This is the Pastor’s Blog for the Service on Sunday July 12th This week the message is titled “Beyond the Mirrow”. Included here is the primary Scripture of this message and the Pastor’s notes.
Scripture: Romans 8:18-25
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Pastor’s Message:
Last week, looked in the mirror according to the apostle Paul which gave his vivid, honest take at the human condition. Paul bemoans the dilemma we so often face: we know the good things we want to do, but then we turn and do something else. It’s the dilemma of being human – having our own ways of dealing with situations and relationships and knowing that sometimes we just don’t get it right. I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the wearier I become at my own repetitive ways & behaviors and the mistakes they produce.
The way out of this human dilemma, according to Paul, is to rely on God’s transforming grace. Spiritual practices can help us see ourselves clearly, to let go of the self-judgement we weigh ourselves down with. Through regular spiritual practice we can come to trust that God already loves us and that the Holy Spirit is present within us, at work shaping us and helping us to remember who we are and whose we are.
This morning we move into chapter 8 of Paul’s letter to the early church in Rome. If Paul’s letter to the Romans is his 9th symphony, chapter 8 is the crescendo of his masterpiece, the high point toward which the previous chapters have been leading. Chapter 8 leads us into territory beyond the human condition and our need for divine grace. Paul begins to draw a picture of what the future holds for those who give themselves over to the workings of the Holy Spirit. Paul also moves into `cosmic’ territory and the very important link between a healed humanity and a healed and thriving creation.
New Testament scholar Tom Wright describes reading Romans this way: it’s like climbing an overgrown, steep path filled with thorns and stones, and then in chapter 8 coming out to a level place of open sky that overlooks a lush valley. We get a glimpse of God’s dream for humanity and creation.
For Paul, Jesus Christ is the “new Adam” who through his life, death, and resurrection reverses the sins of the “old Adam.” The “old Adam” brought sin into the world by seeking to control his own destiny and refusing relationship and fellowship with the God who created him. In that devastating choice, the “old Adam” not only ruptured his relationship with God, he ruptured his relationship with creation. By choosing control instead of relationship, Adam tainted the relationship between humanity and creation to a more adversarial one, instead of a relationship based on stewardship, care, and reciprocity.
When I speak here of the “old Adam,” I’m referring not just to an ancient individual, but to a primeval pattern of human behavior. Think about the countless times in human history – and in everyday life – we humans choose control and achievement over relationship and care. The choices we make can be devoid of grace – the choice of the “old Adam,” – or saturated with grace – the choice of the “new Adam,” Jesus Christ.
Years ago – decades ago, even – I read one of the most heartbreaking examples of the Old Adam’s choice. Barry Lopez was an author and natural historian who died just a few years ago. In the 1980s, his book “Arctic Dreams” was published. In this book, Lopez examines the region’s wildlife, the lives and traditions of the native people of the Arctic, and the history of exploration. The author reflects on the relationship between people and the natural world, and shares passages from the diaries of explorers and sailors.
Lopez tells the story of a whaling ship, the Cambrian, which in 1823 came upon a 57-feet long female Bowhead whale. The whale was asleep with her chin resting on the ice. As the boat slowly approached, the whale woke up and began to slowly circle the boat. She went to the bow of the boat and began to gently push the vessel backward. The sailors stood on deck, transfixed. Then they harpooned her.
I’ve never forgotten that story.
Those sailors encountered something beautiful, mysterious, and utterly beyond their control. Maybe, for just a few moments, they received the gift of wonder. Then the old pattern reasserted itself. They reached for the harpoon.
That choice has been made countless times throughout human history. It’s the choice of the old Adam: God gives us a world filled with beauty, and humans ask about the profit to be made. God gives us forests, and we see timber. God gives us rivers, and we see hydrsaulic power and potential kilowatts per minute. God gives us creatures of astonishing and different intelligence and beauty, and we ask what they are worth in the marketplace.
No wonder Creation groans.
Groaning is the sound of pain, but it can also be the sound of hope.
Paul leans into the image of childbirth in this passage. GIving birth is exhausting and painful. But every groan points toward birth and new life.
Creation groans, but God has not abandoned it. The world is not disposable, it is beloved.
The God who declared creation “very good” has never stopped loving it.
Sometimes Christians have spoken as though the purpose of faith is simply to escape the earth and get to heaven. But that is not Paul’s vision. Paul’s vision is much bigger than escape. God’s purpose is redemption, reconciliation, and renewal of all creation – this creation, not some other creation.
Paul says that creation waits “with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God.”
Creation waits for humanity to “get it:” to become what God always intended humanity to be,
children of God who work in partnership with God and all creation.
The old Adam asks, “How can I control this?” The new Adam asks, “How can I care for this?” The old Adam grasps. The new Adam gives. The old Adam sees creation as an object.
The new Adam receives creation as a gift.
The Holy Spirit makes this possible within us – we can’t do this by sheer will power. If chapter 7 of Romans is about our inability to save ourselves, chapter 8 is about the astonishing power of the Spirit to bring about salvation and transformation.
Maybe one of the things the Spirit is drawing our attention to is the ability to hear, because before we can heal anything, we must hear its pain.
Listening is at the heart of discipleship. Listening changes us. Once we hear, it becomes difficult to live as though nothing is wrong. We can be moved to be people of compassion just as Christ is compassionate. Now, by the Holy Spirit, God invites us to become participants in Christ’s work of healing.
Every act of care becomes a quiet testimony that Christ is making all things new. And may the day come when all creation, no longer groaning but rejoicing, joins in praising the One who makes all things new.
Closing prayer
