M6: The Communication

Text: Romans 8:26-39
Theme: “M6: The Communication” (6th in a Series)
6th Sunday after Pentecost
July 24, 2011
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

IN THE NAME OF JESUS


26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The selection you just heard is from the eighth chapter of the apostle Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians. A number of those people – disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, all -- were likely in Jerusalem on the occasion of Pentecost, fifty days after our Lord’s resurrection, when the mighty wind blew, the tongues of fire fell, and people were cut to the heart. They heard and they heeded the call to repent and be baptized. They began a new life of attending to the Lord’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread (which is a reference to the Lord’s Supper), and the prayers.

At some point shortly thereafter, these folks went back home to Rome, the capital city of the world at the time. They brought this new faith with them to their bustling metropolis which was rife with high drama, with private and public enterprise, politics, education, religion, and daily, intense intrigue. Were they urban city dwellers, or did they live in the suburbs? Did they have homes along or close by the Tiber River, or did they live out in the country? We do not know. For the time being, they lived under the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome. Yet still, the government, headed by Caesar, and its war machine, with its Roman legions, continued to grow in influence and power. Would their fledgling faith continue to hold up? What if, at some point, their beliefs would be challenged or their own lives threatened by what was, for all intents and purposes, a world government?

Questions like these surely crossed their minds with daily, increasing, and chilling regularity as they went about their business, and supported their families, raised their children, and conversed with their friends. Eventually, they would face the prospect of having to confess that their God was not Caesar and their ultimate loyalty was not to the Roman Empire. Their God was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their God was the One who, in the fullness of time, sent forth His Son, Jesus Christ, who was born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those under the law.

One of the popular bumper stickers I see around and about Denton simply says “Co-exist”. Upon closer examination, the letters of the word actually pull double-duty as symbols for a number of differing spiritual and religious traditions. I’m persuaded that those Roman Christians would have agreed with the sentiment of these bumper stickers. They sought to proclaim their faith and live their faith and then leave it to the consciences of others whether or not to heed, accept, and embrace as their own this new way of life in Jesus Christ. Their “M.O.”, their modus operandi, their method of operation, and their mission did not have manipulation and control in its arsenal. Their aim was not to provoke but to proclaim.

But what if another group or entity sought to clamp down on them? What if another religion or even the burgeoning government itself made moves to shut them up or even persecute them for their beliefs? What if outside forces sought to manipulate and control them? Would their faith hold up?

The apostle Paul, that great traveling man and missionary to the Gentiles, was only too aware of the situation. He knew the tensions; they were growing. He knew the stakes; they were high. In fact, his ultimate goal was to finally, himself, arrive at Rome to strengthen these new people in the faith and to help them face their future with banners unfurled.

There were no airplanes, but there were boats. There were no emails, but there were letters. There was no Fed-Ex or UPS, but there were couriers who saw to it that letters arrived where they were intended to go.

On one day, to that small band of believers, a letter did arrive. It was long. It was what we now call the book of Romans. And right smack-dab in the middle of it was a communication, inspired by the Spirit of the living God, which was exactly what those people needed to hear.

Even more than crying with Rodney King’s “Why can’t we all just get along?”, even more than pleas for “co-existence”, we, too, need THIS message now – more than ever. Along with our fellow American citizens, we Christians hear talk of debt ceilings and national credit ratings writ large. We see the Dow Jones industrial average zoom up one hundred points in one day and race down two hundred points on the next. We watch the scenes from Norway as, this past week, the world was confronted once more with violent, death-dealing ideology. A singer and song-writer with great talent, Amy Winehouse, succumbs to a drug overdose – as did Curt Cobain, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison all in their twenty-seventh year. Last night, at a University of North Texas journalism conference, I learned that former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates would be speaking at the school. A dinner companion reported to me that one of the reasons he stepped down from his position, which he held under both President Bush and President Obama, was because he could no longer bear the sheer magnitude of having to communicate and respond to the spouses, children, and family members of soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A classic Frank Sinatra song puts it this way: “So I’m down and so I’m out, but so are many others. So I feel like tryin’ to hide my head ‘neath these covers. Life is like the seasons – after winter comes the spring. So I think I’ll stay awhile and see what tomorrow brings.” Listen to me, Old Blue Eyes. Hear what I have to say, you old Chairman of the Board.

Reality is wearying. Existential despair is having a bull run, and sitting around waiting for what tomorrow brings is about as exciting as dryer lint. Tireless efforts of self-promotion only point to denial of the obvious. They only hide the uncertainty. Lets cut to the chase: We’re not sure what we believe in, or, if we were to pray, what to pray for.

But listen to the communication to the Roman Christians and to us: “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
Just as you are, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within, without, listen to the communication: “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

You are not a work-in-progress subject to random encouragements and supports or shortcomings and setbacks that may or may not come your way. No, you are a new creation! Listen to the communication: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” The main thing is not what we have done with our lives in this troubled world. The main thing is what God has done with our lives in this troubled world: God knows us, predestined us, conformed us to His Son, justified us, glorified us. There is where we take our stand. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing!

The ultimate bug-a-boo is separation from the love of God. Think of what it would be like if we were separated from the love of God in the form of creation which includes air and food and water. We would not “be” at all. Think of what it would be like if we were separated from the love of God in redemption. There would be no Jesus Christ, no payment for our sin, no hope of life everlasting. Think of what it would be like to be separated from the Holy Spirit. There would be no love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, self-control. There would be no fellowship with people who are with us when we’re down and celebrate with us when we’re up. Separated from the love of God, there is isolation and disintegration.

But “No”, says the communication. “No,” shouts the apostle Paul in his letter: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demos, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

That’s the best news you’re ever going to hear, my friends.

Amen.