/For what was written, in the day, for teaching it was written, so that
through the perseverance and through the comfort of the scripture, we
may have hope. And may the God of the perseverance and the comfort give
to you the same mind in one another according to Christ Jesus, so that
unanimously in one mouth you all glorify the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Therefore, be receiving each other to yourselves, just as
also Christ received you to Himself into the glory of God. For I explain
Christ has become a servant of circumcision, on behalf of the truth of
God, into the confirmation of the promises of the fathers, and the
gentile-nations, for the sake of mercy, glorify God...And may the God of
hope fill you in all joy and peace in the Faith, into your abundance, in
the hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit. /
As the time for Jesus' return comes closer and closer, things in this
world get worse and worse. You'd thing that the anticipation of Christ's
2nd Advent would cause people to straighten up and fly right, but the
opposite is actually the case. The fear and expectation of the end
causes men to be in dismay and perplexity. So much so, that Jesus once
pondered out loud "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the
earth?" Indeed, there are trying times ahead for God's church!
So St. Paul's words of exhortation and encouragement to the Roman
congregation are of great comfort to our congregation too in these
latter days. For if there is great turmoil expected in the church during
these days leading up to Christ's return, we ought to take great care
not to *add* to the church's problems! Perhaps we can learn something
from the problems the Roman church was facing, in order that we take
stock in our own circumstances, and seek out God's solutions!
Now, the Roman congregation had two factions, Jewish and gentile. The
Jewish Christians thought of themselves as superior, since they were
circumcised and tried to live under the Old Testament law. The regular
Roman members thought they were better, since they were enlightened
about Christ having fulfilled the Law already, in their place. So the
two groups squabbled against one another, putting each other down, one
insulting the other, and vice versa. The result was a divided church.
Such would never happen to our congregation today, right? We know
better. Disagreements happen here all the time, sometimes between the
Pastor and certain members, sometimes between particular families in the
congregation. Why is this? It is because one or both parties in the
dispute chooses to view things from their own perspective, and fails to
seek out God's truth in the situation. The result is a very hopeless
situation, with neither side able to convince the other of their points.
There is much need for repentance in our congregation over such
disputes. Just as the Jewish & gentile believers in Rome each had to
swallow some of their stubborn pride to reconcile, so too do we need to
come together with those simple words we learned as children, saying,
"I'm sorry" and "I forgive you." Only then, when through God's
forgiveness, we are rid of our old stubborn, prideful opinions, will our
eyes be opened up to see what God reveals to us as His true way, in His
Word.
There is hope for peace in our church during these trying latter-days,
and it starts with what God Himself has written. As St. Paul reminded
the those in the Roman congregation, there is comfort and perseverance
found in the holy scriptures. The comfort reminds you that at the +,
Jesus died to forgive you no less than He did for those you like to
argue with in the church. The perseverance guides both
formerly-disagreeing parties to be now of the same mind in the will of
the Savior, Jesus!
When you realize that you have much more in common than you were willing
to focus on, that's when you will be enabled by God to receive your
fellow-forgiven members just as Christ has already received you to
Himself. Jesus didn't wait till you chose to agree with Him before He
welcomed you into His holy family, but instead, He cleansed you from
your unholy sins at the Baptismal font. He received you to Himself,
despite the fact that you did nothing of your own to deserve it. It was
mercy.
Instead of pointing the finger at your supposed-enemy in the church,
your focus is redirected to Christ Jesus, Who became the Minister of
circumcision for us all! Jesus was circumcised into keeping God's Law in
your place. He did so to earn eternal life, and to become a perfect
sacrifice for your sin at the +. He gave His body to death for you &
shed His blood for you there, that you may eat & drink His forgiveness
at communion. For Jesus took all your blame & punishment at Calvary, so
you get a life of joy & peace, of abundant hope of future life,
together, forevermore with Jesus in heaven! Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[email protected]
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