Monday
November 29 Peace Romans 14:17-19
For
the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in
the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has
human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual
upbuilding.
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Food and shelter are two necessities
of life. Paul isn’t denying that. These verses are in the context of chapter 14
where Paul talks about a concern within the Christian community at Rome about
if it was wrong to eat meat from animals sacrificed to idols. There were a lot
of pagan temples in Rome where animal sacrifice took place, and apparently a
lot of that meat made its way to the market place. Paul says in the 3rd verse,
“Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must
not pass judgment on those who eat.” Continuing in verse 6, “Also, those who
eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who
abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.”
Is your head spinning yet? It isn’t
about being right or wrong. It’s about honoring God. It’s a different way of
thinking about things where we walk with and support each other in our
struggles. We pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding, and I’ll add,
understanding. How’s the song go, “Before you abuse, criticize and accuse, walk
a mile in my shoes.”
So if peace and joy are signs of the
Kingdom of God, how do we participate in that? How do we bring peace and joy to
our communities? As I wrestled with this question, it occurred to me that one thing
that always helps to bring people together is singing. So I tried to think of a
song that would express the joy of being part of God’s kingdom here on earth.
What I came up with is the finale to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. But instead of
telling you what it is, I want you to look it up and listen to it. And instead
of ending with a prayer, I want you to sing along with the choir. You can find
it at the following link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMY3ivdNzwE
You may have to type this into your browser.
Enjoy!
Deacon
Charlie Germain
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