Joy and Peace in Believing

In the year 49 a decree went out from emperor Claudius of Rome that forced all Jews to leave the city of Rome. This is, keep in mind, after they had made considerable efforts to “adjust to their social and political environment--in particular to demonstrate that they were loyal subjects of Rome--without compromising their faith or their identity.” [1] Many of these Jews were believers in the Messiah, and would have been the founders of the Christian community in Rome. But, as Eugene Boring points out, this decree from Claudius forced out the Jewish Christian leadership in the early churches, leaving congregations primarily composed of Gentile Christians. [2] Claudius’ decree was rescinded following his death in 54 CE and many of these Jewish Christians returned to Rome, “finding that the congregations to which they belonged now had a predominantly Gentile Christian character.” [3]

This isn’t inherently a bad thing. How amazing, actually, that this newfound faith has taken root in new believers, and that Christian churches have been maintained and grown apart from the original founders of those faith communities. But human beings tend to be a bit proud and possessive, and faith isn’t immune from this. These returning Messianic-Jews seem to have struggled a bit with the validity of a Church that was “changing,” or more specifically, that wasn’t entirely in their control any more. One of Paul’s primary goals in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ was to address this prickly situation between a Jewish Christian minority and a new Gentile Christian majority. Better put, by Eugene Boring, this is God’s goal for the church, “God’s purpose is to reunite fragmented humanity in the...kingdom of God...How is it possible for people with profoundly different religious convictions to live together as one community of faith?” [4]

Paul does something interesting, he designates the two groups as “strong” and “weak.” Now I don’t know about you, but I would want to consider myself to be a member of one of those groups over the other. There are some commentators who claim that these categories are simply rebranding Jewish and Gentile Christians, particularly on account of some of Paul’s comments in chapter 14 about the “strong” eating meat, drinking wine, and not observing special holy days, while the “weak” limit their diets and their holy days. This seems to single out the more pious and traditional faith of the Jewish Christians. But I think Paul is using this as a rhetorical tool to appeal to the human inclination to belong to the “strong” group. What I see as more important to Paul’s definition of “strong” faith is a willingness to welcome others without condescendingly looking down your nose at them. The strength of your faith does not come from how conservative or liberal you are, how pious and strict your observance of the faith is, or how knowledgeable and well-versed you are in Scripture...these things matter, to be sure, but they are not of utmost importance in the community God has called us to build upon Christ. Of utmost importance there is...surprise: Christ!

So, if you really want to be “strong”, then welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. Paul goes on: “For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.” Who comes out on top here? Is it the Jewish-Christians, the circumcised for whom Christ is a fulfillment of God’s promises to their ancestors? Is it the Gentiles, who have been shown mercy through Christ, and are thus justified fully as members of God’s kingdom? You tell me, who is the greatest in God’s kingdom? Paul’s language about serving and building up our neighbor echoes back to Jesus’ teachings to his disciples about who shall be “great” in his kingdom. You might remember a passage where the disciples were arguing about this very issue when Jesus nips it in the bud by saying, in more or less words: “If you really want to be great, then serve your neighbor, show compassion, stop thinking about yourself so much. Haven’t I been modeling this for you?”

If the church wants to be truly strong, then it must model itself as the hands and feet of Christ, united as one body with many parts...none of which are more important than any others, and none of which are above the head, which is Christ Jesus. A foot can be a strong member by moving with and supporting and standing strong for the body...or a weak member by refusing to walk in tandem with the other foot, causing the whole body to stumble. Paul Achtemeier emphasizes the inclusive nature of God’s love as being the gravitational pull of Christian unity. [5] “[God’s] purpose is inclusion, not exclusion...whatever therefore that contributes to exclusion from the Christian community, whether social pressures or racial biases or whatever else, works at cross-purposes with the redemptive intention of God shown in Christ.” [6]

What I think Paul is really trying to do with this whole “weak/strong” thing is play at our inclination to exclude those we fear might weaken our faith or our community and then saying “A ha! If your inclination is to exclude anyone, then it is you who are weak and you who needs to trust God’s grace and love more.” For any of us, to be caught in such an “A ha!” might illicit fear or embarrassment or shame. But this fear and shame is a part of what Paul, and Jesus, are trying to reveal as being a weak faith. Time and again, we see Jesus challenging the exclusive tendencies of the faith of the pious and powerful by sitting at table with those who had been excluded by them. We see the Pharisees and legal experts attempting to embarrass Jesus, to humiliate him, to make him feel ashamed for what he believed and how he acted. But who would you say had the stronger faith?

Picture a roller coaster with one of those “you must be at least this tall to ride” signs, except instead of a roller coaster, it’s a banquet table, and instead of height it’s righteousness that determines whether you can take a seat. When Christ taught us to pray, he taught us to relocate the kingdom and the power and the glory in God...and our invitation to be fed in that kingdom is predicated upon God’s gift of daily bread to us and our receiving and sharing of forgiveness. Christ is our righteousness, our invitation to God’s table, our unity, and the founder of a faith for which we need not be embarrassed or afraid.

When Paul harkens back to the Prophets, he does so to emphasize God’s plan for harmony and peace among all peoples. [7] The shoot from the stump of Jesse is Jesus in whom God has revealed as the new leader of a new kind of kingdom. This is a kingdom in which strength is not determined by the power to exclude and maintain divisions, but by the compassion to host the feast of reconciliation at the table of grace. Because of this, because we know that Christ is the final judge who determines the shape of God’s new world, and because we can be certain that God’s mercy towards us is revealed in Christ, we can welcome this new world and this new leader with “happy anticipation rather than fear-filled foreboding.” [8]

“Advent for the Christian is therefore a time of expectation and joy, of waiting and fulfillment.” [9] Strong faith is the faith that enables us to wait and work with peace for the coming of God’s new heaven and new earth, the faith that enables us to be “filled with joy and peace in believing” that Christ is coming. May you know the joy and peace that comes from believing God’s love for you, shining in the light of Christ. Amen.

[1] Boring, Eugene. An Introduction to the New Testament: History, Literature, Theology. Westminster-John Knox. (2012, Louisville, KY). 290.

[2] Ibid. 291.

[3] Ibid. 291.

[4] Ibid. 308.

[5] Achtemeier, Paul. “Romans” from Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. John Knox Press (1982, Louisville, KY) 226.

[6] Ibid. 226.

[7] Ibid. 226.

[8] Ibid. 227.

[9] Ibid. 227.