“Moving on”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, February 8, 2024
Romans 12:9-21 (Forward, p. 10) CEV p. 1184
“Hey, don’t stop there”: that would seem to be the message of today’s passage. The earlier verses, verses 1 through 8, of Romans chapter 12 seem to deal with one’s person and about how we think about ourselves. Paul, however, doesn’t want us to stop there. He wants us to move on to how we treat others and how we impact their lives.
The first part would seem to have to do with our resolve, with our steadfastness, in how we deal with other people. We are to not only be sincere in our love and care for them, but also unwavering in that love and care. We are to honour them even more than we honour ourselves. We should be patient, never flagging in our prayer, and never give up. And we are to pursue the truth and hold tightly onto it and eagerly follow the Holy Spirit.
And, when it comes to other people, here’s the tricky part. There will always be people who are undergoing difficult times in their lives. Well, Paul’s advice is to be there with them and commiserate with them. And, as for people seemingly of ‘low estate’, who are little less ‘couth’ than you are: he says, well, put up with them. Don’t put on airs or act as if you’re superior. Make friends with them and don’t let your ‘status’ (be that knowledge or education or upbringing or beliefs or anything else) get in the way.
But then, here’s the hard part: what about people who mistreat you or curse you? Well, Paul says to try to be respectful towards them none the less and try to live at peace with them regardless of how they have treated us. Indeed, rather than to take revenge, we should try to bless them and actually help them out.
So, here is where it gets difficult, and even challenging. The Christan life is not meant to be lived alone, but to be out there, out there with other people where it can be seen and observed—and, even imitated! Wow. What a task!
Forward notes: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer” (verse 12).
“Some of this passage can be read as instructions for individuals, while other parts address our community and common lives.
“Ten to fifteen years ago, happiness literature was popular and offered succor to people who were suffering. The whole purpose was about ignoring unhappiness, not feeling it. In that way, it was a prosperity gospel for happiness.
“This passage from Romans is about community-making, being there for each other, and rejoicing when others rejoice. It is not about running from bad things or making them disappear. Instead, it is about loving each other through the hard times. The passage runs counter to a culture where our goal is self-satisfaction. Jesus never promises us that we will escape hard times if only we take up our crosses and follow him, but he does tell us that with him and with community, love will sustain us.”
Moving Forward: ‘What do you think about the premise of a ‘prosperity gospel for happiness/””