These three chapters appear to have nothing in common (and perhaps they don't, except that they are all a part of the letter to the Romans). Chapter 11 completes Paul's thoughts about the salvation of the Jews, the promise of Jesus, and what he thinks will happen "in the end." Paul exhorts the Gentile Christians not to think of themselves too highly; after all, if they could be grafted into the vine, they could most certainly could be cut off, and the original branches grafted back on! He also muses that perhaps God has a purpose in the supposed hardness of heart of some of his Jewish brothers and sisters. It is exactly so that God could show mercy to the Gentiles -- and then -- in the end -- all of Israel will also be saved. At least, that is Paul's vision and his hope.
In chapter 12, Paul casts a vision of a transformed life and a transformed community. He begins by speaking about the gifts people will share in this transformed community. And then he goes on to share a laundry list of Christian excellence: genuine love, hospitality to strangers, service to others. Giving to the needs of the saints. Associating with the lowly. This is what transformed lives look like. And though it is easy for us to read the list and consider these as individual virtues (that is the way we think of most things in our lives), these are virtues practiced and honed in community. This is the "rock tumbler" of Christian community, where we bump up against one another, and begin to shine.
And then, we come to the difficult chapter 13. Why difficult, you might ask? After all, Paul is simply asking us to consider civil authority as given by God, to obey the law, to believe that there is an order to the creative world. God has put governments in place for a good purpose, to prevent chaos, and to make sure communities live (as much as possible) in peace. It seems fair enough. Even now, we encourage citizens to obey the law.
Except that there are extenuating circumstances. Except that in Nazi Germany, church-goers used this particular chapter of Romans as an excuse for not standing up to Hitler. So we need to read Romans 13 very carefully, respect the message and its limits.
Remember that Paul did not live in a democracy, where everyone had the same voice and responsibility. Even so, remember as well that if rulers are given by God, they are accountable to God as well. If they are not acting justly, we have the means, and the responsibility to hold them accountable, while at the same time respecting laws.
So, these chapters are each very different, with a different slant. The glue that holds 11 and 13 together, though, is the vision of chapter 12: "let love be genuine. hate what is evil. hold fast to what is good." And the whole thing is held together with the glue of God's mercy in Christ.
In a sense, each chapter has something to say about our calling, our irrevocable calling, which is completely based on the grace and mercy of God to us.
Which is these chapters hit home the most for you?
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