Epistle to the Romans
Chapter 12 – God’s Will
Romans 12:1-8 Love
Belief is sterile if it is not reflected in our everyday lives. The pattern which should mark the Christian’s conduct is derived from the fundamentals of his faith. Doctrine is necessary to define and circumscribe a Christian life. But doctrine is only one aspect of life. If our creeds are not intimately linked with our emotion and will, they lose all vitality. Christian ethic cannot be independent of Christian theology. They are related but ethic is irrelevant if it remains an abstraction.
We have discussed the nature and basis of righteousness. Now Paul is appealing to people to accept a new relationship with God and discover the divine love revealed in Jesus Christ. Some will not respond; but those who do will enjoy a new relationship with each other and with God. In our Eucharist, we offer our selves, our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice. The sacrifice we offer is to cease to live to ourselves, in order that we may live to God. Instead of a sacrificial death, we have the offering of our lives to God. The truest sacrifice is to live according to God’s will. Under the old sacrificial system, the spotless, perfect, sacrificial animal was required. In like manner, we should work to offer the best we can be at all times. Not apart from daily life, but in its midst, we serve God “without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life” (Luke 1:74-75). This is the appropriate service for beings in whom intellectual and moral qualities unite. If God is pleased with outward acts of religious observance; how much more will he be pleased, if we dedicate ourselves to him without reserve?
We are all tempted to conform to social dictates and standards. Without constant effort on our part, it gradually wears us down to its own standards. Those intellectual and moral qualities summed up in the work “mind” can become paralyzed if we take only a worldly outlook. Avoiding it requires God’s spirit to transform our outlook. It provides the ability to prove, to discern in actual experience, what is the will of God. If we look for the will of God in our social structure, we are lost. Avoidance of pride is a preliminary step. Our society values and rewards pride while it often penalizes those with true humility. Humility teaches us our true contribution; it keeps us from claiming gifts we lack, and saves us from pride in those we actually possess.
The diversity that sometimes threatens disagreement can prove to supplement our shortcomings. Diversity in any human community will breed dissension and strife unless there is a power strong enough to bring unity to those who would otherwise fall apart. That is why secular efforts to embrace diversity only show an outward unity. There is no higher goal to bring them together. We must realize that anything we can do is owing to the fact that God has qualified us to do it. Gifts are not for selfish enjoyment, but for the building up of the community. Edifying the Church is to build it up. This is most likely when each person accepts his distinctive task as a ministry and is faithful in his allotted sphere.
Romans 12:9-16 Service
What is more important to our relationships than love? It has the power to transform every type of human relationship into more than we thought possible. It enriches natural affection. The warm emotion characteristic of the family relationship at its best can be brought into the family of God. We have a tendency to restrict the expression of our love to just those closest to us – those whom we know we can trust with our true feelings. We will always apply love to different people in a variety of ways as our capacity to trust is often inhibited.
It is simple to compare the life of a society with the unity of an organism. If our arms fight our legs we are seriously handicapped. All societies realize their members could work together if they wished. Many are simply lacking the motivation. There is not one overriding principle strong enough to make each member ignore their personal interests for the good of the group. Corporations attempt to provide such a principle when they encourage their employees to join Political Action Committees (PACs). The implication is that everyone is working toward a goal that benefits all of them. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. A raise in utility rates is good for the corporation. It is not good for the employees who are also customers. A PAC, funded and directed by the corporation, will not provide the necessary motivation.
Christians have the same problem when it comes to unity. There must be an overriding principle strong enough to make each member ignore their personal interests for the good of the group. Love provides that principle for Christians. The Incarnation was a sign of God’s love for mankind. The crucifixion was a sign of Christ’s love for mankind. The resurrection was God’s proof that Christ was truly divine and had paid the price for the redemption of mankind. Love is often relegated to the realm of sentimental emotions. When it is, it loses all its power and dynamic. It is a mighty force in the moral world if two requirements are satisfied. First it must be sincere. Hypocrisy is a greater danger than sentimentality. Second, it must be tied to moral realities. It requires a clear-sighted discernment which discriminates between good and evil. Love allows us to see possibilities not visible through the hard lens of reality. Love allows us to reach out and embrace others and their potential.
The difficult part is, it requires true humility. We must be able to rejoice with those who rejoice; and sorrow with those who sorrow. It is easier to sorrow with those who sorrow because we have no desire to displace them in their grief. Love requires real interest and consistent zeal. We cannot run “hot and cold.” We are to be rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. Neither joy nor patience is the expression merely of a happy disposition. Both are rooted in and grow from prayer. We are to pray without ceasing. We cannot maintain such an effort with a discipline. Jesus did not say “if you fast.” Jesus said, “When you fast.” Failure to accept the rigorous demands implicit in following Christ will result in a failure of prayer, joy, patience and love. Good Will requires active charity as well. James asks, “Is it not absurd to say to a needy brother or sister, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ if you offer only empty words.” To receive hospitality is a boon. To offer it is both a duty and a privilege.
Romans 12:17-21 Evil
It is difficult to satisfy love’s demands on us as part of the Christian community. Even more difficult is accepting exactly the same rules for those outside our community. Outsiders are often quick to expose Christians when they lapse from their own standards. We have no exemptions from our Christian standards and we are not allowed a superior attitude as compensation for our efforts. We must live peaceably with all and insure that provocation does not come from our side. There will be times, however, when silence is not an option. When the standards are threatened and uprightness is being discarded, we are required to speak. Even this circumstance does not free us from our obligation to love all people. We are to live peaceably with all – but only if it is possible, and only so far as we can control the situation.
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” What does “bless” mean? There are at least three stages in blessing. First is the fixed and settled wish for the good of the one being blessed. This will naturally lead to the second stage which is prayer for the one being blessed. Genuine prayer will naturally lead to a settled endeavor to serve as the channel through which the good things which we have asked in prayer may reach those who need them most.
Being of one mind and living in harmony requires a right attitude toward other people. Restricting ourselves to those of a like mind is not what is intended. Unanimity is not an accident and can only be maintained by avoiding things that endanger it. A haughty spirit destroys mutual respect. Pride in greater gifts is not the part of a Christian. Wisdom is not confined to those who think they possess it. Often humble folk have much clearer discernment and sharper insight about the truth. “Coals of fire heaped upon the head of the evil ones” is in reference to an awakened conscience. By showing love in response to evil, we have shown what hatred means. The alternative is clear. We can either overcome evil with love or we can be overcome of evil. If hatred is the decisive force, it drags goodness to its own level; if goodness predominates, it tends to lift others to its plane. Holding the middle ground is not a productive option and does not bring us closer to God.