Monday, 28 October, 2002

As we just celebrated Reformation Sunday a few days on the lesson from Romans.



After Paul has built his argument to the point of saying "...all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin..." he writes:

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For "no human being will be justified in his sight" by the deeds prescribed by the law for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.



The law sets boundaries. The law is constantly reminding us of our brokenness. In some ways we could say that the voice of the law never ends...it will continue to hound us...pointing our our shortcomings. This is what the law does. In the case of Paul's letter, the law is the law of the Jews of his day...many laws both written within scripture and those a part of the tradition of the elders. Once our lives are being lived according to such an accounting, there is no other way to see life because we are always being reminded of how we fall short of the reach of the law. As much as we try to keep within the law...we all, in one shape or form, step over its boundaries. Krister Stendahl writes that for Paul, "it is grace that showed him how the law condemns...not the law that drove him to grace." Tomorrow we will spend some time with how grace plays into the picture for all of us.



Connection: Within the context of our lives as people of faith, it is very easy to be enticed into the world of religious laws that attempt to guarantee that if we follow the right way of living (as defined in a certain set of laws) we will have good lives and God will be pleased with us. Remember to say "baloney" each time you hear that religious rubbish (it is much more polite to say it quietly to yourself). We are a people invited to live by grace...and that demand a singular focus that will reveal how living by the law always bring death and always condemns.



Lord of the Good News of the Reign of God, let your mercy and grace reign among us so that we can see our lives within a new perspective and become a witness to the power of your love and faithfulness. Amen.