The Good Book Club 2019
Romans 1:1-7
Today begins our Epiphany journey reading through Paul's Epistle to the Romans. In these first seven verses alone, Paul lays out who he is:
"A servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God" (Rom 1:1 NRSV)who Jesus is:
"descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead" (1:3-4)
and what Paul's mission is:to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of [Jesus'] name (1:5).
That's a lot for just seven verses! It also is preview of the density of this letter. It requires careful, prayerful reading, which is why I am so happy that we can undertake this task together.
Be not afraid!
This group reading should be marked by
JOY!
It is appropriate that we begin this journey the day after Epiphany. Our weekly lectionary juxtaposes Matthew's account of the Wise Men with Paul's letter to the Ephesians wherein Paul lays out his belief that through Christ, the Gentiles are adopted into the covenant with Israel. Put more simply, those who are not Jews may know the God of the Jews through Jesus. This in no way invalidates Judaism--if anything, it heightens the importance of it! The Jews are already in relationship with God, but Gentiles could not be because the covenant was made with Abraham and his descendants (see Genesis 17). Paul, writing to Gentiles in Rome, wants to stress that:
- They are now part of the covenant with Israel
- Jews and Gentiles are not enemies, but family
A few things to remember as we read through Romans:
- Unlike many of the other letters of Paul, this letter is addressed to a group of people whom Paul had never met. He is thorough (and sometimes complicated) because he has not had a chance to visit them and teach them. He's starting from scratch.
- There has been a tradition within Christianity of reading antisemitism into the text. Taken along with the entirety of the Pauline corpus, this is not a valid reading.
- Romans does not stand alone as a complete theology. It is one of many letters of Paul (not to mention all the letters, sermons, and teachings we no longer have). We must understand the letter in the light of the other Scriptures.
A few resources for the journey:
- An introduction to Paul: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/people/main-articles/paul
- The Good Book Club website: www.goodbookclub.org
- Trinity Episcopal Parish's facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/587124081740370/
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