So it has been a couple days since I have had time to return to my study. The last reflection was a bit of a daunting process, and perhaps I haven't sat down to write another because I didn't have a few hours to write. I think that perhaps I need to allow myself to spend varying amounts of time on these. When I have enough time I will write a lot, and when I don't, I will write what I have time for. We shall see; this is all a new and growing experience for me.
ROMANS 3:9-20
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written:
“ There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”[a]
13 “ Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;[b]
“ The poison of asps is under their lips”;[c]
14 “ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”[d]
15 “ Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”[e]
18 “ There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[f]
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
REFLECTION:
What are my initial thoughts about the reading?
My initial reaction to this reading is a two sided emotion. Initially I am in agreement with the idea that we are all in the same boat, that we are all sinners. I don't like the idea that the Jews have a privilege over the Gentiles except in being the first the Gospel was revealed to. I don't like to think of God as picking favourites. However, on the other hand, I feel I have to exchange the word Christian for the word jew in this text, and then the reading is quite confronting. Although I do openly acknowledge that I am a sinner, I am struggling with the idea that my faith, my knowledge of the laws and nature of God does me no benefit. Its something I haven't struggled with before, but I find myself struggling with now. I've said it before, but Ill say it again: I LOVE it that God is the God of ALL, but I am feeling the strength of my selfish, childish nature in wanting to be set apart, different, and special.
I also both accept and reject the idea that all the quotes that make up the majority of this reading imply. I realize/know that there is no one righteous, but I want to believe there are people that are searching and longing for God; people that fear God and want to do His will. I fully know what saying"People aren't really that bad" sounds like, and I fully "understand" that to God our righteousness is pitiful, but I don't experience that. I see the beauty in the people around me trying to be all they can be.
...and in the same breathe, I can say in all honesty, that I see so clearly how broken we are. I get it. Everything I am capable of isn't enough.
What sentence or phrase popped out at me?
Two verses popped out at me for different reasons -verses 13-14 and verse 19-20.
13 “ Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;[b]
“ The poison of asps is under their lips”;[c]
14 “ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
I love the imagery and poetry of this verse...and I also feel like it speaks to me and my bitter tongue. I feel love of the sound and taste of these words, and yet I am confronted by what it says. It leaves a difficult residue to swallow.
All of these verses are quotes from the book of Psalms; they are the complaints of David about the evil men around him. I always find it interesting to think about David. He is said to be the beloved of God, but he is such a bitter hypocrite. I think about his deceit around the whole Bathsheba incident and then listen to his complaining about the liars around him. I have no doubt that as the King and a man in a position of power, he was indeed surrounded by people that were deceitful and bitter, but it does give me pause. And then I think of myself. I consider the people I complain about: dishonest people and people unfaithful to their promises. I complain about complainers, and people who don't understand or take time to understand the plight of others.
But I am a complainer and a person with a hard and often compassionless heart. I feel like my lips are like poison sometime. I treasure my words and take pride in trying to honestly communicate what I feel, but I fall short. And sometimes I take perverse joy in saying bitingly honest and painful things to people.
AND, Second verse that popped out at me:
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
I knew getting into Romans that it was about our justification by grace and not works, but I long to confront these words in an honest unbiased manner; without preconceptions. I cannot come to this chapter however, without thinking of Bonhoeffer and all Rob has been teaching over the past year. I am confronted by the needs for faithful works but also longing to meet and interact with God's grace in a true and organic way. I am aware that in order to do this I have to come to a place of honest repentance. This, I have realized, I am bad at. Pride is one of my biggest challenges. I am challenged by this verse to acknowledge my sin. Perhaps I need to remind myself what the law is...or read Bohoeffer again to be reminded how short I fall.
I love the line -that every mouth may be stopped. It speaks to one of my great pet peeves -people that feel like they have everything right and criticize everything anyone else does. Do I do this? Probably.
Are there any sentences or phrases that don't sit easy with me? If so, why?
I think I have mentioned it above, but the line, "There is none who seeks after God", bothers the crap out of me. I see so many people seeking God. Yes, I see people giving up on God and living for themselves, but I also see so many hurting people who so desperately want to find God. This line reminds me so very much of people (guys in particular) who say that the good guy never wins, because they feel hard done by that they are alone. This verse makes me just think David is whining about how he is the only one trying to be a good guy...and yes I understand, and sometime I feel the same way.....but I don't think it's true.
What does this reading tell me about the person/people who wrote it?
Again, I find all the metaBible stuff very interesting; All the quotes from the old testament are so interesting. They are all so mixed and intertwined. Because so much of this reading are quotes from Psalms, I feel like I am getting to know David as well as Paul. It is very interesting. It is obvious that Paul has a great knowledge of the Tanakh, and it makes so much sense that in a letter to predominantly converted Jews he is drawing wisdom from their books of wisdom. He lists example after example of texts which emphasis his point so that it isn't weird at all that they are not direct quotes or that they are quoted out of context.
What does this reading tell me about who God is?Do I agree with it?
As I have discussed above, these verses speak to me about a God who is righteous beyond my imagination. What I consider goodness and righteousness is nothing to him. I have a hard time imagining that(duh). Sometimes it is hard to see the goodness of God in this world.
Does this reading urge me to do things differently? To think of things differently?
These verses urge me to be less judgemental. It is my least favourite fault in others, and I shouldn't tolerate it within myself. I need to seek it out in myself and destroy it.
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Okay, so that post took days to complete. Not a bad way to go about it though. I am rather enjoying this :)
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