Acts 27-Romans 4Day 21 means that we move into the later part of Lent, but it also means that we make a major transition from hearing about Paul to the letters from Paul. And right off the bat we hit Romans, which is about as dense and important a book as there is in the New Testament.
But first we have to finish Acts. And finish may be a nebulous word. What we get is one last travelogue--Paul's cruise to Rome--which isn't the way to travel. Paul is a prisoner, but it seems that he is the one in charge. There is a storm, a boat wreck and finally a journey to Rome...and it ends! No real "ending."
And maybe that is the way it should be. In many ways Acts is the story of the church...and it definitely didn't end in Rome. It continues--in all its storm-tossed ways! The ending is one that we are helping write--maybe even blog about!
Paul did his writing in the form of letters that went from church to church, city to city. Perhaps none is more important than the letter to the church in Rome. It is one that challenges us to think about life and what we believe and how we act. And all of that makes me very uncomfortable! Which may very well be why I don't really like Paul that much! (Or at least, haven't in the past. But then, I used to think that I liked Luke, so who knows any more!)
Right off the bat Paul gives us a lists of sins that have been used to segregate, beat up, castigate and all kinds of other discriminatory words! But it is important to note that Paul is talking about "sin" and the symptoms of sin. The actions that we so often use are the examples, the symptoms of our sin! And who doesn't have at least one of them. (I know that I heard several descriptions of myself!)
And just when I am ready to remind Paul about that whole "Log in your own eye" thing, he goes there himself, reminding us that there is a higher bar for those who judge. Don't really hear that preached very often! (Note to self--sermon topic for the future.)
I was struck by Paul's writing about the righteous--and again how they may not fit the neat "categories" we like to use. For Paul it was Jew and Gentile, and he insists that the Gentiles who do righteousness are favored by God, they are more "in line" with what God wants than the Jews. I wonder how far we are willing to push that envelope. And what do we do with his statement that often the name of God is blasphemed because of our actions.
What do our actions say about our God?
But that may just have to be another entry, completely outside the "You've Got Time" series!
1 comment:
This is the point where "You've Got the Time" turns into a lot more than 28 minutes a day for me. I'm okay listening when we're hearing a story, but these letters full of dense theological statements, I have to see them, read each section and think about it. Do I have the time? We'll see.
Oh, Paul. Paul is just not my favorite. I know I need to cut him some slack because he had no idea his letters would be read by the church at large for centuries, but still. It seems like he could have had a little more foresight into the possible consequences of his words. My study Bible's notes say that Paul cannot be interpreted to condone hatred toward homosexuals because that would be malicious, haughty, and heartless, all things that he condemns in the following verses. Yeah, okay. But it's not hard to see how people like those from Westboro Baptist can use these verses to back up their theology of hatred. And Paul says that condoning sinful behavior is just as bad as engaging in it. So where does that leave "liberals" like me if Paul's definition of sin is right? I do not think that people who gossip or rebel against their parents deserve to die. Does that mean I am now subject to God's wrath because of my permissiveness? I do not understand how Paul can sound so judgmental in ch. 1, then turn around in ch. 2 and say not to judge others. It doesn't seem to fit to me.
For all Paul's talk about justification by faith, he seems awfully fixated on the law in ch. 2. It sounds like he's saying we will be judged by how well we followed the law, whether we knew we were doing so or not. Ch. 3 seems to then completely contradict that! I read it over and over, and I still can't make it fit together in any way that makes sense to me. I'm remembering why I find Paul so frustrating!
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