Romans 12:1-21
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. 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.
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. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 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.’ 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.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a new life form that was recently discovered on Mars. Evidently, it’s a huge humanoid figure, almost 200 feet tall while seated, and it’s just sitting there, day after day. One could see the rise and fall of the creature’s chest, but it didn’t seem to do anything else. Scientists came from all over to investigate this strange being. They became more and more frustrated at the total lack of movement from the creature. Finally, one of the scientists looked up at the creature and shouted out, “Do you think we will ever understand you?!!?” The creature suddenly started moving. He rose ponderously onto his two enormous feet. His hand rubbed his chin. Then finally he said, “No.” The creature slowly resumed its previous position sitting down. The scientist slapped his forehead and said, “BUT OF COURSE!! It only stands to reason!”
I know, I know, a real knee slapper that one is! But hear me out…that Martian creature befuddled all the scientists of the world by its seemingly simple behavior. How could a creature simply sit there, day after day, presumably deep in thought or awaiting some sort of external stimulus to motivate him into action? Living creatures tend not to behave this way. Living creatures tend to invariably be in motion during their waking hours either seeking out food or shelter, procreating or fighting for resources. Living creatures tend not to sit still for very long unless in deep meditation or unconscious altogether. It’s no wonder the scientists of the world were befuddled by that Martian creature. It just didn’t behave like other living creatures. Of course, what did they expect…it was from Mars!
For many years, the behavior of Christians seemed to befuddle the Roman persecutor, Saul. He didn’t understand their behavior and, more importantly, he didn’t like their behavior. It wasn’t until his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus that he began to understand Christian behavior and like it. That encounter was a great turning point in Saul’s life, so much so that God even went so far as to change Saul’s name to Paul. Paul went on to become the great evangelist and church founder of the New Testament. As we learn in confirmation class, most of New Testament consists of letters that Paul wrote to his churches and fellow apostles clarifying key theological concepts. In essence, he explained Christian behavior to those early believers and to everyone who has come to believe in Christ since then. Funny how an “ah-ha” revelation can quickly unravel a great mystery…”But of course! It only stands to reason!”
Well, Paul’s letter to the believers of Rome also contains these wonderful passages of explaining Christian behavior or at least defining the nature of Christian behavior. Our reading for today is just such a passage. Paul clearly felt a need to explain the nature of Christian behavior to the Roman believers, perhaps as a way of encouraging such behavior among them. He writes, “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.” He goes on but that’s just a brief reminder of some of the expectations of Christians. Christians are unique people in the world. We behave differently than others. We behave as Jesus would want us to behave, with love and sacrifice towards our neighbor. The world wants us to look out for ourselves. The world couldn’t care less about shared love, only self-love. The world doesn’t want us to think and behave collectively, only individually. But Jesus taught a different way. Jesus taught us to love one another, to look out for the needs of each other. Jesus taught us to put our trust in God above ourselves. And Jesus’ teachings are radically transformative! Just look at how Jesus transformed Saul’s life from a persecutor of Christians to a great defender of Christians!
It’s no wonder that defining Christian behavior was a key part of Paul’s mission work. I imagine it helped him understand his own transformed relationship with Christ. When we come to believe in Christ and place our trust in him, we, too, are forever transformed. We have a new life, a new set of priorities in life. We become less focused on ourselves and more focused on others. Over and over in his writings, Paul seems to be working through what it means to be a Christian and the new life of Christianity. In his second letter to the Corinthians, we hear him proclaim, “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (5:17) In his letter to the Ephesians, he writes, “you were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (4:22-24) Living for others, looking out for the needs of others, loving others is how we live holy and righteously. It’s how we live as God wants us to live! In Colossians, Paul says, “do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.” (3:9-10)
Defining the transformative nature of Christianity was a high priority for Paul because he himself was drastically transformed by Christ. Christians are called to behave differently in the world. Let us heed Paul’s words and seek to live for others instead of ourselves. Yes, it’s counterintuitive and countercultural but it’s also okay. In fact, it’s more than okay…it’s how God WANTS us to live! Let us give thanks for Paul’s witness and encouragement to live as we are meant to live. Thanks be to God!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
