Sermon for July 23, 2023 – Proper 11

Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 • Genesis 28:10-19a • Romans 8:12-25 • Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

In Ordinary Time, Christ-followers are invited to explore how we internalize, live out, and share our newness in Christ. This cannot be done unless Christians can be confident in the presence and power of God. The theme for this week is God has all things in hand. The call to worship Psalm speaks about God’s omnipresence — there is no place we can go to escape his loving presence. In Genesis 28, Jacob saw a vision that, in part, bore witness to God’s continual activity on the earth. The passage in Romans speaks to Christians as children of God who can have hope in our Father to fulfill his desire to redeem all creation. The Matthew scripture presents a parable that illustrates that God will not fail to dispense judgment and justice, bringing all things to their proper end.

Secure in Christ

Romans 8:12-25

Few things can inspire schadenfreude like a tabloid. If you are unfamiliar with the term, schadenfreude is a word that describes pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune, and tabloids export it in mass quantities. Right now, if you walk into any supermarket and stand in the checkout aisle, you will see at least one headline promising details on the immanent divorce of some famous couple. You would likely see tantalizing articles on a feud within Britain’s royal family. Infidelity would probably have a strong showing with words like “scandal” and “exposed” in bold print. If you are lucky, you might even read headlines that promise hard evidence of alien abductions that were covered up by the government.

You may want to read some recent headlines to make your point.

Most adults understand that tabloids do not hold themselves to high standards of journalism, and a lot of what we read in them is untrue. Yet, many people still find them irresistible. Why? Certainly, it has something to do with the outrageous nature of tabloids. The stories seem expertly crafted to stimulate the guilty pleasure centers in our brains. While there are many reasons why people read tabloids and some of them may be perfectly innocent, one thing to consider is that tabloids consistently broadcast the breakdown of our institutions and the things we hold dear. They dish out stories about divorce, conspiracies, indiscretions by role models, and the worst of human behavior, and we eat it up. The stories make us happy we do not share the circumstances of those written about in the articles, but at what cost? Could tabloids and similar media be contributing to the erosion of our sense of security and belief in truly good things? Might we be becoming more cynical as a people, doubting that anything good can last?

Tabloids and “the media” cannot be solely blamed for the decline in belief in institutions and people’s trustworthiness. In all areas of our society, we can find betrayals of trust by those who should do better. Myriad church scandals have made many people distrustful of religious leaders. To some, it seems that once a church leader achieves a certain amount of notoriety, a fall from grace is almost inevitable. It should come as no surprise that religious affiliation continues to decline in America and a majority of the Western World.

In this season of Ordinary Time, we are exploring how the church bears witness to the King and his kingdom in the world. As we go and share the Good News with our neighbors, we will encounter many people who neither trust our message nor our motives. There is a credibility gap Christians must bridge with our neighbors as we demonstrate in word and in action that Jesus is Lord. This cannot be done apart from the Holy Spirit. However, we do have a part to play. As we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and go into our communities, we should do so believing in a God who is completely good. It is problematic to ask people to give their lives to Jesus if we ourselves feel unsafe putting our lives in his hands.

If we are not careful, the sense of cynicism and distrust of people in our society can manifest itself in the Christian church. We can look at our relationship with God as something that is unstable and subject to falling apart like so many celebrity marriages. If nothing in our world is solid, how can we be sure that God is solid? What is to keep him from changing his mind about us and casting us aside? Many believers are guarded in their relationship with God because they have learned to distrust male father figures, people in power, or anything that seems too good to be true. They do not commit fully to God because they are waiting for the other shoe to drop. While no Christian can have perfect faith in this life, we should be continually growing in our conviction of God’s love and faithfulness. Yet, in our brokenness, our ability to trust him can be stunted for a season.

In his letter to the church in Rome, one of Paul’s goals was to help his audience to feel secure in their relationship with God. The recipients of his letter were experiencing uncertainty in their identity in Christ due to divisions between Jewish and non-Jewish (Gentile) Christians, and the persecution they faced from the Roman authorities. The believers seemed to be disagreeing on whether the keeping of Jewish dietary laws and sacred days was necessary in order to follow Christ. Being wrong meant making significant life changes to be acceptable to God — changes that may have been too difficult to make.

We may not be able to relate to this particular disagreement. However, we can certainly see Christians today feeling insecure in their faith over disagreements in their congregations about politics, LGBTQ+ questions, COVID safeguards, and culture. How can God be good if his people are divided? We should certainly be able to understand how a loss of trust with people, especially those who identify as Christian, can lead to one feeling insecure in their relationship with God. Paul wrote to reassure the church in Rome of God’s faithfulness, and his words can bring comfort to us as well. The apostle said:

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation — but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:12-17 NIV)

Paul used the metaphor of adoption to help his audience understand God’s deep, binding love for them. Interestingly, the Jews and Gentiles in the church in Rome had to share knowledge in order to understand what the apostle was trying to communicate. Based on what we know, there did not seem to be state-sanctioned adoption in Jewish culture. Yet, it existed in Greek and Roman culture. In Roman culture, for example, it was not uncommon for a biological child to be given up for adoption in order to maintain family legacy for a couple that had no male heir. Otherwise, the family title and estate could be forfeited. While there were other mechanisms in place to compassionately care for orphans and other children in need, but there were no real mentions of adoption in the Mosaic Law or Jewish writing. For the Gentile Christians, the concept of God as a Father was foreign to them. From what we can tell, Jewish people were the first to see God as a loving Father to humanity. Therefore, both Jewish and Gentile worldviews were needed in order for believers at that time to see God as their adopted Father.

In the institution of adoption, a child moves from one family system — with its religious, social, and cultural traditions — to another, likely different, family system. This shift impacts the building blocks of a child’s self-concept to the extent that one could argue that adoption causes a fundamental change in a child’s identity. Adoption is initiated by the adopter who opts to be legally bound to the adopted child. Under Roman law, adopted children had the same rights and privileges as natural born children.

Therefore, adoption is a metaphor for the redemption and inseparable connection to the Father of those who follow Christ. We were part of a dysfunctional family system that was destroying us, and God made us his own. Now, we are part of a family system that gives us eternal, abundant life. He sought and adopted us on his own initiative. Out of his unfailing love, God willingly bound us to himself with ties that cannot be severed. The Father exceeded the requirements of the law and made us joint heirs with the immaculate Son of God. We can even call on the Father using the same name for God that Jesus himself used — Abba (translated “daddy” or “poppa”). So, we can be secure in our relationship with God. The Father — through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus — not only connected us to himself but changed our very identity. We can no longer be anything but his children, and our insecurities do not alter that fundamental truth.

In a world where it seems like no good thing lasts and people always let us down, we can be sure of God’s immutable love for us. He is ever faithful, and we need not worry about him changing his mind about us. Consequently, as Christ followers, we should do all we can not to change our minds about God. We need to be careful to avoid alienating our affections from God because of the things we suffer in this life. In Romans 8, Paul continues:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:18 -25 NIV)

The Holy Spirit prompted Paul to acknowledge the suffering of the church in Rome. He did not minimize their pain, and he even recognized their inward groaning. Can you relate? Do you sometimes look at the condition of the world and groan inwardly? Do things sometimes look so bad that you feel like losing hope? Can you sometimes feel yourself growing cynical and apathetic? We all have at some point. In this world we will suffer. Yet, we cannot allow our suffering to overshadow the reality of our adoption. No matter how dark the world looks, it cannot stop God’s glory from being revealed in us. We do not yet see that glory fully manifested in us, but we have been given blessed assurance by Christ. He has ensured our salvation and eternal adoption. He has triumphed over the world for us, and we belong to him. Nothing can snatch us out of his hand.

The suffering we experience in this life will be forgotten when Christ returns, and we can fully experience our adoption. So many of the things that seem so important to us today will be beyond insignificant in eternity. We have to remember that one day there will be no tabloids or schadenfreude. These things, along with every other manifestation of pain and suffering, will pass away so we need not let cynicism and apathy take root in us. Jesus has, is, and will redeem all things. This is good news for us and the world. This is part of the Good News Christ calls on us to share.

In a world where everything seems made to be broken, we can be secure in our relationship with God because of Christ. If we ever feel like the world is tumbling down around us, we need only to look to him and find stability in God’s unchanging love. We can find shelter in our relationship with our adopted Father, and in Jesus we can find hope. As the song says, “On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.”

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