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Romans – Faith Explosion

Romans 5:1-8

June 12, 2005

1. We’re working our way through Paul’s Letter to the Romans Christians, some of whom were long-time Jews with a clear understanding of The Law, and some of whom were Gentiles who knew nothing about their Jewish heritage. In the first four chapters Paul reminds the Jewish Christians that their heritage does not give them an advantage, and assures the Gentile Christians that they are as much a part of God’s family as the Jewish Christians. This fifth chapters marks a bit of a new direction. And, like the chapters before it, the text I just read is so crammed full of meaning that it would take ten sermons to unpack it all. But today I’ll just get out the things we need – skim the surface.

2. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always winced at the first part of verse 3: "We boast in our sufferings." I never have been able to appreciate the notion that God intentionally inflicts suffering to increase somebody’s faith. Why on earth would God, who is supposed to love us unconditionally, make us suffer just so we would have greater endurance and better character and more hope? I simply doesn’t make sense to me. And, in addition to that, I also have a little trouble with long-faced piety that says, "God is doing this so something good will happen." So we need to think carefully about these verses, to see if Paul really did tell them, and us by extension, to "boast in our sufferings."

3. It might help if I say a couple of words about a couple of Paul’s words. The first of his words is "boasting." These days we define "boasting" as something akin to bragging – being pompous and cocky. While it is a characteristic we ourselves may exhibit from time to time, justifiably we think, it is not a characteristic we often appreciate in others. My, how the meaning of that word has changed through the centuries! The word Paul used does not mean being a braggart or pompous or cocky! It means observe with appropriate actions; it means celebrate. Think about it this way: Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize all people, and remember his life when we come together to eat – breaking off a piece of bread and pouring a drink. So we "observe" his commandments by "celebrating" the sacraments in worship. Or we "celebrate" Jesus’ birth at Christmas, and his resurrection at Easter, by setting apart those days. So instead of "boast," think "observe" or maybe "celebrate."

4. Now let’s look at the other word: suffering. For us it means being forced to endure a most unpleasant something or other, like pain or betrayal or disaster. But is that what Paul meant? Once again, "suffer" is not the best translation of the word Paul wrote. Pressure is its literal meaning. Some in Paul’s days used as a metaphor to mean oppression, or affliction, or tribulation, or distress. Now, we might think of oppression or affliction or distress as "suffering," but we would be interpreting those conditions. And sometimes our interpretations can totally miss the mark. Sometimes it’s better to use the literal word.

5. So, with the literal meanings in hand, let’s read this part of Paul’s letter again. "We observe the pressures of our lives, knowing that these pressures fashion endurance, and endurance fashions tried character, and character fashions expectation, and expectation fashions hope." It’s a bit like watching thunderclouds build, when the atmospheric pressure is just right, and the warm air below and the cold air aloft trip over each other as they explode in the sky. And it pours rain, and we get all wet; then the storm passes and the sun comes out and we see the rainbow painted gloriously across the sky. And the next time a storm comes, we are not so afraid, because the remember that the last storm passed and the sun came out and the rainbow shone. In the same kind of way, we come to worship each week to observe the storms in our lives, and to practice telling the Good News that we are safe, right here, in God’s presence.

6. But Paul doesn’t stop there! He goes on: "While we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly." "Ungodly" here means not living up to external standards of piety. You might remember how Jesus and his disciples were always catching flack from the pharisees because they didn’t fast and pray like the others Jews did. They were ungodly by the standards of the day. Jesus knew that those standards were not imposed by God, but by people who didn’t understand what God was all about. And because Jesus cared, God did not give up on them. That’s the Good News! A good-news incident happened a couple of weeks ago that helps bring this message home.

7. This incident happened to Dolly. Dolly was going to school to learn how to be ‘properly pious.’ Before I go any further, I suppose I need to tell you that Dolly is a dog. Dan and Kathy’s dog. She had been abused as a pup, and somehow ended up at Dan’s brother-in-law’s mother-in-law’s house. Something like that. And she thought Dan and Kathy needed her --or vice versa. So Dolly went to their house for a visit and, sure enough, it was a match. But Dolly, in her joy to be free from the chains of the past, would practically knock down anyone she meets. She would wag her tail and lick them all over. Dolly’s motives were pure, but not always appreciated by the by-now-thoroughly-soaked friends. Her actions were ungodly by the standards of our day. So Dan took her to obedience school. Even there, she was much more social than the obedience textbooks say she should be. The Obedience Instructor did not like Dolly, because she wouldn’t obey. So, a couple of weeks ago when she was supposed to stand for inspection, Dolly sat instead and licked the instructor’s hand. The instructor gently said, "Tell me about this dog." Dan explained her story, how she had obviously been abused. The instructor finally understood, the snarl changed into a smile, and she gave Dolly another chance. Now, Dolly still did not pass the required elements of Obedience School, but that’s beside the point. (I think–there may be another whole sermon just in that!)

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