As part of my studies in seminary, I have to take preaching classes, of course, it is school for preaching after all. The following was written for a class and then was given at Grace UMC in York on November 17, 2013. 

Romans 10:5-15 (NRSV)

(5) Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them”

(6) But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down)

(7) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

(8) but what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

(9) because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

(10) For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

(11) The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”

(12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.

(13) For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

(14) But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?

(15) And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

If you ever have the chance, I encourage you to take a trip to the small Central American country of Nicaragua. Despite what you may think of this backwater, impoverished country and its complicated and difficult past, the truth is that if your heart and your mind are open, you will see some of the most amazing things you could imagine. Let me set the scene. You arrive at the airport in Managua, and after a day or so adjusting to the tropical heat and amazing cuisine, you head off to towards the thing that you have really come to see. If you are lucky you can catch a bus. Now, this bus will probably be way too full, you might have to share a seat with three or four other people, if you can find one at all. There’s even a chance that sitting next to you is a cage with two or three live chickens. Don’t be too alarmed, this is very much to be expected, just keep an open mind.

If you travel northwest of Managua a few hours, you will eventually get to an intersection with not much there except the highway and a gravel road leading up into the mountains. If you have called first, someone can be there to meet you. They will put you in the cart that is attached to the tractor and they will begin the ascent. Enjoy the ride, travelling like this up through the mountains, you will be blessed with amazing views of this tropical rainforest. After forty minutes or so, you will arrive at the top, past many of the clouds. When you get off the cart, you can walk around this small little hamlet. There is not much here. About half a dozen houses, a few barns, and one main community building. Everything else is just forest for as far as you can see. It is likely that some children from the community will come out to greet you. They will want to play games, they may ask you for some candy, and they will take to you to the main building where you can meet with the adults in charge. You see, this isn’t any old backwater village. You are standing in one of the most amazing coffee plantations you will ever see.

Now, coffee plantations may be a dime a dozen in places like Nicaragua, but this one is different. The entire plantation works together to get the job done. Every person has a job. Some tend the fields, some prepare the meals, some teach the children, some serve as doctors or nurses or even clergy. But there is more. This particular plantation is made up of three different types of people. In the seventies and eighties, Nicaragua was in a constant state of war. I don’t want to go into details, but in this civil war there were really three separate factions. First, there were the Sandinistas, the revolutionaries. They were fighting the government’s forces, the National Guard, who in many ways served as the dictators death squads. Lastly, there were the Contras, or the counterrevolutionaries. These were mainly impoverished rural dwellers who were supported in funds and weapons from the US and other western powers who were, for right or for wrong, fighting the threat of communism. These three factions were in an all out war and would kill on sight. After the war, though, things had to change. This particular coffee plantation was an experiment. Equal numbers of families from each of the three factions began this enterprise shortly after the war ended. To this day, they live and work in peace with each other and, despite pitfalls and setbacks, they have become a success story. What is it that has enabled them to literally trade swords for plowshares? Their faith.

The scripture that I read this morning, is likely one of the most eloquent that Saint Paul ever wrote. Many theologians count the epistle to the Romans as the most theologically pure and well written of any that we have. And there are any number of different approaches to take when considering Paul’s words today. However, I want to focus one one main idea that I think speaks volumes about the larger point Paul is making. He mentions it right at the beginning of the reading. Paul makes an important distinction. There is a big difference, he says, between righteousness that comes from the law and righteousness that comes from faith.

He is not saying that the law is irrelevant, but that it is not all that we make of it. He is making a distinction that is both a recognition of the past as well as an invitation to the future. The law had been THE way to live righteously. Just in this short passage there are a number of references to the Torah. The law has served a purpose and that is to be recognized. Theologian Bruce Shields argues that “the law is a helpful guide to living in the will of God, as long as we do not demand more of it than God intended. It is not a way to earn God’s favor. God already loves us. It is not a way to work toward justification. In the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has already done all that is necessary for our justification.” (Shields, p.63-64)

To some extent, it is hard for us to really understand just what Paul is saying here. Think about it, Paul is writing this at a time and place when there is no real common understanding of the difference between what we call the Old and New Testament. Before Christ, righteousness is through the law. But for Paul, that wasn’t so long ago. So, while there was an understanding that Christ changed that, it is not something that is taken for granted. But, for us it is. Especially, here in 2013, most people will have heard that we are justified by faith. Especially people who are in church. We have heard it our whole lives and our parents heard it their whole lives and our grandparents and so on and so forth. Granted, those unfamiliar with church might not have heard it, but many of those will have some basic knowledge of it. So when we read these words, we need to be cognizant of the fact that we are reading it and interpreting it in a context that is very different from the one Paul wrote in.

But then again, maybe it isn’t so different. We know that we are justified by faith, but in our practice, we act as if we are justified by the law. We read the Bible and we understand it to say one thing or to say another and from that point on, we just parade around with an air of superiority, knowing that we are right. We read scripture and are quick to point out how others have been lax in their own lives. We see it all the time, even if we don’t recognize it. We see certain ideologies, certain behaviors, certain lifestyles and can immediately point to chapter and verse to back up our belief that the particular individual isn’t following the laws of God. Unfortunately, this isn’t a trait common to one brand of people, it is one that we all are guilty of.

Over the past couple of years working in the church, I am amazed at how blatant this becomes sometimes, especially when I do it. I, and others here, can beg and plead with this congregation to open up, to not only be welcoming to the community around us, but to venture out into the neighborhood, introduce yourselves, and invite people in. Yet, when it doesn’t happen, I have to imagine that the whispering begins. I can’t go out there, the neighborhood is full of addicts, it is full of drug dealers, it is full of those people on welfare who won’t go and get a job and be respectable. There are those who flaunt around their sexuality as if God is ok with what they are doing. And, even worse, there are democrats all over the place. They certainly can’t be righteous because I am and they are nothing like me.

Yet, even when I hear these things, and I do, and they bother me, I find myself or others saying equally judgmental things. I know I tend to complain about those who care only for their own needs and act as if the world would be a better place if everyone was just more independent, because I disagree. I am dismayed that so many conservatives can honestly think they are right with God. Because, deep down, I know I am right and those who are different just can’t be right with God.

See where I am going with this? You see, I am not trying to condemn but rather to show how we all tend to condemn before we praise. I have tried to be honest here, about my own faults, and they are many. Hopefully you all can see a bit of yourselves in some of this, because I think we all can. And yet, we read these words from Paul, we say that we are saved by our faith and our faith alone and then we wonder why people say the church, any church, all churches are full of hypocrites.

So, what does it look like to both believe and live in the understanding that we are righteous by faith? What does it look like to do exactly what Paul is suggesting here?

It looks like the coffee cooperative that I described earlier. People able to get over some very difficult pasts and work together into the invitation they have gotten to their future. It looks like an apology given to that person you misjudged. It looks like that group of friends at the restaurant who meet every week and argue over their different politics, but each week a different person picks up the check and they all walk out together looking forward to their next meal together. It looks like every member of this church, looking past what we think we see in those around us to be able to see the heart and mind and very hands of Christ himself as we greet one another, as we worship together, as we pray for each other and as we serve together.

We, the church, have a herculean task in front of us. We are called to be the light for a world full of darkness. We are called to bring the good news to the world. We are supposed to be those who Paul describes as having beautiful feet. Our task is not to bemoan, to complain, to belittle, to ostracize, to judge. Yet we all do each of these things far too often.

Our task is not to enrich ourselves, or to ensure that our futures are comfortable. We gather together weekly, sometimes more often and go on and on about what it means that we can’t earn salvation. We take pride in knowing that we are God’s even before we know who we are. We evangelize, convincing others that our faith is simple and easy. We say our prayers and expect God to do the rest. Because, we convince ourselves, if all we must do is accept the truth, that God will take over. The thing is, even though all of that is true, it will work only when we let ourselves be open to God working through that faith to change the world. And we can’t truly be open to letting God work through us if we can’t see the good, the divine spark in the eyes of so many around us. God promises lots of things, but he never promises it will be easy. If anything, he lets us know it will be very, very difficult. But if we do the work, if we are open to seeing the Risen Christ in each others eyes and in the lives of all of those we encounter, then God’s will can be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

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Shields, B. (2004). Preaching Romans. (pp. 65-66). St. Louis: Chalice Press.