In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
If you read Romans straight through, you’ll find that in chapter 8 Paul is coming to an emotional and rhetorical crescendo; and he concludes with quite the statement – “For I am convinced that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is what Paul has been building towards in Romans with all of his discussions about sin, the flesh, the Spirit, and grace. The reason why that passage is so often heard at funerals is because it is so full of hope. And while these words do provide consolation at funerals, this passage speaks hope to our everyday lives as well.
The first glimpse of hope that we see comes from the fact that the Holy Spirit of God is in us. Paul writes that the Spirit helps us in our weakness, praying on our behalf with sighs too deep for words when we can’t find the words ourselves. It’s a reminder that whether we’re at the end of our ropes and or we’re in a state of ignorant bliss, the Spirit prays for us when we cannot. Sometimes you just don’t have the words to pray. Sometimes you just don’t have the faith. And that’s okay, because the Spirit utters sighs too deep for words. When you sigh in exasperation or contentment, that’s the Spirit uttering a prayer in you.
I find great hope in this – knowing that when I’m too angry, too distracted, too confused to pray, that the Holy Spirit that fills me is praying for me. I find hope in this because it means the good that God intends for me can come even when I’m not at my best. It gives me hope to know that I am always held in prayer by God and that God’s love isn’t dependent on my doing anything.
Another place I find hope in this passage is in God’s providence; as Paul writes, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.” The way that I, along with many scholars, read this passage is an affirmation that God can work in all situations, through all people, and under any circumstances. It’s not so much that God is a puppet-master, pulling all of the strings to make things turn out the way God wants them to, but rather that God is with always with. And if God is always with us, then, in the end, everything is going to work out.
I’m sure you all remember that song that we learned as children – He’s got the whole world in his hands (x4). That’s a song of hope, and that’s what Paul is saying by reminding us that with God, all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. I find so much hope in the fact that the future is in God’s hands, not mine. Only because God is at the helm is our redemption secure. I find so much hope in knowing that God’s got the whole world in his hands.
One last place that I find hope in today’s reading is the hope of the Cross. Paul says “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?” In the Cross, we see that God is decidedly, unequivocally, and absolutely for us. And if God is for us, literally what in the world could ever be against us?
You can almost imagine Paul standing there with a line of people waiting to ask him a question. Will this tumor keep me from the love of God? A man rolls up in a wheelchair and asks “Will this disability keep me from the love of God?” Will my depression, addiction, sins, or lack of faith separate me from the love of God? How about unemployment, political bitterness, divorce, terrorism, getting rejected, not doing well on a test, being bullied, having a miscarriage, declining religious affiliation in our country – will these things separate us from the love of God?
Paul answers with a resounding “No!” None of these things that threaten to make us forget that, first and foremost, we are the beloved children of God will ever actually separate us from God’s love. These powers and principalities may do their worst to us, they might make it so that the only prayers that we can utter are sighs, they might lead us through the valley of the shadow of death, but they cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. At times, life will be hard, but we are never alone as God is always with us, always for us, and at the end, will redeem us all in love.
And notice how Paul introduces this section – he doesn’t say “You know, it’s probably the case,” or “I think,” or “My opinion is.” No. He says “For I am convinced.” Paul is confident and he is sure, and so am I. I may not have all the answers, I may not have all experience, but I have seen the love of God shining brightly in my life and in the lives of so many people. I am convinced of God’s love because I see it in the way that you all care for each other, in the way that you are committed to making this community and church the best that we can be, I see it in the way that though the news might be full of pessimism that you have enough optimism to come to church on a Sunday morning. I am convinced.
I have hope because of the Cross of Christ that this love of God will not stop at death, or because of things present or things to come. I have hope because the Cross of Christ shows us another way. An often overlooked line in this passage is where Paul writes “In all these things we are more than conquerors.” Paul doesn’t mean that we’re more than a regular conqueror and are super-conquerors. He’s saying that we’re something other than conquerors.
Whether it’s the conquering of politics, the military-industrial complex, a predatory economy, or churches competing with each other for members, I’m tired of the conquering mentality. I’m sick of the violence of our culture – whether it’s road rage, fighting for a bigger market share, turning everything into a competition, or hype over an upcoming boxing match – there’s just too much conquering out there. In a world that is all about conquering, I am given hope by the Cross in knowing that there is another way.
In the Cross, we see that he who refuses to seek victory becomes victorious, we see that it doesn’t have to be all about conquest, but rather compassion is the name of the game, we see that true glory is found not in self-promotion, but in serving God. Do you really want to spend your entire life fighting as a conqueror, or do you want to take part in the peace of God? Because there is another way.
This love of God that stops at nothing comes through the Cross. If our violently betraying and killing God doesn’t separate us from the love of God, then certainly nothing will. I find so much hope in that. I find so much hope in knowing that though the powers and principalities do battle with us, that we can be more than conquerors. We don’t have to engage in their battles for superiority, we don’t have to fight with each other, we don’t have to give into the conquering mentality. Instead, we can take part in a peace that passes all understanding, in a love that never dies, in a grace that is always present, in a mercy that has no limits. I have hope because if God is for us, then there isn’t a thing that can be against us.
This morning, Paul reminds us that we have no reason to fear, but we have every reason to rejoice in hope and love.
