Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-july-18-2024
Romans 12:1-8
A Living Sacrifice
Therefore, I urge you, brothers [and sisters], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is encouraging, then give encouragement; if it is contributing to the needs of others, then give generously; if it is leadership, then govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.
Our reading for today is one that falls into the category of “theologically dense,” as we put it when we started our series of readings from Romans. It’s brief, but it has several ideas that are important to how we live out our faith as followers of Jesus.
The first important idea Paul raises is that we should ‘offer our bodies as living sacrifices.’ As you probably remember, most of the early Christians were former Jews or former pagans, and religious life in both traditions included animal sacrifice. But Paul wanted his fellow believers to understand that following Jesus isn’t about that kind of blood sacrifice.
He says that instead, those of us who follow Jesus are supposed to let our whole lives be expressions of worship – that means everything we do and say in this world. John Calvin, the founder of the Reformed branch of the church of which Presbyterians are a part, wrote that we should be careful not to “un-say with our lives what we say with our lips.” In other words, no matter what we might say we believe, if our lives don’t show signs that we’re followers of Jesus, then our faith will be hollow and ‘un-fruitful.’
Most of us will never be called to sacrifice our physical lives as Jesus and his first apostles did. But we are called to sacrifice a way of life that’s centered around our own comfort and convenience – a way of life that’s “all about us.” We’re called to give up that self-centered way of life for the sake of a “neighbor-centered” way of life – living to serve others in Jesus’ name and helping to build the kingdom he came to announce. We might say God is worthy of our praise, but our actions speak louder than our words. So the question is whether we confirm our faith with our actions.
The second important point in this passage is that followers of Jesus are not to be conformed to the world’s standards. It’s no great insight to say that the world’s standards are pretty low. Just think about some of the “accepted wisdom” you hear repeated in the world: ‘Don’t get mad, get even,’ or ‘You gotta look out for number one,’ or ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ If you want a real sense of “the pattern of this world,” just watch TV – and pay particular attention to the news and the commercials. Or go on the internet and read some of the “comment” sections on a current events news feed. You’ll get a pretty clear (and depressing) picture of just how low the world’s standards are.
Instead of being conformed to the pattern of this world, Paul says, a follower of Jesus is supposed to be transformed by our relationship with God in Jesus. I don’t know what your experience has been, but my life of faith hasn’t been about a lightning strike changing everything in an instant. For me, and for most people of faith I’ve known, the walk of faith is a process of slow transformation that goes on as long as we live. If we open ourselves to it, the Holy Spirit will slowly make us more and more like Jesus himself. More forgiving. More willing to sacrifice for the sake of others. More devoted to serving those in need. More disciplined in our standards of personal morality. Our greatest impact on the world comes when our lives show that kind of transformation, not when we spend our time and energy telling others they’re going to hell unless they repent.
The third important idea in this reading is that the church of Jesus Christ is supposed to function like a healthy body. A body where each member plays its role without complaining, and without envy or resentment of the other members. As we noted in our Reflection on the Parable of the Talents recently, each follower of Jesus is given “spiritual gifts” – talents that can be used to help the church move the world toward the fulfillment of the kingdom of God. Whatever our gifts are, we should be using them joyfully and with enthusiasm to serve God side-by-side with other followers of Jesus.
And by the way, Paul encourages followers of Jesus not to be puffed up about our spiritual gifts. He seems to be thinking especially of those who are in leadership positions. Christian leadership is meant to be “servant leadership” – the kind of leadership Jesus himself demonstrated. People with gifts that are sometimes thought of as more ‘modest’ are just as important to the kingdom of God as the leaders and preachers and musicians are. The church should celebrate and lift up everyone’s gifts, because they’re all important to the mission of Jesus in the world.
So maybe you see why Romans is thought of as theologically dense. This reading is just eight verses long, but it has at least three very important ideas about what it means to be faithful followers of Jesus.
Let’s pray. Lord, we ask you to move in our hearts, and help us to live in a way that really does make our whole lives a sacrifice dedicated to your glory. Let your Holy Spirit transform us away from the world’s selfish and violent patterns in favor of the faithful and self-sacrificing pattern of Jesus. And move us to appreciate and affirm the gifts of all your people as we work together to bring about your kingdom. Amen.
Every Blessing,
Henry
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