Saints in Messes – Romans 1:1-7

A text – Romans 1:1-7

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

A reflection:

Have you ever thought about being called to be a saint?

I have thought about a calling as a teacher or as a writer. But I’ve not given much thought to a calling as a saint. It just sounds too holy for me. What do I mean? It sounds too Mother Theresa. Or Joan of Arc. Or even St Paul. What do I mean? It sounds too pure, too totally focused on God and doing holy things.

Well, let’s think for a moment about our saints in this week’s gospel text, Joseph and Mary, and their calling to be the parents of Jesus. Was that all about pure and holy things? That was probably more about family scandal, changing diapers, and agonizing as all parents do about what kind of parents they were being. Joseph and Mary were called to be saints, doing the messy work, called to belong to the very child they were raising, as Jesus would rule the whole cosmos.

Paul was called as an apostle “to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his name” (verse 5). There was much non-holy, messy stuff in being an apostle, too – voyages that had to be paid for, ships at sea, sometimes wrecked, differences of opinion and church conflicts on all manner of issues, partners in ministry who went their separate ways, imprisonment…

God’s beloved everywhere are called to the work of living their faith in the world, messy stuff almost always. When you and I are in the midst of a mess, of our own making or the world’s making, we just need to ask ourselves what we are called to do to live out our faith at that moment. And then do it. That is not usually easy. All the more reason for Paul to extend the familiar blessing in verse 7: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” We need that grace and peace if we are called to be saints in messes.

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for entrusting us with a calling to be saints. Help us to remember, especially amid messes, that your grace and peace are with us always, and that we can live out our faith every day in the smallest of ways that we move through the days that you give us. Amen.