Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-february-12
Romans 12:1-8
A Living Sacrifice
Therefore, I urge you, brothers [and sisters], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a person’s gift is prophesying, then let them use it in proportion to their faith; 7 if it is serving, let them serve; if it is teaching, let them teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let them encourage; if it is in contributing to the needs of others, let them give generously; if it is leadership, let them govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let them do it cheerfully.
If this passage seems especially familiar, it’s because we included it yesterday with the ‘guest Reflection’ from Scott Sunquist of Gordon-Conwell Seminary. It was officially listed by the lectionary as a reading for yesterday, but it’s such an important passage that I think it would be a mistake not to devote a day’s Reflection to it.
You might remember my saying in past Reflections that I find teaching and preaching from Paul’s letter to the Romans especially intimidating. The reason I find this letter so intimidating is that it’s “theologically dense.” Paul covers a lot of ideas in it. Some of the New Testament scholars think there are two reasons that it’s so dense.
First of all, they believe it was written late in Paul’s ministry, when he had had years or decades to work out his understanding of the meaning the of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. So by the time he wrote this letter, Paul had had the opportunity to think about how being a follower of Jesus applied to just about every area of the believer’s life.
The second reason they believe this letter is so dense is that Paul wrote the letter to be sent ahead of himself on a scheduled visit to Rome, to make sure the believers there understood the basics of Christian doctrine when he got there. And it seems that Paul wanted to make sure he covered every aspect of Christian doctrine, so the letter would be as complete and comprehensive as possible.
But because this letter is theologically dense, so complete and comprehensive, Romans has come to be considered a very important book, and especially for followers of Jesus in the Protestant traditions. I say that because it was in Romans that Martin Luther — who is considered the father of the Protestant Reformation — found the scriptural basis for his realization that we are saved by God’s grace through faith, rather than by personal righteousness or by religious deeds. So Romans has been a central book of the Bible for Protestants ever since – probably only the four gospels are considered more important.
Today’s reading is the first of a series of lectionary readings drawn from Romans – and the series begins with an especially important passage in this especially important book. It’s a short passage, but it has at least three major ideas that we should keep in mind as we live out our faith.
The first of these major ideas involves how we think. The apostle Paul echoes an idea that Jesus himself taught, which is that we need to pay attention to what’s going on in our minds. Paul stresses the importance of paying attention to how we think of ourselves in relation to other people. He says we should guard against allowing ourselves to be self-righteous. Instead, he says, we should be realistic about ourselves and our shortcomings. And that, in the context of this letter, means facing the fact that our new life in Jesus really is a gift of God’s grace, not something we deserve because we’re ‘good people.’
Of course, controlling the thoughts that echo around in our heads is a challenge for most of us. It’s easy to find yourself walking around complaining to yourself about the things – and the people – that bother you. But if we let our minds be consumed with the things and the people that make us angry and bitter, then eventually our lives will be full of anger and bitterness.
The second important idea in this passage is a warning against ‘conforming to the pattern of the world.’ It’s no great insight that the pattern of the world is a pretty crummy one — selfish and violent. That pattern of the world tells us to look out for number one, that whoever dies with the most toys wins, and that we should get even when someone offends us in any way. And especially among the well-to-do, the pattern of the world tells us we don’t have much obligation to help the poor, because they’re just lazy and undisciplined.
But Paul says those of us who follow Jesus are not to live by the world’s pattern. Little by little, we’re to be transformed into a different kind of people. We’re to become more like Jesus by the ‘renewing of our minds.’ In other words, we are to work day by day to set aside the world’s way of thinking and to let the Holy Spirit shape our thinking, so we think more nearly the way Jesus thought.
The third important idea in this passage is one that shows up again and again in Paul’s letters. That’s the idea that each follower of Jesus is given different gifts to be used in the service of God’s kingdom. And whatever our gifts might be, we are to use them with enthusiasm in doing the work of that kingdom.
Paul uses the metaphor of the body to describe the church – it has different parts with different functions, but all those parts of the body need each other if the body is to function in a healthy way. Paul says the church is intended by God to be an interconnected whole, with each follower of Jesus contributing the gifts we’re given by the Spirit, and each of us honoring and valuing the gifts of the others.
Some people make the mistake of thinking that high-profile gifts like preaching or singing are the “important ones.” But I don’t think Paul would buy that. I think he’d say that the gift of offering cheerful encouragement is just as important, or the gift of helping the needy – maybe even more important. The gifts that are sometimes considered more modest are the ones that really help to bind together the body of Jesus.
See what I mean when I say that the Letter to the Romans is “theologically dense?” Our reading is only eight verses long, but it gives us an awful lot to think about – about what is supposed to be happening in the heart and mind of a follower of Jesus, about the nature of the church in God’s eyes, and about how we’re meant to relate to one another in it. No wonder the church considers Paul’s Letter to the Romans such an important book. (And no wonder it’s so intimidating to teach and preach from.)
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the faithful service of your servant Paul, and for the way he listened for your word in his life and passed it on to us. By your Spirit, move us to follow his advice, to guard our minds and hearts against the world’s patterns, and to consider what gifts you’ve given each of us to be used in building up your kingdom. Amen.
Blessings,
Henry
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