Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-april-3-2025
Romans 8:14-27
14 Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as children, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
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 groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
Paul’s letter to the Romans can be intimidating to preach on or teach about. That’s because there are so many important ideas packed into it. A week or two ago, when we started our series of readings from Romans, I described this book of the New Testament as “theologically dense,” and I’d stand by that description in any conversation about Romans.
There’s probably a good reason that the apostle Paul packed so many ideas into this letter. As you might remember, some of the leading New Testament scholars say that Paul created this letter to send ahead of himself on a planned visit to Rome, to work in ministry there for a year or two on his way to Spain. These scholars think the apostle wrote this letter to make sure he and the Roman Christians were all on the same page when it came to the central beliefs of the faith. If that’s true, it certainly explains why the letter seems so theologically dense; if Paul was trying to cover all of the important doctrines of the Christian faith, he had a lot to pack in.
Our reading for today is a good example of how Paul got a number of ideas into a fairly concise passage.
One very important idea in this passage is one we mention just about every time we celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. That idea is that the followers of Jesus are adopted by God as his own children. You might remember that Jesus actually said that those who follow him share in the same relationship he has with God — and that we are given the privilege of calling on God as “Abba,” which is an Aramaic word equivalent to ‘Papa.’ I don’t know about you, but personally, I find this idea a little overwhelming. The creator and sustainer of the universe has invited you and me to share in the loving relationship at the heart of the Holy Trinity.
And according to Paul, since we’re adopted children of God, we don’t have to live in fear of God the way a slave might live in fear of punishment from its master. Instead, we can live joyfully, knowing that our heavenly Father loves us. I can’t help thinking that this teaching from Paul is overlooked ‘way too often by those Christians whose faith seems largely oriented toward escaping the judgment of a severe and almost vindictive God.
The second idea that really strikes me in this passage is that those who suffer in this world should keep in mind that all of creation is also suffering. Creation is waiting for the fulfillment of God’s kingdom, when all that’s evil will be defeated and God’s peace will be established throughout the universe. Or as the British theologian Tom Wright puts it, at the fulfillment of the Kingdom, God will “put everything to rights.”
It’s not unusual to hear people who identify themselves as Christians speaking dismissively – and even with hostility – about “environmentalists.” Some even deny that human carelessness is causing great damage to God’s creation. The sad fact is that some Christians allow political and economic considerations to dictate their attitudes toward a creation that God made and declared “very good.”
But it seems to me that those of us who follow Jesus should regard all of creation as a gift from God. I’m not sure how anyone who calls themself a Christian could say with a straight face that it’s OK to abuse a gift from God because it costs too much to take care of it. Or that it’s alright to abuse that gift because someone else is doing it, too. If all of creation is eagerly awaiting the fulfillment of God’s kingdom right along with us, doesn’t that seem to place an even greater responsibility on us to take care of that creation?
The third important point in this passage is that each of us is so compromised in our ability to relate to God that we don’t even know how to properly express our hearts in prayer. (And, by the way, ‘our ability to relate to God’ is probably the most accurate way we can describe what the Bible really means by the concept of soul.) But there’s good news, according to Paul. He says that one of the important works of the Holy Spirit is to carry our prayers to God. And when the Spirit expresses the deepest part of ourselves, the real ‘agony and ecstasy’ of our lives, it reaches God with inarticulate groans, not with churchy-sounding words.
We should probably keep that in mind when we pray, don’t you think? Lots of people think that prayers have to be expressed in certain language or follow certain formulas. But Paul seems to be saying that the important thing is to focus on opening our hearts more and more to the God who loves us.
It’s interesting, when you think about it, that Paul says the Holy Spirit expresses our deepest longings with the same groans that come forth from all of creation as it awaits the fulfillment of the kingdom. That seems to be a reminder that while humankind might be unique in some of its characteristics, we are also a part of the ‘very good’ creation in which we have been placed.
So maybe you see why I say there’s a lot to think about in this one short passage from Romans.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the way you continue to speak into the world through the letters of your servant Paul. We thank you for his reminder that you have welcomed us into the loving relationship in your own family. We thank you also for the beautiful creation in which you have placed us, and for the privilege of caring for it. We thank you, finally, for the work of your Holy Spirit in expressing the deep longing of our hearts to rest more and more in you. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
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