When God is truly present among us, how can we not, in turn, respond with love for Him?
The opening greeting of an epistle, it is just seven verses. Formally, it is the equivalent to the “from” line of an email or memo, the “to” line, and the “hello” greeting or other salutation. It might not seem the most attractive pericope to focus your preaching on, especially in light of what may seem juicier, “Adventier” bits from the Old Testament and Gospel readings. There we have the virgin birth prophecy of Isaiah 7 that names the coming Messiah Immanuel, God with Us, the dream of Joseph and the birth of Christ in Matthew 1, and even the magnificent text of Psalm 24, with gates lifting up their heads to honor the advent of the King of Glory. Devote yourself to preaching epistles for a season, however, or just read through helps like these, and you will find yourself in for a treat. There are hidden gems even in the salutation section of an epistle, all of it the Word of God in Christ, and all of it intended to draw people to faith, as faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17).
The apostle Paul, who wrote that in his letter to the Romans, believes it, and so delivers that Word of Christ even in his opening salvo to the saints in Rome. This is a text about Paul’s calling as an apostle and the calling of all saints to believe in the dead and risen Christ, even the Gentile nations (Romans 1:1, 5, 7). Above all, this is a text that lays out the Gospel; the good news Paul is entrusted with, the good news promised and prophesied beforehand (Romans 1:2), the good news that centers on God’s son, Jesus Christ, the descendant of David (Romans 1:3), declared God’s son according to the Spirit because of Christ’s resurrection (Romans 1:4). The Christ delivers grace, evokes the response of faith by hearing, grants a place to belong in Him to those who, like Paul, belong to Him (Romans 1:1, 5-6). All of those Pauline watchwords that run the rest of his teaching in Romans (“called,” “grace,” “faith,” “beloved of God”) they all get a preview here in the epistolary greeting. The précis is apropos, of course, as the letter is lengthy. But it serves as more than just an overture to Paul’s masterpiece (much less grease for the wheels, meant to butter up donors for his missionary trip). These verses deliver the good news they describe, reinforcing the sonship of Jesus by His resurrection from the dead and underscoring Jesus as the fulfillment of messianic hope from ages past. That is good news now, good news promised beforehand, good news for the now of Paul’s day, and good news for your hearers in the here and now. And all of it good news to finally be fulfilled on the last day.
This is where the Advent connection comes in. The Lord is the descendant of David according to the flesh. The good news of that foretelling is to be told to your hearers, because that is what preaching is, up and down, simply the delivery of the promise as theirs in Christ. Good news for you, those are the gospel words, as much in the preaching as in the reception of the Lord’s Supper. Strive, preacher, strive to make those words personal, second-person singular for each of your hearers, and second-person plural for the whole lot, the entire body, that all may hear and believe. For they too are included in the “those called to be saints,” among those who are set apart for the purpose of receiving the Gospel (Romans 1:1, 6-7).
We are within half a week from Christmas Eve and Christmas when we deliver the good news from our text this year. At my congregation, we will finally decorate the sanctuary for Christmas and enjoy some fellowship with one another. We will have lunch in the fellowship hall and then travel to carol to a few of our less mobile members. That is some modest Christmas partying compared to the friend, family, and job-related company gatherings I will be popping-in for here and there throughout the weeks on either end of this Sunday. But I bring up our small soirée because it highlights the good news, the with-us-ness, the immanence, the presence of God in the flesh, reflected in the fellowship, the with-each-other-ness, the presence of one another as extensions of the koinonia we enjoy as brothers and sisters in Christ in the Divine Service, all fed and watered by the same Word, all forgiven with the same absolution, all bodied and blooded by the same Eucharist. We are not people of the abstract, ideas up in the clouds, bandying about with virtues and notions. We are people of the concrete, and live real lives with one another on earth, and even Jesus was counted a messianic descendant of David “according to the flesh.” Your sermon craft will do well to consider the “Immanuel” readings on either end of the epistle pericope and dwell on the Advent connection: The “according to the flesh” business of Jesus’ pedigree (Romans 1:3).
We are people of the concrete, and live real lives with one another on earth, and even Jesus was counted a messianic descendant of David “according to the flesh.”
Paul does not always use flesh as the negative end of a flesh-spirit dichotomy, though he often does (refer to all of Romans 7-8!). Here, at Romans 1:3, “flesh” is just his matter-of-fact way of talking about Christ’s human nature, His messianic heritage, comparable to how he talks about Abraham as our forefather according to the flesh (Romans 4:1). This is how babies get made, and grandbabies, and great-grandbabies, and so forth (not so children of God, who are made children not by blood or will of flesh or will of man but born of God, John 1:12-13, by God sending His Word, His promise, for folks to have faith in, Romans 4:16-17). When Paul talks descendant of David according to the flesh talk, he is pointing up Christ’s real humanity, not simply some metaphorical connection to promise. And while that real humanity, that real humanness, that confession of the incarnation of the Son of God, is indeed anticipating its full celebration at Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it is salutary here on Advent 4, on “Love Sunday,” to point to the fellowship effects of that good news for your hearer. We do not have a relationship with sisters and brothers in Christ in the abstract but in the concrete, in the here and now, in the material, in the mutual support of one another’s needs of body and soul. This is, in fact, how God works; through the hands and feet and presence and promise of one another, receiving from one another what He gives as if it comes from God Himself. And, indeed, it does, as it comes from those buried and risen in the One who was buried and risen for them.
Incidentally, that is what it means to have “obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:5-6). “Obedience of faith” is an unfortunate and well-nigh meaningless phrase, attempting to bang into place a couple of Greek vocabulary words in a certain relationship according to the nuances most consistent with the Translation Oversight Committee of the English Standard Version (ESV). Do not get me wrong, I work and memorize in ESV, mostly so I can maintain consistency and reduce confusion among folks I work with, and I think in general it is fine for lots of uses, and so are most other English translations that attempt to be faithful to the text and variously improve access to different audiences. But without some familiarity, a little study, and at least a fair commentary, average readers are going to read that “obedience of faith” business as religious gobbledy-gook at best (or as self-damning theological foRomansula at worst, a confusion of Law and Gospel!). My friend and colleague, Mike Middendorf, explains this phrase best under the summary translation “responsive hearing,” when we listen to the Word and trust it, we respond. Romans 1:5 is not a passage of God’s Law-making demands to be obeyed, but, rather, marshalling the promises of God to be listened to and responded to, and here, the response of the saints, those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, is faith.
You are included in this group, body and soul. So are your shut-ins, not-so-mobile body and needy soul. And so are your carolers who can sing, your carolers who sing a little off key, and your carolers who just make a “joyful noise.” Body and soul. And so are Gentiles, and even folks from Rome, the place of Paul’s future imprisonment. Because you trust in the Word of this seed of David, the son of God who is also the son of David according to the flesh, you too are included in promise. That is the good news to deliver to your people, and watch how it translates into a life together. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us! When God is truly present among us, how can we not, in turn, respond with love for Him? And what does this look like except love for one another, body and soul? Praise the Son of God who is also David’s son according to flesh, that we may in our own flesh, body and soul, benefit from “responsive hearing” of that good news, whatever nation we may come from.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Romans 1:1-7.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you preaching Romans 1:1-7.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
