July 12, 2020
Scripture and Meditation Romans 8:1-11
Life in the Spirit
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason, the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Amid the rising case numbers, and the counties around us shutting back down or remaining shut, as we have had a bit more freedom, I read this week a sentence that startled me. “The death sentence hanging over all humanity has been removed for those who are in Jesus Christ.” The death sentence hanging over all humanity. That is what it feels like right now. All the work we have done and are doing to shelter in place does not seem to be working, at least not on a national level. We wonder when this will end and what the new normal will look like. We resiliently move ahead, or we have sleepless nights but whatever our response, at some level COVID19 feels like a death sentence hanging over all humanity.
The amazing point is that sentence was referring to our lesson this morning not to the pandemic. Paul has just completed his argument about faith and salvation and concludes with “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” He is making the case that those in Christ do not need to fear the death brought on by sin, or death itself for that matter. Through Jesus’ resurrection, God is able to triumph over sin and death and provide a cosmic solution to the central problem of the human condition, separation from God and others. Sometimes we call that sin. We know that promise all too well. The question is do we believe, live it?
I must admit sometimes it feels like Paul speaks in hyperbole, exaggerating the life and death claims of faith. But right now, I have a greater appreciation for his words. I think the pandemic has created a fresh urgency for us to examine how we live our lives and the grand gift of faith. Roman Christians faced death in the Colosseum; we face death in a pandemic. I say this as a member of our American society who often rests in safety, self-sufficiency and trusting in science. Taking pride in what we accomplish leaves little room to take seriously the profound need for faith. But now five months into to this pandemic, we are leaning more fulling into our faith. Our challenge as Christians is to live in the Spirit of Christ.
Paul writes, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Let’s unpack that. We live under the law of sin and death. We all know we will die and we all sin. That is how it is. But through our faith in Christ, the Spirit of Christ dwells in us and we are free from that death sentence. And it is so much more. When the Spirit of Christ dwells in us then we are empowered to do amazing things. Here is an analogy I heard about this. Let’s say you want to be a painter, but not just a beginner painter, but a master painter, say like Michelangelo. No matter how many lessons you take, how much you practice or how hard you try, you simply can’t do it. Even if you are gifted, you will not be a master. The only way to paint like Michelangelo is to be Michelangelo. That is not possible unless the spirit of Michelangelo lives in you. Then, and only then, can you create such beauty.
Paul is saying that faith is the way we get to have the Spirit of Christ dwell within us. Faith is the power by which we can do amazing things. Mary McLeod Bethune said, “Faith is the first factor in life devoted to service. Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.”
“So it is with Christ’s Spirit dwelling in us. We are- thanks be to God- able to live life in the Spirit of God. It is not our own accomplishment, but Christ’s Spirit dwelling in us, empowering us to live in God’s light. This is the ‘impossible possibility’ of which the theologian Karl Barth writes. By our own power and volition, it is impossible; the history of humanity, and of God’s people is all the proof one needs. By the power of God, though, our minds can be set on what the Spirit desires” (Feasting on the Word, A3, p. 235).
The saying goes something like this. God does not call the equipped but equips the called into God’s service. Our faith is what connects us to God’s power.
So even in the face of COVID19 when it feels like nothing can save us that is possible- then maybe we look to what is impossible to give us hope. As mentioned, Karl Barth developed the idea of the “Impossible Possibility” The impossible possibility is a human paradox. The battle against sin is, in Christ, won. Sin has been answered by the holiness and grace of our free and loving God. The Lutheran theologian David Lose explains it this way. “By way of illustration: near the beginning of his lengthy Christmas poem, For the Time Being, W.H. Auden has the shepherds marching toward Bethlehem make the following confession: “We who are about to die demand a miracle…. [for] Nothing can save us that is possible.”
And there it is: when you are on the brink of death – from illness or failure or disappointment or heartbreak or calamity or oppression or depression or whatever – when you are on the brink of death you are keenly aware that you are insufficient, that this world and reality is temporary, and that you stand in desperate need of the miraculous, of salvation, for that which is merely possible cannot save.
And that’s what the gospel offers – what Karl Barth described as the “impossible possibility,” a reality that transcends the everyday real, a Truth deeper than all else we have been told is true, a story that stretches beyond and encompasses all our stories so as to give them meaning, integrity, and purpose.” http://www.davidlose.net/2012/06/impossible-possibility/
In The Epistle to the Romans there is a great passage where Karl Barth juxtaposes the law with faith: “The truly creative act by which men become the children of Abraham, by which stones are transformed into sons, does not lie in the possible possibility of the law, but in the impossible possibility of faith.”(pg. 138). What does that mean? Even in our weakness, even with our shortcomings, God can empower us to be more than ourselves through faith.
Karen Chakoian writes, “A vivid example of this is found in the 12-step program of recovery known as Alcoholics Anonymous. For an alcoholic, there are two choices: the way of death and the way of life. The first step is to admit that we are powerless over alcohol and that our lives have become unmanageable. The second is to believe in a Power greater than yourself can restore you to sanity. The third is to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God.
So it is for the Christian. Substitute the word “sin” for “alcohol,” and you have the crux of this passage. We are powerless over sin, which will inevitably lead us to death; but in the Spirit we have the possibility of life. Sin is still a daily possibility; God has not eliminated it from this world once and for all. However, a life of righteousness is also a possibility now, because of the Spirit’s power. As long as our minds are “on the flesh,” sin will drive us; but if our minds are set on the Spirit our will and our lives are in God- then life is not only a possibility, but a promise. This is the hope in which we live; that God who raised Christ from the dead will give life to us- body, mind and spirit- through the power of the Spirit dwelling in us” (Feasting on the Word A3, 235).
Thanks be to God. Amen.
