Letter to the Romans – Part IV

Letter to the Romans – Part IV

Have you ever been in quicksand? I have never been in quicksand, but some reading as a child and some movies reminded me of an image like this to better understand the theology of the Letter to the Romans. Imagine that you are in quicksand and that, inevitably, you sink. Struggling doesn’t help much, on the contrary, the more you move, the more you sink, inexorably.

It’s the human condition for everyone, of all of us. We sink. We have the desire for the good and for life, but not the ability to get it. Struggling and trying, even with many works we are sinking, and we are going to sink completely. Holding hands is not a solution; it may be a momentary comfort, but we are sinking together, we are not saving each other.

We need someone who is not in our condition. We have our feet on the sinking pier, and we need someone other than us who has his feet on solid ground. Is there anyone like that? The good news, the Gospel that Paul brings to the Christians in Rome is that person and his name is Jesus Christ. His faith is his foundation, he is the solidity and unlike us he is on solid ground, but, Does he want to give us a hand? Because it is possible that he is on solid ground looking at us in the quicksand and he greets us leaving us to stay in our mud.

The good news is that he who is on solid ground is on our side. God is on our side. Jesus Christ is on our side. He is the hand that God holds out to us sinners. He is the word that saves us. He is the way that leads us to peace. Jesus Christ is the hand that God holds out to each and every one of us. He holds out his hand for me to grasp.

What is my act of faith if not to grasp that hand? But I grasp the hand of Christ if I am convinced that I cannot do it alone. If I realize my helplessness to save myself, I grasp his hand and rejoice that there is one from outside to pull me out; but it is possible that, on the other hand, pride puts me in a false position of security: ‘No, thank you, I can do it alone.’ There is a risk of being ashamed of needing to be saved: ‘I don’t want to admit it… I can do it on my own, I am not like others who behave badly… I am capable of doing good.’ Not true, but it is possible that we lie to ourselves and deceive ourselves in this form of religious presumption.

It is the condition in which Paul lived as a young man; as a young Pharisee he had this idea. He talked to God, thanking him that he was a Pharisee not like other people, sinners; he, instead, was an observant man. As he matured, that is, as he met Jesus in earnest, Paul realized that he was the chief of sinners. At the end of his life, writing to Timothy, he will say: “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and I am the chief of them.” He is not ashamed of needing to be saved.

This is the attitude of faith. He is saved by faith, not by works. Salvation comes from God and requires as a condition that I let myself be saved. My act of faith is in taking the hand of Jesus Christ. The indispensable condition is that it be Jesus Christ, that he be there and that he wants to take me out and I allow him. He won’t do it by force. He is able to take me and pull me out from the mire in which I am sinking; he will not do it if I do not want him to. He will not do it by force; he won’t do it if I don’t consent. He takes me by the hand, he proposes salvation to me; he offers me, concretely and continuously, the possibility of being saved, but he does not force me to be saved.

The attitude of acceptance, which is faith, is indispensable on my part. I take that hand that God holds out to me, and I let myself be pulled out of the quicksand. I am not the one doing the pushing; once I have taken hold of his hand, it is he who forces; it is not I who pulls him down, it is he who pulls me up and I let myself be carried by Christ who is saving me. The work of salvation is a process. Paul teaches how this work is being accomplished in our life, it has already begun, but it is not yet completed. It will be accomplished in eternal glory.

Now by the power of the Spirit we cause to die the works of the flesh to live the new life. We are coming out of this quicksand condition. With an image like this I have tried to take up again the great theological teaching of the first two parts of the Letter to the Romans. We are left with the other two; the third part is the one that occupies chapters 9, 10 and 11 where Paul speaks of the condition of those Jews who have not accepted Jesus as the Christ and says that he experiences their sufferings. These are particularly difficult texts because he uses a language proper to the doctor of the law that is going to search in the biblical writings justifications for what he is saying, but they are also fascinating chapters because they show how Paul didn’t understand everything; and he says so, but he understood the deeper meaning.

Therein lies the problem of the explanation of this historical drama: after centuries of waiting for the Messiah, at the culminating moment when the promise is fulfilled, the people do not recognize him, they reject him. It is not true that they totally rejected him. Paul is a Jew, Peter, Mary, the apostles, most of the early Christians were Jews by origin, who did not disavow Judaism, but they carried to completion their faithfulness to the God of the covenant recognizing in Jesus of Nazareth the fulfillment of the promises. But a part of Israel was obstinate, closed and rejected Jesus as Messiah.

This does not mean that God has repudiated his people, or that he does not fulfill his promises, but only that the role of Israel has passed to the nations and those who are part of the people are not excluded from the salvation project. God continues to work for the salvation of all who believe, first of the Jew and then of the Greek. Paul is speaking to the Christian communities where many are Jews and others are not. He’s stepping forward, proposing a new situation where cultural and ethnic belonging, is not decisive for salvation. Salvation is offered to Jews, but also to Greeks. However, the Greeks, the Romans, must not be proud of this salvation and despise the Jews who have not accepted the message of Christ.

With an image taken from the world of the farmer Paul speaks of a wild olive tree that has been grafted into the trunk of a good domestic olive tree; the other peoples are like the wild olive tree which is grafted into the stump of Israel. There is a tree that has been cut down, but the stock is good, and on that stock grafts have been made which produce a new tree that bears fruit. But the new grafts should not be proud of themselves; they should recognize that it is the stock that supports them; and the fruit they can produce depends on the fact that they are grafted into the stock.

Paul is a Jew who has not disavowed Judaism and has not thrown away the books of the Old Testament, as we do not. We feel perfectly inserted in the tradition of the Jewish people and we have accepted this promise. Our attitude is not one of controversy against them but, if anything, of gratitude because they have given us this inheritance and they have given us this promise. If we are given the grace to bear fruit, it is not our merit but the work of Jesus Christ that is fully realized. And the project remains also for them, that all may attain justification and the full communion of friendship with God.

So, we come to the last part of the letter to the Romans, from chapter 12 to the end, where the apostle develops a moral treatment. It is said to be a parenthetical section, that is, exhortative. In fact, chapter 12 begins thus: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” A worship according to reason, not animal, but human and rational.

“I urge you therefore;” two fundamental words: “I urge you therefore,” that is, all that follows is an exhortation, a moral sermon of encouragement, but even more important is the ‘therefore’ that relates to the first part, the first eleven chapters, with what follows: “I urge you therefore.” ‘On the strength of all that has been said, I now invite you to put it into practice.’ Thus, we understand that in the Christian perspective morality is the consequence, not the cause. It is not that ‘I am saved if I do good,’ but, ‘being saved, I consequently do good.’

It is important to come to this mentality because too many times in our preaching it has been said that we must do good things to earn heaven, to save our souls. This is an incorrect perspective; it is a pharisaical theology; pre-Christian. We must recognize that the work of salvation is of Jesus Christ, that heaven is a gift, that salvation was given freely, that Christ died for us when we were sinners, but the work that has been done has transformed our capacity and has made us capable to live well. And now we are asked to put into practice the gift that has been given to us.

I will try to develop another image that we could call the parable of the painter. If I told you to paint me a picture you might say, ‘I don’t have the equipment,’ ‘I don’t have what it takes, I lack the canvas, the brushes, the paints… how can I do it?’ Then I’ll get you all the material you need to be able to paint, I offer you the canvas, the easel and the brushes, paints, solvents, everything. Now I tell you ‘Paint me a picture.’ Maybe you might feel blocked because you may tell me you don’t have the skill. Without brushes and colors, I can’t paint, but now that I have brushes and colors, I realize that I can’t paint, that I can’t draw, I can’t apply color; I can make some spots, but it’s very difficult to draw a face. I don’t have the skill; I can’t do it.

Do you understand the meaning of the image? The equipment to paint a picture could be compared to the law. The law tells you what to do, the law gives you the knowledge, but not the skill. The law tells you what to do, but it doesn’t give you the ability to do it. In theory you could do it. You have all the equipment, you know how to do it, but it’s one thing to know how to hold the brush, how to apply the paint, it’s another thing to do it. If you can’t paint it, there’s nothing to do.

That’s the human condition. I’ve been told I must forgive. They explained to me all the rules of forgiveness. I have learned them, I know them, but when I find myself in a situation where somebody has treated me badly, has done me great harm, I can’t forgive them, I can’t. I know what I should do, but I cannot. So then? The law is not enough; grace is needed. Grace does not annul the law but makes it possible. Returning to the image of the painter, I could say that, by the grace of God, we have been given the ability to paint. Humanly I can give you brushes and paints, but I cannot give you artistic ability. It is a divine work to create the ability. Well, the work of Jesus Christ is here for us, it is the capacity that we have been given to be artists.

We have been given the ability to live a beautiful, good and holy life. We have been given the ability to paint a splendid picture. Notice, however, that I have provided the equipment. I have given you the artistic ability. Now I keep telling to you: Paint me a picture. The canvas is still white. It is you who must paint. You have been given the law, but it is not enough. You have been given grace. Now, Yes, you can. The fabric is still white. You must do the work. You are the one who paints. But once you have painted, remember that you have put into practice what the Lord has given you.

It is the law that has been revealed to you and the grace that has enabled you to turn your life into a work of art. “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” It is no longer a matter of offering lambs or goats, it is about offering oneself, this is the logical worship according to the Logos, it is about offering your life, transforming your mentality and renewing yourself. This final part is very important, it is an invitation to not conform to the mentality of the world, following fashions and customs, especially not to follow your instincts, but to transform your mentality, to renew your person according to the model of Jesus Christ.

He told us that it is not from the outside, but from the inside that we must do. He changed us; he gave us the Spirit that makes us capable of a new life. And so, all the texts that we find in these chapters 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the Letter to the Romans are not the cause of salvation, ‘do this if you want to save;’ no, they are the consequence; since you have been saved, that is, you have been made capable of converting your life into a work of art, you must live it concretely.

“Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay anyone evil for evil; be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, on your part, live at peace with all. Beloved, do not look for revenge Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.” These are some of the many exhortations with which Paul closes his Letter to the Romans.

I think this may be a real summit; the only way to overcome evil is to do good, always and only good. With the capacity that has been given to us our new life in the Spirit, we can do good. It is a victory of good over evil, it is the answer to evil always and only with good. And so we can to conclude with what Paul puts at the end of his work, to give glory and thanks: “Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, —that is, that they may accept this opportunity which he has given them— to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.” And farewell