Today’s scripture: Romans 15:7-13 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (John Seskay):
Sometimes I wish I could just ignore context! Today’s reading, if recited in isolation, sounds like a joyous pantheon to the unifying power of Christ for all peoples to come together. That is, indeed, the point and intent for Paul, the writer. To Christians today, the point seems obvious, a spiritual given. But that was not the case when this letter was written.
The new faith was having an identity crisis. Was this movement a rebirth to the existing history of an essentially Jewish community, or a new community rising from the ashes of a spiritually misguided theocracy? Was it a belief system meant to bring Jewish culture and belief into predominance over the non-Jewish world, or was it a belief system that brought traditional Jews, Hellenized Jews, Samaritans, and outright non-Jews into a new community as equals? Paul’s proselytizing had a very universalist flavor, as distinct from the traditional Jewish followers as the old Saul was from the new Paul.
This is the essence of the appeal in the passage quoted today. Paul asks his fellow believers to see their traditional scriptures in a new, more inclusive light. The Gentiles are not their subjects in the new kingdom, but partners, brothers in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Their pasts were separate, their histories and culture different — but their future together was as one community.
The message can’t help but resound today when I am confronted with the unfamiliar and uncomfortable. It will often seem easier to fall back into what I know rather than risk becoming something new or different. But sometimes that change I resist is the very thing I need to move forward to my full potential as a follower of Christ!
Thought for the day: Lord, help me to step far enough out of myself to see the Christ in others!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.