A letter from the Rev. Norm Faramelli

Dear People of Christ Church,
Listening to the Word of God in the Holy Scripture readings is an important part of our worship service. Yet, when we have serial readings each Sunday from the same book of the Bible, it is often difficult to follow, even if one attends the church service every week.

This summer from June 22 to Sept. 14, we have 12 readings from St. Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome. These are portions of the letter from chapter 6 through chapter 14. This coming Sunday we will be reading the 6th of the 12 passages, where we will hear Paul in his most eloquent voice.

I would like to place this letter in a wider context.– First Paul, who was a Jew, trained in the Law, who was born in a city in Turkey. He was a Roman citizen and used that citizenship to his advantage in bringing the Gospel of Christ to the Gentile world. Second, at one time, Paul was a staunch opponent of Christianity and led persecutions against the Christians. After his conversion experience, Paul became a dedicated Christian leader who played an important role in spreading the Gospel message throughout the world. Third, the letter to the Romans is a compendium of Paul’s understanding of the Gospel. None of his letters captures this understanding of Christ better than Romans.

The language in Romans sometimes sounds strange to us -contrasts between “flesh”, and ‘Spirit”. It is important to know that these terms have to do with a life lived in selfishness versus a life lived in Christ. In most instances, “flesh” has nothing to do with sex, but it speaks of our lower nature.–We also encounter contrasts such as “slaves of sin” versus “slaves of righteousness”‘, as well as the contrast between sin and eternal life. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (6:23-read on June 29).— In Romans, we get a clear understanding of Paul’s understanding of Justification by Faith. We are saved not by what we do, but by the grace of God. This theme played an important role in the Reformation in 16th century Europe.— Paul is steeped in the life with the Spirit of Christ. It is so powerful that absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (8:39-as noted in the reading this coming Sunday).

Sometimes Paul is misunderstood as being opposed to the Jewish Law. No, says Paul. The Law is good. The problem is that we, because of our sinful natures, cannot keep the Law and therefore need to be redeemed by God in Christ. As Paul says in Romans 7 (the reading on July 4), “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (7:19).

Paul was frequently misunderstood in several ways. (1) Some say he was obsessed with sin. No, Paul was captivated by the power of salvation through Christ. (2) Some say, “If we are saved by grace, and not by works of the Law, then we can do what we please. Isn’t that right?” Paul’s response was: Absolutely NO. (3) Others would say, “if we are not saved by what we do, then our ethical behavior is of little importance. Why should we act?” Again, Paul would respond with: Absolutely NO.– For Paul, a life lived in Christ is a life lived in the love of God and the love of others. The ethical life flows directly out of our life in the Spirit of God. For Paul, a life in the Spirit must lead to the moral life.

In this regard, I would urge you to pay particular attention to those readings from chapter 12, 13 and 14 that deal with Paul’s understanding of Christian Ethics (from Aug. 24 to Sept. 14). They are excellent summaries of Paul’s view of how our moral life is the result of living in the Spirit of God.

There are other important letters of Paul, such as the Letter to the Church in Philippi (read from Sept. 21 through October 12) that address specific situations in the local congregations. But if one wants to get a comprehensive perspective of how Paul understands the Christian Gospel, no letter is as complete and direct as his letter to the Romans.

May the Spirit of God open our eyes, ears, minds and hearts as we listen to the words of Holy Scripture.

Yours in Christ,
Norm