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?
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