For your summer reflection on Saint Paul…
the letter to the
RomansIntroduction by Nicholas King, for Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
The letter to the Romans is remarkable in a number of ways. In the first place, it is Paul’s longest (which is the only reason why it is printed first of the Pauline Letters in your New Testament). Secondly, there is a case to be made for regarding it as the most influential document in the whole Bible. Thirdly, it is very unusual in that it was written to a congregation that Paul did not know, but hoped to visit. And, fourthly, Paul is (unusually for him) doing his level best to be diplomatic; you can almost hear him treading on eggshells.
Why did he write it, then? He himself gives three reasons: first, he wants to come and see the Christians in Rome (1:11-15 – and see how careful he is in these verses not to imply that they might not have the full gospel). Second, he wants them to finance a missionary journey to Spain (15:24, 28). Thirdly, he wants their prayers, and perhaps an intervention on their part, to protect him from people in Jerusalem (15:31). These seem to have been of two kinds: Jews who were not Christians, who were offended by his proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah, and, secondly, Jewish Christians who were offended by what seemed to them his cavalier attitude towards the Jewish Law. Paul was a prickly character, not always guarded in what he says; and in the Letter to the Galatians, which is by some way the angriest of his extant epistles, he said some really quite regrettable things. This seems to have offended some Jerusalem Christians, to a point where Paul feared that they would not accept the collection that he had made for them among the wealthier churches of Greece and Asia Minor; and for Paul the collection was a very important sign of the unity of Christians.
So in the Letter to the Romans Paul rehearses the argument of Galatians, but without the intemperate language. Boil it down to its essentials, and the Letter to the Romans is a love-story, rehearsing the "power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek". It is the story of God’s love for humanity in Jesus Christ. So we don’t have to deserve the love of God; we cannot possibly deserve it, merely respond in "faith" or "trust" or "commitment" (the word can be translated in a number of different ways). To make his argument, Paul starts by making the point that our world (whoever we are) is in a mess, and requires God’s intervention; and then he makes them think (in chapter 4) about the person of Abraham as a prime example of the recipient of God’s unconditional love; he was not loved because he was circumcised, for he had received God’s loving promise before he was circumcised. The argument hereabouts is rather difficult, and will make your head spin; but try seeing it as a love-story and it gets easier. Then in chapters 5-8 Paul continues his account of God’s love by giving us who are not Jews grounds for confidence. This leaves unresolved the question of what happens Paul’s fellow-Jews; has God changed his mind about them? And so in chapters 9-11 Paul offers some very dense argument to show that they too are part of God’s loving plan. The rest of the chapters in various ways apply this love-story to the situation in Rome (a situation, we gather, of some tension between Christians of Jewish origin and those of non-Jewish origin), explaining how they are to treat each other (with love), what they are to do about paying taxes to the Roman authorities (pay them), what to do when different sections of the church hold differing views about dietary laws (look out for the interests and concerns of the other). Then, towards the end of chapter 15, Paul speaks of his plans; and then comes chapter 16. Have a good look at this, if for no better reason than that it is never read out in church, and see how careful he is to emphasize that there are people in Rome who can vouch for him, and likewise people in Corinth (where he is dictating the letter) who are known to the Roman Christians, and who can speak on his behalf. But all the time remember: we are talking here of a love-story, which is Paul’s love for Jesus (whose "slave" Paul proudly pronounces himself in the very first line of the letter), Jesus’ love for his body, the Church, and God’s love for a largely hostile world. That is the clue to reading this epistle.
›
the letter to the
Romans in the Sunday LectionaryThe letter is proclaimed over Sundays 9–24 in Year A. It is heard in Advent, Lent and at the Easter Vigil.
read and reflect on the letter to the
Romans
1. Read Romans, Chapter
10. In your walk with God, has the
need to have faith been a stumbling block or
a stepping stone
for you in bringing the Good News to a particular family member or friend?
2. Read Romans Chapter
8, 18 – 27. What is the difference between hope and wishful thinking?
How has your hope in
Christ
aided you this week?
3. Read Romans Chapter 12. Of the commands listed in verses 9-21, which two are easiest to keep? Which two are the most difficult? Why?
God of infinite wisdom,
you chose the apostle Paul
to proclaim your Son to every nation.
We pray that these your
servants, who look forward to baptism,
may follow in the footsteps
of Paul and trust not in flesh
and blood but in the call
of your grace.
Probe their hearts and
purify them, so that, freed from all deception,
they may never look back
but strive always toward what is to come.
May they count everything
as loss compared
with unsurpassed worth of
knowing your Son,
and so gain him as their
eternal reward,
for he is Lord for ever and ever.
Amen.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
For additional information Secretariat for Evangelization,
Archdiocese of Philadelphia 215-587-0500, www.archphila.org/evangelization
Used with permission.
Introduction written by Nicholas King.
Leaflet prepared by the Liturgy Office, 39 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1PL © 2007
Catholic Bishops’
Conference of England and Wales. Image
of St. Paul used with permission: www.thespiritsource.com.