I am sure you know, or know of, people and groups that do not celebrate

Transcription

1 Romans 14:1-13 Honorable Fellowship I am sure you know, or know of, people and groups that do not celebrate Christmas. Other than the usual suspects, of course, atheists and people of other faiths. But there are some who perhaps feel the spirituality has been merchandised out of the holy day, and so want nothing to do with it; some, of the bah-humbug persuasion, who may be lonely or weary or cynical, or even just plain mean, who care nothing for the sentiment and sweetness of the season; there are some who believe that the story is a myth, or even a lie, or that we have somehow missed the main point of Christmas; and some who are certain the story didn t happen exactly the way the Bible describes it, or the way we believe it, or at the least not at this time of year- but that dates and facts were juggled so that the birth of Jesus would be observed near the winter solstice to counter the birth stories of other, pagan gods. Some do not celebrate Christmas because it is too much connected to the Roman Catholic Church- Christ is ok, but the mass part of Christmas is pure Catholicism; and some believe that every day is God s gift to us, and it is wrong to celebrate any one special day over another- our scripture notes that exact religious viewpoint. So Christmas is not so much under attack by secular society as it is by those of us with differing worldviews and experiences and doctrinal inclinations.

2 The word of this New Testament text in the dispute about Christmas- and any other disagreement- is simply Get along, because, as Paul says, the same Lord is Master of us all; and each of us is a servant of Christ, and by extension then, servants of one another: we are not permitted to judge, or to hate or to look down on another. Welcome the other person, the Apostle writes here, because God has welcomed him. This is fellowship that honors our Lord, that worships and glorifies God, and that recognizes the meaning of Christ s coming. Every year in the foyer we set up a lovely Nativity scene- and I sometimes think we would do well to take a couple of quiet moments to examine and ponder the scene represented there. We might ask ourselves such questions as, why was this person there; what does it mean that these came to worship; what brought this group of people-what would have brought me to that place; what does it mean that the baby is surrounded by animals; what does it mean that even today all the world takes note of his birth? Our manger scene, and probably most of the Christmas pageants you ve seen, display for us a great theological truth, despite a few biblical inaccuracies. Jesus was not born in a barn, but most likely in a cave or an earthen depression dug out beneath a house and used as a stable for animals. The wise men were never

3 actually there, but arrived later- they came to the house, Matthew s gospel has it. But the profundity of truth is represented in this little manger scene, for here, as we confess, is the Lord of creation and all creatures, at home with the beasts; here is a vision of God s glory in this humble, even desperate, place. And here is the Messiah and King receiving honor and worship from two utterly distinct groups of people: the shepherds and the wise men. The shepherds, who saw and heard the angels that announced his birth- country toughs totally lacking in manners and sensitivity and education, as low a class as we could find at that time and in that region of the world, a group despised by all, and yet we must not despise them our scripture tells us; God has called them and welcomed them, and they have come to worship, and the Lord makes them his. And the wise men are here. Some legends call them kings, and we may call them magicians or professors, fortune-tellers or prophets, astronomers or astrologers, scientists or necromancers. They have seen signs in the sky and have come from far away to worship. They are rich and bring costly gifts to honor the newborn King; they are strangers and aliens, yet they are God s children, as well, and the Lord makes them his. They come and bow before him and are brought into fellowship with the shepherds and all other humans who love him and receive his love. Together they are a fellowship made holy by the

4 presence of the Lord, and there is no place in this fellowship for jealousy or anger or judgment on the part of those who are able to bring only praise, and no room for despising on the part of those who bring gold and other expensive presents- exotic ointments and perfumes, for they all come at God s call; they have all come with wonder and joy and humility. So here is the essential meaning to this passage, despite the difficulties we may have as we try to understand what Paul might mean about eating or not eating, or as we try to define his use of the word weak, or our confusion about the social or religious or cultural disputes in the Roman church; it means that we are all bound together as servants of Jesus the Lord. All this is simply the way we live in fellowship with one another, accepting each other in spite of different opinions, different concepts of spirituality and piety. Each of us lives to give glory to God, and each of us gives thanks to the Lord who has died and lives again. Thus, the Christmas message: that the gospel is for everyone, that the grace and love of God has come to us, the majesty and compassion of God has visited our world- the host of heaven announced it in the fields long ago, the universe proclaimed it with the shining star or the alignment of planets or the passing of a comet; and the lowliest of the silent beasts worshipped him and all peoples were joined together in a

5 fellowship of thankfulness and reverence and hope. Out of the Christmas story we learn to love and care for one another. And so, verse 10 asks, Why do you despise your brother, and why do you judge your brother? and answers in verse 11, Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall give praise. That is, in the acceptance and care for others is the worship of our Lord, and in that way we become the fellowship that honors God. That is the message of Romans 14, and the gospel of the child in the manger. In our passage, Paul writes of the weak person, and so we should understand there must also be a strong person, and he uses that term later in the chapter, and in the next. Now, he doesn t denigrate the weak, or call them lesser Christians, but as I have tried to say, he proclaims that both groups are welcomed by God, and wishes them both to live together as the beloved of God. But it also obvious, from the tone of his writing, that the goal is to become strong. For two reasons, it appears. First, to Paul, the strong have a better sense of the grace of Jesus and the knowledge of our utter dependence upon God- realizing that there are no religious practices, no mental or physical disciplines, no works, no personal strength or abilities that can make us approved to God, but only God s mercy and love, and his

6 call to us- just as the call came to the shepherds and the wise men, and his welcoming them together. Basically, this is what the letter to the Romans is about, God s grace given to undeserving humans. And secondly, the weak becoming stronger by the grace of God is the way by which the fellowship of believers is built up, that the strong may bear the shortcomings of the weak, as the author writes in 15:1- that is what these last chapters of Romans is about beginning at chapter 12- and it is the way the fellowship continues as a mission in the world, and as a voice and an example to the world; in order that all who are called into the community may be supported and loved and brought into closer communion with the Lord of us all. He is the King, born in a manger, who reigns today and forever, and we are his servants, striving each day to serve him with grateful and humble hearts.