Loving God, we sometimes forget how amazing it is that you have acted to save us through Jesus Christ.  Make us aware of your grace and love this day, and fill us with your love; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Today we have heard the very beginning of Paul’s letter to the Romans.  These verses reveal who is writing the letter, who the recipients are, and what the theme of the letter is going to be.  Paul, of course, is the writer, and I’ll say more about him in a moment.  The letter is addressed to the early Christian community in Rome – those who believe in Jesus Christ and have been made saints through baptism.  As to what the letter is about, the easiest way to summarize it might be simply to say that it is about what God has done through Jesus Christ.  This is good news, of which Paul reminds them as he writes and reflects about what it all means.

    While there are many details in these verses, there are three things in particular that I’d like to lift up today.  The first of these is how Paul identifies himself.  He says that he is a servant of Jesus Christ.  He has been called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God (Rom. 1:1).  In Paul’s case, his call to serve God actually came with a blinding light and a voice from heaven.  At the time, he had been persecuting followers of Jesus.  However, he hears a voice from heaven, changes his heart and his life, is baptized, and is sent out to proclaim the good news about Jesus.  He is also set apart by other leaders in the church to go and share the gospel with the Gentiles.

    To me, the question in all of this is how we would identify ourselves in relation to God and to Jesus Christ.  If you were writing a similar letter in order to strengthen some other Christians in their faith, how would you identify yourself?  Are you a servant of Jesus Christ?...  Have you been called to be a saint?... Are you God’s beloved child?...  Do you belong to Jesus Christ?...  All of these are descriptions that come from today’s reading from Romans.  And all of these are descriptions of those who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  Who are you in relation to God?

    A second thing to ponder from today’s reading is the value of meeting one another face to face.  Last week I attended part of the meeting of the Cameroon Network in North America.  This is a group of people in Canada and the United States who are all involved in some way with the church in Cameroon.  One of the questions that was asked at that meeting was, Why meet face to face?  Why not just send e-mail to one another and have conversations on Skype every so often?

    It seems to me that Paul helps to answer this question.  When he is giving his reasons why he wants to go and visit the church in Rome, one of the best reasons is this: “so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Rom. 1:12).  There are ways that this mutual encouragement can happen in a face to face meeting that is missing if you are simply sending letters or even having a video chat.

    This is also why Christians gather together for worship and for prayer and for study and fellowship.  This is how we encourage one another in the faith.  I have spoken to people who are no longer able to come to church, and who watch services on TV and pray at home.  While most would say that it will do in a pinch, most will also tell you that it’s not even close to being the same as gathering together with others for worship.  There is encouragement that can happen in a face to face meeting that simply isn’t there when communicating from a distance.

    The third and final thing that stands out in today’s reading is “the power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:16).  This is, at least in part, how Paul defines the gospel, and it’s important for us who are reading Romans to insert the words “good news” wherever we hear the word “gospel.”  Gospel means good news, and the good news that Paul is talking about is what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.

    And so, when we think of the power of God for salvation, this is the power of God that heals and that raises from the dead.  It is the power of God that has lifted up Jesus and given him power and authority to rule over all things.  It is the power of God that fulfills promises that were made long ago, and that reveals God’s faithfulness in doing what is right.  However, the question that is probably most immediate for many of us is how this power of God for salvation shows up in our lives.

    One of the ways that God’s power shows up is quite simply in our attitudes.  As Paul writes later in Romans, “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (Rom. 12:2).  This transformation happens when we become aware of how God has acted to save us.  God does not save us because we are such wonderful people, or because we somehow deserve it, or because we have earned it.  Rather, God’s salvation is an undeserved gift – what Paul refers to as grace.  God offers us forgiveness and healing and eternal life through Jesus Christ simply because of God’s love for us.

    When we realize what grace we have received from God, we develop an attitude of gratitude towards God and a reluctance to pass judgment on others.  As Paul writes, “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).  We are forgiven sinners, but sinners nonetheless.

    At the same time, we are counted among the saints, which is also a gift of God.  Because of our baptism into Christ and our faith in him, we are counted as members of God’s family.  We are able to say with confidence that we belong to Christ and have inherited eternal life and salvation.  We do not need to live in fear of the future or even to fear death or suffering, for the power of God for salvation means that God is ultimately in charge.  This means that we are free to live out God’s calling to show God’s grace and love in all that we do.  We are free to follow God’s lead, and to trust God in those things that are outside of our control.

    Living by faith is not necessarily easy, but it does allow us to experience the power of God for salvation.  As we remain plugged in to our Creator and Redeemer, we become more secure in our identity as children of God and inheritors of eternal life.  And, as we gather together to encourage one another in our faith, we are strengthened by God’s life-giving Spirit, who continues to empower us for service and even to raise the dead.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Easter 5 (NL 1)                                Romans 1:1-17
May 3, 2015
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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