There it is from Mr. Grace himself, the apostle Paul. Remember him? The one who says Christian faith is about grace not the law? Remember, faith is about what you believe, not what you do? Remember? Sin boldly, so that grace might abound and all that. Remember? Paul's grace versus Jesus' law.
For this reason we Mennonites have long had an awkward relationship with Paul. We emphasize discipleship. Jesus, we like to remind people, said take up your cross and follow me. Join me in being brutally tortured to death. Oh and by the way, love the ones who are torturing you to death. Christian faith is difficult, demanding, and pretty near impossible, but alas Jesus calls us to it. It's a path to martyrdom. So we view Mr. Grace, Paul, with some suspicion. It's too easy. So if it's Paul versus Jesus for Mennonites, the hard teachings of Jesus win the day. Take up your cross. Turn the other cheek. Love your enemy. As Mennonites we know the drill quite well. Uncommon sense.
But this morning's passage undermines the conventional wisdom about Paul. In this passage, Paul says do it! Live out your faith! In this passage Paul places demands on the Roman church that sound an awful lot like Jesus and the demanding Sermon on the Mount. You can even hear echoes of Old Testament law here. There is even a reference to Proverbs. Where is that famous Pauline grace? Romans 12 is a laundry list of burdensome oughts and shoulds. And remember, this passage was written for people with real enemies. To Christians in Rome. To people for whom martyrdom was a real possibility. Some of these saints will experience martyrdom. And it was written by someone who was keenly aware of the prospects of his own martyrdom. Prospects that would become a painful reality. Paul's demands here aren't just irksome, they are absurd, defying common sense.
Much of what Paul says is in the difficult but doable category.But some of what Paul says is in the downright impossible category.Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them.Bless those who are trying to destroy you! Of course this is straight out of Jesus' playbook. Bless the people who want to do you in. Who hate you. Who want to throw you to the lions. Who want to see you die by having the flesh torn from your body. Who want to burn you alive. Who want to crucify you. Who take delight in torturing you. Bless them! Who can do this? We have entered the realm of the impossible. Where's that good old Pauline grace. I don't want to have to bless the people trying to destroy me. And even if I wanted to, I don't think I could.
How aboutRepay no one evil for evil? No matter how nasty people are to you. Even if they turn you in, and they betray you to the authorities, find it in your heart to love them.If you can make peace with them do. Don't take revenge, but leave room for justice to be done. Trust that God is a good and just God.Quoting Proverbs,If your enemy is hungry feed him, thirsty, give drink. For by doing so you will witness to the truth. Witness to what is right. Do not become evil in your response to evil. Overcome evil with good.
Who can do this, except Jesus? Why the impossible demands? Where is the grace? People can't live this way. I mean wasn't that what we had Paul for? To temper the demands of Jesus so people could actually function normally in life. Common sense tells us that evil must be confronted harshly. Our newspapers tell us that predators only understand the language of brute force. Our society tells us that capital punishment is necessary because it is the only effective way to deal with the truly evil. Conventional wisdom says that the evil perpetrated by the likes of Hitler can't be overcome with good. Common sense says they would rule the world if goodness was the only tool at our disposal to confront them.
For those who turn to Paul as a refuge from Jesus' self-described recipe for martyrdom, Romans 12 is bad news indeed. Why would anyone want to live the way that Paul, and Jesus, describe? That we be gracious even as we are tortured to death? Isn't this some bizarre form of masochism? Isn't this necrophilia (a love of and fascination with dead bodies and decaying flesh)? Isn't this self-hatred? Is there any grace in this call to martyrdom?
Guess what? Paul is not stupid nor does he have a pathological fixation on suffering. The source of Paul's uncommon sense is his faith, his belief in God. For starters Paul believes there is a God. Paul believes that God created the universe with a particular kind of order. If you look at chapter 1, Paul believes that one can look at creation, and discern some important things about who God is. Because Paul believes in a loving Creator, he believes that the universe is filled with order, meaning and purpose. Paul believes that God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. You see, the very things Paul is asking the Roman church to do, describe the things that God does. You see it is not a fascination with death that motivates Paul's worldview but a fascination with life.
At the heart of Paul's demands is Jesus Christ and the sort of life Jesus lived. Paul is asking us to live like Jesus knowing full well that it's a recipe for martyrdom. But Paul asks us, knowing that martyrdom is not an end, but a beginning, it points to something else. It points to the reality of a loving God, a creating God, a redeeming God. A God who would rather die on the cross than destroy his creation. Paul asks us, knowing that martyrdom is not the end because God raised Jesus from the dead.
Paul calls us to believe in a God of self-giving love out of which our own lives of self-giving love emerge. What Paul's says is only rational for people who believe that the universe is created by, sustained by, and redeemed by such a God. Grace is still a part the picture, because the demands Paul makes on the Roman church are rooted in a God of grace. When we have a God who is not willing to do what he is asking us to do, there is no grace. But, not only is God willing, God has done what he is asking us to do through Jesus Christ our Lord! In the end, you see, the impossible demands, the law, that Paul prescribes is the natural, the logical, the rational, result of his belief in such a God. It flows from Paul's belief that God in Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave. The question implied in this extraordinary passage is this. Do we believe, with Paul, in a God like his? Because if we do, it will change the way we see the world. Because if we do, it will change the way we see history. Because if we do, it will change the way we see the future. Because if we do, it will change the way we live.
Of course it is unlikely any of us will be burned at the stake or thrown to the lions. But we do have enemies. And we do live in a world where most people seem to believe in a God of destruction, a God who demands sacrificial deaths. A God who overcomes opposition to his will using brute force. That is the common sense of the flesh. But that is not our God. That is not the God to whom Christians witness. And in our day, just as Paul's, (in the words of that wonderful campfire song) they'll know we are Christians by our love. They will know that God, the creator of all things, is a God of love because we live like we believe in such a God. God, the Creator and Master of the universe, is a God of uncommon sense.
