Broken Open

Sunday's reading (Romans 9:1-5) begins three Sundays in a row where Paul wrestles with his past. He is grieved, wounded and disheartened: his Jewish ancestors have not come to faith in Jesus Christ. Many of us have sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, friends, or neighbors for whom we also grieve, because they have chosen not to follow Christ. Perhaps it is sadness over someone who has drifted or rejected Jesus--a hurt that still lies deep within us. For we who ultimately do not have a control over the choices that others make, this is one of the hardest realities of life to accept. We are not fully in control of leading others to Christ. But for Paul and for us, this grief does not lead us to despair, because a broken heart leaves plenty of room for God's word to fall into it. "There is a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in," Leonard Cohen sings. Our desire to share Christ breaks us open anew, to let God "who is over all [and] blessed forever" (8:5b) draw us more deeply into love for those we entrust to God's care.

For whom do you mourn that Jesus' power and love is not a part of their lives (family, friends, neighbors)? How does this break us open anew to see God's care and love at work for them in ways that are beyond our control?

Separated No Longer

Separation is a fact of life. At different points in our lives there are moments where we have to leave something behind. We cannot become an adult until we leave our childhood behind. We cannot allow our children to become themselves until we let them step out on their own, and trust their feet to carry them. We cannot know what it means to be human without acknowledging loss and grief--the state of being separated from another. But despite the cold hard fact of separation, Paul makes one of the most daring, inspiring and uplifting promises in all of Scripture: separation does not get the last word! Jesus' love gets the last word. "For [nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) We do not belong to the forces and powers that inevitably will try to separate us. We belong to Christ! In Christ, we are united to all whom we are separated from, now and forever.

Who do you feel separated from right now? How does Paul's proclamation bring you closer to that person through the promise of Jesus' power to unite us?

Inheritance

In the beginning of Sunday's reading from Romans (8:12-25), it is as if Paul is writing out God's will and testament to us. See all the things that God gives us through the benefits of Christ's death and resurrection: the Spirit which gives us life even as we struggle living with weakness and infirmity; adoption by God as God's children; someone to whom we can always turn and, no matter what, call "Daddy"; heirs of the same new life that God gave to Christ. Wow! God does not leave us orphaned. God does not leave behind an old car, china or meager savings account. God gives us an inheritance that we belong to God always, and that our worth and value is always secure in God's hands.

What do you want to be your will and testament to your loved ones? How does this encourage you to share God's promise of adoption with someone for whom it could make a real difference in their life?

Words of Life

It can be so easy to condemn someone. It can happen so simply and subtly, with just a few words, a dismissive look, an avoidance of being in someone's presence. However God has a way of drawing us together in mutual relationship. It's called the power of the Spirit. Because of Christ we never lose access to the Spirit's power to work through our mortal selves. As much as we may battle within about what we think of others, God continues to renew us with the Spirit calling us to see and love others as God does. Paul paints a portrait of this internal conflict which he describes as between the "flesh" and the "Spirit" in Romans 8: "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." (8:5) In a recent interview, singer Bobby McFerrin talks about the power words can have to harm others or give life to them: "You know that the right thing to do is to not say what's on your mind, even though it might be true and even though it might be necessary, but it's not kind. But you want to say it anyway, you're battling with the flesh and the spirit. The flesh says, just get it off your chest. And the spirit says, no wait, you know. Think, you know. Pause. Find the right word or the right time. Maybe now is not the time to do it. It's a constant war."

What words of life is the Spirit inviting you to speak today? What are the signs today that the Spirit enlivens your own "fleshly" life, rather than condemn it?