Dear Friends,
As we continue to examine each of the four lectionary readings for this coming Sunday, I invite you to read Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verses 6-11. To more fully understand the context of these six verses, you might want to read all of chapter 8. It’s been said that this chapter is the best summation of the entire New Testament, but don’t be alarmed if you have trouble understanding it. Paul is very difficult for all of us – preachers, scholars, students, and believers of all kinds.
Difficult to understand though they may be, Paul’s words are among the most compelling in our theology. As we continue our journey through Lent, a careful reading of these verses helps us focus on our task of examining our lives in relationship to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Be careful as you read these verses, especially those at the beginning of today’s lectionary (verses 6-8, and verse 5 as well). Don’t fall into the common trap of compartmentalizing Paul; don’t try to define his position as “either/or.” Resist thinking that his concept of the earthly is the reverse of the Spirit. It won’t help for you to wonder if he’s saying that what makes us the humans we are is the polar-opposite of the Spirit, and that the two cannot co-exist.
If we think that Paul is telling us that we live either by the flesh or by the Spirit, and that we can’t do both, we have at best only a superficial understanding – more often, a misunderstanding – of what he’s saying here. Thinking that way makes it too easy to give up, to think we’re lost, that we’ll inevitably fall short of our understanding of God’s expectations for us. If we retreat into that kind of thinking, why would we ever seek to do better, to rise to the challenge of faith that God puts before us, and for which Jesus died on the cross?
I grant you, wrapping our heads around Paul’s words is difficult, but so is the faith that sustains us. I, for one, wouldn’t have it any other way.
Read the passage one more time. Pay particular attention to verse 9. “But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” We are not called to choose between the fleshly life and the life of the Spirit, nor are we called to deny our earthly selves. We are called to take on the Spirit. Consider the powerful words of John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Jesus, the spirit of God, took on flesh and lived as both God and humanity, God and us.
We can’t become Jesus, of course, but taking on the Spirit changes who we are; it complements and fulfills the essence of our being. Taking on the Spirit completes us. Once we accept that, we are empowered to do the kind of work on our spirit that Lent requires, which is grounded in contemplation of Jesus’s sacrifice.
The question for us during Lent, and at any time, is not whether we have received or accepted this divine spirit. We did that at our baptism and affirmed it when we were confirmed. Rather, the question is whether we choose to cooperate with the Spirit that already dwells within us. We are to live in cooperation with God, not selfishly in an earthly manner of the flesh, but rather, purposefully, with conscious intention. We are meant to live with God’s indwelling in our very being.
In response to the tragic events of August, 2017, the Charlottesville Clergy Collective was formed. I often benefit from their wisdom. This morning, I received an e-mail that included the prayer below. Though it was specifically written for these difficult times, it also seems appropriate to this difficult but ultimately enlightening reading. As we struggle with the deep concerns that the pandemic has engendered, I invite us all to join others in our community in this prayer as we share our gratitude and concern for those who care for us. They are the embodiment of the Spirit of God residing in earthly beings.
And as we pray together, wherever we are and whenever we find ourselves able to do so, please also remember to send me the joys and concerns that have marked this week for you personally, so that we may share them in Sunday’s daily note. Prayer is one of the ways we take on the Spirit. And so, I share this prayer for this evening with you.
A Prayer for Health Care Workers in a Time of Epidemic, by Rev. Roy Hange, Co-Pastor, Charlottesville Mennonite Church.
Oh mysterious One who created within our bodies the power to heal, we honor today the ones on in our community who are trained to focus this healing, those nurses, doctors and researchers who carry the words and wisdom to keep us alive.
Oh Holy One who called some to be healers as medical professionals, we pray over them Your gifts of protection, wisdom and resilience of spirit. Above all give them each now a deep sense of hope to hold their service, risk and work at this challenging time in human history. You have called them and empowered their training for such a time as this.
May they feel each hour the deep gratitude of our community. And, as they look to return to work the next day, may they hear in their hearts a great chorus of “Thank You” ringing out from the community to balance the natural fear within. We pray for ourselves and our communities that our will to listen to them. Be as great as our honor for them.
Oh Holy One, save us all from weak resignation to the challenges before us.
Amen