By Rev Paul Graham
Romans 12:9-21 (New Living Translation)
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.
Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Well, what a couple of months it’s been! Since my last article, we’ve seen serious political upheaval in both national and local government; we’ve seen tragedies on our own doorstep, in France and Germany, further afield in the US and Turkey, all playing out against the backdrop of continuing unrest in the Middle East and parts of Africa and uncertainties in Russia and North Korea. Globally, it seems we are facing a crisis at the same time as nationally we are asking questions about our own identity and place in the world.
To say that this is not good news is an understatement.
However, we still believe that we have Good News at the heart of our gospel message for this hurting world.
The Good News that we proclaim requires us to come back to Jesus and the examples and instructions that he left with us. Matthew’s Gospel reminds us that to love our God whole-heartedly and to love our neighbours as much as we love ourselves are Jesus’ greatest commandments, the foundation for all other commandments.
We may want to ask who these neighbours are and how can we help, but the reality is that we can always do something, no matter how broad our definition. Whether it is filling a shoebox for a child far across the world, knitting blankets for the Rosie Hospital’s Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit in Cambridge, donating for the Haverhill Foodbank, sponsoring a child or being willing to listen to someone when we ask them “How are you?”, these are all examples of neighbourliness.
The challenge that is presented to us today is to ask ourselves the same question that Jesus was asked as a precursor to the famous story about an enemy of the Jews who risked his life to save one in need: “Who is my neighbour?”. The limits of our neighbourliness determine our response, whether we put up boundaries that are geographical, political, racial, religious or any number of other reasons. We may not want to admit it, but we will probably have some element of “us” and “them” in the back of our minds, whether these are justified or not.
But the reality is that we all face the future of the yet-to-be-decided political and economic relationship with our European neighbours and those around the globe. This has in many ways led to a more introspective view as people become more concerned with themselves and their own needs, as is to be expected. The uncertainties that will take a long time to settle down have left a lot of people feeling unsettled, even disconnected from those they have always thought of as neighbour. We have more questions than answers and a suspicion that we don’t even know all the questions yet!
This is where the challenge in Paul’s letter to the Roman church in the passage above is so pertinent. Rome in the First Century was the centre of a great empire, but one that had started to creak. The image that we have of that great city is of a mix of all races, beliefs, classes and cultures, with division even within the church between Jewish converts and Roman nationals.
We read in Acts 18 that the Jewish Christians had previously been exiled from Rome and the church that Paul was writing to was coming to terms with their return and reintegration into what had become a much more “Roman” church. Culture clashes and the influence of each other’s national identity and heritage had caused trouble at all levels of church life. In-fighting and disagreements were distracting them from the main focus for which the church was established: the spread of the Good News of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, baptism and discipleship. Paul encourages them to refocus by giving a list of instructions that help them look outwards, beyond themselves.
Paul’s challenge to the divided church in Rome is as true today as it was then. Christ’s body is still divided over many issues, more than can be listed in one brief article and certainly not limited to the EU Referendum result. The risk of such divisions is that they can distract us from the main focus that drew us together in the first place: that one man, who was also God, came to earth to show that all who sought him from every sector of society could find their place in his family. Jesus showed the perfect way to live out the two great commandments by following his Father’s path to the cross in order that all humanity has the chance to experience the love, mercy and grace of God.
And we as his church here in Clare, part of his universal body that meets in the other churches around the town, country and globe, are invited to join in that same outward-facing community of neighbours, united by the One who called and continues to call “Follow me!”
