Lectionary Readings (with the Epistle from Proper 13A used)
In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Do you all remember where we were in Romans last week? At the end of chapter 8, St. Paul proclaimed “For I am convinced that nothing, not things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor rulers, nor death, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s really the pinnacle of Christian faith and hope – the peace that comes from being confident in the invincible love of God. It’s sort of like being at the top of the drop tower ride at Carowinds – you have a majestic view and feel as if you’re on top of the world when you’re 100 feet in the air. But then comes the drop.
As we enter into chapter 9 of Romans, we are plunged from the heights of chapter 8 into the tough questions of life. I hope that you can hear the angst in Paul’s writing; like you might experience after the drop, his heart is in his throat: “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people.” Paul was nothing if not a master of rhetoric and logic, and if you follow the logic of his argument, you might notice a problem. If God’s grace works through all situations and if salvation is available to all people – then what does that mean for the Jews? If non-Jews are being adopted in God’s family, then what difference does it make if you’re Jewish or not. What difference does it make if you are a descendant of Abraham or a follower of the Torah?
Perhaps for us this doesn’t seem to be such a big deal, but remember that Jesus, Paul, and all of the disciples were Jewish. So, some might be hearing Paul’s message about the pervasive nature of God’s grace and reasonably ask “So being Jewish doesn’t matter anymore, because in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek?” This was a crisis of identity for the Jewish people, because for so long they had identified themselves as the inheritors of the covenant with Abraham, they were God’s chosen people. But this message about Christ Jesus seems to suggest that those things simply don’t matter anymore.
And then there is the issue that many Jews did not see Jesus as the Messiah and were missing out on God’s salvation that had come to them. It’s a question of what to do about those who are unfaithful. As you know, the Church has a condemnable and tragic history of dealing with this question, I don’t need to go into the horrors of the Crusades, the Inquisition, or the Holocaust to make that point. And as evidenced by some of the vandalism in recent months to Jewish cemeteries, the plague of anti-Semitism isn’t behind us.
It goes without saying, but it’s a point that shouldn’t be missed, so I’ll say it anyway: hating, disrespecting, or discrediting Jews is not an acceptable response to these questions. There’s a story that comes out of 1930s Germany in which a pastor who is sympathetic to the rising Nazi party is preaching and says “If you have any Jewish blood in you, leave now.” As the story goes, Jesus ripped himself off of the crucifix behind the altar, walked down the center aisle, and left. We must never forget, dismiss, or disrespect the Jewishness of our faith.
Certainly, in the story of God’s relationship with humanity and in the story of salvation, the life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ is a unique and central event. As that old hymn goes “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” But while the Christ-event is certainly an exceptional event, it is also one that is in continuity with God’s relationship with Israel. Jesus is the Messiah for all of creation through Israel. And we can never leave out that “through Israel” part.
Now, you may have noticed that our worship today is subtly different from last week – no longer are our hangings green and today isn’t the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, rather it’s the Feast of the Transfiguration. We celebrate this feast every August 6, and the Transfiguration is one of the feasts that takes precedence on a Sunday – and so here we are. Scholars tell us that the Transfiguration has been commemorated liturgically since the 9th century and has been fixed on the calendar on August 6 since 1456, so there are deep roots to this tradition. The Transfiguration is that event in the Gospels in which Jesus with Peter, James, and John go up a mountain to pray, and while he is there, Jesus is transfigured, that is, his figure is changed. His clothes become dazzling white, and though Luke doesn’t tell us how, the appearance of his face is changed. Then Moses and Elijah appear and speak with Jesus.
You may be used to hearing this reading on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, as we always read it then. But when we read about the Transfiguration then, it’s about the story functioning as a bridge from Epiphany into Lent. Today, we celebrate and commemorate the actual event, giving God thanks for the glory seen in Jesus at his Transfiguration.
And this point that Paul is making here in Romans 9 is quite similar to the point Luke is making in his recounting of the Transfiguration – Jesus is in continuity with Moses and Elijah, “with the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.” When Jesus appears on that mountain, shining with God’s glory, it’s no accident that Moses, who calls to mind the Torah and the Exodus, and Elijah, reminding us of the prophets, appear with Jesus. The Transfiguration that says “Yes, Jesus is special, but he’s a part of the larger story of God and Israel.”
And this is so crucial not only in understanding our faith, but in having hope. It means that God does not take away what God gives. God made a promise to Noah, to Abraham and Sarah, to Isaac and Jacob, to Ruth, to David, to Ezekiel and Isaiah, to Mary and that promise is secure. God has not changed his mind about choosing Israel to be a light to the world. God has not abandoned the Covenant. God has not said “never mind” to the Torah. And if you’ve ever picked up a Bible, this should be really obvious because there’s this thing called the “Old Testament” that takes up about 2/3 of it.
One of the primary attributes of God is steadfastness. God keeps promises. This is what the Transfiguration and Paul in Romans 9 are about. Today we heard Paul say “It is not as though God’s word has failed.” God has given us love, and hope, and peace, and God does not take away what God gives. This gives us so much hope. We can trust in God’s promise. God is trustworthy. God isn’t “done” with the Jews, the Torah, or the Covenant with Abraham. Thanks be to God. Because if God is still faithful to the people of Israel, if God isn’t finished with the Jews, then it means that God will also remain faithful to all of God’s creation, it means that God will never be finished with the Church. Though the world might reject you, though we might abandon each other, God will never abandon us because God has not abandoned Israel.
One way that this message is so helpful is in thinking about children who have wandered away from the Church. On various occasions, many of you have told me of your disappointment in that your teenage or adult children don’t attend Church and don’t have a place for faith in their lives. And I get that – I can’t imagine how disappointed I’d be if our children end up not participating in the Church. Not at all because I’d worry about the state of their souls, but because I’d hate that they’re missing out on knowing the depths of God’s love and peace.
When Paul says “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people,” he’s saying “All that Christ has done for me, I’d give up for the sake of my people, for my Jewish brothers and sisters.” Isn’t that something that parents know well – that we’d give up anything for our children?
Wouldn’t we all prefer that all of God’s children know of God’s love for them? Don’t we wish that all people were a part of a church community of love and support? Don’t we want our children to find the value that we do in the faith? Later in chapter 9, Paul writes “So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.” As we’ve seen throughout Romans, God is in charge. Grace isn’t up to us to earn, or even accept. God can work through our unfaithfulness, through our ignorance, through our rejection, uncertainty, and doubt. Just as God’s promises were not bound by being biologically related to Abraham, nor are God’s promises restricted only to those who respond in faith to those promises. It’s not about our choice to accept God, rather it’s about God’s choice to accept us.
Even when those closest to us don’t choose the religious path that we would have chosen for them, God still loves them, God still blesses them, and God’s promise for them remains intact. The hard part is trusting this. It’s not easy to entrust our loved ones to someone else’s care, even when that someone else is God. Perhaps I can’t take away that disappointment that you might have about your family and friends not coming to Church, but I can assure you that doesn’t mean that God has forgotten his promises to them, in the same way that God has not forgotten the promise to Israel. When you wander away from the Church, or even when you just get out of the habit of attending Church every week, know that you are missed, but know that you are still a part of this community and that God’s love remains for you.
Just like the descent from the drop tower, it can be terrifying to consider some of these questions of our faith, but it’s also an exhilarating ride when you trust in God’s promises to always be there to support you. Know that God’s promise is a doorway into inexhaustible love, grace, peace, and mercy of God. As we see in the Transfiguration, there is always room to see a new face of God, a new mystery to behold, a new glory to cherish. And though we may be fickle in our promises, God is steadfast. We are all children of the promise, and nothing can change that, nothing can take that away. Thanks be to God!
