Advent 4
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
-- Romans 1:7
There is lots of information to be derived from this opening greeting from Paul to the Romans. Immediately, Paul described his life as centered on Jesus Christ. As an apostle, he had a particular mission to perform on behalf of Jesus. There is a certain freedom in knowing where your loyalties lie and what your purpose in life is. Paul believed that he had been set apart, or given the special assignment in life, as defined by the gospel of God. This is the good news that had been promised by the words of the prophets; while it is new, it also has continuity with the past. For the Jews, the prophetic writings include what we call the historical books. Unlike the later Marcionites, who would suggest that the God of Jesus is different from the God of the Hebrew scriptures, Paul was clear that the revelation of God was consistent throughout history. God does not contradict Godself. The new aspect of God's gospel was that it had now been revealed in God's Son "who was descended from David according to the flesh...."
Apparently, Paul had no knowledge of the concept of the virgin birth of Jesus. He assumed that Jesus was the child of Joseph and therefore a direct descendent of David. However, Jesus had more than human origins. Jesus "was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead...." Our life is defined not only by our human origins, but also by the work of God's Spirit within us. In Mark, Jesus would also suggest that the family cannot be defined by bloodline alone but by our response to God in our lives (Mark 3:34-35). Paul defined two central aspects of God's presence in his life. The first was the experience of God's grace that laid claim to his life in a manner that transcended all criteria of human worth. The second was apostleship that gave Paul's life a sense of purpose and meaning. In Paul's life, that purpose was "to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name...." As we approach the Christmas season, Paul's greeting can raise for us an awareness of the grace of God by which we have been invited into the faith. We are, after all, the Gentiles that were included into God's people through no merit on our part. It can also raise the question of apostleship. What is the purpose that connects us with God's purpose and therefore gives our lives meaning that has eternal significance?
-- Romans 1:7
There is lots of information to be derived from this opening greeting from Paul to the Romans. Immediately, Paul described his life as centered on Jesus Christ. As an apostle, he had a particular mission to perform on behalf of Jesus. There is a certain freedom in knowing where your loyalties lie and what your purpose in life is. Paul believed that he had been set apart, or given the special assignment in life, as defined by the gospel of God. This is the good news that had been promised by the words of the prophets; while it is new, it also has continuity with the past. For the Jews, the prophetic writings include what we call the historical books. Unlike the later Marcionites, who would suggest that the God of Jesus is different from the God of the Hebrew scriptures, Paul was clear that the revelation of God was consistent throughout history. God does not contradict Godself. The new aspect of God's gospel was that it had now been revealed in God's Son "who was descended from David according to the flesh...."
Apparently, Paul had no knowledge of the concept of the virgin birth of Jesus. He assumed that Jesus was the child of Joseph and therefore a direct descendent of David. However, Jesus had more than human origins. Jesus "was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead...." Our life is defined not only by our human origins, but also by the work of God's Spirit within us. In Mark, Jesus would also suggest that the family cannot be defined by bloodline alone but by our response to God in our lives (Mark 3:34-35). Paul defined two central aspects of God's presence in his life. The first was the experience of God's grace that laid claim to his life in a manner that transcended all criteria of human worth. The second was apostleship that gave Paul's life a sense of purpose and meaning. In Paul's life, that purpose was "to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name...." As we approach the Christmas season, Paul's greeting can raise for us an awareness of the grace of God by which we have been invited into the faith. We are, after all, the Gentiles that were included into God's people through no merit on our part. It can also raise the question of apostleship. What is the purpose that connects us with God's purpose and therefore gives our lives meaning that has eternal significance?
