Romans, the next piece

"Paul, a servant^* of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God..."

 

 

So Paul is introducing himself to the church in Rome, to whom the letter is addressed.  He starts by identifying himself as all Christians can, "a servant of Jesus Christ".  I don't know how I feel about self-identifying as a 'servant', even of Jesus Christ.  I mean, I understand it in my head, being a servant and all that, but some gut reaction, something about being an American and what that means in regards to equality and justice and freedom, is reacting against that phrase.

 

But that is the challenge of Scripture, to set for us a baseline of truth against which to measure our lives.  We talk about service in our faith, even one who serves, but 'servant' implies a humbling, a surrendering of control, an acknowledgement that we have 'a better'.  I know, it's class thinking, nobles and peasants, aristocrats and domestics, "Downton Abbey", "Gone With The Wind" manor house life, know what I mean?

But it is to be a servant to perfection...should be good enough to overcome personal biases about class warfare.

Beyond the call to be a servant, we have laid before us Paul's job description.  He is "called" to be an "apostle".  "Called" is a notion still very important in the church today.  As I pursued ordination, the Committee on Preparation for Ministry laid a lot of importance on the "call".  Is Jesus calling me to ministry?  Is it something that can be seen in my by other people?  Is it something that the commitee can see?  If not being called, it is easy enough to pull a "reverend" title off the internet.

An "apostle" is a technical title in the work of Jesus Christ.  The twelve disciples transitioned from "disciple", literally 'follower' to "apostle", literally 'servant', on Pentecost.  That was the day that the Holy Spirit came upon them and turned them after three years of internship with the Almighty into leaders of the church.

Paul was called later, by special arrangement of Jesus, outside the walls of Damascus, when he was intent with a religious fervor to stamp out this new Jewish sect.  (It wasn't its own religion yet).  He turned that fervor to the service of Jesus Christ and changed the world.  Thankfully, he also changed his methodology from 'arrest and charge' to 'preach and convert'.

So, his title is "Apostle", to which he has been called.  He is called to be a Servant, called by God, "set apart for the gospel of God".  Set apart, this is what he is supposed to be doing, set apart for the "gospel" of God.  I leave you with the idea of the "gospel".

"Gospel" is Greek for "good news", quite literally.  Paul is set apart for the Good News of God.  He is an Apostle for it.  He is a Servant for it.  What is the Good News?

The Good News is that Jesus lived, died, and lives again for us.  It is Good Friday, Easter, and eternity.  It is the Great Commission at the end of Matthew, "Go and make disciples of ALL the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit".

This Good News is that people's lives can be changed FOREVER.  It is the Good News of love that changes lives for the better.  It is the Good News that claims 2 BILLION believers around the world.  It is why I was called to be a pastor, to spread that news. 

So much in the first three phrases of Paul's most encompassing letter.


Preachers and Hollywood Westerns

I like westerns.  It used to be that my wife would find me in front of the TV and my pat response to the question, "What are you watching?" was "Whatever's on Scyfy" (used to be Sci. Fi.)  But our cable package has Encore Westerns station so I am more often respond "Some Western". 

Did you know that there are as many bad Westerns as there are bad Science Fiction movies? 

In the church history of our nation, there are echoes of 'frontier preachers' and 'circuit riders' serving multiple towns and churches in their territories, moving by horseback to provide faith, hope, comfort, to marry and bury people.  But not too many preachers show up in the middle of Westerns.  Oh, they are guest stars often enough in the old TV Westerns (usually a crisis of faith or redemption needed or some such), but I'm talking about the movie Westerns.

Let me focus the discussion today.  I am talking about Westerns focused in the American West.  Spaghetti Westerns and Westerns that go down to Mexico have a flavor all their own, to be dealt with at another time.

There are two that come to my mind.

The one I was watching last night was "Blazing Saddles", the Mel Brooks satire on race in America.  Liam Dunn plays Rev. Johnson from Rock Ridge and shows up regularly to do the invocations, prayers, benedictions, intercessions, stuff a pastor might do.  It pains me to say that he is the only example I can think of where a pastor is integrated into the movie life of the Western town.  Classic moment, he tries to intervene to save Sheriff Bart, the "black" sheriff about to be killed by the "white" townsfolk.  He raises his bible as he intones his protest, somebody blows a hole in the Good Book, and he saunters off with the throw away line, "You're on your own..."

The rest of the time, he intersperses his 'pastoral' duties with filthy language unworthy of even a gathering of sailors. 

The other movie that jumps to my mind with a preacher in the center is Clint Eastwood's "Pale Rider", where he plays a Preacher in the title role (we never catch his name).  This time, he is a 'reformed' gunslinger helping out miners being oppressed by the local Mining Baron (they NEVER come off well).  And the faith is fine until it is time to beat somebody up (nothing like hickory for a good axe handle), or, in the climax, when he has to go 'redeem' his gun from his safety deposit box and kill everything that moves wearing the 'bad guy' logo.

Beyond those two examples, the most I usually see of the faith in a Western is a fancy clapboard church at the end of the main drag (like in "Silverado"). 

"Taming the west", at least in Hollywood lore means killing off the bad guys before they can oppress or dominate the good guys.  I suppose that by the time the movie gets made, when the bad guys need to be taken out, the preacher was probably already dead or driven out of town.  I suppose.

The point I am trying to make is to use the genre of the Western as a reflection of much of Hollywood.  Christians are the majority of this nation.  Churches are the most pervasive social organizations across the country.  Pastors and preachers and priests are, as a vocational class, the largest group of community leaders in the nation.  But that isn't reflected in the "America" presented in the movies, or on TV, unless the religious leader falls into one of two categories.

The first is the religious 'poser'.  The pedophile, murderer, drug user, drunkard, whatever is using the pastorate as cover for their 'dark side'.  The second is the serious whacko, usually killing people in the name of Jesus.

And "Seventh Heaven" may just be the exception that proves the rule.

From Faith to Culture, Flipping the System

"Paul, a servant^* of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ²which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, ³the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh ⁴and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit^* of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, ⁶including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. "

 

 

This is the first SENTENCE in Paul's letter to the church in Rome.  That is the first SEVEN verses of the chapter.  On a read through, I count 21 sentences over 32 verses in that first chapter (please don't let me know if I messed up).  The longest is this one.  The shortest, the last part of verse 25, is an imperative "Amen!" (anybody remember their grammar lessons? {Anyone remember being taught grammar as part of their 'English' lessons?})

 

And people wonder why the Bible is going extinct in the hearts and minds of church goers...although it remains the Best bestseller in history.

 

As a blog writer, I spend much of my time as the 'opiner', taking things of the culture and filtering them through my faith, expressing my opinions on what I see of significance.  The 'theologue', the theologian, derives from the opiner.

 

I am an avid observer of how the popular culture reflects on my Christian faith.  But how about my faith reflecting on the popular culture?  I know it is kind of built in, but what about a more explicit view?  I am thinking it is time to alternate in this blog between 'Cultural Opiner" and "Faith-Based Theologue".

 

And this one sentence gives me enough to work with all summer.

 

First, a little background:  The book of Romans is the longest of Paul's "letters".  It is written to a church that he is going to visit.  This is different from his other letters which were written to churches or to individuals that he had ALREADY worked with, to found and uplift in their faithfulness.  These were either as communities or individuals. 

 

The book of Romans can be looked at as an introduction of the most prolific Christian writer of his era (based on writings that still exist to this day) to the church where Paul is going to conclude his ministry.  BACKGROUND: At the end of Acts, Paul was under arrest, exercised his rights as a Roman citizen to appeal his case to the Emperor, and was sent to Rome.  Historic tradition passes along the story that Paul was eventually executed in Rome.

 

You might title it: "What I Believe And Why I Think It Will Be Good For Your Church To Hear It From Me".  I know, that sounds pretentious, but the letter is a combination of personal introduction, systematized theology, faith story, cultural analysis, and theological reflection on history.

 

But it starts clearly enough: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ".  Before he goes any further with his job description or credentials, he starts right here.  It is a starting point that we can all have in common with him.  We start with our service to Jesus Christ.  That's the reason I write this blog (and it is good to be reminded of that from time to time).  That is the reason I pastor a church.  That is the basis of my own personal vision statement, the vision for our church, and the vision I hope our entire denomination will be led by. 

 

I don't do 'personal devotions' very well.  This blog is going to be an attempt to find a spiritual discipline that helps me do it better.  You don't have to agree with me.  Please don't give me the pressure of daring to be 'inspired' by what scribblings are put down here.  Walk with me, pray for me, and lets change the world.

 

Peace and Long Life.