1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:05,560 A reading from Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 15, verses 2 00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:09,680 one through 13. We who are strong have an 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:13,840 obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,920 please ourselves. Let each of us please his 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,600 neighbor for his good, to build him up. 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,880 For Christ did not please himself. 7 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:29,240 But as is written, the reproach of those who reproached you fell 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,240 on me. For whatever was written in 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:36,880 former days was written for our instruction that through 10 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:39,960 endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, 11 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:44,040 we might have hope. May the God of endurance and 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:48,840 encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:54,040 another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together with you, 14 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:59,160 may with one voice glorify God the Father of our Lord Jesus 15 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,920 Christ. Therefore welcome one another as 16 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,920 Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. 17 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,120 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the 18 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,760 circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to 19 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:21,120 confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order 20 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:26,240 that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy as it is 21 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,400 written. Therefore I will praise you 22 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,800 among the Gentiles, and sing to your name. 23 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:39,480 And again it is said, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people, and 24 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:44,040 again praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the 25 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:49,640 peoples extol him. And again Isaiah says, the root 26 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:55,600 of Jesse will come, even he who rises to rule the Gentiles, in 27 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:00,520 him will the Gentiles hope. May the God of hope fill you 28 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:05,080 with all joy and peace and believing, so that by the power 29 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:10,800 of the Holy Spirit you may be, you may abound and hope the word 30 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,280 of the Lord. Good morning, Church. 31 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,760 It's good to see you all. Thank you. 32 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:23,400 OK, OK, so as Father Aaron mentioned, I was in the 33 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,720 classroom for quite some time. And a phrase I often hear in 34 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:30,840 schools, especially when exams get handed back, as you can 35 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:32,840 imagine, you can probably guess, hey, what'd you get? 36 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:34,440 What'd you get? What'd you get? 37 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,960 Right? It was so pervasive in the 38 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,400 schools I taught at that I actually had a ban it for my 39 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:45,440 classroom, you know, and pause a given lesson to invite my 40 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:50,200 students to unpack. What is at the root of this 41 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,400 impulse to ask that question constantly. 42 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:59,440 So many of us fall into the trap of wanting to keep tallies where 43 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,800 people are at, right? How they doing. 44 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:07,880 We compare ourselves to that individual as standard and 45 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,360 depending on where we land on a given day, right? 46 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,040 We feel like pretty incredible about ourselves sometimes. 47 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,040 And that's maybe even a little complacent. 48 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,040 Maybe we're really anxious, like I need to catch up, I need to do 49 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:25,240 better, or even despair. Maybe I'll never measure up, 50 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:27,240 right? And then we start spiraling. 51 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,120 All of all of this tense us into isolation when we're weak. 52 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:39,280 So whether we're on a high or low point, trying to keep the 53 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,680 show going on our own is exhausting, isn't it? 54 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,600 And frankly, it's unsustainable. And this is true of all of our 55 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:49,920 identities because we carry a lot with us, right? 56 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:55,920 As students, athletes, artists, employees, supervisors, as sons, 57 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,800 as daughters, parents, for sure, right? 58 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:04,640 And even as Christians, we tend to treat the Christian life like 59 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:08,000 a solo performance. There's a lot of pressure when 60 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,640 we do that. It's one more area where our 61 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:17,160 personal discipline, successes and failures rests on our 62 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:21,959 shoulders alone. And this tension is exactly what 63 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:25,640 Paul addresses in his letter to the Roman Christians in our 64 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,640 passage today. The temptation to make faith 65 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:33,640 about us, our performance, our highs, our ability to stay 66 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,960 strong. As a good friend put it for me 67 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,680 recently, as I was kind of talking it through with her, she 68 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,720 said when we do that, we can find other people's problems and 69 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,080 struggles are drained and we can also find their strength 70 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:50,800 intimidating. We need God to change your 71 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:56,040 hearts in those cases, for sure. So returning to this image of a 72 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:02,760 soloist on a stage, sometimes a solitaire voice is strong and 73 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:06,200 resonant. Listeners are compelled by it, 74 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,360 whether it's pained or uplifting. 75 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:13,360 The message of a song is clear and we are so moved by it. 76 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,600 Other times it's hoarse. Perhaps a singer is sick. 77 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,080 The song is hard to hear and thus the message cannot be 78 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,640 heard. The singer needs to rest. 79 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:31,280 Perhaps they can't hit the high notes that day or having trouble 80 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:36,200 projecting across the room. They need more voices to bolster 81 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:40,840 the sound. A singular singer can truly 82 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:42,760 achieve much with their instrument. 83 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:46,280 It can be quite beautiful, but as a human being, there are 84 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:48,960 limits, right? There's days of weakness that 85 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:54,640 come with days of strength. But God's vision is more 86 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:57,640 beautiful than that. God's vision for the Kingdom is 87 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,520 a chorus. It's not a room full of 88 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,560 soloists. We are, as it says in verse 6 on 89 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,160 page 10 and 11 in your bulletin, with one voice. 90 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,920 We are two. With one voice, glorify the God 91 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,080 and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 92 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,320 Indeed, Romans 15 reveals that the goal is not to eradicate the 93 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,160 weakness. That's very countercultural, 94 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,920 don't you think? It's to work together to build 95 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:31,040 one another up, to strengthen the body, this body right as a 96 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,760 whole. We are all, every single person 97 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,800 in this room. Members of a chorus who sing out 98 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:42,920 of an outpouring of celebratory praise, not individual 99 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:46,720 performance. And when we live in harmony like 100 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:51,520 this, we glorify God. Our harmony is God's glory, and 101 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:57,880 I find that so stunning. It's our joy, our peace, our 102 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,040 flourishing together that brings God glory. 103 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,880 That's how he designed it. That is so beautiful. 104 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,960 This vision is in direct contrast to so much of the 105 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:16,000 messaging that we, and frankly Paul's Roman Christians in his 106 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,360 context, receive in our daily lives. 107 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:24,560 Isn't it because society praises us strong, the independent, the 108 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,960 soloist virtuoso? And in fact, earlier in his 109 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,760 letter, in Romans 12, Paul writes this. 110 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:37,840 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the 111 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:42,000 renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the 112 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,960 good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 113 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:50,280 And immediately in that same chapter, he follows this with a 114 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:54,800 reminder that the church is many in one body in Christ. 115 00:07:55,880 --> 00:08:01,000 I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly 116 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:05,640 than he should think. Instead, think sensibly as God 117 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,880 has distributed and measure of faith to each one. 118 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:13,360 Now, as we have many parts in one body and all the parts do 119 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:18,200 not have the same function in the same way, we who are many 120 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:23,520 are one body in Christ and individually members of one 121 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,800 another. This integrated body is at the 122 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:33,360 heart of today's message. 2 Paul opens in chapter 15. 123 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:37,679 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the 124 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,320 failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 125 00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:46,600 Let us, let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to 126 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:52,960 build him up versus 1 and 2. The baseline assumption here is 127 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,000 that members of the body will be weak at times. 128 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:01,560 In fact, Scripture, as it says in verse 4, was written for our 129 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:05,080 instruction that through endurance and through the 130 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,520 encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope. 131 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:13,440 Faithful endurance and encouragement give us hope. 132 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,280 There's recognition here that we have things to endure. 133 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,640 Oh man, do we ever, right? And that we need encouragement 134 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,880 and support to bear challenges and persist through them. 135 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:31,080 That's built in, right. So I invite you to take a moment 136 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,240 now and consider what are what are the things that you need to 137 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:40,240 endure lately? And you could think through all 138 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,960 the areas of your life. It might be physical, it might 139 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:47,640 be interpersonal, it might be deep within your heart. 140 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:53,720 In what areas of your life would you love some encouragement? 141 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:04,520 And also consider what would it look like for you to accept 142 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,120 edification from someone else in those areas? 143 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:13,520 Because for some of us, it's really hard to accept it, right? 144 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,560 In fact, the English language, this translation in this first 145 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:22,840 verse is really revealing of our fallenness in some notable ways. 146 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:27,320 Let's look at it. Words like obligation bear with 147 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:31,440 and failings of the weak that those words have some tough 148 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:35,840 connotations in our society. Some of us might read that and 149 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:41,040 think, oh, that's nice of Paul to to call upon the strong to 150 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,760 take on the burden of those who are weak. 151 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:46,920 But man, I don't want to be a burden on people. 152 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,560 I don't want people to feel obligated to build me up. 153 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:54,120 Does some of you think that sometimes? 154 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,000 So we may suffer in silence and not ask for help or prayer. 155 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,440 Or if our struggle is in the open, maybe we're not willing to 156 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:05,440 accept the help. It's OK, right? 157 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:10,120 Perhaps we hide and isolate ourselves from the body instead 158 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,280 in the name of not wanting to be a burden. 159 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,720 I definitely did there. But this is not conservation for 160 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:21,920 you or for me or for any of us. Actually, the original Greek is 161 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,400 so much more beautiful and positive than that. 162 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:30,040 So let's dig into it. We who are strong, OK? 163 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:35,520 The Greek word for strong, Dina toy, can come in many forms, 164 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,400 right? As we know, strength comes as 165 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,840 wealth, influence, conviction, your faith. 166 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,480 And interestingly, in the Greek, these are not moral categories. 167 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,040 This is not about being like a good Christian versus a bad 168 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:53,080 Christian. The strong bear responsibility 169 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,360 not because they're better, but because they currently have 170 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,800 greater freedom and capacity to care for other people. 171 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,160 We who are strong have an obligation. 172 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:08,800 OK, Well, Filaman, literally, we owe it the obligation. 173 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:11,800 It's a kind of love that that Father Aaron talked about last 174 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:13,920 week. It's the kind of responsibility 175 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:18,280 for others that one willingly undertakes in love because our 176 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:22,640 strength is not our own to keep. We owe it to those who have 177 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,760 less, and thus we give it joy joyfully. 178 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,640 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the 179 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,160 failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 180 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:39,640 Here the failings of the weak a do not do not ton. 181 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:43,160 I can never pronounce that one denotes lack of strength, not 182 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,320 lack of virtue. The weak are not yet formed in 183 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:49,440 their convictions, not yet capable of exercising freedom, 184 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:51,920 not yet steady in faith. Maybe things are just really 185 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:55,280 hard right now, right? The term is tender. 186 00:12:55,320 --> 00:13:00,120 It's not derogatory. There's so much love in here, 187 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,440 right? In Rome, pleasing yourself was 188 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,400 the goal to gain status through self determination. 189 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,160 Doesn't that sound familiar? Our society definitely elevates 190 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:16,160 that too. Paul points out, however, that 191 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:21,080 God's vision orients our goals away from self-serving to self 192 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,320 giving. Paul uses scripture to show that 193 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,600 Christ is our example of this. Of course, verse 3, for Christ 194 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:34,960 did not please himself. Christ frankly had all freedom, 195 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:39,400 all strength, all rights, but he used none of it for his own 196 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,640 comfort. This is radically different from 197 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:46,360 what society expects and thus piques people's interest and 198 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,680 curiosity. He stood out as we are called to 199 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:53,880 stand out. It opens a door for others to be 200 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,680 welcomed into this hope, this radical, different hope that 201 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:01,400 Christ brings. Paul continues in verses 5 202 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,800 through 6. May the God of endurance and 203 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:08,680 encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one 204 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:13,320 another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may 205 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:18,360 with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 206 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:22,160 Christ. Scripture reminds us that 207 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:26,640 endurance and encouragement come from God, not ourselves. 208 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:31,320 Thank God, because if encouragement comes from God, 209 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:35,120 then no one can boast and being the strong one on a given day, 210 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,640 and no one needs to hide when they're weak. 211 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:44,320 How beautiful that built into glorifying God. 212 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:48,720 The purpose of our lives is US living in harmony with one 213 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,440 another. That's amazing, right? 214 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:56,280 Built into God's vision is building one another up for one 215 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:00,480 another's good. By caring for others when we're 216 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:04,960 strong and by accepting care from others when we're weak, we 217 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,600 fulfill God's design and thus glorify Him. 218 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:13,400 I mean, come on, right? Like, God truly wants what's 219 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:17,400 best for us. And for me, a clear illustration 220 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,360 of this is what can happen in a Citigroup or a small group Bible 221 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,840 study. When we first moved back to 222 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:29,400 Chicago in 2018, despite having grown up here myself, it felt 223 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:31,720 really hard to find community, to be honest with you. 224 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,720 Everyone's super busy, right? A lot of relationships felt 225 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,360 really like touch and go. And as a relative introvert 226 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:42,760 myself, I kept waiting for others to welcome, like, welcome 227 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:44,760 me in, invite me, reach out to me. 228 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,240 And so for years, I felt very much in the fringes of pretty 229 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:50,840 much every community I was a part of, including Emmanuel. 230 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,880 And I had heard various times, as many of you have, right, that 231 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,360 the way to become part of a community is a serve in it. 232 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,480 I knew that up here in my head, but my heart wasn't quite open 233 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,440 to it because I felt a little bit awkward. 234 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,960 You know, I felt kind of shy about it, self-conscious maybe. 235 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:12,360 And our apartment, those of you with kids, you know, as I 236 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:14,720 cluttered with kids stuff, right? 237 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,600 And frankly, I I'm working on this, but it generally makes me 238 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,080 anxious to have people over when things are a mess. 239 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,640 But my husband, Seth, and I knew from leading small groups 240 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,720 through inner varsity and college and participating in 241 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,240 various Bible studies through our, you know, over the years 242 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,400 that creating intentional spaces where people can grapple with 243 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:38,320 scripture together and pray with and for one another can be a 244 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,040 huge blessing to people. I think a lot of you in this 245 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:43,880 room know that. And if you haven't experienced 246 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,080 that before yet, I invite you to consider it. 247 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,680 So we opened our home and our city groups over the years have 248 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:53,560 become an extension of our family. 249 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:56,040 And some of you are in this room. 250 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:02,200 It fills my heart with song to see our older kids, Nina and 251 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:04,160 June look forward to Tuesday evenings. 252 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:06,960 They run downstairs to greet people at the door. 253 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,599 And they're learning godly hospitality and opening up their 254 00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:14,000 rooms, sharing their stuff, you know, reading to the younger 255 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,599 kids and, and selecting the toys that they know the kids will 256 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:21,160 like ahead of time. And as the kids, I mean, it's 257 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:23,079 like crazy. There's like 10 kids in the in 258 00:17:23,079 --> 00:17:25,240 our flat. Like the kids are running up and 259 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,400 down the halls. It's wonderful. 260 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:29,880 It's just like beautiful chaos, right? 261 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,320 They like drop by the table throughout the evening to like 262 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:35,320 grab snacks and maybe they'll curl up on some of our laughs as 263 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:38,640 we're talking. They get to listen to our hard 264 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,480 questions, right? They recognize that, oh, people 265 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:43,400 ask questions and they read scripture. 266 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:45,840 It's not just like knowing all the answers, right? 267 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:51,840 They listen and they notice. Hopefully you know how we follow 268 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:53,560 up on one another's prayer request. 269 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:55,200 Hey, how, how was that procedure? 270 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,120 How was that conversation? How do you feel this week about 271 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:02,280 this, Right? And this Christian life together 272 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:05,000 is beautiful. Not because everyone's a model 273 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:06,640 Christian, whatever that means, right? 274 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:11,800 But because we're living in our messy, chaotic, complex lives 275 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,520 together and supporting one another in it. 276 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,840 And in this way, we're all singing together. 277 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,760 And honestly, like, isn't that more compelling than everyone 278 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,080 posturing as having it all together, You know, being super 279 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:29,280 Christian or whatever, you know, or even oblivious to the 280 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,160 struggles of the person sitting across from them. 281 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:40,600 Our collective song is radiant not because every individual 282 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:46,320 singer is perfectly in key, but because we are singing a common 283 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:51,640 song of praise and welcoming others to join in our chorus. 284 00:18:53,960 --> 00:19:00,200 To deny someone help, then, as the giver or receiver, is to 285 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:05,800 deny God His glorious song. It isn't about us, so it's not 286 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:07,640 making it about us. We make it hard for ourselves 287 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:11,320 when we do that right? So when we Peacock our spiritual 288 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,160 highs as a Christian Gold Star, even if we just do it on the 289 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:19,160 inside, we make it about us. When we hoard our strengths to 290 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:23,200 ourselves, whether it's our able bodiedness, resources, or 291 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,560 availability, we make it about us. 292 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:30,000 When we isolate ourselves from the body when we're weak, such 293 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:34,960 as by refusing care and support when it's offered to us, we make 294 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,840 it about us. Let's resist those temptations. 295 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:45,680 Instead, as Paul continues in verse 7, let us welcome one 296 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:49,680 another as Christ welcomed us for the glory of God. 297 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:57,960 The Greek word for welcome here, Proselyn banaspi, is a command 298 00:19:57,960 --> 00:19:59,840 and has two parts that this is really cool. 299 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:05,440 The prefix prose is in the word. It signals movement toward the 300 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,560 other person. It's not waiting for them to 301 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,240 come to you. Also, it's not even just 302 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:15,920 tolerating them from a distance. It's actively stepping in their 303 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:23,080 direction and the route Lambano is like an embrace to take 304 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:29,640 someone into your care. Man, God is in language too. 305 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:33,640 It's just so amazing. Imagine what this kind of 306 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:38,320 wholehearted welcome can look like at church and also in your 307 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,520 day-to-day with anyone you come across. 308 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,760 Like, imagine them right now that people's faces that you 309 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:46,640 come into contact with all the time. 310 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,240 If we're to actively go to them and welcome them in and embrace, 311 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,400 what does that look like? How does that feel? 312 00:20:55,160 --> 00:21:01,640 Have you ever experienced it? As Christ entered our situation 313 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:06,560 and welcomed us into life with Him, we are to warmly welcome 314 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:11,520 others into our lives too, and this welcome expands a community 315 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:17,080 beyond all boundaries. We need that now always and 316 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,800 actively resists society's inclination to cut off the weak 317 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:27,760 or exclude the outsider. And indeed, Paul was writing to 318 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:33,320 a diverse Christian community made-up of Jewish and non Jewish 319 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:37,000 gentile believers. There was tension amongst those 320 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:41,640 groups at the time, right? And he strings together passages 321 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:46,960 from various parts of the Hebrew Scriptures in the remaining 322 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:50,320 verses of this reading, like the laws of prophets of writings, to 323 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:54,160 emphasize how God's vision was always inclusive. 324 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,640 The rejoicing verse 11 was for all the peoples. 325 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:05,040 God's promise of salvation is for everyone because verse 13, 326 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:08,760 He is the God of hope. And while the particular 327 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:12,800 cultural tensions within Paul's Roman audience were different 328 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,440 from ours, today we have many of our own. 329 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:20,520 And like them, we need rescue from comparison and competition. 330 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:25,640 It's pervasive. So in addition to giving and 331 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,080 receiving care, who can you welcome? 332 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:36,720 And let's be honest with ourselves, what comparisons and 333 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:41,280 competitions do we need to let go of in order to welcome them? 334 00:22:47,740 --> 00:22:50,780 Paul concludes with the benediction because he knows 335 00:22:50,780 --> 00:22:54,100 that we cannot rely on our efforts alone to do this right. 336 00:22:54,620 --> 00:22:58,220 We can only be united in care, harmony and worship through the 337 00:22:58,220 --> 00:23:03,580 power of the Holy Spirit who sustain us, who sustains us as 338 00:23:03,580 --> 00:23:07,900 we strive to, as written in verses 5 and 6, to live in such 339 00:23:07,900 --> 00:23:12,480 harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus, that 340 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:17,480 together you may, we may with one voice glorify the God and 341 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:22,520 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So likewise, I invite you 342 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:27,720 literally to hold your palms up to receive an extension of calls 343 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,240 blessing upon the Roman Christians to us today and into 344 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:36,800 the second week of Advent. May the God of hope fill you 345 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:42,040 with all joy and peace and believing, so that by the power 346 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,120 of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 347 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:47,080 Amen.