Advent 2:6. 13 December 2013

image by THARDI1648

by Kaysi Hastings

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

"Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name."

And again it is said,
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people."

And again,
"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him."

And again Isaiah says,
"The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope."

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:8-13

Imagine that you grew up in the Jewish culture of Jesus' day, being taught (and believing) that your people were God's chosen people...to the exclusion of all others. Now imagine conversely that you grew up in Rome in a non-Jewish family, never even entertaining the thought that you might have a place among the people of God. In the book of Romans, Paul is addressing both Jews and Gentiles, and in this particular passage he is giving both groups a revolutionary message: They are to live in harmony with one another, glorifying God TOGETHER, with ONE voice.

As Paul briefly demonstrates in this text, the Jews were told over and over and over again that the Gentiles would at some point worship and serve God right alongside them. And yet even the very religious leaders were blind to this (whether by unwitting oblivion or willing denial) and adamantly opposed the idea when the man-made lines of who was "in" and who was "out" started disappearing. These leaders seemed to pride themselves on making it difficult for their own people to measure up, so one can only imagine how appalled they were at the thought that these "heathens" would be considered worthy of knowing God.

In light of all this, it makes sense that Paul would pray for God to fill his readers with "all joy and peace in believing." I would imagine this prayer was pertinent to both his Jewish and Gentile audiences. The Gentiles surely needed encouragement to trust the revelation that the God of Israel was, in fact, a lover of all humanity all this time and was indeed inviting them into His story. And the Jews clearly needed to be assured that this seeming plot twist was not some hair-brained, heretical idea that was suddenly spreading like wildfire but was rather the fulfillment of God's intentions from the start. In both cases, this was indeed reason to abound in hope.

Take some time to consider the following. Perhaps it would be helpful to record your responses in a journal.

How might the Jews have missed or dismissed all the prophecies that included the Gentiles in God's plan for humanity? What might we today be missing about God's plans for redemption despite having heard it all our lives? How does our cynicism toward others - and toward the possibility that God might redeem and restore certain people - minimize our view of God and, in turn, our hope?

Here is a prayer in response to today's text. You can pray this as your own or use it as a prompt for a spontaneous prayer.

Our magnificent Creator, it is a miracle that any of us could enjoy a restored relationship with You. But time and time again, You show Your power and love and grace by redeeming broken souls and turning hard hearts toward You. Forgive us for ever believing anyone is beyond redemption. May we trust the power of Your love and not only accept but also expect the transformation of even those we believe to be furthest from You.