In this part of his letter, Paul ceases talking about the spirit of the flesh and our bondage to sin and goes on to describe who we are now that we are led by the Spirit of God.
Born into the Spirit of God, we are children of God.
As Lutherans, we usually don’t describe ourselves as “born-again”. It’s a phrase that church culture wars have co-opted. But we are born-again through our faith in Christ. God destroyed the power of sin and freed us. We are, as Luther writes, “born again by God the Holy Spirit to be new creatures….”[i]
Paul describes this new life as one lived in “the spirit of adoption.” (v. 15)
I cherish this promise because in it, God reminds me that our family in faith isn’t only we who worship here at Ascension. Because of our adoption, we are siblings in Christ “across cultures, races, nationalities, genders, ethnicities and even political divides.”[ii]
We are adopted into a family alongside the Davidson County Lutherans up around Lexington and Thomasville who responded to the economic impacts there by planting a community garden called The Vine. The garden is planted on the property of St. Luke's in Tyro and maintained by members from the local Lutheran congregations and the produce is donated to the local food pantry.
We are adopted into a family alongside our siblings at the Dwelling in Winston-Salem where Pastor Emily Norris is building community through relationships with people there who don’t have housing. The ministry has a shower trailer that provides access to clean water three days a week and community meals to fill empty tummies.
And we are adopted into a family alongside our siblings at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Greensboro. Their congregation has the distinction of being where Pastor Earlene Miller was ordained in 1979. Miller was the first Lutheran African-American woman ordained in North America. In addition to a tradition of raising up leaders for the Church, their congregation has an urban teaching farm that brings together local volunteers, university students and area nonprofits to feed their neighbors.
These siblings of ours are transforming their communities into grace places where others now experience the abundant love of God for them.
Paul goes on to call us heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, God’s own Son. Remember, Paul was addressing citizens of an empire where Augustus called himself a god and his son Julius therefore was the son of a god.[iii]
The idea that everyday people, like you and me, would be children of God alongside the Son of God was preposterous.[iv]
But that’s the Gospel, right? The foolishness of the cross is that God loves us so much that Jesus took on all that was ours and all that was given to Jesus is given to us. God made us God’s own children right alongside Jesus.
Of course, sometimes we forget that being united with Christ includes being united with him in the suffering and rejection that he suffered. Paul’s own life testifies to that. He was afflicted and then arrested, imprisoned and martyred. Our life of faith does not shield us from suffering, and yet Paul continues to reassure us that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory about to be revealed to us.” (v. 18)
That is a potent promise in these present times when suffering is right in front of us, whether it is people we know whose jobs have disappeared or whose pay has been cut; whole families who have been diagnosed with COVID; or teachers and students wrestling with the tremendous uncertainty that waits for them in the new school year. And that doesn’t even include the suffering we already knew: families grieving the deaths of loved ones from accidents or disease; others undergoing surgeries or treatment for illnesses; relationships falling apart. And it doesn’t touch the suffering caused by the -isms and phobias that plague us — the suffering we cause when we deny someone else’s created and beloved identity because of the color of their skin, their gender or their sexuality.
It would be easy to let the sufferings in these present times rob us of the promises of our faith and fool us into believing that God is not here with us. But Paul reminds us of the truth that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory about to be revealed to us” and he urges us on with “eager expectation.” (v. 19)
Let us pray…
Good and gracious God,
Thank you for new life, where we are born into your Holy Spirit and adopted as your children.
Open our hearts and eyes to see the whole of creation as our siblings and celebrate the family of God everywhere.
Encourage us to remember Paul’s words and trust your steadfast presence in our lives, even in these present times.
Fill us with joyful and eager expectation for what is coming next.
We pray in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Amen.
[i] Martin Luther. Commentary on Romans. 120.
[ii] Israel Kamudzandi. “Commentary on Romans 8:12-25”. Luther Seminary. Workingpreacher.org
[iii] Bartlett, David L.; Taylor, Barbara Brown. Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16) (Feasting on the Word: Year A volume) (Kindle Locations 8652-8653). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
[iv] ibid
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