Rome: A Place of Longing

Romans 8:18-25, NRSVue

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

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Luke 2:1-3, NRSVue

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered.

INTRO

This week, we begin a new worship series based on the book Journey to Bethlehem. In life, we often take many journeys. Whether we have lived different places or visited different places we have experienced contexts that are different from ours. Even a drive from Danville to Martinsville shows vastly different cultures. Each place that we go from our homes to school or work and church, shape and form us. This year, we will journey around the ancient world. As series creator, Rev. Dr. Marcia McFee writes, “Rome’s occupation shaped the context of the lives of those whom Jesus championed and to whom he gave hope. Jerusalem’s religious practices shaped an alternative vision of the new Jerusalem–a kin-dom of peace–that Jesus would teach. Nazareth’s simple and interdependent nature shaped his relationships and the joy of community. And Bethlehem’s history connects the spirit of generosity in ways that underscore the gospel of love we have inherited.” Each week we will visit a significant place that shaped the ministry of Christ on our way to the manger. In doing so may we learn more about our faith and our own journeys in life.

Our Gospel lesson for this morning orients our journey for this week as we visit Rome. Under Roman occupation, Caesar Augustus, the ruler of the Roman world, decided that he needed more money to fund the expansion of the empire. Afterall, the cost of water systems, statues, roads and war were expensive. So, he called a census, a registration, that would send people to their hometowns to be registered so that taxes could be calculated and levied against the general population. It is in this imperial world controlled by an emperor and governors that we come to the story of Jesus’ birth and our text for today. Even though Paul is writing after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the church in Rome still faced similar circumstances. It still had taxes to pay, a political arena to deal with, an emperor to appease and rule of the roman empire to uphold. And, if we are honest, we still face these same overarching circumstances of rulers, powers and principalities in our own world too. With this lens in mind, we approach our New Testament lesson.

The pressure of Roman was immense. The empire expected one to kiss and pay homage to the many statues of the empire around the city…especially those where public water was supplied. The empire even started a smear campaign against the Christian Church which reached its height in the second and third centuries after the death of Christ. A document circulated the empire called the Octavius and said this of the Eucharistic meal: “O horror! they lick up its blood; eagerly they divide its limbs. By this victim they are pledged together; with this consciousness of wickedness they are covenanted to mutual silence.” The early church was charged with cannibalism. In Paul’s own day, Paul was greeted by the Christian Church with tensions between the Jews and Gentile believers. The Gentile community is dismissive of the Jewish community and the Jewish community is embarrassed to be associated with the Gentile community.

Paul’s letter to the Roman Church is an attempt to ease this situation…but some in Rome are not excited about Paul’s vision whereby there is no Jew or Greek. They’re worried that the Christian movement which has remained undercover and its disputes will move into the public square…where it will become increasingly evident that the Christian movement is now predominantly gentile and that it is increasingly being disowned by mainstream Judaism. The synagogues are regaining momentum, but they also provide cover for the christian church and are favored by the empire with special permission that exempts them from sacrificing to the emperor. So far, the Christian church has managed to come across as branch of Judaism. Those in Rome who practice Christianity do not want their cover blown. They would prefer that Paul does not appear before Caesar.

It is here against this backdrop that Paul writes “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” Paul writes to the Romans and to us about the hope found in Christ. His letter is meant to reflect on who we are and/or what we are placing our hope in and how this hope is reflected in our attitudes towards life. Yet, to have hope means we have to face that which is not yet, that which is wrong with the world, that which comes across as “the sufferings of this present time.” So much is going on in our world and our society.

Wars still rage around the world. Many people both here and abroad are hungry. Our church still fights and debates over what the future will look like. Even in our own congregations, we find it hard, to be hopeful. Not only do we disagree on political issues, but our church building needs this and that, our pews are not as full as they used to be, and finding ways to live together in love is sometimes difficult. In our own community we dealing with housing, addiction, food deserts, heath inequality, and poverty. All these pressures are at work before we even begin to address the current political climate in our country. We find ourselves frustrated that the ones who have the power to do good…the ones who sit in places of power such as Washington DC, City Hall, and the Supervisory Board for the County often enact polices that continue to effect us.

So often, we think that looking at the “sufferings” or the “bad things” of our present time mean that we are hopeless. After all there is a common belief that one shouldn’t been critical of our county. Or, we think that talking about these things in church means that we are living into the ways of the world. We come to church to find hope…not to talk about poverty. We don’t want a message calling us to step into such hopeless places. Yet, we are called to be heirs of Christ, to bring about God’s kingdom here on earth, to speak against injustice and oppression, to offer a voice to those whose voices have been muted by the empire, and most importantly to see a future that is beyond our current reality. To dream much like The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King did: “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” Rev. John Wesley dreams “Faith in Jesus Christ can and will lead us … to the broader concern for the well-being of the birds in our backyards, the fish in our rivers, and every living creature on the face of the earth.”

Yet amidst such dreams, we are smacked with the reality of the world and run the risk of being hurt. Often, we think of hurt and disappointment as being the opposite of hope. As one theologian bluntly writes, “The one who hopes hurts. The one who hopes has a restless heart. The one who hopes sees what we get, what is in front of us, and is disappointed.” If we are placing our hope in the right place, if we are placing our hope in God, we are placing our hope in things that cannot be fully seen. So when we lift up the sufferings of the world, we ought find ourselves disappointed for God’s kingdom still has not come. God’s will still has not been done. Hope can go hand in hand with hurt and disappointment.

And yet, our hope is found exactly because of that. In this season of Advent we celebrate the already (Christ was born in a manger so long ago) and the not yet (Christ will return in final victory). Amidst the difficulties of this world, our hope is in a Savior who is coming back. Our hope is in a God who will establish God’s kingdom and right the wrongs of our present world. As we hope for the future, “we wait for it with patience.” Yet this waiting is not sitting around doing nothing. It is not asking “are we there yet?” as if we are taking a road trip in the car. Our hope is found in doing something about the present things in this world.

Our hope is found in finding courage and the empowerment of God’s Spirit to step out and fight against the injustices of the world as we work to usher in glimpses of God’s kingdom while we wait for Christ’s return. Wesley worked to stir up the people called Methodists to go out and build up a new kingdom through participation in the means of grace. Dr. King worked to build up a new way of being, of creating a country that would be more just and equal. Both faced disappointments. In spite of that, both marched forward with the hope that in God’s kingdom, things would be different.

Our text this morning begs us to ask a question. What hurts our heart, what do we wish was better, how does our passion meet the worlds needs? What is our passion as a church? How is God calling us to actively wait for the coming of Christ, while also calling us to step out in mission and ministry and to offer glimpses of God’s kingdom to the world? How will we engage our community and its needs…hope is found in as we actively participate in God’s actions in the worlds…even when those actions are hard to see…beloved church, its time to get to work.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.