Text: Romans 10:5-15
Theme: “The Podiatric Gospel
9th Sunday after Pentecost
9th Sunday after Pentecost
August 10, 2014
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Denton, Texas
Rev. Paul R. Dunklau
+In
the Name of Jesus+
5 Moses writes this
about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things
will live by them.”[a] 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in
your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”[b] (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will
descend into the deep?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it
say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the
message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus
is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says,
“Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e] 12 For there is no
difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly
blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.”[f]
14 How, then, can they call on the one they
have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not
heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone
preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of
those who bring good news!”[g]
Ped.
That’s Greek for foot. Pedes. That’s Greek for “feet.” “How beautiful are the pedes (the “feet”) of those who bring good news,” says St.
Paul. Actually, he was quoting Isaiah,
that major prophet of the Old Testament, who gave us this passage that shows up
in church in Advent: “How beautiful on
the mountains are the feet of those whose bring good news, who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
Pedes
(“feet”) goes into the English “pedestrian”.
We have to slow our cars to a stop when we come upon a pedestrian
crossing – like at Kroger or around the UNT campus. “Pedestrian” means that folks are walking. What do they use for that? Feet!
You get the idea. How many steps
did your feet take today? You can track
that. Take over ten thousand steps, and
you get a happy notification from your phone app.
In addition, pedes
goes into the English “Podiatry”. It’s a
branch of medicine. If you have a
problem with your feet, your tootsies, or, as the children would tell you, your
little piggies, you are mostly likely referred to a “podiatrist” who practices
“podiatric” medicine. There you go!
In the days of Isaiah and the days of Jesus and St. Paul,
it’s safe to say that they didn’t have “foot spas” or “pedicures.” There was no amazement at the infinite
variety of shoes and sandals, boots and flip-flops that we are awash in today. There was, nevertheless, a measure of respect
and care for feet. If you were a guest in a home where hospitality was
practiced, you would have your feet washed as you entered – or at least they
would provide a basin of water for that purpose. You were weary from your
journey; your feet had performed hard duty, and they deserved some tender
loving care. In wealthy homes, the
servants would do that for the guest.
On the night before He died, our Lord Jesus washed the feet
of His disciples. Who was doing the
serving there? Were they serving Him, or
was He serving them? Make a note of
it: the Gospel is not about us serving
God; it’s about God serving us. Hold
that thought.
In Luke chapter seven, we come across Jesus entering into the
home of a religious leader. A woman
notices this and begins to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears. Later, Jesus said to his host, the religious
(whose name was Simon): “Do you see this
woman? I came into your house. You not give me any water for my feet, but
she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.”
Yes, “How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those who
bring good news.” Called it the
“Podiatric Gospel”. The feet of the
bringer of the Gospel may have callouses, or warts, plantar fasciitis, or some
nasty odor, but if they are bringing the Gospel they are beautiful feet
nonetheless. Most beautiful, then, are
the feet of Jesus. He says to the woman
as He says to us all: “Your sins are
forgiven.”
The ultimate problem with
us and, therefore, with humanity, is not that we lack hospitality. Neither is it that our feet have callouses,
warts, plantar fasciitis, or a nasty odor.
Ultimate problem is that we are sinners – from the oldest to the
youngest, from the best to the worst, from the long-time Presbyterian to the
new inquirer.
As St. Paul points out, there are two ways to remedy this
basic problem: the way of righteousness
through the Law, or the way of righteousness through faith – that is, through
the Gospel. Take your pick!
Much of the rigid fundamentalism we see in both Christianity
and other religions today is, simply, the way of righteousness through the
Law. Here we’re talking about law,
morals, codes of conduct, rules, etc.
Quoting Moses, St. Paul says: “The one who does these things” – keeps these law, adopts these morals,
enforces those codes, and obeys those rules—will live by those laws,
morals, codes, and rules. Even Jesus
said it: “Be perfect, as your Father in
heaven is perfect.” But, just moments
ago, there was a Prayer of Confession.
At the heart of that was the honest acknowledgement that we are NOT
perfect. James 2:10 declares: “The one who keeps the whole law perfectly
but stumbles just once is guilty of breaking it all.”
But there is something in us that just doesn’t get that. We are inclined by nature – dare I say from
birth – to walk in the way of righteousness through the Law. Church is good insofar as it helps to polish
our moral portfolio. But if that’s what
the church is, it’s nothing but a country club. If that’s the case, we
shouldn’t be surprised that it’s losing members left and right. Is the church a club for the saints, or is it
a hospital for sinners? If it’s a club
for saints, then it’s running in the way of the Law. If it’s a hospital for sinners, it’s running
in the way of faith, the way of the Gospel.
He wasn’t a podiatrist, but he was a great theologian and
pastor. His name was C.F.W.
Walther. He wrote a book entitled The Proper Distinction Between Law and
Gospel. It includes the full texts
of evening lectures Dr. Walther gave to his students at Concordia Seminary in
the late 1800s. He offered up twenty
five theses for discussion, and they all flowed out of the first one which
reads as follows: “The doctrinal
contents of the entire Holy Scriptures, both of the Old and the New Testament,
are made up of two doctrines differing fundamentally from each other, viz., the
Law and the Gospel.”
Distinguishing between the two is really art form. Dr. Martin Luther said as much. It is taught, he said, “by the Holy Spirit in
the school of experience.” The Bible
calls it “rightly dividing” the Word of truth.
In today’s passage from Romans, Paul is doing just that. In the way of the Law, people strive to
connect with God. They try to bring Him
down or bring Him up. That is the way of
righteousness by the Law, the church as country club way.
“But,” says Paul, “the righteousness that is by faith says:
‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring
Christ down) or “Who will descend into the deep?’ (that is, to bring Christ up
from the dead). But what does it
say? “The word is near you; it is in
your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are
proclaiming: That if you confess with
your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved.”
In the way of the law, in the way of the church as country
club, you bring your moral resume. In
the way of righteousness, in the way of the Gospel, in the way of the church as
hospital for sinners, you bring your heart and mouth -- a heart to believe and
a mouth to confess.
The Law says “Do this, and you will live.” The Gospel says: “Jesus has done it for you, in your
place. And you shall live.” That’s Christianity 101, my friends. That gets the whole ball rolling.
Finally, one definition of God, for teaching purposes, reads
as follows: “A god is that to which you
look for the highest good in your life.”
If that highest good leaves you alone in a pit of shame and guilt that
you have to crawl out of on your own, how good is that? But if that highest good stays with you and
surrounds you with grace and forgiveness for today and hope for tomorrow, then
you have come to know the way of righteousness through faith; you’ve come to
believe the podiatric Gospel. You begin
to understand why it was said so long ago:
“How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of those who bring good
news.”
Amen.
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