BE TRANSFORMED

Paul uses the image of the Body of Christ to describe the community of those who believe in Jesus the Christ and follow in God’s ways. The Spirit forms this body through unique talents, or gifts, given to each person. When community values and nurtures the expression of each individual’s contribution, the bonds of kinship are expanded and strengthened.

Scripture Readings

(Click on links to read on Bible Gateway)

Where do we see oppression in today’s world? How can we offer support to those who are being threatened?

Focus Scripture: Romans 12:1-8

This week we move from the account of how Joseph used his God-given abilities in service of God’s purposes to the writings of the apostle Paul, who preached the importance of building relationships that serve God’s purposes.

Near the end of his journeys to spread the good news of God’s saving love in Christ, Paul planned a trip to Rome. Paul likely wrote Romans around 57 CE to prepare Christians there for this upcoming visit. Romans is the longest of the New Testament letters, and is considered by many scholars as the most complete teaching about what it means to receive God’s saving love as a free gift through faith.

The sacrificial system was a central element in Judaism until the temple’s destruction in 70 CE. Many sections of the law, particularly in Leviticus, detailed the offerings to be presented to God. Paul was nurtured in that system. In Romans 12:1, Paul shifts the focus of sacrifice from grains and animals to the offering of one’s own self as a “living” and continual thank-offering.

The urging to not be “conformed to this world” (v. 2) is a call to set aside old ways of living in the world. The text summons people and communities to be open to transformation. Paul interprets such change as the “renewing of your minds” (v. 2) for the sake of discerning God’s purposes for good. The Greek word translated “perfect” in verse 2 is better understood as “mature,” as in Matthew 5:48.

The key verb in verse 3 is “think,” used three times there in reference to self-assessment. As Jesus revealed in Mark 12:29-30, love of God invokes the whole of one’s life: heart, soul, mind, strength.

As Paul rejects conformity to the world, Paul also rejects any thought that presumes conformity in the giftedness of the members of the Body of Christ. God has graced the church with a variety of capabilities. These aptitudes, like their recipients, differ. Yet, members belong to one another because they belong to Christ.

Another aspect of discernment in this passage concerns the “gifts” (in Greek, charisma) that are extended by God’s grace (charis). Paul goes on to name some capabilities with which Christ graces the church. Naming these particular gifts does not suggest there are no more. Paul leaves it for the church in his day and our own to identify other talents. The charge in verse 3 refers to the assessment one makes of her or his own abilities.

God-given capabilities protect and transform community. In Exodus 1:8 to 2:10, the midwives exercise their vocation with fidelity to God and disobedience to Pharaoh. Against orders, they preserve the lives of Hebrew babies, including Moses. These women demonstrate that faithfulness is as important as special skills.

Worshippers singing Psalm 124 celebrate God’s trustworthiness and the ways in which God is able to transform situations of danger into causes for thanksgiving.

Jesus calls out the faith and the gifts of the disciples in order to build the church. Matthew 16:13-20 invites consideration of the authority Jesus grants to the Body of Christ to be agents of God’s compassion and justice.

With generous love, God enables us to live faithfully and nurture the Body of Christ by exercising our Spirit-given abilities. What does Paul’s image of the Body of Christ suggest to you about the life of the church? What do you think it means to bring our lives,– as individuals and as the church,– as offerings to God?

REFLECTION

Send your Spirit, O God, to renew and transform our community. Shape our life together, so we may be a source of your gracious and saving love for others. Amen.

 

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