would sink fearfully into the hole.  We couldn’t wait to hear the midnight screams.

But I do remember that car ride.  I also remember what Paul meant when he said that because, “we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  I just think about cutting the wood wrong and when we are at our wits’ end, we can trust the boss to fix it.  That is faith.

That little faith lesson in the car mattered a lot to me. 

It has mattered each time someone has come up to me and said something like, “Why did my loved one die?  I must have done something wrong to deserve them to be taken away.  God must be punishing me!” 

Each time, I simply tell the truth as it was taught to me.  The truth is that we all build the house wrong.  You do not deserve to suffer any more than anyone else.  We all build the house wrong. 

But have hope because God is good, all the time.  God can salvage and rebuild something new and good even after the worst of tragedies.  Look at the cross.  God lost his Son, his loved one, as well.  Look how he raised him on the third day.  If God can salvage that, God can salvage even your tragedy.  And when your grief subsides, after the tears clear from your eyes, you may finally be able to see just how God has rebuilt your life.

That little faith lesson in the car matters each time someone comes up to me and tells me that, “This time the fighting went too far and the relationship is over.  What I’m going to do now?”

We all build the house wrong.  We are all weak.  We all say the wrong thing and do the wrong thing.  It is God who can salvage something from our mistakes, our weaknesses, and our tragedies in life.  Remember what the Apostle Paul taught:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

So yes, when you have ruined the relationship, you can expect that the next number of months are going to be some of the worst that you have ever gone through.  It will be a time of suffering, period. 

But you can also remember that God is good, all the time.  God died for mess ups and sinners like us.  Have hope because God rebuilds lives and rebuilds relationships of mess ups and sinners.  God’s goodness will forever stay with you.  Have hope. 

After-all, hope “does not put us to shame” (Romans 5:5).  Hope remembers.  It remembers that God’s love is poured out abundantly, even when we build our lives in crooked ways.  Jesus can rebuild our lives for us.  He does this out of love.  Trust in that love.