Authentic Christianity

12^th Sunday after Pentecost

Romans 12:9-21                                                                                                                 Elizabeth & Richard Deibert
August 31, 2014

Elizabeth:  Last week we read the first half of Romans 12 and considered the challenge of committing ourselves to a transformed life in Christ, in which we give ourselves completely to service to God and humanity.  Continuing today, Paul spells out in short ethical instructions what Authentic Christianity looks like in daily living.  

People usually summarize this passage with its opening line – “Let love be genuine” – or with its ending line – “Overcome evil with good.”  Richard and I believe that the reason those lines are so definitive for the whole passage – and for the whole of Christian life – is that they describe Who Jesus Christ is.   Even those who do not believe that Christ is God, believe that Jesus’ love was genuine and that He responded to evil with good. 

Because these verses are short and dense, piling one upon the other in rapid succession, I’ve asked Richard to alternate with me in exploring what these imperatives mean for us today.  First hear the entire passage, and then we will walk through one verse at a time.

^NRS  Romans 12:9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰ love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." ²⁰ No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Richard:  As Elizabeth preached last week, Paul has just finished his description of the glorious Christian Gospel.  For 11 chapters in Romans—probably the most famous writing in history—Paul describes the new glory of God’s grace that is ours through Jesus Christ.  Now in chapter 12, he focuses the concrete particulars of metamorphosis—the transformed life that is now possible for all of us through the Lord Jesus Christ.   “Be transformed!” he commands us.  God has gloriously gifted each of us so that we might glorify the Church.  The power of God’s grace in our life together is real and makes a difference in this world.  So let us struggle together to live as authentic Christians.

⁹Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.

With the coming of Jesus Christ into this world, the world learns for the first time that Love is the Source of everything real.  You and I have been baptized into—united with—this God-Who-Is-Love.  We have been clothed with the Nature of Jesus Christ, Who IS Love.  Therefore Paul charges us to act in harmony with the Nature of Jesus Christ that belongs to us.

Paul puts it like this: “Your love must be non-hypocritical.”  That’s the Greek word for “genuine” or “authentic”—non-hypocritical.  Authentic love is non-hypocritical love. Authentic love hates evil and clings to good.  Paul uses strong words here to define authentic love: abhoring evil and intimately clinging to good.  It’s the same word used elsewhere for sexual union and it creates a powerful word picture.  Love is so desirous of good that it despises evil.  Authentic Christianity refuses to love falsely and craves union with goodness. 

¹⁰ love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

Elizabeth:  Authentic Christianity produces a community in which no one is left out or under-valued.  Mutuality is the key word here and means that love is always being passed back and forth.  Everyone is devoted to valuing the others more self.  Can you imagine the church where each member is devoted to blessing the others, giving back more love than was received, competing to show greater honor to the other.  “No, let me do the dishes.  No, tell me about your day first.  No, I’ll take the burdensome task.  Please, take my seat, my place, go ahead of me.”  Can you imagine a politician who was shaped by life in an authentic Christian community, who dared to boast in the opposition’s strengths rather than weaknesses?

¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Richard: Authentic Christians are enslaved to Jesus Christ as Lord, which means that we are enslaved to Love.  Most translations choose to domesticate this and say that we “serve” the Lord due to obvious negative associations with slavery.  However Paul sees Christian life as enslavement to the Lord of Love.  “You have been bought with a price,” therefore you must not be lazy in your devotion to Jesus.  Serve your Lord, Jesus Christ, with a burning spirit because He is the Lord of Love.

¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

Elizabeth: Authentic Christianity never stops joyfully hoping and never becomes impatient in the midst of suffering.  But joyful hope and patient suffering can only be sustained by unending prayer.  Prayer creates a God-like perspective that nurtures faith and enables us to trust in God’s Providence, no matter how negative our circumstances.  If we answer the call to this kind of authentic Christian life, we will see that God is working in all things for good.

¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Richard: Authentic Christians actively seek to meet human need.  We are not lazy toward humans in need.  Because we share the Nature of Jesus Christ, we naturally attend to need.  Any need, any time, any human, inside and outside the church.  Yes, it’s a heavy burden.  But it is our joy.  Because this is exactly what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

The text does not say that we must meet the need.  It says only that we must attend to the need.  The way he says this is moving: “Be fellowshipping with the needs of your fellow Christians; and be striving to love strangers.”  Listen to that again, it’s wonderful: “Be fellowshipping with the needs of your fellow Christians; and be striving to love strangers.”

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Elizabeth: Authentic Christians never curse others, even when they deserve it.  As Jesus showed, this faithful restraint is only possible by the power of God.  When someone is cruel to us, it is so tempting to feel justified in giving it right back to them.  But this only perpetuates the cycle of cruelty.  Listen for the voice of God saying, “You are my beloved.  Don’t be afraid, I am with you.”  Don’t be defined by cruel behavior or insulting words.  Don’t become entrapped by bitterness.  Rise above.  Rejoice that someone else’s behavior has no power over you.  True power is found in love, in the strength to resist violent words and actions by giving back blessings. 

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Richard: This is beautiful and tender.  Authentic Christians are sensitive to the spiritual struggle of others.  We resonate with the spirit of the other.  It is not first about our individual spiritual fitness; it is about fitting our spirit to the spirit of others.”  Which is exactly what God has done for us in Jesus Christ: fitted the Divine Self to our human self.  So we never neglect the struggles of others.  Instead, we “tune” ourselves to the spirits of others and resonate with them wherever they are.

¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Elizabeth:  Harmony means there’s more than one note, the notes are different, and they blend together into beautiful music.  Harmony is what makes music more than just a collection of individual notes.  Every note matters, the low, the high, and the ones hidden in the middle.  In this age of information technology, we all think we need to impress people with knowledge.  So we are tempted to pretend that we know more than we really do.  But this damages community.  Authentic Christians are humble.  They’re honest.  They listen well.  They do not rush to speak.  They always seek to harmonize with others, even ones they might consider less important.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.

Richard: As Paul said earlier, authentic Christians hate evil and cling to what is good.  Now he says this again with different words.  We are united to the Lord of Love, Jesus Christ.  Therefore it is no longer our nature to pay evil back with evil.  The word “noble” in Paul’s day means that which is universally true and right and beautiful.

So, no matter what is happening to us, no matter what another person is doing to us, the authentically Christian response is to what is noble—to seek for the other what our Lord Jesus sought for those who were crucifying Him. 

That’s exactly what the Amish did in 2006 after Charles Roberts walked into school in Lancaster County and shot 10 young girls, killing five of them and himself.  The killer’s parents understandably started to relocate from the community, but the Amish came to their house the night of the shooting and asked them to stay.  One mother and father, who had lost two daughters that day, came to the killer’s funeral and were the first ones to greet his mother and father with forgiveness.  Not only that, but the Amish donated money for the killer’s widow to help her raise their three children.  “Take thought for—provide—what is noble in the sight of all.”

¹⁸ If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Elizabeth:  Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”   Every movement that has truly changed the world for good began with peaceful people, who spoke the truth in love, who were assertive but not aggressive, who clarified and worked for compromises because they were able to see another’s point of view.  Authentic Christians are peacemakers.  They have a secure identity that does not resort to fight or flight. They are respectful of human relationships and they persist in the difficult work of negotiating with persons with whom they disagree.

¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Richard: This desire for revenge is an incredibly persistent and strong temptation.  But it is a fleshly desire lingering from our old, fallen natures.  Revenge is absolutely foreign to the Nature of Jesus Christ, which we now share.  So Paul returns to it again and again, emphatically.  Authentic Christians see the world like their Lord Jesus Christ sees the world.  We know and we trust that God’s way of dealing with evil—which Scripture calls God’s “wrath”—is infinitely superior to our way.  Infinitely superior.  Paul even quotes God’s Personal word in Scripture to make this clear: “Leave revenge to Me, period.”  Authentic Christians are devoted to Jesus Christ, and like Him, we never—NEVER—seek revenge.

²⁰ No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads."

Elizabeth: Authentic Christians nourish their enemies.  They undermine evil by doing unexpected good.  But heaping burning coals on the heads of enemies doesn’t sound very peaceable, does it?  Here Paul is quoting from Proverbs 25:21-22.  This idiom “burning coals on the head” means “stirring up the enemy’s mind” or “searing truth into them.” Some of us have had the feeling of burning faces when someone embarrasses us in public.

MLK in a sermon on loving enemies said, Just keep being friendly [to that person who mistreats you.] Keep loving them. Don’t do anything to embarrass them. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with bitterness because they’re mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Richard:  Paul’s last word in this passage is a powerful one: “You are conquerors.  Therefore, conquer … with goodness!”  People of God, our nature is being transformed into the glorious Nature of our Lord Jesus Christ.  That’s why we must not live falsely, but authentically.  How we deal with this world and the people in our lives must reflect the way our Lord Jesus Christ lived in this world. His Nature was to conquer evil with good.  And that is now, by grace, our nature.

So let us be true to our nature.  Let us be authentic, genuine, non-falsifiable, and non-hypocritical.  Because it is through us that the world is learning about the Lord of Love, Jesus Christ, through Whom everything came into being and to Whom all things will finally return.

 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

Metamorphosis

 

12th Sunday after Pentecost
Romans 12:1-8
24 August 2014

Elizabeth M. Deibert

  The simplest outline of the book of Romans and many of Paul’s letters is found in seeing the two major sections – the theology part (what we believe) and the ethics part (how we live).   In Romans, the division between the two parts happens at chapter 12, the part we are reading.  The word “Therefore” is a clue that we are switching over.  Paul has spelled out Christian doctrine – what we believe and now he’s telling us how to live.   

He’s already talked about the fact that all sin and fall short of God’s glory and all are justified by God’s grace as a gift.”   He’s talked about the value of faith.   He’s said that suffering leads to endurance which leads to character which leads to hope which keeps us from disappointment because of God’s love and the Spirit.   He’s talked about dying to sin and trusting in the goodness of God to triumph over every evil because if God is for us no one can be against us.   He has said that nothing (not even the Jews rejection of their Messiah) can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.   For the promises of God can never be erased.  They are irrevocable because the wisdom and knowledge and judgments of God are not to be questioned.

So then....here comes our passage....hear the word of the Lord. 

Romans 12:1-8 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect.

³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵ so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.  (NRSV & NIV)

 

We could say that all of Romans up to this point was about being justified by God, being saved by the grace of God – something God does for us as a gift, which we receive by faith but not by anything we have done.   And that from this point on, Paul is talking about sanctification, the process of becoming holy, becoming the person God wants us to be.   Sanctification requires some discipline on our part.   We have to want it, work it out, never stop trying, even though we know when we change that it is really the Spirit working in us, enabling us to grow. 

Let me talk about transformation in a very personal way for a moment.   Many of you know Andrew, our 21 year-old son.   He is setting sail today in Southampton, England to travel to 14 countries to learn and grow, a semester at sea study abroad program.   He has already traveled on his own or with his sister Emily, to Rome, Paris, Barcelona, in the last two weeks since we left him in Geneva.   While we traveled with him in Europe, he was so grown-up, so helpful and kind to others, I could not believe this was the same young man who at 17 kept his parents up sometimes until 2:00 am on Saturday nights worrying about where he might be and what he might be doing.  This is the same kid whose poor performance and general irresponsibility in junior year meant that Tracy Jordan, wonderful guidance counselor, had to call a meeting of parents, Andrew, and all his teachers.  This is the kid that the church did not give up on, but kept nurturing, even surprisingly to service as a youth elder senior year.   Now I am not claiming that Andrew has morphed into a mature Christian, but that he has morphed from irresponsible teen to responsible young adult.   And this is nothing short of a miracle in this mother’s eyes.   It is a changed mindset, and a changed mindset is Paul’s appeal to the Romans. 

Paul says, “Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”  And now I’m going to issue a challenge.   If you are spending several hours a day with television or computer media, I think you are choosing to conform yourself to this world.   Maybe I’ve stopped preaching and gone to meddling, but I really believe this is a problem for today’s Christian.   Compare the time you spend daily reading scripture or other devotional books, going out to serve, praying and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation (all of those things that develop your faith) with the time you spend daily watching television.  We justify it by saying we want to be informed – we are watching news.   But most of us are more than informed.   We are conformed by the media.  

Don’t be conformed to this world.   Be transformed by the renewing of your minds.   And we wonder why the world seems to be going crazy with all the polarization over issues and events – because we are more than informed about Ferguson.   We are conformed by Ferguson, thanks to our obsession with the media.   Be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may know what is the will of Anderson Cooper – no, so you may know what is the will of God.   How will you know the will of God?   How will you discern the mind of your maker?   By spending time reading the stories of God’s people, and the words of the faithful saints who have gone before us.   By prayer and meditation and participation in the community of faith.   By living in the cocoon of SPSPS (Scripture, Praise, Sacraments, Prayer, and Service).   Christians don’t do very well in these disciplines, so it is no wonder churches are suffering, and it is no wonder people are not coming to church because they look at us and say, “Why would I want to be part of a church?” 

We are not being transformed by the renewing of our minds to know the will of God.   God can work miracles, but this miracle is not often seen – the person who is undisciplined in the devotional life of SPSPS becomes a miraculously strong and faithful Christian.   Nope.   Doesn’t happen that way.

As Paul says in the first two key verses – words that we should know by heart.....being a Christian involves presenting ourselves as an offering to God, turning away from the values of the world and seeking the transformation God desires in us.  Be transformed.  Metamorphosis is the Greek word.   Changed by the Spirit of God because we spend time attuned to the Spirit of God.   We must stay in our devotional, spiritually nourishing cocoon enough to grow beautiful butterfly wings – to become the people God wants us to be – a people who use their gifts to glorify God and serve others. 

Both here in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wants people to appreciate the value of differently gifted people, working together, in unity.  Problems begin when I see my gifts as more valuable or less valuable than the gifts of others.  So growing in maturity as a Christian means coming to understand and utilize my gifts, while being both humble and confident.  Not self-deprecating nor self-aggrandizing, for both are manifestations of insecurity.   No with a humble confidence and a generous spirit we are called to share our gifts and glad for the gifts of others.    “Be careful how you are talking to yourself, because you are listening.”  (Lisa M. Hayes)

Let me tell you about two people who live in humble confidence with a generous spirit.   Richard and I went to officiate a wedding this week-end in Alabama at Lake Martin.   The family members of the bride were charter members of the new church Immanuel back in 1991.   The mother of the bride grew up right here – in the Oneco area along Hwy 70.  

It was a joy to officiate this wedding for a young woman we had ushered through baptism and confirmation.   What was even more joyful was to see how this family had matured.   The teen girls not surprisingly, had become lovely, articulate, kind young women.   And the parents who were great people in the 90’s – the kind of people who always offered to help us with our four little kids sending the girls to babysit or taking the kids themselves, would also hand us a Christmas card with hundreds of dollars – just because, as the father of the bride said, “We’ve been blessed and want to share.”  Even knowing their kindness from 20 years ago, we were amazed at how much more they exhibited a calm and peaceful spirit over the week-end.   They both have an inner intensity, but years of Christian growth have transformed them into the calmest, least anxious parents of the bride we have ever seen.  They had 14 family members plus the two of us staying in their lovely house.   Because the groom’s French-speaking family had just flown in from Guadeloupe, our friends were also hosting the rehearsal dinner at their house and the reception at a local club house.   The engaged couple had planned well.   And so seemed the parents were free to simply enjoy the moment and help keep everyone calm and peaceful.

It has been more than a decade since we spent time with this family.   But they’ve kept growing into the mind of Jesus Christ, into the likeness of Christ.  So what will people say about you in ten years?   Some of you are wondering if you will still be on earth in ten years.  If you are gone from us, I am quite sure that a face-to-face encounter with the living Christ will be the most radically transformative moment you have ever experienced.    So whether you have moved through that amazing transformation or not, the question still stands.   What will people say about you?   Will they speak of the maturity of faith they witnessed in you? Will they have seen your growth, even toward your last years on this earth?   Will they see that you have matured in wisdom and faith or that you became more entrenched in your own ways?

Our Presbyterian forebear John Calvin, whose home Geneva we saw while traveling earlier this summer says, "it is difficult to express how ingenious almost all [people] are in counterfeiting a love which they do not really possess. They deceive not only others, but also themselves…."    Let us be honest with ourselves and let us work together to live faithfully into our baptism, seeking with undying devotion to know and to live according to the will of God – according to that which is good and acceptable and perfect.