Video recording made on Friday, August 28 for worship at Trinity UMC on Sunday, August 30:
https://youtu.be/UmZW8uWbXLo
Call to Worship
Psalm 105:1-6
105:1 O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
105:2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
105:3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
105:4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually.
105:5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
105:6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
Morning Prayer
Gracious God,
We know you have heard the murmuring of our hearts. You know our need even before we speak it. WE have spoken the names of a few of our family. In our hearts we have named others that we lift to your unending mercy. Hear our prayer, O Lord.
We give thanks for your presence in our lives. When we call your name, you are always there, ready to meet us wherever and in whatever circumstance we find ourselves; ready to love, to comfort, to encourage, to empower, to heal. We seek your touch to heal our brokenness, whether of body or of mind or of spirit. We seek your touch to restore us to the wholeness for which we have been created. We seek your guidance to light our way along the path of life. We seek your mercy to forgive us when we have wronged another of your children. We seek your power to encourage and empower us to do the hard work of bringing forth your kingdom on earth.
We pray for all this and more as we pray together the words our Lord Jesus taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. AMEN
Message
Last week, I encouraged you to read the entire 12th Chapter of Romans. If you tuned in last week, recall that our topic was Jesus question to his disciples “Who do you say that I am?” We turned to Paul's words from Romans 12, verses 1-8, to learn about how to live out our answer to that question. This week, we continue that theme with verses 9-21. Together, these passages describe the characteristics of a Jesus-follower. This chapter recaps much of what Paul wrote in his earlier letters to the churches scattered across Roman Empire, from Rome to Jerusalem, about how to be the church and how to live a Christ-centered life.
Before I get into Paul's message in today's passage, I want to talk a little bit about the Apostle Paul. If you are familiar with New Testament scripture, you probably know that Paul was originally known as Saul of Tarsas. Here are a few fun facts. Paul was born in AD 5 in the city of Tarsas in what is now modern-day Turkey. His parents were Jewish, but also had Roman citizenship which he inherited. Roman citizenship was coveted and conveyed certain privileges throughout the Empire. His family moved to Jerusalem when he was about 5 years old. He began his studies of Hebrew Scripture at an early age with a famous Rabbi and became a scholar of Jewish law in his own right. In his letter to the Philippian church he described himself as a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin.
As a young Pharisee lawyer, he was an ardent opponent of the early Christians. The beginning of the 9th chapter of Acts describes it this way: “Meanwhile, Saul was still spewing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest, seeking letters to the synagogues in Damascus. If he found persons who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, these letters would authorize him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”
Now you probably know the story, that on the road to Damascus, Saul had a dramatic conversion experience. If we read on down in that chapter, verses 19 and 20 say “ He stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days. Right away, he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogue. 'He is God's Son,' he declared.”
Paul did a complete 180 and became an ardent proponent of Christianity. Paul is known throughout the world as one of the greatest Christian missionaries. He wrote or inspired a large portion of the New Testament. But for most of my life I had a very low opinion of Paul's writings. In fact, I rejected studying Paul. You might be able to guess why.
As a girl and young woman, growing up in the Apartheid Deep South of the 1950s and 60s, I felt like I was constantly being bashed over the head with Paul. I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church but it wasn't really much different next door at the Methodist Church and certainly not in those churches that were even more fundamentalist, or among my Catholic friends.
I was taught, based on Paul's words, that women could not be leaders in the church, nor even speak before a congregation (unless they were a foreign missionary). Women certainly could not be ordained into ministry. In a great many churches that is still true. Pauls words were and are still used to justify discrimination based on gender or gender identify. I heard Paul's words being used to justify segregation and the enormous racial and econmic inequity that I saw every day. I was taught that Pauls words were even used to justify slavery. I knew that the economic reality for many black Americans in my community was not too far removed from slavery. So I concluded early on that Paul was not for me.
It was not until recent years, when I learned to read the Bible differently, from a different point of view, from a less literal perspective, that I have come to appreciate and value Paul's teachings.
Yes, there are still a few problematic things that I'm working on, but I now see the whole scope of Paul's writing in a different light. Now, I can find just as many (and more) references in which Paul elevates women, where he describes slave and master as equals, and my favorite from Galations 3:26-28 “You are all God's children through faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Our lectionery selections from these three weeks have encouraged me to study the book of Romans in more depth, to learn more about the Apostle Paul.
In today's reading, Paul continues his instructions on how to be a Christian. These verses are quite clear. It doesn't take a Bible scholar to interpret the meaning. It just takes hearing with your heart.
Romans 12:9-21 (CEB)
“Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. Don't hesitate to be enthusiastic - be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you're in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. Contribute to the needs of God's people, and welcome strangers into your home. Bless people who harass you – bless and don't curse them. Be happy with those who are happy and cry with those who are crying. Consider everyone as equal, and don't think that you're better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don't think that you're so smart. Don't pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good.
If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. Don't try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. It is written, 'Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord.' Instead 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will heap burning coals of fire upon his head.' Don't be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.”
I especially like verse 20: "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." If this sounds a bit Old Testament, it is - a quote from Proverbs 25:21-22. It sounds like we would be doing something malicious while pretending to do good. But in context it is clear that Paul meant it in just the opposite way. I believe Paul meant that our kindness may cause our “enemy” to feel the hot flush of shame in realizing that their evil has been returned with good. I call today's message “Heaping Coals” because when we are living as a true Jesus-follower, we upset cultural norms, we confound those who live only for their own selfish interests, who only care about themselves and those they see as their kind. Our Love, our Peace, our Generosity becomes an affront to others who don't understand the Way of Jesus.
In our Methodist Baptismal vows, we commit to “renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world” and “resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” This vow is rooted in scripture such as today's selection from Romans 12: “Hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.”
Hating here is supposed to mean abhorring something with such passion that we are complelled to action. That does not mean we can use violence to overcome evil. Jesus was very clear and Paul reiterates, that we overcome evil by standing up to it and doing good instead. Feeding our enemy. Literally. This theme of resisting injustice goes back throughout the Old Testament and the prophets, who call on God's people to end unjust economic practices and unjust courts, to end oppression or lack of care for the vunderable – the widows, orphans and foreigners in the land. This theme is carried forward in the teachings of Jesus and the writing of his disciples.
John Wesley said that there is no religion but social religion and no holiness but social holiness. In other words, our religion is all about our interactions with others, especially others outside of our own family. Wesley was not interested in relying too much on rules or doctrine, but on appealing to his followers to faithfully follow Jesus example.
All of this biblical and baptismal history is the reason that the Social Principles so frequently call us as United Methodists to act to resist evil, injustice and oppression. I found on the UMC.org website a piece entitled “What does it mean to resist evil, injustice and oppression?” I am quoting here from that piece which draws from the Book of Discipine. “We are called to witness against racism and abolish inequality and discrimination, to reject criminal justice systems based on racist policies and practices and work for restorative justice, to speak against irresponsible use of the earth's resources and become good steward of Gods' creation, and to oppose war and work for peace with justice.” Yes, all this and more is included in the Social Principles of the United Methodist Book of Discipline.
“Remember that the Methodists in England played major roles in the abolition of slavery, the creation of the labor movement and the radical reformation of the penal justice and prison code of the whole British empire. Those early Methodists did not simply avoid evil in their own lives, they organized and worked with others to fight it as it appeared in the larger society.
United Methodists today, as servants of Christ, are sent into the world to engage in the struggle for justice and reconciliation.”
https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-does-it-mean-to-resist-evil-injustice-and-oppression
No, we can't save the world or right all the wrongs. But we can stand against evil and for what is good. We can love genuinely, serve with gladness, rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering and persevere in prayer. We can contribute to the ministry of the church, and extend hospitality to strangers. We can rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We can live in harmony with others and with humility for ourselves. We can, as far as it depends on us, live peaceably with all. We can leave revenge to God, and treat our enemies as we would be treated. We can do all in our power to overcome evil with good. Our cynical friends won't understand, may even accuse us of being simple-minded, naive, or may be offended by us. I don't like to say that I have enemies, but if standing on principles, loving and helping those with whom I disagree, has the extra benefit of “heaping coals on their head,” then so be it.
Benediction:
My prayer, Gracious God, is that we have the courage to live each day in humble surrender to the needs of others, seeking to bring justice to a world that is broken and peace to a world tearing itself apart with divisions and hatred that rise up all around us with frightening regularity. May we be instruments of your Love.
Go forth now, in peace, to love and serve as Jesus would have you do. AMEN.
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