The letter to the Romans ends with Paul weighing in on what seems to be a local controversy. There are some among the Christians in Rome who are careful about what they eat, who practice abstinence of certain foods, and feel that this is part of how they are faithful. There are others who feel that freedom in Christ means that they can eat anything they want to. Paul seems to agree, in theory anyway, with those who feel that they can eat anything. But "in theory" is a loaded phrase. Paul tells the Christian community in Rome that just because they are free to eat anything, doesn't mean it's a good idea, especially if it's going to be harmful to the faith of their brothers and sisters.
So, what kind of food is Paul talking about? Is he talking about people who keep kosher? Is he talking about people who eat food which has been sacrificed to idols? Or are there different dietary restrictions? I don't know.
But what is interesting to note is that Paul's instructions are based on doing what is good, not for you, but for someone else. It reminds me of someone who said that the question that always comes up at election tie, "Are you better off?" should really be this one, "Is your neighbor better off?" That is Christian ethics.
Paul winds down his letter by talking specifically about his plans to visit the church in Rome, after he delivers the offering he is collecting to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. He is passionate about this offering, and what it represents. It represents unity between Christians who are far away from one another. It represents a unity of mission, even where there has been disagreement about practice. Paul wants the Gentile Christians to be generous.
And then he sends greetings. He sends greetings to specific people he knows, to those he has heard about and hopes to meet. It might seem to be the least interesting part of the letter, except that there are probably fascinating stories (mostly that we don't know) behind every one of these names. For example, there is Junia the apostle. Junia is a woman's name. Apparently there were some women leaders in the early church. I would like to know more about Junia.
Paul closes his leader with a great and wonderful phrase about a secret -- the secret that has now been revealed. I love the idea that the gospel is a secret. It's been there, all along. It's not that it's a new thing It was just that it was a secret before, and now it has been spoken. The grace of God has been spoken in the person of Jesus.
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