The Hope of Sharing

Romans 5:1-5

I’d like to share the words of Paul with you this morning. Not the apostle Paul, author of the letter to the Romans, but another Paul. The words of Paul Achtemeier, Professor of Biblical Interpretation Emeritus at what is now Union Presbyterian Seminary, and author of a commentary on the letter to the Romans. He’s written a paraphrase of today’s verses that I found particularly helpful in understanding them.

“Now that we have been set right with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and hence are at peace with God through that same Jesus Christ, we may, in addition to having peace, have confidence in our hope for the future. But more, our present status in God’s grace is such that we can maintain that confidence in the face of adverse reality. Indeed, God’s grace is so powerful that even things that work against such confidence and hope only serve to strengthen it, since those who know God’s grace also know that such adversity brings out patience and that such patience shows we can meet the test of adversity and meeting the test simply reinforces our hope. The reason such hope is able to meet the test of adversity lies in the fact that the hope is grounded in God’s love with which he has filled our lives, a love that comes to us through the Holy Spirit (Achtemeir, 91).”

Isn’t that wonderful? Concise and clear and easy to understand.

I was reading through another commentary on Romans 5 by a guy named Ernst Kasemann and stumbled over this gem of a sentence: “The travail of the present time under the aegis of the Messiah transforms believers back into the image lost by Adam.” (133)

Next time you have an opportunity to tell someone why you go to church, try this line on them. “I just believe that the travail of the present time under the aegis of the Messiah will transform believers back into the image of God lost by Adam...you know?”

It’s actually a pretty good line, once you spend a couple of hours translating it into English. Kasemann is talking about our hope of sharing the glory of God despite our current struggles. Which Achtemeier clarifies:“Our present status in God’s grace is such that we can maintain confidence [in our hope for the future] in the face of adverse reality.” Kasemann says this, but in a way that makes it more difficult to understand. I am certain that I have been guilty of doing this, too. Making things more difficult to understand than they need to be. It reminds me of the story from Acts 8 where Philip was told by the Spirit to approach the carriage of an Ethiopian man who he heard reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah.

“Do you really understand what you are reading?” Philip asked him.

The man replied, “Without someone to help, how could I?”

How I wish that I, like Philip...or Dr. Achtemeier, was always prepared to climb into the carriage of the struggling traveler to explain the Scriptures with clarity. But I fear that I more often cloud the waters of understanding with my own desperate churning to keep my head above the surface. Sometimes, when I compare myself to Philip, or to Dr. Achtemeier, or to other pastors I know who speak with such confidence and clarity and power, I feel myself grow envious, or worse...I self-deprecate...I make myself feel underqualified to do my job.

Have you ever felt this way, like a rowboat amidst a sea of yachts? Or maybe you’ve felt like a ship without a rudder...directionless. Or you had a rudder but no sails, and just felt unmotivated. Or you had sails and a rudder, but sprung a leak, and felt like you were sinking. Or maybe you’ve been caught in the midst of a storm and felt overwhelmed and afraid. Underqualified, directionless, unmotivated, sinking, overwhelmed, frightened, not good enough, not smart enough, not witty enough...fill in the blank.

Just from my own personal experience, these are the mindsets, or heartsets, or soulsets, that lead to what Paul, the apostle, calls “our sufferings” or what Kasemann calls “the travail of the present time.” It’s no fun to feel like a bad boat. But imagine if you heard a story about a carpenter who installs rudders, controls the wind, calms storms, fixes broken boats. Would that story fill you with enough hope to change your life’s travel itinerary and set sail?

That’s what Paul hopes. Up to this point in his letter to the Romans he’s told the story of human sin, and the accomplishment of Christ on the cross. Now he shifts from talking about what has happened in the past to what is happening here and now: calling believers to set a new course and set sail for life in the glory of God.

Our ship is fixed, he tells us. Our relationship with God, that is. We are made right with God by Jesus Christ, who in addition to being the son of God was also a carpenter’s son...wasn’t he? We are justified by faith, but our faith is also under assault by the current powers that be on earth (Kasemann, 134). The boasting to which we are called is a profession of hope that we share in God’s victory over the powers of this world. “We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God!”

“But we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

Let me paraphrase another quote from Kasemann: “God’s triumphant glory can be [celebrated] in hope only when sufferings can also be [celebrated] as the sphere in which the reality of grace [does its work].” (134)

Human beings don’t want to struggle. Deep down, we know that making boastful claims about sharing in the glory of God’s victory over the powers of this world is going to rock the boat...and we already feel like there’s too much wrong with our boat...a little rocking just might shatter it to splinters. The powers that be want us to feel this way do that rather than struggle against them, we’ll look for ways to live comfortably in their presence. Paul summarizes this in chapter 3 of his letter to the Romans: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Sin approaches us with the charisma of a late-night infomercial, using the same script that Satan used against Jesus in the wilderness. “Do you feel like your boat isn’t good enough? I’ll give you a yacht if you let me be lord of your life. Your God might claim victory in the ‘fullness-of-time’, but I can make you feel like a winner now. Just three easy payments of your heart, your soul, and your mind.”

Jesus was suffering in the wilderness when Satan approached him...he was hungry, thirsty, and human. He knew he had a tall task ahead of him: make sure everyone in this world knows that they are loved and try to convince them to stop fighting and killing one another, get them to stop exploiting one another, abusing creation, and loving wealth more than their neighbor. Satan boasted in his ability to give Jesus power over this world. Our boasting reveals to whom we belong...and Satan belongs to the powers of this world. Jesus chose to boast in God, a brave move that revealed his faith in God’s promised provision above the tempting quick-fix promises.

If we give into the temptation to boast in the powers of this world, what kind of character are we developing? A disappointing one, Paul seems to claim. To “appoint” comfort and conformity as lords of our life is a “dis” to God...and a dis to God’s vision of a domination-free world, where love and peace and joy prevail. Hope which is born out of sharing in this glorious vision will not disappoint us, but setting forth with the winds of this hope in our sails means we will struggle against powers desperately seeking to sink the ship. We will struggle against the currents of chaos and the storms of doubt and despair. The powers that be have won if they can make us feel hopeless.

May you trust God’s victory over the powers of this world. May you know the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the peace of knowing you are good enough and always capable of growing in love. May God’s love fill your sails, mend your leaks, and steer your ship as you set forth to share this life-lifting hope with others. Amen.