Hope Paul style

 Those who have been part of the congregation for a few years will know I don’t do Mother’s Day in church.  In the online discussion groups for Ministers this week, lots of comments about what, or what not, to do with Mother’s Day as far as worship is concerned.

Then I saw the reading from Romans – Paul is one of my least favourite writers to preach on. So I did wonder about finding a cute video of kittens playing – every Ministers go to for getting out of preaching J  - and ignore both Paul and Mother’s Day.

 

We’ll start with Paul.

Paul is writing to a  group of Christians he has not met, he has heard about them, but hasn’t met them.  And he writes of how suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character and character produces hope.

 

Creative reading:[from Spill the Beans]

 

……………….

 

Paul writes of Hope – hope that comes from suffering and endurance, this isn’t hoping for a fine day to get the washing dry, or hoping to lose a few kilos to fit into an outfit; this is hope in Jesus, assurance that we are Gods precious people.   This isn’t wishful thinking, this is certainty in the face of persecution,  faith in the face of death. This is hope based on our knowing that we are reconciled to God. The language of Paul can be difficult for our modern ears, but one thing to remember with Paul is that he is not writing about justification from a judicial perspective, but from a  relational viewpoint.

Paul writes of reconciliation, not retribution or revenge.

 

we will now see a video, it starts with an outline of the beginnings of Mother’s day, then tells some stories of women.

 

Video 7 minutes

  [Mother's Day proclamation and stories from women such as Sojourner Truth]

 

I am amazed at the stories of these women, and their willingness to suffer, to endure, and to live in hope – not hoping for a fine day, but hoping to a world transformed.

For me that is one of the great messages of Christianity, that life can be different, that we can be transformed. Again not an individually focused I want to be 20 kilos lighter, but a transforming the world to make it a better place for all people, in spite of the personal cost.

During Lent we looked at some readings about the Kingdom of God, and what it might be like – a kingdom of hope, peace, joy and love, a kingdom without poverty and oppression. A Kingdom where all are loved, cared for, fed and clothed, where everyone has the opportunity for a healthy life and appropriate work.

 

While this video focuses on mothers, it is a reminder of what one person can do, with some passion and hope – hope that is lived out of a strength that comes from outside ourselves – we would call it the Spirit.

 

I am sure we could think of other examples of people who have placed there hope in something greater than themselves, who have faced hardship, persecution even, not for themselves, or even their own family, but for the sake of the world for which Christ died.

 

PPT image : “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
― Mary Oliver

 

Romans week 1

This week we start reading sections from the letter to the Romans.  Romans differs from the rest of Paul’s letters, in that he hasn’t been to the Church in Rome. The rest of the letters are written to churches where Paul has been, and often churches that Paul began. So Paul begins by introducing himself -  not with a physical description, but setting out his credentials, a servant of Jesus Christ, an apostle; and also sets that in the bigger picture of  the prophets and David.

Did you ever have a pen pal? What did you tell them about yourself?

I wonder how you would introduce yourself to a group of people who hadn’t met you yet?

A group of people you wanted to visit?

The church in Rome is likely to be a mixture of people from both Jewish and gentile backgrounds.

Paul is wanting to visit the church in Rome, one reason is to use Rome as a staging point to spread the gospel into Spain. For that he needs support and money, so it is important that he lets the people know that he is trustworthy, and of the shared foundations of the Christian faith.  [i]

Listen as we hear a slightly different version of the reading. Jan is Paul writing his letter, Dick is saying what Paul may be thinking as he writes.  

       Creative reading [Spill the Beans]

 

Rather than trying to cover the whole section this morning, I will reflect on a few words and phrases, hopefully this will help as we read more of Romans in the next few weeks.

Righteousness of God – often we think of people who are righteous as some people who are respectable and with high morals. But here Paul writes of the righteousness of God – and that isn’t about morals or respectability. The righteousness of God is about God’s faithfulness, that is God keeps God’s promises.

Another word that Paul uses a lot is faith.  Faith that witnesses to the good news, faith that encourages, faith that isn’t a belief system, but a response to God’s faithfulness.

And Gospel or Good news:

The gospel is not a doctrine or a creed, but a living message with power to change lives.[ii] The living message of Jesus Christ himself. The gospel is Jesus, not words about Jesus, but Jesus. And the Gospel is founded on the righteousness of God – God’s faithfulness.

 We live in a time when we are the centre of our own little universe – things like selfies and  technology that allows you to see only that which you agree with.

But the gospel is not  ‘me’ centred – it is God centred. The Christian life has God’s faithfulness as a foundation, and the transforming power of Jesus Christ transforming and challenging and living in us.  

The righteousness and faithfulness of God call for a response in our lives, as does the good news of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. But the gospel is not our response.

Our response is to live out Gods calling – for Paul that was to be an evangelist to the Gentiles; what is your calling?

That is serious question: God calls each of us – not only ministers and evangelists and missionaries, but all of us.

And we need each other to encourage us in our calling.

“For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.”

Mutually encouraged by each other’s faith?

How might we do this?

Christianity is a God-centred, Christ powered faith – with a foundation of God’s righteousness –

how do we respond to God’s faithfulness?

How do we respond to the living good news of Jesus?

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[i] RevGalBlogPals Narrative Lectionary: Something to Write Home About (Romans 1:1-17)

 

[ii] Spill the Beans