Reflection on Romans 12:9-21

Romans 12:9-21 (NRSVue)

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers.

  14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 Instead, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Reflection

“Get behind me, Satan!” (Matthew 16:23).  That is what Jesus tells Peter when Peter suggests to Jesus that sometimes love has too steep a cost.  As Jesus describes his upcoming pain, death, and resurrection, Peter’s mind is fixated on images of Jesus suffering, being mocked and being publicly shamed in Jerusalem.  Peter is horrified by the idea that Jesus will be killed.  And Peter hasn’t even heard about the cross yet!  It is too much.  Sometimes love has too steep a cost, Peter is convinced. 

Sometimes love has too steep a cost, I am convinced on most days to tell you the truth.  Allowing myself to be hurt again by a person after my heartfelt attempts to love them have soured terribly seems to be too steep of a cost on most days.  Can’t we intensely dislike our enemies…my mother taught me to never hate…but can’t we really, really, really not like our enemies?  In the least, can’t we just ignore those who hate us? 

Sometimes love has too steep a cost.  If I stopped and helped every person who seemed to need it, I would never get anything done.  There just is not enough time for love; not the kind of love that Jesus shows the whole world on the cross.  Can’t I just love those close to me…the ones who love me?  Isn’t that enough.

I am with you Peter, sometimes love has too steep a cost.  Enemies do not need to take up space in our lives.  We can use our precious time to simply love those who love us back.  And neither I, nor Peter, can fathom that love might lead all the way to death.  “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you” Peter protests with genuine love for Jesus dripping from his lips (Matthew 16:22).

And to both Peter and myself Jesus literally shouts, “Get behind me, Satan!  You are a hindrance to me…” (Matthew 16:23).

Now, I have been shouted at by my dad.  I have been shouted at by my Grandma.  I was once even shouted at by my substitute music teacher because I was committing the terrible sin of singing with my hands behind my back rather than on my lap.  That shouting was bad enough.  Can you imagine being shouted at by the Lord? 

“Get behind me.”

It is strange, but that shouted rebuke from Jesus’ lips has been repeating over and over again in my mind, as if God needed me to understand something deeply.

“Get behind me.”

“Get behind me.”

“Get behind me.”

And then it dawned on me; these words are not a rebuke.  Jesus is literally telling me to get behind him, to walk behind him, to follow him, to love like Jesus.

In another flash of insight, I remembered that 31 years after Jesus was crucified, Peter too was crucified.  Apparently, he had learned to love like Jesus.  Maybe I can learn to love like Jesus as well.

When the Apostle Paul thinks about Jesus’ life and death, he too is captivated by the love.  The healings, the feedings, the protection of the lowly against the powerful, the love of enemies, the forgiveness of those crucifying him while he hung on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34), and, of course, the acceptance of Paul as an Apostle even though he was a dangerous and unlikely choice.  All these images of Jesus’ love just had to be on Paul’s mind as he tried to teach the divided community of Rome love is the answer.  Love like Jesus.

Paul teaches that love is:

holding fast to what is good;

love is caring for one another;

love is outdoing one another in showing honor;

love is never failing to serve the Lord;

love is rejoicing in hope;

love is being patient;

love is persevering in prayer;

love is helping the needy;

love is showing hospitality to strangers;

love is blessing those who hate you and refusing to curse them;

love is rejoicing with those who rejoice;

love is weeping with those who weep;

love is living in harmony with one another;

love is striving to not be arrogant;

love is associating with the lowly;

love is not claiming to be wiser than you are;

love is not repaying anyone evil for evil;

love is living peaceably with all;

love is feeding your enemies when they are hungry;

and love is giving your enemies something to drink when they are thirsty.

Love does not look like being overcome by evil.  Love is overcoming evil with good.

“Get behind me, Satan!  You are a hindrance to me…” Jesus said as he overcomes evil with good (Matthew 16:23).

“Follow me and do not be a hindrance to my love.”  Follow and help.  Love like me.

Now, I do not know about you, but I am pretty sure I just physically cannot remember that list about love that Paul gives us.  I am lucky to remember to put on my shoes and bring my worship binder with me on Sunday mornings.  There is no way I will remember that list of 20 examples of love, great as it is.  Sorry Paul.  I have read about your life, and I am not certain you remembered your own list either.  Just how many travel companions had to “part ways” with you?

I guess all of us are hypocrites, even Paul, but there was nothing wrong with what he preached.  Still, it is a long list.  Do you know what helps me to remember what love looks like?  Stories.  Stories help me remember, and this week I have been hearing lots of stories about love, just as Paul described it.  And all these stories revolved around one person: Dolly Parton.  Dolly is a saint with God now, but her stories of love remain.

Before I continue, I just want to say that my ten-year-old puritan self would be horrified that I would be including Dolly Parton in a sermon.  In my holier than though ten-year-old eyes I could only see someone who dressed like a tramp and was arrogant enough to name an amusement park after herself.  Now, as an adult, I have heard Dolly’s story, and I have concluded that ten-year-old Jira might have been a jerk.  Maybe, he had some learning to do about what love looks like.

For example, Romans 12:10 tells us to “Outdo one another in showing honor.”

As you may know, Dolly’s father, Robert Parton, was intelligent and hardworking, but he never learned to read or write. Rather than being ashamed of her family’s poverty, Dolly honored her father by speaking of him with affection and respect. In 1995, she started the Imagination Library, sending free books to children, partly in honor of him. She said that hearing children call her “The Book Lady” meant more to her father than her fame as a singer. Since the start, the program has given away hundreds of millions of books.

In Romans 12:13 Paul tells us to “Contribute to the needs of the saints.”

As you may remember, in 2016, devastating wildfires swept through the area where Dolly grew up. Loving the people of her impoverished home, she established the My People Fund and contributed to their needs by provided monthly payments to families who had lost their homes. More than $12 million was distributed.  That sounds a lot like contributing to people’s needs.

In Romans 12:15 love looks like “Weep-ing with those who weep.”

Dolly grew up in a one-room cabin as one of twelve children. Her song “Coat of Many Colors” tells the true story of her mother sewing a coat from scraps because the family had little money. Children painfully laughed at her and her coat, but the song remembers the love in that gift.  Dolly used her music to identify with people who struggle, grieve, or feel overlooked.  She wept with those who weep.

Romans 12:18 tell us to “Live peaceably with all.”

Dolly wrote “I Will Always Love You” when she decided to leave Porter Wagoner’s television show and pursue her own career. Instead of ending the relationship with anger or resentment, she wrote a song expressing gratitude and affection. The song became one of the most famous farewells in music history in which she chose honor and peace during a difficult separation.

In Romans 12:16, love teaches us to “not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.”

Even after becoming wealthy and famous, Dolly invested in her home region through scholarships, literacy programs, jobs, and community support. Her early Buddy Program, which rewarded students for finishing school, helped dramatically reduce dropout rates in her county.  She often said that success only matters if you can help others.

Those who knew Dolly described her as someone who brought joy, kindness, and hope into the world—qualities that closely resemble Paul’s vision in Romans 12 of a life shaped by Jesus’ love.

Was she perfect?  Of course not.  But Jesus chooses imperfect people like Dolly, and Paul, and me, and you all the time.  Jesus chooses imperfect people to touch others with a divine love that is perfect. 

That love would do anything to bring those who are lowly and depressed and sinful back to life.  That love would go to the cross.  And that love entices us to get behind Jesus and follow. 

That love draws us into a way of life that truly believes that the good life looks like one in which God empowers us to “love like Jesus.”

Reflection on Romans 12:1-8

Romans 12:1-8

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

  3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

 

Sermon

Go Down Again by Wisecarvers

(Performed by Higher Ground)

 

No eloquent prophecy, or fancy miracle for all to see,

Just the words, “Go down seven times”,

So as Namaan made his way, into the Jordan River that day,

I can’t help but think what was on his mind.

 

As he slowly reached the water’s edge, it rushes in over his head,

He looks to see if the curse has washed away,

Ooh, does He say…

 

I keep going down and getting back up,

But I see no change, I feel no touch from you,

Lord, where could you be,

This water’s dirty and it’s cold,

But there’s healing in it so I’m told,

A miracle, but I’ve yet to see,

But I’m staying here until you’re through,

Until I get a hold of you,

I’m gonna keep believing but until then,

I’m gonna go down again.

 

I know what I feel deep inside,

I’ve heard your voice a thousand times but now,

That seems so long ago…

 

Ooh, I’m now still trying to believe,

That somehow you’re listening,

But I would like a sign so I could know,

Ooooh, surely there’s hope left yet,

You wouldn’t just forget,

I’m fighting on my knees to get to you,

So this is what I’m gonna do…

 

I’ll keep going down and getting back up,

’Til I see a change or feel a touch from you,

I know you’re hearing me,

This place is lonely and it’s cold,

But it’s Holy Ground so I’m told,

The secret place where you will meet with me.

 

So I’m staying here until you’re through,

Until I get a hold of you,

I’m gonna keep believing but until then,

I’m gonna go down again. . .

I’m gonna go down again. . .

I’m gonna go down again. . .

In one sense, that is worship.  Worship is coming back time and time again, hoping beyond hope that God will finally hear us and hold us and heal us.  Like Namaan, who keeps going back down to the waters, seven times in all, hoping to feel a touch from God and see a change in the dreadful condition of his skin, we too come back to the waters over and over again until God shows us mercy. 

Just the other day I stumbled upon a man on social media who absolutely did not believe in God, had never been raised in a Godly household, and had never said a single prayer in his life.  Even so, he decided one day to do an experiment.  He decided that he would start living his life as if he did believe in God.  He decided to pray and talk to God several times a day (especially while riding his bike to work).

He would intentionally take time to notice people in need and help in some way, by giving food or a gift card. 

He would read the Bible every day, starting with the stories of Jesus in the gospels. 

And he would start going to church and start asking questions.

It started off a little rocky, especially the going to church part.  He tried talking to a priest who was preparing to walk up the aisle to begin worship.  He was told that there was no time to talk.  He was dismissed by another pastor who was suspicious of his intentions.  Yet, he persisted with prayer, reading the Bible, and helping others.

After a single month of his daily experiment, in fact, just two days ago, he posted a video showing him in tears.  It had just dawned on him that God loved him so much, that Jesus would die for him.  With tears flowing, he kept fluctuating between saying sorry to God for all the terrible things he had done and thanking God for such love that would go to the cross to save someone like him.

The man had finally been shown the truth about God.  God’s is merciful. 

In Romans, the Apostle Paul says things like, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy,” and also says, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone…” (Romans 12:1 and 12:3).  Whenever talking, Paul always starts with God’s mercy.  Paul always starts with God’s grace.  For Paul, the basis of our worship is always first reflecting on the goodness of God and the love of God found in Jesus Christ. 

So, we do that.  We come each week and hear about the mercy of God again and again, allowing these scriptures of mercy that we hear again and again to become a part of our daily lives until it breaks through our disbelief and our anxiety and our struggles.

“Still Waters” by Leanna Crawford

Great Aunt Maurine said at a hundred and three

Write scripture on your heart for when you need it
'Cause anxiety hates Psalm 23
So just say it to yourself 'til you believe it
And I'm feeling like I'm needing it right now

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want

He leads me by still waters 'til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend
Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters, I'm safe

Lord, I believe You can set me at ease

Turn this broken piece in me to peace and quiet
I know there's power in Your word
So I'll say it over and over 'til my soul's reminded

Oh, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want

He leads me by still waters 'til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend

Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters, I'm safe

Still waters run through any valley I could find

I'm laying fear down here at Heaven's riverside
Your word has been true in every season of my life
I believe, yes, I believe still waters run through any valley I could find
I'm laying fear down here at Heaven's riverside
Your word has been true in every season of my life
I believe, yes, I believe

Oh, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want

He leads me by still waters 'til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend
Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters I'm safe

Whenever God’s mercy has proven to be true and we see it in our daily lives, faith comes flooding into our souls and we believe.  It drives us to give thanks again and again in a repetitive chorus that thanks God for showing us goodness and mercy.  That is worship.  But worship does not stop there.

The Apostle Paul says, “on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,” and he says that presenting our bodies as living sacrifice is our “reasonable act of worship” (Romans 12:1).  So, worship always starts with hearing about God’s mercy and praising God for that mercy, but it does not stop there.  The song continues.  The worship does not end.  Worshipping God follows us out the doors of the church.

We had a professor in our pastoral training who famously asked, “What is the longest part of the worship service?”  Most people answer with a knowing moan, “The sermon.”  As a kid, I loved my pastor’s sermons.  He was imaginative and engaging.  I did not learn well.  But I always got antsy during the eucharistic prayer.  That thing can go on and on and on.  But our professor dismissed all those answers as wrong.

“The longest part of the worship service is the sending.  A worship leaders says, ‘Go in peace and serve the Lord,’ we say, ‘Thanks be to God,’ and then we go out and serve for the next six and a half days.  That is the longest part of our worship.”

“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship” (Romans 12:1).  Hearing the word of God does something to us.  It transforms us.  It changes us from worldly people to people who care about the world, just like Jesus.

Our encounter with God does something to us.  It makes us care about others.  It makes us stick out our necks for other people who cannot speak for themselves.  It makes us into people who care about justice and mercy.  It makes us like Moses who transformed from a bumbling public speaker to a prophet who demanded that Pharoah let his people go.

Go Down Moses by The Lower Lights

When Israel was in Egypt's land

Let my people go
Oppressed so hard they could not stand
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

No more shall they in bondage toil
Let my people go
But let them come with Egypt's spoil
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

The LORD told Moses what to do
Let my people go
To lead the Hebrew children through
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land

Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

As Israel stood by the waterside
Let my people go
At God's command it did divide
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

Oh let us all from bondage flee
Let my people go
And let us all in Christ be free
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

The woman that I talked to this week is no Moses, leading a whole nation of people to freedom, but she is no spiritual lightweight either.  Moses had gifts of leadership given to him by God, and she has other gifts that God has given.  Paul says that “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8).

If I had to label the woman’s gift, I would say that she is a disciple of “noticing.”  You see, the woman owns a little boutique, and just the other day a customer came in, looking around aimlessly, and she noticed that the young woman had tears as she looked through the items. She asked her what was wrong and the young woman said that it was the anniversary of her husband’s death, and as if that weren’t bad enough, she just found out that her sister has cancer.  For two hours this woman noticed and listened, and shared God’s concern for the young woman, and then took the time to pray with her.

The woman told me, “This is why I refuse to go work somewhere else where I could make a lot more money than I do in my shop.  If I went somewhere else, I wouldn’t have time to notice people.  It wouldn’t have time to listen to people.  I wouldn’t have time for people.” 

And this is this woman’s spiritual worship.  This is her sacrifice.  This is how she takes that mercy that she has been shown by Jesus and uses it throughout her week.  This is how she worships during the “sending” portion of worship. 

And this is the shape of your worship as well.  We see God’s mercy.  It heals us and makes us well.  It gives us faith.  And it transforms us so that others can be made well.  It transforms us so that the terrible waves and wind of life can be transformed into calm waters of faith for them as well.

It is Well by Bethel Music

Grander earth has quaked before

Moved by the sound of His voice
And seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard

Through it all, through it all

My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well, with me

Far be it from me to not believe

Even when my eyes can't see
And this mountain that's in front of me
Oh will be thrown into the midst of the sea

Through it all, through it all

My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well, it is well

So let go my soul and trust in Him

The waves and wind still know His name

So let go my soul and trust in Him

The waves and wind still know His name

So let go my soul and trust in Him

The waves and wind still know His name

The waves and wind still know His name

It is well with my soul

It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul
It is well with my soul (it is well, it is well, it is well)
It is well with my soul (it is well, it is well, it is well)
It is well with my soul (it is well, it is well, it is well)
It is well, it is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

'Through it all, through it all

My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
It is well, it is well, it is well
With me" 

Reflection on Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 (NRSVue)

God has not rejected Israel. Rather, the call and gifts of God are irrevocable so that, while all have been disobedient, God has mercy upon all.

[Paul writes:] 1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2a God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

  29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so also they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

Reflection

“God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all” (Romans 11:32).

“Merciful to all.”

“Merciful to all.”

“So that God may be merciful to all.”

God has a heart of mercy.

That is the conclusion that the Apostle Paul comes to in the end as he struggles with the reality that people’s faith in God and obedience to God comes and goes.  We trust God, and then we do not, whenever another influence on our lives desires our attention.  We listen to God and then we do not, whenever God’s ways suddenly become inconvenient and hard.  I ask you: who actually wants to love their enemy?  No, our faith in God and obedience to God comes and goes like waves on an ocean.  Sometimes our faith and obedience reach great heights and then they immediately fall to new lows. But despite our inability to stay firm, God’s heart does not waver.  God has a heart of mercy.

“God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all” (Romans 11:32).

God’s merciful heart does not waver.  But that does not mean that God refuses to change God’s mind.  In fact, God changes God’s mind all the time, and that is a good thing for us! 

Now, God does not change God’s mind concerning God’s expectations from us.  When we are told in Deuteronomy 5:33 that, “You must follow exactly the path that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and that it may go well with you,” I am pretty sure that those words mean that we need to listen and obey.  God is not just pretending here.  If we do not listen and obey God’s commands the Bible clearly states that, “The anger of the Lord your God would be kindled against you and he would destroy you from the face of the earth.  ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Deuteronomy 6:15-16).

When Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:44-45 that you must “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven…” I am pretty sure that Jesus is not just pretending to care about our enemies.  In fact, we can see with our very own eyes that God cares about them.  The Bible says that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). 

This is no different from your grandma’s expectations.  When my Grandma Helen told you to dust the shelves and tables in the house, you dusted the shelves and tables in the house or there would be a good, wet towel snapping coming your way to get your back end into motion.

God expects us to follow the commands given to us and God expects us to love our enemies.  These expectations are unwavering.  God even promises to punish us if we fail.  And this is where we might see God changing God’s mind for our benefit.  When we fail, we often find that the punishment that was promised never happens.  In other words, God shows mercy.  It does not always turn out that way, but it happens enough that I have a sneaking suspicion that God has a heart of mercy.

God has a heart of mercy.

This is probably one of the oldest truths about God that we have in the Bible.  If you look at the story of the first two human beings on this earth, you find that God gives them a command concerning eating the fruit of a particular tree.  God says “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die” (Genesis 2:17).  So, did they listen?  The consequence was instant death that very day.  You tell me, if you put a bowl of M&Ms in front of a toddler and tell them not to eat from it and then leave the room, what are they going to do?  Of course, they eat the M&Ms.  And of course, the first two human beings eat fruit from the tree.  None of that is surprising.

I will tell you what is surprising: the first two human beings did not die on the day that they ate the fruit.  In fact, God took the time to sew them some nice clothes to wear to cover their naked selves.  New clothes: that was one of their consequences!  Any good parent knows that you just do not do that!  Rewarding bad behavior?  Amateur.  Or maybe God has a heart of mercy.  God regularly changes God’s mind toward mercy.

Consider the story of Jesus and the Canaanite woman who comes to Jesus pleading and shouting for mercy so that her daughter might be saved from demonic torment.  No one wants to see their child suffer.  I am sure that Jesus does not want to see that either.  But Jesus had been given a rule: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).  This woman and the child were not Israelites.  This was simply outside of his jurisdiction and authority. 

As my dad used to say, “Not my monkey, not my circus.”  You might have heard, “Not my garden, not my weeds.”  “That’s between y’all.”  “I’m staying out of this one.”  “I’m not touching that with a ten‑foot pole.”  And my favorite: “Your crisis is not my crisis.”

Jesus uses an ancient turn of phrase in this story: “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs” (Matthew 15:26). 

Really, that should be that.  Pennsylvania State Troopers cannot pull over people in Ohio, though they might want to.  It is not my place to offer an opinion on someone else’s family issues without being asked.  And Jesus does not minister to Canaanite women.

But the woman responds, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (Matthew 15:27). 

It is at that moment that Jesus changes his mind toward mercy.  “’Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed from that moment” (Matthew 15:28).

God has a heart of mercy.  We see it clearly in Jesus.

I was thinking about this while on my trip to Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, IA this week.  One afternoon I went for a walk around campus, and in a forgotten corner of campus I found a labyrinth.  In case you do not know, a labyrinth is like a maze except that you cannot get lost in a labyrinth.  In a labyrinth you take a winding, meandering journey toward the center of the labyrinth.  At some points in the labyrinth, you seem to be almost to the center only to find yourself turning a corner and journeying far away again.  Eventually you do reach the center, and in the center of this labyrinth was a cross.

It suddenly struck me that our lives of faith are like that.  Jesus is there the whole time, in the center, sometimes very near, sometimes further away, but always present as we wander closer and further away from Jesus.  Jesus is at the center of our lives, always seeing, always hoping, always caring, always showing mercy until we are finally led to where we were meant to be, at the center with Jesus.

As I stood in the center of that labyrinth, standing on the cross, standing with Jesus, I thought about how my life could be a life of mercy also; being there as people wandered close and fell further away again from all that is good and holy; standing with Jesus, waiting for them to be led to the cross where Jesus meets them with an eternal sort of love.

God has a heart of mercy, and so can I.

If God changes God’s mind toward mercy, and I have experienced that for myself in his sacrifice for me on the cross, then I can certainly change my mind to mercy as well.

After-all, Joseph did it.  Joseph, that biblical ancestor of ours was hated by his brothers, left to die in a pit and then eventually sold by his brothers into slavery.  His family relationships suffered some minor bruises, to say the least.  But in the end of the story, Joseph has been made Pharoh’s right hand man and he faces the choice of helping his starving brothers or leaving them to suffer and die, Joseph looks back on his life and looks at his brothers and says, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today” (Genesis 50:20).  Joseph stood in the center of the labyrinth, stood with the heart of God, and he showed mercy.

God has a heart of mercy, and so can we.

And finally, we come to the Apostle Paul who also finds himself standing in the middle of the labyrinth, standing on the cross, standing with Jesus as he faces his Israelite brothers and sisters in whom he is disappointed because they have not followed him into trusting Jesus.  He sees them walking closer and then turning further away as they follow the lines of the labyrinth of life and he sees what Jesus sees and looks at them with the eyes of Christ.  He looks at them and says, “has God rejected his people? By no means!...God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.  For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:1-2).

He looks and sees people who are loved by God.  He sees people who need mercy.  He sees people who will never lose the promise that God made with them, to be their God and they God’s people.

“God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all” (Romans 11:32).

God has a heart of mercy, and so can we.

As you look out on the world, who are the hated ones?  As you look out on the world, who are the ones wandering away in the labyrinth?  As you look out of the world, who is considered hopeless and deserving of Gods wrath?  Who is considered as rightfully deserving our hate and judgment? 

Remember, God changes God’s mind all the time and shows mercy.  We can change our minds as well.  As we stand on the cross with Jesus, we discover the truth: God has a heart of mercy, and so can we.

“Blessed are you who are merciful, for you will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

Reflection on Romans 10:5-15 and Matthew 14:22-33

Romans 10:5-15 (NRSVue)

⁵ Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” ⁶ But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say?

 “The word is near you,

  in your mouth and in your heart”

(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim), ⁹ because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation. ¹¹ The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

  ¹⁴ But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? ¹⁵ And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Reflection

The painting is a dramatic one, capturing a scene from under the water from the perspective of a drowning Peter who tried to walk on the water to Jesus, but became afraid and sank.  In the painting, you see Peter reaching his hand up toward the air above and you see Jesus looking down at Peter from beyond the ripely water.  Peter has grasped onto Jesus’ hand, who is pulling him up to safety.

That is how a fellow student described the painting anyway as she talked to one of our theology professors.  But the theology professor corrected my fellow student.

“Peter did not grasp onto Jesus’ hand,” the Professor corrected.  “Jesus reached down and grasped onto Peter’s hand.”

“OK.  What difference does it make?” the student asked.

“What difference does it make?  If you are drowning in a lake and someone throws you a life preserver from the shore, do you say, ‘Hey, it’s a really good thing that I know how to hold onto a life preserver!’  No!  Of course not!  Instead, you allow yourself to get pulled to shore and then you thank the one who saved you.  You thank them over and over again.  ‘You saved my life!  Thank you!’  Peter did not save himself by holding tight onto Jesus’ hand.  Jesus saved Peter by reaching down, grasping his hand, and raising him up to life.  We don’t save ourselves; Jesus saves us.  Never forget that.”

A few years later I was again taught this fundamental understanding of our faith using even simpler words.  “God always comes down.  We do not go up.”

This is very important to understand because so many Christians say the words, “You just have to believe.”  When struggling with depression, some poor person is told, “You just have to believe.”  As if they can just climb their way out of the dark pit of their mind and enter into Jesus’ presence. 

When doubting God, another struggling person is told, “You just have to believe.”  As if someone who is struggling to believe in God can just flip a switch and say, “Oh, I guess I’m just going to start believing.”  I ask you, how do you just start believing when you do not believe?  It makes no sense. 

No, we do not reach up to find God, or grasp onto God.  God always comes down and grasps onto us.  “God always comes down.  We do not go up.”  That is the gift of God.

This is some solid biblical truth here.  The Apostle Paul teaches, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it [the Bible] say?

 ’The word is near you,

  in your mouth and in your heart’” (Romans 10:6-8).

Did you hear Paul?  You don’t go up to find Christ like he is the prize in some spiritual treasure hunt.  Nor do you pull him up from the dead.  Jesus’ continued life in this world does not depend on you to bring him up from forgotten places to keep his memory alive. 

Rather, Paul says: “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Romans 10:8).  Jesus Christ, the word of God, has already come to you.

God always comes down.  We do not go up.

Jesus reaches down to grasp us.  We do not grasp onto God.  These are important words.  These are vital words, even to me.

I am drawn to think about my very first day at Bible camp.  Other than staying with aunts and uncles, this was the first time that I ever spent an extended amount of time away from home.  I was not impressed by the first few hours.  We played a game where we had to go around the circle and memorize and repeat each other’s names.  My memory was not any better as a kid than it is now.  I can’t remember names!  This game was torture, and I did not know anyone any better after the game than I did before.  Soon after the game we went to supper and I spent it eating alone, still not knowing anyone.

So far, this is a pretty sad story.  But the moment of faith is coming.  During the evening worship, there was a moment where all of our foreheads were marked with a cross with water, in recognition that in Baptism Jesus never forgets us.  Needless to say, my camp counselor forgot me.  He never came and marked my forehead.  Maybe he was terrible at the name game also!  Well, so much for the “Jesus never forgets us” lesson.

And as we left the worship space and as I walked alone toward my cabin after worship, feeling sorry for my forgotten self, in stereotypical movie fashion, it started to rain.  Of course it did.

But when I looked up to the sky to curse the sky, also in stereotypical movie fashion, two huge drops of rain fell onto my forehead, tracing the shape of a cross.  And I might have marked that up to coincidence, except for that fact that at that very moment a boy from my cabin ran up to me and said, “There you are Jira.  I was looking for you.  I didn’t see you at worship and I wanted to hang out.”

God had found me.  God always comes down.  We do not go up.

I was so thankful that God sent that kid my way.  He fast became my best friend for the week.  We did everything together, laughing the whole time.  And when I think about how God sent that kid my way, to find me and befriend me, I repeat in my heart the gratitude found in the Apostle Paul’s words, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15).  How great are those who God sends to seek and find.

God works that way you know.  Wherever there is someone in the middle of a fearful storm in life, “frightened, and, beginning to sink,” you will also find Jesus reaching out his hand to catch us (Matthew 14:30-31).  And it is when we are grasped by the divine hand and saved that Jesus grows our “little faith” into something more.  It grows into a faith in which you trust the one who saves because you have been saved.  Then you can “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,” and you will know for certain that “you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).  But only because you have been found and grasped by the one who loved you first.

God always comes down.  We do not go up.

God desires salvation for us all.  God is not picky about who will be found.  God once found a murderer and made him into one of the greatest of all the prophets, so great that if you simply say, “the prophet” around a Jewish person they will immediately know that you are talking about Moses.

God is not picky about who will be found.  God once found a foreigner and sent her to suffer the same fate as her destitute mother-in-law.  Ruth did not have to go with her mother-in-law, to watch after her and care for her and make sure that her depressed soul found something to eat.  Ruth was not Jewish.  Ruth had a good family to go back to.  But she stuck with her mother-in-law, through the worst and the best.  And she is remembered as a great woman of faith even to this day! 

Paul says, “’No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:11-13).  Faith is trusting the one who finds you and is generous to you.  Faith is trusting the one who walks with you in rough seas and lifts you up when you sink.  Faith is a gift that is given to anyone.

God always comes down.  We do not go up.

I know of a cheerleader who has a tattoo that runs down her leg.  She is a fearless flier.  She is one of those girls who is launched into the air, doing handstands and flips high above everyone’s heads.  That means that she is one of those cheerleaders who has to trust the guy throwing her and catching her far below.  She trusts that he will not let her fall as she does her stunts, even when she does them wrong.  But this type of trust does not come out of nowhere.  It comes from being caught again and again and again without being hurt.  It is the type of trust in someone else that really gets ingrained in your soul.

And that brings me to the tattoo that runs down her leg.  The tattoo is a sentence actually.  It reads: “God is catching her, she will not fall.”  Just as the guy that throws her and catches her each time is trusted, so she trusts God in the same way.  That is faith.  That is a heart that leads to salvation.  And that message in intended to be read by those who watch, that they too might know that God catches them as well.  “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

So, let people know the truth.  God always comes down.  We do not need to go up to God.  Jesus is walking with us now and he is the one who grasps us when we sink.

Reflection on Romans 9:1-5 and Matthew 14:12-21

Romans 9:1-5

1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit—2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Matthew 14:13-21

13 Now when Jesus heard [about the beheading of John the Baptist,] he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Reflection

The vacation was a once in a lifetime vacation for the 8-year-old boy.  His mother and father took him on a road trip to see the epic beauty of the western United States.  They visited Mount Rushmore, took in the rugged mountain beauty of Glacier National Park, and finally he found himself sitting with his family, looking at the one sight he had always wanted to see since he was a toddler: the Old Faithful Geiser in Yellowstone National Park.  His mother had expected to see amazement in his face as the geyser finally launched its water high into the air.  Instead, she saw tears and sadness.

“What’s wrong honey?” she asked.

“My stomach hurts,” he cried.

“Did you eat something bad?” she asked.

“No, my stomach hurts that my sister will never see this,” he cried quietly.

He was talking about his twin sister who did not survive beyond birth.  His stomach twisted with a deep desire that his sister experience the great things in life that he got to experience.  And it ached deeply that she could not.  All he ever wanted for her was to have life…with him.

Surely you have experienced this sort of ache in your stomach.  I have heard mothers express this sort of ache when they fear their children have started living the wrong sort of life.  I have heard children express this sort of ache when they have wanted friends to be with them even as they grow distant.  The stomach of one of my travel companions to India sickly twisted when he saw people camping around a leak in a water pipe just so that they might survive on the water that dribbled out.  The man was a retired civil engineer.  His entire life was devoted to making sure that sights like this never had to be seen.  He made a life in which he safely and effectively directed water to the towns he served.  His stomach literally ached and turned to see these people suffer.  In his experience, the answer was so, so simple.  Just a little compassion, just a little engineering would give these people a much better life.

I want to tell you that the twisting ache in the stomach that I am describing is a holy gift from Jesus.  It is a gift of empathy and compassion.  It is the gift of looking at another living being and deeply desiring that they might be able to live a life that is better and deeper and richer. 

It is the gift of empathy and compassion that Jesus felt in his gut when he looked out at a field of people who had sought him out because they needed healing.  The blind were guided over rocks and through ditches to reach him.  Those who could not walk were shouldered just so that they might feel Jesus’ touch.  Sick children were carried to him in their father’s arms.  Those who were lost and forgotten stumbled toward his direction so that they might feel a divine connection.  And all of them were hungry, both in their stomachs and in their souls. 

As Jesus looked out over the field at all of them, the gospel of Matthew says that “he had compassion for them” (Matthew 14:14).  And that word for “compassion” right there in the Greek language means that very stomach-churning sense that you get when you look at someone and would do anything to help.

And help he did.  Jesus “cured their sick” (Matthew 14:14).  Jesus multiplied the “five loaves and the two fish” (Matthew 14:19).  “And all ate and were filled…And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children” (Matthew 14:20-21).

Life with Jesus is a life in which Jesus looks at you with a stomach twisting compassion that would do anything, even give up his life, so that you might have a healed life, a full life, a meaningful life, and a life that is lived with that same sort of empathy and compassion.  Jesus desires deeply that you be blessed so that you can bless.  Jesus desires deeply that you be loved so that you can love.

That reminds me of a joke.  Three guys are at a funeral, staring at a coffin.  One guy says, “When people are looking at me in my coffin at my funeral I want them to say, 'he was caring, he was kind, he was compassionate, he always had time for people, he made everyone feel welcome.'”

The second guys quipped, “When people are looking at me in my coffin at my funeral I want them to say, 'he was a devoted family man, he worked hard to provide a good life for his family, he was looked up to by all his children and grandchildren.'”

The last guy stared at the other two in disbelief and said, “When people are looking at me in my coffin at my funeral I only want them to say one thing, 'he's moving.'”

Jesus wants to heal us and restore us so that we can be moving.  Jesus desires nothing more than that we be alive, full of life and love and a stomach churching compassion of our own.  It is a compassion that he wants to spread far and wide.  You know what they say: “Spreading Jesus’ love is like a toddler trying to spread peanut butter, it is sticky and it gets everywhere.”

And if you have gotten this far into the sermon and are wondering what this has to do with our Romans sermon series, I will tell you: “Everything!” 

Paul, a follower of Jesus Christ, too has Jesus’ stomach wrenching compassion and empathy.  Paul says himself: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs” (Romans 9:2-5). 

Paul is that little boy, wishing with a stomach-churning anguish that his fellow Israelites might be able to experience life with the amazing, bursting geyser that is the love of Jesus Christ for all the world.  Many of his brothers and sisters from the tribes of Israel have not accepted his preaching of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.  Paul has experienced the most exciting thing that life and God could ever thrown his way, and he would give anything to have those he loves experience it with him.  He would even cut himself “off from Christ” so that they could take his place and experience life with him.

Just to be clear, Paul is in no way stating that the Jewish people are condemned.  To restate the point, Paul says, “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 Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 9:4-5).  Amen.  Let it be so.  It is so forever.

This is not a declaration of their eternal damnation as some Christians in the past have assumed.  In the end of his argument Paul will emphatically state that “God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew…For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:2a and 29).  God’s gifts are given with grace; not earned.

Instead of damnation, Paul reaches the conclusion that God looks upon the Israelites with eyes full of Jesus’ stomach-wrenching compassion. Paul is convinced that since God promised that the people of Israel will always be God’s people, God will keep that promise and will never let them go.  God is not a liar.  God does not go back on God’s promises.  The Jews are not condemned and lost, even though it may appear to us that their branch was broken off the tree to make room for other people to be grafted on.  God will not throw away their branch.  Israel is and always will be God’s people.

That being clearly stated, Paul still has a genuine yearning for his people to walk with him and take in the sights that he sees as he lives in Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus lives in him. 

He wants them to see Old Faithful blow into the air.  He wants them to live a life with fresh water piped right to them.  He wants them to eat and be filled while laying in the green pastures.  He wants people to look upon them in the coffin and see that they are moving.  He wants them to truly know Christ as he knows Christ.

We all have someone who we wish could experience a life with Jesus just as we have experienced.  We all have someone for whom our stomach wrenches with aches with empathy and compassion, hoping they might have a better life.

Luckily, we know the one who comes and heals.  Luckily we know the one who saves us from drowning, even while we actively try to swim away.  Luckily we know the one who looks upon all of us with a deep, deep desire that we be loved with a deep and holy love that never lets us go. 

So, we pray,

Christ Jesus, we raise up to you the name of someone who we deeply desire would find true life in you.  We lift their name to you now.  Love them.  Save them from all sin and trouble.  Hold them close.  Give them a good and loving life in you.  May our hopes for them become reality.  Continue to grasp tightly onto us as well.  Jesus, in your precious name we pray. Amen.