January 26th Reflection by Bill Lynch

Romans 9:6-18 (NRSV)
God's mercy cannot be controlled
It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel, and not all of Abraham's children are his true descendants; but "It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you." This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. For this is what the promise said, "About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son." Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac. Even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose of election might continue, not by works but by his call) she was told, "The elder shall serve the younger." As it is written,

"I have loved Jacob,
but I have hated Esau."


What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses,

"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, "I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.
Reflection
With no fear, Paul opens this can of worms. If I say that I'm a child of God, how can this be, since I'm not a blood descendant (that I know of) from the Jewish race of God's Chosen People? Paul argues that God did not choose children of a race or children of a flesh, rather God chooses his children of the promise.

You see God made a promise and it happened. God's promises are all through the Bible. And God upholds all promises. Sometimes we like to think of how special we are. In God's eyes we are special. But when we see ourselves as special due to something we have done, we fall to sin. It's not about our works and our accomplishments that make us special. It's about what God has done through us and for us that makes us special.

God's promise and call comes before we even are aware of it. Perhaps this call comes before we are even born. As we live God gives us faith. We live and grow in God's care and our faith in God is developed. This faith is what distinguishes us as God's children. We could grow and choose to leave God behind. Sure we may think we left God behind, but in most cases God stays with us waiting patiently for our return. But if we grow in faith and follow God, this is the distinction of being God's child, not our race or flesh or anything we may have done ourselves to earn God's favor.

When God's promises are fulfilled, it is God who started it all. We were actors in the promise through our call. I can see the worms in this can oozing.

So, does this mean that we are just puppets for God if we are God's children? God can pick and choose as God wishes to pick and choose. Here we have no solid human answer. But we do know that God is a patient God. God loves us so much that Jesus was sent to die for our sin. To take that sin upon himself and become our sin that our sin may die on that cross. Through Jesus active love we are no longer separated from God but in relationship with God. Death was defeated at Jesus resurrection and we await Jesus' return to judge the living and the dead.

Puppets for God? I think not. I think we act out what God has given us to act out from our relationship with God. We respond to the call and in that response is a recognition of our relationship with God out of our belief that God has saved us from sin, death and the devil. God has saved us! We did not save ourselves by acting. The promise came first. The action came later. But in that action, especially the actions of Jesus, we are saved. Thanks be to God! And the can still oozes... for human understanding.

Prayer
Lord, your actions and your promises are beyond my understanding. I'll continue to probe and question and try to understand, but I'm not going to get all wrapped around the wheel about it. I love you and trust you and have seen your action to the promises you have made. I'm convinced in you. I love you and you are all I need... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen