Reflection on Romans 12:9-21

 

“What does the Bible mean by ‘love’ anyway?” the teen asked during a Bible study. 

For a few moments, probably a few moments too long, I was at a loss for words.  How could a person not know what love was? 

Then again, this girl grew up in a situation where she saw mostly arguments coming from the mouths of her parents, too wrapped up in their hatred of one another to remember that she even existed.  Maybe it was true; maybe she had no idea what love looked like. 

Come to think of it, did I?  Do not get me wrong, I had grown up surrounded by love.  Certainly I knew what love was about, but could I put it into words any better than she? 

The silent pause in conversation was becoming more than uncomfortable as the students shifted and she continued to stare, waiting for an answer. 

How do you talk about the unfathomable depths of Christ’s love to someone who likely had not even experienced the basic love that most of us get from our parents?  “Maybe, I should start with what she knows,” I thought.  It was a little presumptuous on my part to assume she had not experienced love, but I took a stab in the dark and suggested that we start by talking about what love is not.

So, I am going to do that right now for you also.  It is not that I think you have not experienced love.  I already know that most of you have.  But, at times our discussions of love in American Christianity sounds a lot like “being kind to one another.” 

Do not hear me wrong, I have nothing against kindness!  But, kindness does not even come close to describing the unfathomable love of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

So, I will do with you, what I did with this girl: I will read to you the Apostle Paul’s treatise on love in its opposite, negative way.  In others words, everywhere the Bible connotes “love,” I will try to convince you to “hate.”  By doing so, you will quickly see just how radical and amazing Christ’s love is; the love by which we try to model our own lives.

Here is the opposite of Romans 12:9-21:

Do not worry if your love is fake (hold your enemies close); embrace what weak people consider evil, hold fast to your own concerns…you come first; go ahead, hate one another with mutual distain; outdo one another in showing contempt. 

Do not lag in zeal, be steadfast in your hatred; ignore the Lord.  

Do not feel ashamed if you rejoice when other people despair.  Turn away when people suffer; after-all they are difficult to be around. There is no need to pray; it does nothing.

Forget about the needs of others in the faith community, your needs always come first; refuse to welcome outsiders and foreigners who will only use up your hard earned resources.  

Hate those who would do you harm; hate and curse them, you have no need of them. 

Ignore the joy of others, laugh in the face of those who dare to weep. Worry about yourself first; think of yourself first, and associate with those who are like you and think like you; do not let anyone win an argument against you.  

You have to repay evil for evil, and do not be afraid to stoop down to their level, no matter what others may think. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, defend yourself against everyone.  Avenge yourselves and do not let others walk over you.  Be like God, for God is a God of wrath; as it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

"If your enemies are hungry, let them starve; if they are thirsty, don’t waste time getting them something drink; for by doing this you will show them that you are serious and you have not forgotten your principles."  

Do not be a pansy or a snowflake, for evil can only be overcome with an equal amount of power.

“So, that’s the opposite of what the Bible says?” the girl asked. 

“Yes, that is the opposite of what the Bible says.  The very thing that God cares about the most, love, is the opposite of all of that.”

“But, I believe some of those things,” she said looking down. 

“I know.  So do I.  Isn’t it good that Jesus’ love for us is better than all that?  That is why he is our savior.  That is why we follow him.”

Now, I would never tell anyone to “be steadfast in your hatred and ignore the Lord.”  I certainly do not believe that, and neither do you.  But, I do admit that my beliefs and my actions are not always on the same page.   

I can be quite steadfast in my hatred and resentment of others even though I preach otherwise almost weekly.  I can easily delete from my life people who have hurt me and I certainly would not grill them some supper and offer them a beer on the back deck. 

If I am honest with myself, I often do think about my needs first.  I do ignore the needs of others if loving them would be far too inconvenient.  You know that person you should have called a long time ago?  Well, I have a list of people too. 

So, guilt is what I feel when I look at these words from the Bible too closely.  But, the Apostle Paul’s intention was not to leave you with a feeling of guilt.  Indeed, the book of Romans moves quite quickly from talking about our shortcomings to the message of good news. 

We are saved, not because our lives are filled with examples of perfect love, but because our lives are not.  Each one of us, Paul insists, is in the same, sinking boat.  But, faith fills those of us who see Jesus saving the sinking boat, despite our shortcomings, despite if we deserve to sink.  And, if we look closely at how Jesus keeps the boat from sinking, there is no doubt that we will try to do the same.

So, let us return to what Christ’s love actually looks like.  Let us return to these words from the Apostle Paul that describe what Christ’s deep love for the unlovable is all about.  After-all, it is a love that saved the world. 

And, it is a love that taught a teenage girl that the world could be so much different.  The girl printed out Paul’s words describing love and taped them to her wall so that she would see them every morning.  These are the words of love that shaped the start of each day.  And, they are the worlds that help bring the word “love” from meaning “a nice, kind feeling,” to very real actions that can save the world.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 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." No, "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." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

(NRSV, Romans 12:9-21)

 

Reflection on Romans 12:1-8

 

 

Some people live their lives of faith as if they were watching a football game on television.  Who in your life do you know that screams at the television, berating the referees for a stupid call, or chastising players for bungling the play?  Is it you? 

 

Perhaps, you are a political being, muttering “idiot” under your breath when you hear your political opponent opening their blabber flaps.  Admittedly, “Blabber flap” might not be a real word, but you get the point.  Some people, maybe the majority of us, walk through our daily lives in constant critique of others and their stupidity. 

 

And, when we open the Bible, we can easily use it to perpetuate this mindset. 

 

You hear that God looks down on fornicators?  Well, you have a good idea of a couple of people that God is probably talking about. 

 

You hear Jesus speaking against the self-righteous?  Well, you know of a stuck up jerk who should probably open their Bible and read a little more carefully. 

 

The Bible can be used like the poor, screamed at television.  It can be used as a document that puts evil on display for you to scream at and belittle. 

 

But, the Apostle Paul wants you to set aside this hostile television-like experience of reading his words and instead read them as if you were looking in a mirror. 

 

When I look in the mirror, I do not think about the pimples on my cousin’s nose and chastise him for his looks.  No, when I look in the mirror I think about the outbreak upon my own nose.

 

“Do not be conformed to this world,” Paul tells us.  Rather, “be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” 

 

This is about looking in the mirror.  This is about looking closely at ourselves and realizing in what ways we are conformed to this world.

 

In what ways is your life trapped by the ways of this world?  Do people’s political alignments dictate your idea of them?  Do you make assumptions about them because of their political associations?  If so, you might be conformed to this world. 

 

When you describe the problems of this world do you talk about “them” and what “they” do to ruin the world?  Do you have a habit of lumping people into a generic category and so that you can easily dismiss them?  If so, you might be conformed to this world. 

 

Do you think primarily of your own rights and your own needs?  Are you easily taken aback when help is provided to someone else but not to you?  Do you fail to think about the rights and needs of others?  If so, you might be conformed to this world. 

 

Do you primarily pursue your own lusts and desires without much thought concerning how it will affect other people?  Is your day spent focusing on your own worries rather giving attention to the worries of someone else?  If so, you might be conformed to this world. 

 

You might be conformed to this world.  No, I said that wrong.  It is not true that you “might” be conformed to this world.  Paul is convinced that we, his readers, are already conformed to this world. 

 

The plain fact is that if you were born into this world, you are conformed to this world in some way; if not in one of the ways that I already listed, then another.  To be a human in this world is to be conformed to its ways.  If we were free from the influence of the world, we would have no need of a savior; we would have no need of Jesus Christ and his redeeming cross.

 

But, through the power of God’s grace in our lives, Paul is convinced that your mind can be transformed again and again, every day, to focus on the will of God.  And, what is the will of God for our lives?  What would we hope to see when we look in the mirror? 

 

Paul proposes that we would stare in the mirror at the end of the day and see that we had used our bodies as a living sacrifice.  We would see bodies that spent the day working hard at loving others first, the same way that Jesus loved us first and put us first when he went to the cross. 

 

We would see muscles building up that have been strengthened by flexing love rather than being strengthened by our desires. 

 

We would see a person looking back from the mirror who does not think too highly of him or herself, but also does not think too low of him or herself either. 

 

Just because you are not perfect does not mean you are trash.  Paul wants us to look at ourselves in the mirror with “sober judgment.”  This “sober judgment” that Paul talks about is a special ability to look in the mirror and see yourself truthfully.  You are not God’s gift to the world, but at the same time, you kind of are. 

 

When I look in the mirror, I see that I have been gifted with the ability to write songs and play the guitar for the benefit of building other’s faith.  Am I the greatest church musician?  Not even close.  To think too highly of myself would be a lie.  But, to think too low of myself would also be a lie.  To think too low of myself would mean that I probably would not share my gift.  I would bury my gift and it would be wasted.  That is not good either. 

 

Instead, we look at ourselves soberly…truthfully…and act in ways that are consistent with the level of faith and abilities that we have been given. 

 

You too have been given gifts by God.  Whether it is diagnosing and revealing the truth like news reporters on a large scale or therapists on a personal scale; ministering to the needs of people like health care workers, childcare providers, or elder care specialists; teaching other people skills like school teachers, or teaching others the faith like pastors and faith educators; exhorting and encouraging others to follow Jesus; giving food or time or money; leading people in right ways; showing compassion on the lowly and sinful; and the list goes on and on; God has given each of us gifts that are to be used to share God’s grace, to share God’s forgiving love, and to create God’s world of blessing. 

 

Look in the mirror and see someone who needs a little work. 

 

Look in the mirror and see someone who is loved anyway. 

 

Look in the mirror and see someone who has an appropriate amount of faith to do the amazing work that God desires you to share. 

 

Look in the mirror and see someone who is an integral part of Christ’s body in the world, along with all of God’s other gifted people.  No one part of the body is greater than another, but neither are any parts disposable.  All parts of the body are needed; and though someone in your past may have led you to think otherwise, you too are a needed part of Christ’s body.

 

After-all, you have been redeemed by God through the blood of Jesus’ cross for a reason.  And, that reason has nothing to do with perpetuating the division and hatred that the world embraces.  Rather, yours are the hands and feet that deliver the good news of God’s grace to the people of the world in your own, unique way.  

 

Reflection on Matthew 15:10-28

 

Whenever we hear Jesus say, “Great is your faith,” we should pay close attention. 

 

It means that the person Jesus is talking to is someone who can likely teach us a great deal about following Jesus.  So, today our attention is drawn to what makes the Canaanite woman unique in her ability to trust in Jesus.

 

First, this unnamed, indigenous woman from the gentile region of Tyre and Sidon knows that Jesus can heal her daughter.  And, I do not mean that she knows in the manner that she looked up “Miracle Workers” in the yellow pages and saw a listing that said, “Jesus, the cure for all your diseases!” and so she thought, “Hey, why not give it a shot?” 

 

Rather, I mean that she has a deep trust that Jesus can intervene in some way in the tragic situation of her daughter. 

 

Her daughter is tormented by a demon; a condition that we have seen before in the Bible that can drive a grown man to live a life naked in the tombs.  If it can do that to a grown man, imagine what the condition can do to a child.  With a deep love for her child, she desperately asks Jesus over and over again, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.”

 

Now, I am going to get very specific with you about what the Bible says concerning the woman’s request.  After-all, she is being lifted up by Jesus as a model for your own discipleship, so understanding the nature of her faith is important for your own. 

 

Notice that the woman does not ever tell Jesus what to do.  Rather, this is what she says: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."  She asks, as others have before her, that the Lord have mercy on her…that the Lord show compassion on her.  Then she plainly tells Jesus the situation, “my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 

 

She does not tell Jesus what to do about the situation.  She does not insist that Jesus heal her daughter.  She does not tell him to head over to her house.  She just trusts that if Jesus knows what was going on, he will be able to help.

 

Have you ever considered just telling Jesus the problem?  Often our prayers can be pretty specific.  “Get rid of the cancer.”  “Let me get the job.”  “Let me win the Reese Peanut-Butter cup sweepstakes contest that would allow me to have those delectable little treats for an entire year.” 

 

Now, do not hear me incorrectly, there is no wrong way to pray.  God hears your prayers and the needs of your heart no matter what.  But, how the woman differs from me when I pray a lot of my prayers is that she does not feel the need to have the answer already figured out.  She just tells Jesus her problem, and trusts deeply that the Lord will provide the answer. 

 

There is something very freeing about that.  After-all, is not God going to answer your prayer however God sees best anyway?  Rather than expecting God to act in a certain way, and being disappointed when God does not do things your way, there is a certain sort of soul releasing freedom that comes with being open to whatever God chooses to do.  Part of the woman’s great faith is this great trust.  “Thy will be done.”

 

Then there is the part of the woman’s life of faith that I just love.  It is just so striking.  She is persistent.

 

Actually, it is her persistence that gets her in trouble with the disciples in the first place.  She keeps asking, continually, for Jesus to show mercy.  Everywhere he and the disciples step, she is there, asking for mercy.  She is like your younger sibling, following you around through every room, asking you to go to the kitchen, reach up, and grab the cookies from on top of the cabinets.  You just wish they would go away.

 

The disciples finally have had enough of this clingy child and seek some sort of relief from Jesus, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us."

 

Now, here is the part of the story that is somewhat confusing, but at the same time, it is the part of the story that you have likely experienced in your own faith life.  Instead of answering the woman with a miracle, Jesus answers, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 

 

These are painfully dismissive words from the Lord of mercy and love.  In other words he saying, “You are not my problem.”

 

Why does not Jesus provide some sort of act of mercy right away? 

 

Some have suggested that he is testing the woman’s faith in some way. 

 

Other have suggested that Jesus did not yet know that his mission should include the gentiles, and God the Father uses this woman to reveal this aspect of his mission. 

 

Others think that Jesus is simply being racist and sexist like the other men of his time. 

 

Still others think that Jesus is intentionally making a point for the benefit of his disciples, so that they will change their racist and sexist minds, just as he does, about helping the gentiles and showing mercy on women and children in particular. 

 

Quite frankly, I do not know what Jesus is doing here.  All I know is that it is true.  I have been a pastor for 17 years, and I have to tell you, those 17 years are filled with people asking God for help and not receiving an answer in anything that we would consider a timely manner. 

 

What is God up to?  Is God golfing?  Is God attending to other more important activities?  Maybe, it just is not the right time. 

 

I do not know the answer.  I cannot peer into the mind of God and the woman cannot peer into the mind of Jesus.

 

Though I do not know what Jesus is doing with this woman, I do know what impresses Jesus about this woman: she is persistent.  Her faith is one that does not give up.  Her faith is one that will not let up until she has some sort of answer for her child.  Her faith is one that loves and insists on solutions to the pain of the world.

 

"It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the family dog," Jesus says, resisting her efforts even further. 

 

She persists, "Yes, Lord, yet even family dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 

 

She may be a woman and a gentile, but she knows deep in her soul that mercy is for even the likes of her.  She is persistent.  She is insistent.  She does not give up on her cause of mercy and healing.  She is a mother in the purest sense, who will do anything for her child.

 

Though we do not know what Jesus was thinking earlier in the story, we certainly know what he thinks in the end.  Jesus lifts the woman up to his disciples and to us as a person of “great faith.”  She is worthy of emulating. 

 

Not only does the woman have a deep trust that the Lord is merciful, which he is; not only is the woman open to whatever the Lord will do for her, which he will; she is persistent in asking Jesus to intervene. 

 

After-all, we have a Lord whose mercy inspires in us a deep faith, a deep trust in the words, “thy will be done,” and a persistence that does not give up until the Lord acts.  As followers of Jesus, we deeply trust and we persevere.  As followers of Jesus, we are the Canaanite woman.

Reflection on Matthew 14:22-33

 

I want to start by stating that this story is not about Peter.  So, naturally, I am going to talk about Peter. 

 

Peter is the seed that fell on rocky soil.  He gets inspired easily, and energetically charges forward in faith.  He sees Jesus walking on the stormy waters, and charges, full of faith, out on top of the stormy sea in order to join him. 

 

But, if you remember the seed that fell on rocky soil, it grows quickly and enthusiastically, but quickly withers in the sun and cannot continue to grow because its roots do not run deep.  Like a flower with shallow roots withering from being trapped between sun and rock, Peter’s enthusiasm on the waters withers as soon as he sees the size of the wind driven waves and as soon as he comes to grips with the impossibility of what he is doing.  Fear overcomes and Peter sinks.  Peter fails.

 

Such failure can be crippling.

 

Growing up, my family was a musical family.  We sang in church together many times.  These experiences of getting up and singing together in front of all those people gave me confidence in my singing abilities.  That was a good thing.

 

Then, there was “the concert.” 

 

It was ninth grade, and I was one of three tenors in the ninth grade choir.  By far, I had the strongest singing background, so I led the tenor section through its parts. 

 

The pinnacle of my tenor passion came at the end of the last song of our school concert.  The tenors capped the song off with a run up the musical scale to a blaring, and brilliant highlight note to finish the song.  It was a superb musical movement…my congratulations to the writer of the music, but he would not have been happy with our rendition. 

 

You see, I, full of passion, charged straight up that hill of musical notes and led the tenors in a full breathed belting out of that last defining note.  I was exuberant.  When the silence fell, I waited to hear the gasps that sometimes ring of from the audience when they have experienced excellence.  Instead, the silence was broken by muted giggles.

 

I listened to the recording that night after the concert and immediately understood.  I was definitely high on passion that night; but my last note did not match the height of my passion.  Instead of putting a cherry on top of a masterful piece of music, I placed a large glop of yellow, tone-deaf ear wax on top of an expertly designed cake.  I sang that last note flat…very, very flat.  Had I been one step lower, it would have been a nice harmony. 

 

That night, I walked upon the sea and immediately sank.

 

Fear of singing crept into my musical life.  In the years following, my Dad was angry that I stopped singing the hymns loudly in church.  I refused to sing any solo lines with my family.  I would only permit myself to sing quietly in the middle of a large choir.  I learned the guitar so that I could create music with something other than my voice.  Like Peter, I got very, very good at sinking.

 

But, I told you that this gospel story is not about Peter, nor is it about me.  Nor is this gospel story about sinking.  Rather, this story is about Jesus. 

 

If you recall from last week, Jesus was at a low point in life himself.  He was rejected by those he loved in his own hometown, and he was dealing with the grief and fear brought about by the murder of his friend John the Baptist. 

 

Jesus tried to get away from the chaos of life and pray, but thousands of people sought him out for healing, and he eventually fed these multitudes of people with five loaves of bread and two fish.

 

Finally, at the beginning of today’s story, Jesus is able to send the disciples and the crowds away, and get some much needed rest and peace.  After he spends some soul restoring time with God the Father, Jesus gets up and walks miles across the stormy sea to the disciples. 

 

Here is the difference between Jesus and me…other than being able to walk on water that is.  That one is obvious.  When Jesus sinks low, he spends time with God the Father, finds restoration, and gets up again to walk across the chaos of the sea.  When I sink low, I just sink, much like Peter.

 

Failure can be debilitating.  Though this story is not about Peter, and I assure you that it is not, I still identify with this guy who exuberantly tries and sinks incredibly fast when he fails.

 

But, this is the story about Jesus who gets up from an impossibly low point in life and walks across the chaotic seas.  This is the story about Jesus who can look at the suffering of thousands and thousands of people and take five loaves of bread and two fish and lift them all from their hunger.  This is the story about Jesus who is crucified on a cross in a bloody death, buried in a grave, and on the third day rises again.  This is the story about Jesus who forgives the sins of the world…who forgives your sins and lifts you up to try again.

 

This story is about Jesus who will freely let you try, who will say, “Come” even if you have no clue what you are doing or how you will do it.  And, this is the story of the one who will pick you up again…who will raise you up again…when you fail, fall, and get trapped in fear. 

 

You do not know the next move in life? 

You do not know if you should take the new job? 

You do not know if you should take on the role of raising kids a second time in life? 

You do not know if you should try that new thing, that new skill, that new endeavor about which you have no experience? 

You do not know if you should forgive that person, again? 

You do not know whether or not the kids should go to school in the fall? 

You do not know if you should take that step out of the boat? 

You fear that you will not succeed? 

 

Well, I have something to proclaim to you: You have a God who says to you, “Come.” 

 

Come, take the step. 

Come, walk through the waves. 

Maybe, fear will overtake you. 

Maybe the waves will crash down and you will fail. 

 

Do not fear, Jesus is right there to reach under the surface of the waters and raise you up once again.

 

Jesus will bring you back to the boat.  After-all, the boat is the place of restoration.  The boat is the place where the faithful disciples gather together.  The boat is the place where you will be encouraged to try once again. 

 

The boat is where I was encouraged to try singing once again.  It was the church, Christ’s own body, who led me to take a step out of the boat once again and sing a new song.

 

Do I still sing off key sometimes?  Of course.  Does it destroy my passion?  No.  I know that Jesus is there to lift me again when I fall.

 

That is the message of the cross and the open tomb.  That is the message of death and resurrection through Jesus Christ.  That is the message for you.  It is a message that says, yes the cross casts a cloud of fear, but the bright light of the open grave always shines a way to new life (whether here or in eternity). 

 

Death is not what this story is about. 

Fear is not what this story is about. 

The stormy waters are not what this story is about. 

 

This story is about the hand of Christ that catches you and lifts you up when you sink.  This story is about the one who saves.

 

Come, step out of the boat into the stormy sea.  Christ is already there; waiting with ready hands.