Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
For a long time I was intimidated by Romans. It is a heavy book where Paul wrestles with some tough topics, not to mention it is a letter written to a community of people 2,000 years ago and we read it without having copies of the rest of the correspondence between Paul and Rome. To help with my apprehension I decided to sit down one night and read all 16 chapters in one sitting. It was great. I’m going to share a little of what I concluded from that exercise for my brief reflection today.
Today’s text from Romans covers the Life in the Spirit vs the Life in the Flesh. This is reminiscent of the “Way of Death vs the Way of Life” that we find in ancient documents like the Didache. The language of a lived state of salvation connects to how we talk today and how Paul wrote. Phrases like “State of grace,” “Mortal Sin,” etc seem to have parallels in this passage with phrases like “In Christ Jesus,” “Live according to the flesh,” "Live according to the Spirit,” etc. So what does this mean?
I think it helps us recognize that to be a disciple of the Lord places demands upon us, but should also bring out an attractive quality in us. As for the demands, they are placed on us as we are now under the Law of the Spirit. Of course we are under this law by free gift, but in our language of “state of grace,” the demands we see are a recognition that we are living in a state of costly grace. This costly grace calls us to live according to the Spirit and with the concerns of the Spirit. This is part of discipleship, to see the Mission to live as Christ did, according to the concerns of the Spirit.
The attractive quality that should be brought out in us is peace and life. Paul wrote that the “concerns of the Spirit are life and peace.” This promise of life and peace is good for us to remember because we have a tendency to misrepresent the Spirit. Sometimes, I think it is easier to emphasize the extraordinary and extravagant gifts of the Spirit because they are flashier and easier to recognize, but I do not think we are called to that. Disciples don’t look to just Jesus’ miracles, nor should we look to just the Spirit’s spectacular manifestations. Instead the everyday encounters with the Spirit is what our discipleship of the Spirit calls us to. Whether it is daily prayer, reading scripture, serving others, or through the sacraments, if we are to stand a chance of living according to the Spirit, I’ve got to get to know who the Spirit is.
Lord, help us to be life-giving and to be instruments of your peace as we follow Jesus, living according to the Spirit and not the flesh.
Amen.
Spencer Hargadon