Lectionary Reflection—10 September 2017

Romans 13:8-14 (NLT, adapted):1

Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you’ll fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

11This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night’s almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. 13Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus the Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—the New Testament is dripping with the conviction that Christ would return within the lifetime of the first century audience. And some people have the audacity to insist that they were either wrong or referring to a future time. And that second option comes in as a feigned attempt to justify the first option! At least those who think the New Testament writers were wrong—and have no problems saying so—are consistent with their view.

As I’ve said in my series on New Testament eschatology, what never seems to occur to most people, though, is the possibility that we’re the ones who are wrong. What surprises me about this is that, generally, these are the same people who believe in a “literal” interpretation of the Bible. Their anthem is often, “God said it! I believe it! And that settles it!” And yet, when the New Testament teaches an immanent return of Christ in the first century, the quickly tune changes. “Well…,” the stammering starts, “what Paul really meant was…” Or, “See, ‘generation’ actually means…” Or, “Well, ‘will soon be here’ doesn’t mean…” It’s just so bizarre.

In the second half of the passage this morning, Paul stated, “you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here” (emphasis added). This is equivalent to what Jesus said in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 and parallels). “In fact,” Jesus said, “unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24.22; cf. 1 Corinthians 7.29). And “when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near” (Luke 21.28; cf. Hebrews 9.28).

Paul told his readers that “time [was] running out” for them. He’s not talking to us or about us or even about things we might see. His concern is for the readers of this letter, the followers of Jesus in Rome, roughly the mid-late 50’s.

The first part of today’s reading is the heart of the Gospel, in my opinion. It’s the sum of what The Way of Jesus is all about—“‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (vv. 9-10).

I hear people say all the time that Christians should follow, at the very least, the Ten Commandments, if not most of the Law of Moses. Honestly, I just shake my head. The New Testament is quite clear that the follower of Jesus should be following the Law of Christ alone which is the law of Love.

There are a couple of things to say about this. First is the idea of old system (or covenant) priesthood and the law of the old system. The writer to the Hebrews states, “When the order of the priest changes, there has to be a change in the Law as well” (Hebrews 7.12). Since Jesus is the new priest, there’s a new law.

Jesus became a priest…by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You’re a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”…

This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath, 21but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him, “The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever.’” 22Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.

23There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever (Hebrews 7.16-17, 20-24; NLT, adapted).

So, again, a new system and a new priesthood is accompanied by a new law. And the new law is the Law of Love. Jesus said, “I’m giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I’ve loved you, you should love each other” (John 13.34; NLT, adapted; cf. Matthew 22.35-40; James 2.8-13).

This is an important, but often overlooked, statement. Jesus said, “Just as I’ve loved you, you should love each other.” What does the love that Jesus showed look like? It looks like carrying each other’s burdens (Galatians 6.2). It looks like treating all people equally—female, male, LGTBQ, straight, black, brown, white, green, rich, poor, etc.—and not showing favoritism (James 2.1, 9; cf. Matthew 22.16; Acts 10.34; Romans 2.11). It looks like caring for the poor and outcasts (James 1.27; cf. the Gospels here).

Notice again Paul’s admonition, “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another” (verse 8). The only obligation that the follower of The Way of Jesus is under is to “love one another.” What does that look like for you, dear reader? What steps can you take to make the all-inclusive Love of God be your only obligation?

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In the Love of the Three in One,

Br. Jack+, LC

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1. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.