Text Sermon: The Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26 27) Romans 8:26 39 Dan Mueller, 6th Aug 2017, After Pentecost 9 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God s people in accordance with the will of God. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Walla Walla Lutheran Parish Dan Mueller Page 1 of 6
Sermon 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 34 Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight O LORD, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. Introduction In our text this morning Paul speaks about groans. So this week I ve been thinking about different types of groans: coffee-in-the-morning groan Dad-joke groan not-again groan slam-your-finger-in-the-door groan stuck-in-traffic groan sick-in-bed groan So which of these groans does Paul mean? There are three groans in Romans chapter 8: we heard two from the reading last time, and we heard the third groan just before. 22 The whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship. 26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Romans 8:22,23,26) (1) Creation is groaning together. (2) We ourselves are groaning inwardly. (3) The Spirit groans with and for us. So what is this groaning that Paul writes about? Walla Walla Lutheran Parish Dan Mueller Page 2 of 6
(1) We groan in our weakness I looked up a Greek dictionary (yes, there is such a thing!) and it said to groan or sigh as the result of deep concern or stress. Another said express oneself involuntarily in the face of an undesirable circumstance. So that s probably a combination of all the groans I mentioned (except perhaps the coffee-in-the-morning groan)! Aside: Some people interpret this groaning as speaking in tongues, which Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians chapters 12, 13, and 14. But this is not very likely. Paul calls it a wordless groan speaking in tongues is speaking in a different (angelic?) language with words, whereas here there are no words at all. So why does Paul say we are groaning? For two related reasons. (a) We re waiting. Firstly, Paul says we are groaning because we re waiting. Before converting to Christianity, Paul was a good Pharisee (see Galatians 1:14). 1 The world view he had divided the history of the world into different ages or eras or aeons. This type of thinking is still used today in fantasy books, like The Lord of the Rings which is set in the Third age of Middle Earth. So for Paul, he and us are in the Second age. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus some 2,000 years ago is the event that marks the transition from the First age to the Second age. So, together with all creation, Paul, the church in Rome, and the church in Walla Walla/Alma Park, we are in the Second age. We are all eagerly waiting for the Return of the King, the return of Jesus, the beginning of the Third and final age that will last for an eternity. So at the moment we re caught between these two ages. And as we wait, we suffer and groan. It s at bit like we re stuck in traffic: we belong somewhere else, but we re not there yet, we re here waiting and groaning. (b) We re weak and helpless. Secondly, Paul says we re groaning because we re weak and helpless. He says, In our weakness we do not know how we ought to pray (Romans 8:26). To Roman ears this label weak would have been an insult. Remember their society was structured around gaining honour and avoiding shame; they were proud people who called their heroes sons of Rome. But Paul calls these honoured and proud Christians weak. See the natural tendency of human beings is to ignore God s eternal power and divinity we do not honour or thank God as we ought. We fail at the very first commandment; we fail to love the Lord our God with all our heart, 1 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. (Galatians 1:14). Walla Walla Lutheran Parish Dan Mueller Page 3 of 6
soul, and mind. In Romans chapter 6 we heard how sin seeks to reign in our mortal/outer bodies, even though inwardly we have died to sin as we were united with Christ s death in our baptism. In Romans chapter 7 we heard there s a battle raging within us: the other law and the law of sin is waging war against the law of God and the law of our mind. And at the start of Romans chapter 8 we heard how God s law is powerless to set us free from this battle. We all share this same struggle. We suffer. We re frail, our bodies waiting for inevitable death. While we wait the sin in our outer person seeks to dominate us. We are weak and helpless. What a wretched person I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24). (2) The Spirit helps All this sounds pretty discouraging and hopeless! Thankfully Paul has some good news. God s Spirit makes you aware of your weakness. But even more so, the Holy Spirit helps to remedy your human condition. Paul says, The Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26). The Spirit dwells within you (Romans 8:10 11) as you persevere to the end of this age. In your weakness, the personal presence of the Spirit inside you comes to your aid. You do not wait alone, but you have a helper, a counsellor, another True Friend, who waits and prays with and for you. (3) The Spirit intercedes for you Paul says that, the Spirit intercedes for his poor, weak, unsaintly saints (Romans 8:26 27). To explain what he means, Paul actually invents a new word. He mashes together three words to create a brand new word. We do this in English all the time: housemate (house + mate), labradoodle (labrador + poodle), chillax (chill + relax), cheeseburger (cheese + hamburger). Paul mashes together the word to experience/meet then adds the word with then adds the word for the sake of someone else. All this adds up to mean that the Spirit experiences/meets with (somebody) for the sake of someone else. The Spirit meets with God for your sake. In English we might say the Spirit intercedes with God for you. Now the Spirit does this interceding here on earth, inside followers of Jesus. But Paul goes on to say that Jesus is also interceding for you! Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding (Romans 8:34). Jesus Spirit is here on earth inside you interceding, and at the same time Walla Walla Lutheran Parish Dan Mueller Page 4 of 6
Jesus body is there in heaven ( at the right hand of God ) also interceding. The picture I have in my mind is a stretchy superhero, like Elastigirl or Plastic Man (you know the ones with stretchy arms?). We re waiting for the end of this Second age, for the return of the King, when we will be with Jesus in heaven at the right hand of God. But we re not there yet. We are here in our weakness, in our frailty, in our suffering. The world, each other, and the Spirit are all groaning in helplessness as we wait. But we have Jesus Spirit inside us interceding, and we have Jesus in heaven interceding. So it s like Jesus is Plastic Man, holding onto us here on earth and pulling us into heaven. His arms are outstretched connecting us and God so that we can experience and meet God through him and his Spirit. Jesus does this with arms outstretched on the cross. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus pulls the whole of creation from the first broken aeon into a new aeon where everything is made new. And while God may at times seem distant and far away, Jesus through the Spirit spans that gulf. Who shall separate us from the love of [God]? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (Romans 8:35). No! Nothing can separate us! For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38 39). (4) This intercession takes place in Holy Communion Now all these things are nice ideas, but God knows humans need more than just ideas in our head. We need to experience and meet with God. And that is why Jesus instituted (started) Holy Communion. Everything you ve heard this morning comes together at Holy Communion. You come and wait at the altar rail, eagerly anticipating the next age. You kneel and hold out empty hands admitting that you are weak and helpless you bring nothing to the table. You eat the bread and the wine that is Jesus body and blood, as Jesus holds out his arms on the cross. You swallow, and now have Jesus body and Spirit inside of you. Jesus and the Spirit intercede for you, and you meet God and experience his love. You re connected with God in heaven. You sing together with angels and archangels, saying Holy, Holy, Holy (Revelation 4:8). You re at the great banquet in heaven, celebrating the wedding of the Christ the groom to his bride the church. Through the Walla Walla Lutheran Parish Dan Mueller Page 5 of 6
mysterious intercession of the Spirit, you ve been pulled from this age into the next, into heaven itself! Blessing So as the Spirit intercedes for you: May you recognise your weakness. May you see that the Spirit helps you in your weakness. May you know that, together with Christ Jesus, the Spirit intercedes for you so that nothing separates you from God. May you experience God s presence (in Holy Communion) as you are pulled into the coming new age of glory in heaven. Amen. Walla Walla Lutheran Parish Dan Mueller Page 6 of 6