My grandson is getting married in November. I am thrilled that Tom and Cynthia have asked me to officiate but the venue at a restaurant offers some challenges for me-I won’t be wearing a robe so that means buying a dress that suits the occasion. I usually shop at local thrift stores but out of curiosity I looked at a few resale sites online. There are so many to choose from but one caught my attention. It is called “Real, Real.” It claims to authenticate the famous designer items it has for sale. When I looked at the price of a couple of dresses I liked, I realized that even second or maybe third hand the real, was really above my price range. I didn’t buy anything but the name stuck with me as I read today’s text from Romans.
Paul’s letter to the two churches in Rome was intended to bring the house churches together in how they understood what it meant to be a Christian. What he lists in these verses today sum up what it means to really be a Christian. It wasn’t and isn’t enough to call oneself and/or one’s church Christian if neither are not being authentic-not real, real.
Today’s portion of the letter offers ways for followers of Christ to live into real life, the one model by Jesus. By focusing on what they have in common, their differences would have less importance. His words, written two thousand years ago are no less relevant today when it is increasingly difficult to know what is really real. Who do we trust for information? Why do people fall for conspiracy nonsense? The astonishing speed with which AI has evolved has even its early developers anxious about what might happen in the hands of people who have evil intentions. Videos can be altered to show a person doing or saying something illegal or just plain racist. Millions trust social media than scientists for their medical advice. If we who have been anchored in the church are challenged, how are those who have no such roots find their way to what is real especially when the message seems to be, reality or truth are whatever you want to call it?
Paul starts off with love. Let love be genuine. He uses different words to describe this love, either agape or words based on the
Greek philia that convey the idea of friendship. Think Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love,” a questionable title if one looks has seen the behavior of some sports fans. Any love can go wrong if rooted in something other than what Jesus taught; it can become an obsession, sometimes a dangerous one.
Paul understood how the love one has for family and the love one has for friends may be slightly different emotions but they amplify each other; most important, both must be genuine. As members of the body of Christ we are called to love one another warmly, even if we disagree about some things. No smiling to one’s face then bad mouthing in the parking lot as can happen in many churches. We are called to have sincere concern for the well-being of all members, not just the ones we like. I may have a lot of Facebook friends but the ones I feel most connected to are the ones related to my various faith families. You have become part of my circle of friends.
Friend, friends, not Facebook Friends.
The community is also urged to take their lives and ministry seriously, with deep commitment. “Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.” This encourages members of the body of Christ to throw themselves fully into their calling, without reluctance or hesitation. It does not necessarily mean working longer and harder. Hopefully serving the Lord is a joyful thing, one that permeates our whole life. As Alice Walker said, “Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week.
This next verse is foundational for a faith community, although it sometimes works in reverse. “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” As you began your search process, you were encouraged to pray for your Search Committee. Although suffering might be to strong a word, it is clear there was stress around the process as you prepared a profile in a way that honestly described who you are as a church and the kind of pastor you hoped to call. It may be premature to rejoice until the vote is cast on the 17th but I believe that day will be a day of rejoicing.
The rest of the verses encourage us to look to the
cares, concerns, and challenges of people like us, people whom we already know and love, and who already know and love us. But more than that, we are encouraged to go above and beyond, to widen our horizon, to care for people in need, regardless of how they fit into various religious, social, or political categories. More than that, we are called to love the stranger.
The last isn’t easy when our culture consistently portrays the stranger as a danger. We long have feared an attack on our nation by a foreign enemy. The attack on 9/11 seemed justification for that fear. It was a fear that led us into a prolonged war that ultimately cost us dearly in lives lost and in the end, we could wonder whether we should have remembered it is written, “”Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Even in our churches, we have few models for turning away from vengeance or for helping either our perceived enemies or the strangers in our midst. The myth of redemptive violence may make the aggrieved feel better momentarily but seldom satisfies.
Recently much attention has been paid to the lengthy prison sentences imposed on leaders of the January 6 attack on our nation’s capitol. I have no doubt the perpetrators had delusions of grandeur that somehow they would be looked upon as real patriots for their actions. Most of them were convicted by their own video recordings they had published on social media.
Part of me is glad that justice is served but putting them in prison is more apt to make them martyrs to some or harden the hearts the offenders. In the 1970’s the movement toward a different model for criminal justice was in its early stages. It should be no surprise that many in the UCC saw restorative justice as a way to address the harm done to individuals and community.
There are three pillars to restorative justice:
Pillar One: Understands crime as harm done to people and communities. Restorative justice begins with a concern for victims and their needs. It seeks also to repair the harm to the community and responsible party as much as possible.
Pillar Two: Harm results in obligations. Those who have caused harm have an obligation to comprehend the consequences of their behavior and repair the harm caused. The community has an obligation to respond to harm being done within the community.
Pillar Three: Restorative Justice understands that crime always has “stakeholders” who have been affected by crime: the victim, the community, and the responsible party. These stakeholders should be involved in deciding what justice requires. Volunteers act as the voice of the community.
While it is not likely restorative justice will gain traction nationwide, in many places there are small steps being taken by dedicated folk who persist in demonstrating there is a better way. Many people of faith have come to see how our traditional way of dealing with criminal actions seldom results in transformational behavior. The sheriff of Worcester County House of correction is a man I got to know when we attended Eagle Scout Courts of Honor in Princeton. When he was elected he vowed to take the jail in a different direction such as reactivating the prison farm program. The program is part of a three-prong approach that the jail uses to make sure inmates will leave with a path that won’t lead them to wind up back behind bars.
My friend Ron was once part of the notorious Kilby Street gang in Worcester. He was never incarcerated but came close. better path. When I first met Ron, he had just started a nonprofit called Legendary Legacies. His goal was to reach young men of color who were part of the gang life and those who had been incarcerated. It has been a joy to see how his vision has become a reality. One of their programs is a partnership between Legendary Legacies and Worcester County jail. Restorative Justice Circles provide a safe space that allows for group mentoring and healing practices. There has been a notable decrease in recidivism among those who participate in the program. The love that Ron shows for others shines forth from the light of love of Christ.
What I believe Paul is telling us is that it’s not so much what you do, it’s how you love that makes the real, real. If you remember the story of the Velveteen Rabbit, you know what I mean.
“Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’
‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.
‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’
‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’
‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit
My friends, we all long for the real, real and it is always within us to become. You already :
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. First Congregational Church of Millbury, you’ve got this! Amen
Romans 12:9-21
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.