Today, we come to the second mark of the church presented in Romans chapter 15 verses 1-6. Verse 2 reads, “Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.”
On the surface, this looks to be rather simple. Most world religions and philosophies teach that we should be kind and compassionate. Most world religions and philosophies teach us to care for those in need and ease the needs of the poor and downtrodden. Nearly every world religion and philosophy has some form of the teaching, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” So, we as Christians are supposed to be nice people. We are supposed to be kind people. We are supposed to treat others with such niceness and kindness. That’s it, right. End of sermon. Done. Let’s call it a day.
You knew it wouldn’t be that simple, didn’t you? The Greek wording of this sentence adds a little bit of nuance. A better reading would be this: Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor spiritually. One of the marks of the church that first falls deeply in love with Jesus is the deep desire to build up our neighbors spiritually.
Now, first off, let me say that this does not excuse us from helping those who are in need. There is wisdom in the statement that it’s awful hard to hear someone saying, “God loves you,” when your stomach is rumbling; you’re cold and shivering, and you have no place to sleep. Furthermore, Jesus is very, very clear that when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned, we are feeding, clothing, and visiting him. We must care for our neighbor’s physical needs, but we are called to care for our neighbor’s spiritual needs as well–to build up our neighbor spiritually. This is where things can become complicated.
How do we build up our neighbor spiritually? It’s easy to give someone something to eat when they are hungry. It’s easy to give someone a drink when they are thirsty. It’s easy to give someone clothing when they are naked. It’s easy to visit someone when they are sick or in prison. These needs are visible. We can see them without difficulty. But how do we build up our neighbor’s spirituality? How do we help them grow in their relationship with God–and in particular grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ? That’s not so easy, not so easy at all because we cannot see where people are at. We cannot see if they even believe in God. We cannot see how deeply they believe in Jesus Christ. We don’t know where their faith is at; if they have faith at all; or even if they want to grow in their faith. How can we begin to build up others spiritually if we cannot see where they are at?
Some of you may have heard the parable about the blind men and the elephant. For those of you who haven’t let me tell it once more. A group of blind men stumble upon an elephant in the jungle. They all want to figure out what the elephant is like, so they each touch a piece of the elephant. Afterwards, as the men continue their travels, they begin arguing what the elephant is like. One who touched the tail argues, “The elephant is like a rope, long and stringy.” One who touched the torso says, “The elephant is like a wall, solid and strong.” One who touched the tusk says, “The elephant is like a spear, long and with a sharp point.” One who touched the leg says, “The elephant is like a tree stump, short and stout.” And on and on it goes as the men argue with one another what the elephant is like. Now, this parable is usually used to talk about religion saying that each religion has part of the truth, but none has the full truth. Don’t get too comfortable with that conclusion–it’s easily refutable.
But I don’t want to use that conclusion today. What I would like to comment on is that oftentimes we do such things with one another when it comes to the faith life of another person. We observe from afar. We see someone going to church, and we assume that their faith is very strong and that they are a Christian. We observe someone staying home every Sunday, and we infer that they have no faith. We observe someone covered with tattoos and body piercings, and we think they are an atheist. We observe someone clean cut and wearing a suit on Sunday morning, and we assume they are a deacon in a congregation. Oh, this is just a short list. We could add many other observations. And oftentimes, we base our conclusions on just these observations. Meanwhile, others make different observations and come to different conclusions. Then, we end up like all of those blind men arguing on the roadside.
But here is a revolutionary thought–it’s not mine. I actually heard a pastor by the name of Kevin DeYoung use it. What if the elephant could talk? What if the elephant could express itself? What if the elephant had the capability of describing itself to you and telling you exactly what it was like? How would that change the parable?
Well, if you refused to talk to the elephant, it wouldn’t change things much at all. You’d still be left guessing, but if the elephant could talk, and you actually engaged the elephant, you might find out some very, very interesting things. You might find out a whole lot more than you ever thought you knew.
Now, I am certainly not trying to call our neighbors elephants. God forbid! That might cause a bit of a stir, but what I am suggesting, rather strongly, that in order to truly build up our neighbors spiritually, we have to get to know our neighbors. I mean, really get to know our neighbors. This isn’t a superficial, “Hey how are you?” kind of knowing. This isn’t a, “I know your name, your address, and your phone number kind of relationship.” This is an engagement so that we come to know the height, depth, and length of our neighbor’s relationship with God or lack of it. For if we don’t know about our neighbor’s relationship with God, how can we even begin to build it up?
The answer is, “We can’t.” Before I continue just a moment, let me please dispel one thing that sometimes arises at this point. Sometimes, good intentioned people say, “But pastor, isn’t the church supposed to worry about growing the faith of its members?” The answer to that is absolutely, positively yes!! Indeed, the church is here to help the faith of its members grow, but let me add this note–Paul here is very intentional in his wording. He uses the term neighbors after a long stretch of using the word brothers. He changes the terminology because for him, brothers means fellow Christians. He intentionally indicates here that as your faith grows and deepens, you no longer just look to your own growth and building up; you no longer just look to the building up of your fellow Christians, you look outside yourself and outside your church into your community to help others come into a relationship with Jesus Christ and grow into that relationship.
And so, the mark of a church that is growing in its relationship with Jesus Christ is that its members seek out people in the community; seeks out their neighbors to get to know them; to learn about them; to understand them as people; to come to love and cherish their relationship, and then to lead them to Jesus Christ or help them deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ.
I am reminded about the story of two literary giants. Perhaps you have heard their names: J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis. Tolkein wrote The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, and a host of other well known Christian books. What you may not know is that C.S. Lewis was originally an atheist. He railed against Christianity and called it a myth like any Norse mythology. False. Untrue. For five years, J.R.R. Tolkein talked with his friend C.S. Lewis. For five years, Tolkein got to know Lewis; ate with him; drank with him; engaged him with conversation. Then, on September 19, 1931, Lewis converted from atheism to theism. Lewis came to believe in God. But, Lewis did not convert to Christianity. It was not until two years later that while staying up past 3 a.m. with Tolkein and another professor that C.S. Lewis came to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the world. For you mathematicians, you know that this took seven years. Seven years of investing in a friend. Of engaging. Of questioning. Of not becoming offended. Of caring. Of genuine concern for the building up of the neighbor.
The question becomes, are we as a church; are we as individual Christians willing to invest so much time? Are we willing to grow in our faith so that we can help others grow over such a long time? Are we willing to be long term people in a short term world? Are we willing to do what it takes to really and truly get to know our neighbors, understand where they are coming from, and truly seek their coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior? Will we be willing to invest in our neighbors like Jesus invested in us and continues to invest in us to help us grow?
For Jesus sought to win our hearts by dying for us when we least deserved it. He did not coerce us with fear or anger, but with grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Yes, He confronted us with our sin, but he did not hold that sin against us. Instead, He took that sin upon Himself and paid the price for those sins by dying on the cross and facing hell for us. He then showered us with hope as He showed us what awaits for us when we trust in Him–resurrection and the reversal of all evil. And now, He walks with us daily living enthroned upon our hearts whispering to us of his love; whispering to us of his grace; whispering to us his guidance and continued support; whispering to us that no matter what we face in life, He will see us through and bring us to something glorious–the Kingdom of God. It is this love that we are called to share. It is this love that we are called to pass on to our neighbor. It is this love that will build our neighbor up. Amen.
Showing posts with label Marks of the Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marks of the Church. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Monday, January 15, 2018
A Christ-Centered Church, "Dilly dilly!"
Today, I am beginning a sermon series titled “Five Marks of the Church” based on Romans chapter 15 verses 1-6. We read the text earlier, and within it, we see five marks of the church and of the individual Christian. The text presents them in this order: 1) Outward focused on building up our neighbor. 2) Christ centered. 3) Deeply rooted in the Bible. 4) Living in harmony. And 5) Doing everything for God’s glory.
This morning, I am going to concentrate on the most important of these marks because it forms the foundation of all that is to come. It forms the foundation of the church itself. It is the one mark that is above all other marks: a church must be Christ centered.
Now, what does Christ centered mean? Let me begin answering this question by turning to those sages of wisdom in advertizing: Bud Light. For those of you who have heard about or who heard my Christmas Eve sermon, you know that I raised an empty bottle of Bud Light and spoke of the first “Dilly Dilly” commercial. During that snippet of the sermon, I discovered that while it is nearly impossible to get Lutherans to say “Amen” in a sermon, some will gladly say, “Dilly Dilly!” It was quite the experience. But, the thing is, Bud Light did not stop with one commercial, there have been several others that have been done for this campaign, and one of them is very pertinent to the discussion of what it means to be Christ centered. The commercial that I am speaking of is the one titled, “Wizard.” How many of you have seen it?
This commercial begins in the king’s throne room. A large crowd has gathered to watch a wizard perform his magic. The wizard points his staff at a chair, and poof!, the chair becomes a case of Bud Light!
The king responds, “Well done, wizard! You are a true friend of the crown!” And holding up his bottle of Bud Light, the king says, “Dilly, dilly!”
The wizard bows as the rest of the crowd raises their bottles and resoundingly responds, “Dilly dilly!”
The wizard then says, “What would you have me do now, your majesty?”
The queen points her finger, and the king says, “Turn that into Bud Light.”
The wizard says, “Okay,” as he points his staff at a candle stand.
Poof! The crowd gasps as it turns into several stacked cases of Bud Light with a single bottle on top.
The king then says, “Now, turn that statue into Bud Light!”
The wizard then looks at the king and says, “You know, your highness, I can do other things. I can put a curse on your enemies. I can make you immortal!”
The king looks at his queen for just a second and then responds, “Yeah, no, just the Bud Light thing.”
The wizard, with a bit of a frustrated look, nods his head, points his staff, and the statue turns into a bunch of cases of Bud Light.
A member of the crowd then raises his bottle and says, “Dilly dilly!”
And everyone else says, “Dilly dilly!!”
When I first saw this commercial, I laughed rather heartily and loudly! Everyone knows, and I mean everyone knows that the power to put a curse on one’s enemies or to grant immortality is tremendously better than beer! Everyone get that. Everyone understands that. And yet, yet, this king is so consumed and focused on Bud Light, that he would give up immortality to see a statue turned into his favorite beer. It makes for brilliant advertizing!!
And it makes for brilliant advertizing because it picks up on something in human nature–our own willingness to settle for far less and desire things that are of far less value. What do I mean by that? Well, I would like to use the example of the church to begin with. Throughout my years, I have heard numerous reasons that people have given to invite people to come to church. I have heard numerous reasons for the church to want to get members. Some of them are good. Some, not so much.
Here’s one of the not so much ones: the church needs to get members to keep the lights on and the bills paid. That’s really not a good reason to have people join the church–that’s simply about survival, but there are congregations that actually function with this mentality.
Some folks invite people to come to church to hear a particular pastor. “Our pastor preaches fantastic sermons, you should come and hear him or her!” This is an okay reason, but in the long run, we pastors will always disappoint. We’re human. We mess up. We retire. We leave for other congregations. Having a church centered on a pastor is really not the best of ideas. Because as one pastor said in a sermon, “We are not here to follow the messenger, we are here to follow the message.”
Here’s a better reason: you should join a church because the church provides a place of community. We are social creatures, there is no doubt about that. We need one another as well as needing to be individuals. The church is a place where you can find community. Not a bad thing.
Here’s another good reason: you should join a church because you can work together with others for justice and peace. The world is full of injustice. The world is full of division and hatred. The church provides an avenue where people can come together to challenge the status quo and show a different way of living. That’s a good thing!
Here’s a final one: you should go to church because you will be encouraged to be a better person. You will be taught right and wrong. You will be given examples of people who lived a good life, and you will receive encouragement to go and do likewise.
Now, these are just a few reasons, and the list is not exhaustive. Most of these things are good–except a couple, and there is nothing wrong with such things. But let me now offer you the most important reason for coming to church. Let me now offer you the most important thing that the church offers, and let’s see how it compares with the things that I have just listed. The church is here to bring people Jesus. The church is here to give people the Gospel–the Good news of what Jesus has done for them in His death and resurrection–so that Jesus may come into their hearts and they may be filled with the Spirit of God.
How does that compare with all of those other things? Here, in this hand, you have all of those things, and here in this other hand, you have Jesus Himself, in all of His glory, in all His divinity. You have Jesus who loved you with an unimaginable love; who stretched out His arms and died for you when you least deserved it. You have the God who took your sin upon himself; who took your place on the cross; who suffered what you should have suffered; and who gave you what He earned–eternal life; the endless love of the Heavenly Father; the knowledge that you no longer have to look to any other thing for your value and self-worth. You have Jesus who shines light into the darkness; who lives in you and clothes you with Himself; who gives you the everlasting promises that no matter what may befall you–no matter what trial you may undergo, He is waiting to bring you through it and transform whatever wrong into goodness and light. Can anything else compare? Can anything else even come close? Bud Light or immortality; is there even a choice? Jesus or all that other stuff, is there even a choice?
The greatest and most important mark of any church is that it is Christ centered. Everything that church does points to Jesus. Everything that occurs is done with the mind set of helping others see who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for the world because Jesus is the greatest treasure that we could ever have.
But, there is a catch of sorts. I was listening to a sermon by a pastor in Austin, TX by the name of Matt Carter. I was struck by something he said in that sermon. He said, “We will never be a Christ centered church until we are full of Christ centered people. We will never be a Christ centered church until Jesus is all of our first love.” When I heard that statement, I knew it was the truth. I knew that if the Church is to be Christ centered, its pastor must be Christ-centered and its people must be Christ centered. We must have Christ as our first love. We must have experienced His grace and His mercy in our lives. We must have found ourselves at the foot of the cross thanking Him for what He has done for us by dying for us and making us right with God the Father. We must have found the true treasure of Jesus and have had Him claim us as His own.
Have you been grasped by the love of Jesus? Does He sit enthroned in your heart? Have you found the endless love, peace, and joy that He can bring? Today, Jesus looks at you and says, “I will give myself to you. I will pour myself into you and into your heart. I will never let you down.” Will we open our hearts to him, or will we say, “Yeah, no, just the Bud Light thing. Yeah, no, just the worldly thing. Yeah, no just the community thing. Yeah, no just the whatever thing.”? If we are to be a Christ centered Church, let us be Christ centered people and with the great hymn writer, let us also sing:
Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus.
You can have all of the rest.
Give me Jesus. Amen.
This morning, I am going to concentrate on the most important of these marks because it forms the foundation of all that is to come. It forms the foundation of the church itself. It is the one mark that is above all other marks: a church must be Christ centered.
Now, what does Christ centered mean? Let me begin answering this question by turning to those sages of wisdom in advertizing: Bud Light. For those of you who have heard about or who heard my Christmas Eve sermon, you know that I raised an empty bottle of Bud Light and spoke of the first “Dilly Dilly” commercial. During that snippet of the sermon, I discovered that while it is nearly impossible to get Lutherans to say “Amen” in a sermon, some will gladly say, “Dilly Dilly!” It was quite the experience. But, the thing is, Bud Light did not stop with one commercial, there have been several others that have been done for this campaign, and one of them is very pertinent to the discussion of what it means to be Christ centered. The commercial that I am speaking of is the one titled, “Wizard.” How many of you have seen it?
This commercial begins in the king’s throne room. A large crowd has gathered to watch a wizard perform his magic. The wizard points his staff at a chair, and poof!, the chair becomes a case of Bud Light!
The king responds, “Well done, wizard! You are a true friend of the crown!” And holding up his bottle of Bud Light, the king says, “Dilly, dilly!”
The wizard bows as the rest of the crowd raises their bottles and resoundingly responds, “Dilly dilly!”
The wizard then says, “What would you have me do now, your majesty?”
The queen points her finger, and the king says, “Turn that into Bud Light.”
The wizard says, “Okay,” as he points his staff at a candle stand.
Poof! The crowd gasps as it turns into several stacked cases of Bud Light with a single bottle on top.
The king then says, “Now, turn that statue into Bud Light!”
The wizard then looks at the king and says, “You know, your highness, I can do other things. I can put a curse on your enemies. I can make you immortal!”
The king looks at his queen for just a second and then responds, “Yeah, no, just the Bud Light thing.”
The wizard, with a bit of a frustrated look, nods his head, points his staff, and the statue turns into a bunch of cases of Bud Light.
A member of the crowd then raises his bottle and says, “Dilly dilly!”
And everyone else says, “Dilly dilly!!”
When I first saw this commercial, I laughed rather heartily and loudly! Everyone knows, and I mean everyone knows that the power to put a curse on one’s enemies or to grant immortality is tremendously better than beer! Everyone get that. Everyone understands that. And yet, yet, this king is so consumed and focused on Bud Light, that he would give up immortality to see a statue turned into his favorite beer. It makes for brilliant advertizing!!
And it makes for brilliant advertizing because it picks up on something in human nature–our own willingness to settle for far less and desire things that are of far less value. What do I mean by that? Well, I would like to use the example of the church to begin with. Throughout my years, I have heard numerous reasons that people have given to invite people to come to church. I have heard numerous reasons for the church to want to get members. Some of them are good. Some, not so much.
Here’s one of the not so much ones: the church needs to get members to keep the lights on and the bills paid. That’s really not a good reason to have people join the church–that’s simply about survival, but there are congregations that actually function with this mentality.
Some folks invite people to come to church to hear a particular pastor. “Our pastor preaches fantastic sermons, you should come and hear him or her!” This is an okay reason, but in the long run, we pastors will always disappoint. We’re human. We mess up. We retire. We leave for other congregations. Having a church centered on a pastor is really not the best of ideas. Because as one pastor said in a sermon, “We are not here to follow the messenger, we are here to follow the message.”
Here’s a better reason: you should join a church because the church provides a place of community. We are social creatures, there is no doubt about that. We need one another as well as needing to be individuals. The church is a place where you can find community. Not a bad thing.
Here’s another good reason: you should join a church because you can work together with others for justice and peace. The world is full of injustice. The world is full of division and hatred. The church provides an avenue where people can come together to challenge the status quo and show a different way of living. That’s a good thing!
Here’s a final one: you should go to church because you will be encouraged to be a better person. You will be taught right and wrong. You will be given examples of people who lived a good life, and you will receive encouragement to go and do likewise.
Now, these are just a few reasons, and the list is not exhaustive. Most of these things are good–except a couple, and there is nothing wrong with such things. But let me now offer you the most important reason for coming to church. Let me now offer you the most important thing that the church offers, and let’s see how it compares with the things that I have just listed. The church is here to bring people Jesus. The church is here to give people the Gospel–the Good news of what Jesus has done for them in His death and resurrection–so that Jesus may come into their hearts and they may be filled with the Spirit of God.
How does that compare with all of those other things? Here, in this hand, you have all of those things, and here in this other hand, you have Jesus Himself, in all of His glory, in all His divinity. You have Jesus who loved you with an unimaginable love; who stretched out His arms and died for you when you least deserved it. You have the God who took your sin upon himself; who took your place on the cross; who suffered what you should have suffered; and who gave you what He earned–eternal life; the endless love of the Heavenly Father; the knowledge that you no longer have to look to any other thing for your value and self-worth. You have Jesus who shines light into the darkness; who lives in you and clothes you with Himself; who gives you the everlasting promises that no matter what may befall you–no matter what trial you may undergo, He is waiting to bring you through it and transform whatever wrong into goodness and light. Can anything else compare? Can anything else even come close? Bud Light or immortality; is there even a choice? Jesus or all that other stuff, is there even a choice?
The greatest and most important mark of any church is that it is Christ centered. Everything that church does points to Jesus. Everything that occurs is done with the mind set of helping others see who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for the world because Jesus is the greatest treasure that we could ever have.
But, there is a catch of sorts. I was listening to a sermon by a pastor in Austin, TX by the name of Matt Carter. I was struck by something he said in that sermon. He said, “We will never be a Christ centered church until we are full of Christ centered people. We will never be a Christ centered church until Jesus is all of our first love.” When I heard that statement, I knew it was the truth. I knew that if the Church is to be Christ centered, its pastor must be Christ-centered and its people must be Christ centered. We must have Christ as our first love. We must have experienced His grace and His mercy in our lives. We must have found ourselves at the foot of the cross thanking Him for what He has done for us by dying for us and making us right with God the Father. We must have found the true treasure of Jesus and have had Him claim us as His own.
Have you been grasped by the love of Jesus? Does He sit enthroned in your heart? Have you found the endless love, peace, and joy that He can bring? Today, Jesus looks at you and says, “I will give myself to you. I will pour myself into you and into your heart. I will never let you down.” Will we open our hearts to him, or will we say, “Yeah, no, just the Bud Light thing. Yeah, no, just the worldly thing. Yeah, no just the community thing. Yeah, no just the whatever thing.”? If we are to be a Christ centered Church, let us be Christ centered people and with the great hymn writer, let us also sing:
Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus.
You can have all of the rest.
Give me Jesus. Amen.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
More than Just Greetings: Romans 16:1-16
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be a lot to talk about in our lesson from the book of Romans this morning. I mean, essentially all you have Paul doing is sending greetings. Greet such and such. Greet so and so. Greet this person who is beloved. Greet that person who is a member of that house. Over and over again–27 people worth of greetings. I mean, if that is the sum and substance of Paul’s paragraph here, what more is to be said than simply getting up here and saying, “Greet one another. Amen.?” Short. Sweet. To the point. Done. Let’s call it a day.
But let’s take a moment to dig a little deeper. Let’s go beyond the superficial and look at some of the details and see what is revealed about what it means to live a life that is convicted by the Gospel.
The first thing that stands out to me is how many people Paul actually knew in the church that he had never visited. Think about this with me for just a moment. Remember, Paul has admitted that he has never been to the church in Rome. He has yet to travel there, even though he has desperately wanted to. If that is the case, how is it that Paul knows the names of so many people? How is it that he somehow can ask for greetings for over 20 folks whom he has yet to see face to face?
This gives us some insight into the early Christian church. It tells us that in the early Church, folks knew of fellow Christians throughout the Roman Empire. They were not isolated in their little enclaves, thinking only about themselves, and connected to their small circle of friends and relatives in their communities. No. They had a much larger perspective of what the church was. They had a much larger perspective of where the Gospel was supposed to go. They knew that the church was struggling to gain a foothold in the Roman Empire. It faced trials and tribulations. It faced some persecution. It faced shortage of resources. So, people stayed in contact with each other. People prayed for one another. People in Achaia and Macedonia cared for the people in Jerusalem. People in Jerusalem prayed for the people in Rome. The early Christians knew that the church was much, much larger than their local congregations, and they made it a point to reach across the distances to get to know folks in other places.
I must confess that this is an area of growth for me. I tend to be rather short-sighted. I tend to focus right here on this community and neglect others throughout the world. I tend to forget that the church is much, much larger than Saint John Lutheran Church of Cat Spring. I tend to focus my prayers right here and forget about the rest of the world. I do not know many people outside of this congregation and the congregations I served previously. It is a challenge for me to think on a grander scale...to think about the larger church. Perhaps this is also a challenge for our congregation.
The second thing that stands out for me is the diversity of people that Paul greets. There are men and women. There are Jews and Gentiles. There are people who own houses, and there are slaves. These early house churches cut across racial, gender, and socio-economic status. When you walked into those churches, you did not see row after row of people who looked the same, had the same background, and had the same status in society. The Gospel had broken down these boundaries and replaced them with a new set of boundaries.
For you see, the Gospel proclaimed that each and every person was in Christ Jesus. Each and every person had been clothed with Christ Jesus. Each and every person had a new identity that went above and beyond any other identity conferred upon them in society. People did not cease having a Jewish or Gentile background. They did not cease being rich or poor. They did not cease being slave or free. They did not cease being male or female, but those identities were nothing compared to their identity in Christ. Therefore, there was only one status that was important in the church: that you were a child of God.
That’s it.
Nothing else.
You were not given special privilege because you were wealthy. You were not given special privilege because you were male. You were not given special privilege because you were Jewish. All of these things, which at one time did bestow privilege, were gone. You were a new creation being made into the image and likeness of Jesus.
This too has implications for the church today. For it is awfully easy to flip back into the distinctions of status and privilege. It is awfully easy to believe that our job or our title or our bank accounts or our possessions or any other distinguishing mark gives us a special privilege. This is something we must resist. When the church begins allowing these distinctions, we fall away from the promises we have inherited in our baptisms. We fail to remember how Jesus has claimed us and clothed us. We fail to remember what Christ has done for us and instead focus on, well, us. And we are not the focus of the church. Jesus has been, is, and always will be. When a church fails to focus on Jesus, distinctions get made, and we are another step further removed from the becoming the body of Christ.
Finally, in this passage, we see a deep, deep sense of love and respect between church members. Paul’s initial words about the deaconess Phoebe are a recommendation to end all recommendations. They are very, very flattering and are intended to paint her in the best possible light as she, in all likelihood, brings Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. We then see just how far members in the church are willing to care for one another in the next statement. “Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, 4and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”
I must confess to you that I don’t think I had ever paid that much attention to this sentence the previous times when I had read through the book of Romans. Prisca and Aquila literally “risked their necks” on behalf of Paul. Whatever they did, it put them in great risk for their fellow brother in Christ. Whatever they did, it could have cost them their lives. In the early church, folks were willing to risk their lives for one another!!! Chew on that for just a minute.
Being a part of the early church literally could put your life in danger. Much like being a part of the church in Iran today, or in the areas still controlled by ISIS. Much like being a part of the church in China. Christians in these parts of the world are apt to suffer greatly at the hands of the ruling authorities, and being a part of the church there could literally jeopardize your life.
And yet, the church is actually growing rapidly in these parts of the world just as it grew rapidly in the Roman empire. There was something so deeply moving about the Christian faith that it led people to do things that were almost unthinkable. It led people to take unbelievable risks for one another–risks that were not done out of any sort of self-interest or personal gain, but risks that were taken out of great love for fellow believers.
And why wouldn’t they take such risks? They knew what Jesus had done for them. They knew what Jesus had endured for their sakes. They knew that Jesus had come into this world as God-incarnate. They knew that Jesus had lived the life that God desired of mankind. They knew that Jesus was spotless and blameless before God. They knew that Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for their sins. They knew that they didn’t measure up to God’s standards. They knew that they fell woefully short. They knew they deserved eternal punishment for their shortcomings before the Almighty Creator of the universe. But instead of that punishment falling on their heads, Jesus took that punishment for them. Jesus interceded on their behalf and faced hell for them. Jesus faced rejection for them. Jesus faced divine wrath for them. And then He became the first fruits of a new creation as he was raised from the dead. He became the first sign of God’s new kingdom breaking into the world and reversing all evil and hatred. He became the unleashing of God’s rule in the world where death and the devil would be defeated. These early Christians were grasped by this marvelous act of Jesus. They were grasped by this undeserved love. They were grasped by the wonder of God dying for them when they least deserved it, and their hearts were moved to love God and love one another so that they would lay down their lives for each other. They would take great risks for one another. They would sacrifice their time, their talent, and their treasure for one another. The Gospel changed them deeply from within!
And O how desperately do we need this Gospel today!! How desperately do we need to have Christ’s love poured into our hearts so that we are willing to have our lives changed again!! How desperately does the church need an infusion of God’s love reawakened within it! How desperately does the church need to rediscover its roots so that it has the energy, drive, and hope of the early church! For as the rest of the world saw how different the church was; as the rest of the world saw the changed hearts and self-sacrifice of the church; the rest of the world noticed that this change was not brought about by self-will and determination. The rest of the world saw that God had indeed touched the hearts and minds of the church. The rest of the world saw that God was real and had come to earth as Jesus the Christ. The rest of the world saw that God’s kingdom was breaking into the world, and they wanted to be a part of that kingdom as well. The rest of the world’s hearts became changed because the Gospel captured them through the love, preaching, teaching, and risk taking of the church.
Oh, my brothers and sisters, this text has so much more within it than simply greeting one another. It helps us see what the church can be when it loves God and then loves one another. May God’s love find us so that we may be the Church!! Amen.
But let’s take a moment to dig a little deeper. Let’s go beyond the superficial and look at some of the details and see what is revealed about what it means to live a life that is convicted by the Gospel.
The first thing that stands out to me is how many people Paul actually knew in the church that he had never visited. Think about this with me for just a moment. Remember, Paul has admitted that he has never been to the church in Rome. He has yet to travel there, even though he has desperately wanted to. If that is the case, how is it that Paul knows the names of so many people? How is it that he somehow can ask for greetings for over 20 folks whom he has yet to see face to face?
This gives us some insight into the early Christian church. It tells us that in the early Church, folks knew of fellow Christians throughout the Roman Empire. They were not isolated in their little enclaves, thinking only about themselves, and connected to their small circle of friends and relatives in their communities. No. They had a much larger perspective of what the church was. They had a much larger perspective of where the Gospel was supposed to go. They knew that the church was struggling to gain a foothold in the Roman Empire. It faced trials and tribulations. It faced some persecution. It faced shortage of resources. So, people stayed in contact with each other. People prayed for one another. People in Achaia and Macedonia cared for the people in Jerusalem. People in Jerusalem prayed for the people in Rome. The early Christians knew that the church was much, much larger than their local congregations, and they made it a point to reach across the distances to get to know folks in other places.
I must confess that this is an area of growth for me. I tend to be rather short-sighted. I tend to focus right here on this community and neglect others throughout the world. I tend to forget that the church is much, much larger than Saint John Lutheran Church of Cat Spring. I tend to focus my prayers right here and forget about the rest of the world. I do not know many people outside of this congregation and the congregations I served previously. It is a challenge for me to think on a grander scale...to think about the larger church. Perhaps this is also a challenge for our congregation.
The second thing that stands out for me is the diversity of people that Paul greets. There are men and women. There are Jews and Gentiles. There are people who own houses, and there are slaves. These early house churches cut across racial, gender, and socio-economic status. When you walked into those churches, you did not see row after row of people who looked the same, had the same background, and had the same status in society. The Gospel had broken down these boundaries and replaced them with a new set of boundaries.
For you see, the Gospel proclaimed that each and every person was in Christ Jesus. Each and every person had been clothed with Christ Jesus. Each and every person had a new identity that went above and beyond any other identity conferred upon them in society. People did not cease having a Jewish or Gentile background. They did not cease being rich or poor. They did not cease being slave or free. They did not cease being male or female, but those identities were nothing compared to their identity in Christ. Therefore, there was only one status that was important in the church: that you were a child of God.
That’s it.
Nothing else.
You were not given special privilege because you were wealthy. You were not given special privilege because you were male. You were not given special privilege because you were Jewish. All of these things, which at one time did bestow privilege, were gone. You were a new creation being made into the image and likeness of Jesus.
This too has implications for the church today. For it is awfully easy to flip back into the distinctions of status and privilege. It is awfully easy to believe that our job or our title or our bank accounts or our possessions or any other distinguishing mark gives us a special privilege. This is something we must resist. When the church begins allowing these distinctions, we fall away from the promises we have inherited in our baptisms. We fail to remember how Jesus has claimed us and clothed us. We fail to remember what Christ has done for us and instead focus on, well, us. And we are not the focus of the church. Jesus has been, is, and always will be. When a church fails to focus on Jesus, distinctions get made, and we are another step further removed from the becoming the body of Christ.
Finally, in this passage, we see a deep, deep sense of love and respect between church members. Paul’s initial words about the deaconess Phoebe are a recommendation to end all recommendations. They are very, very flattering and are intended to paint her in the best possible light as she, in all likelihood, brings Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. We then see just how far members in the church are willing to care for one another in the next statement. “Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, 4and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”
I must confess to you that I don’t think I had ever paid that much attention to this sentence the previous times when I had read through the book of Romans. Prisca and Aquila literally “risked their necks” on behalf of Paul. Whatever they did, it put them in great risk for their fellow brother in Christ. Whatever they did, it could have cost them their lives. In the early church, folks were willing to risk their lives for one another!!! Chew on that for just a minute.
Being a part of the early church literally could put your life in danger. Much like being a part of the church in Iran today, or in the areas still controlled by ISIS. Much like being a part of the church in China. Christians in these parts of the world are apt to suffer greatly at the hands of the ruling authorities, and being a part of the church there could literally jeopardize your life.
And yet, the church is actually growing rapidly in these parts of the world just as it grew rapidly in the Roman empire. There was something so deeply moving about the Christian faith that it led people to do things that were almost unthinkable. It led people to take unbelievable risks for one another–risks that were not done out of any sort of self-interest or personal gain, but risks that were taken out of great love for fellow believers.
And why wouldn’t they take such risks? They knew what Jesus had done for them. They knew what Jesus had endured for their sakes. They knew that Jesus had come into this world as God-incarnate. They knew that Jesus had lived the life that God desired of mankind. They knew that Jesus was spotless and blameless before God. They knew that Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for their sins. They knew that they didn’t measure up to God’s standards. They knew that they fell woefully short. They knew they deserved eternal punishment for their shortcomings before the Almighty Creator of the universe. But instead of that punishment falling on their heads, Jesus took that punishment for them. Jesus interceded on their behalf and faced hell for them. Jesus faced rejection for them. Jesus faced divine wrath for them. And then He became the first fruits of a new creation as he was raised from the dead. He became the first sign of God’s new kingdom breaking into the world and reversing all evil and hatred. He became the unleashing of God’s rule in the world where death and the devil would be defeated. These early Christians were grasped by this marvelous act of Jesus. They were grasped by this undeserved love. They were grasped by the wonder of God dying for them when they least deserved it, and their hearts were moved to love God and love one another so that they would lay down their lives for each other. They would take great risks for one another. They would sacrifice their time, their talent, and their treasure for one another. The Gospel changed them deeply from within!
And O how desperately do we need this Gospel today!! How desperately do we need to have Christ’s love poured into our hearts so that we are willing to have our lives changed again!! How desperately does the church need an infusion of God’s love reawakened within it! How desperately does the church need to rediscover its roots so that it has the energy, drive, and hope of the early church! For as the rest of the world saw how different the church was; as the rest of the world saw the changed hearts and self-sacrifice of the church; the rest of the world noticed that this change was not brought about by self-will and determination. The rest of the world saw that God had indeed touched the hearts and minds of the church. The rest of the world saw that God was real and had come to earth as Jesus the Christ. The rest of the world saw that God’s kingdom was breaking into the world, and they wanted to be a part of that kingdom as well. The rest of the world’s hearts became changed because the Gospel captured them through the love, preaching, teaching, and risk taking of the church.
Oh, my brothers and sisters, this text has so much more within it than simply greeting one another. It helps us see what the church can be when it loves God and then loves one another. May God’s love find us so that we may be the Church!! Amen.
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