Throughout the year, millions of letters pour into Washington, D.C. Some go to Congress, some go to the White House, some go to the governmental agencies best known by an alphabet soup of acronyms: NASA, HUD, DOD, NIH, HHS, DHS. These epistles complain, compliment and cry out for help, and they are directed to Washington because the city is a center of power. It is a city that has power to make things happen, for good or for ill, across this country and around the world.
How can this power be defined? It is surely more than a set of duties and responsibilities described by the U.S. Constitution. As much as anything, it is seen in the "power people" within the beltway that fill the federal buildings and law firms of the nation's capital, "power people" who push legislation and pull strings to make things happen, "power people" who trade opinions and favors and access to people even more powerful than themselves.
When you think of powerful people in Washington I imagine these are some of the names that come to mind, President Obama, V.P. Biden, Congresswoman Pelosi, Senators Reed, Frank, Grassley and Harkin, Chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, just to name a few. These are some of the people who hold positions of power, have the ability and the power to make decisions. But behind them are many more people that hold perhaps even greater power, these are the people who have the ears of the people in power. Their advisors, confidants, some we may know some of them such as Valerie Jarrett while others we may not have a clue as to who they are. But these people have the ear of the people in power and so they themselves weld a great deal of power. These are the movers and shakers of the world and one might well argue that all roads lead to Washing D.C. today.
When the Pastor Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he addressed it to the center of power in the ancient world. Rome was the city that had power to make things happen, for good or for ill, across the Italian peninsula and around the known world. But when he sent his epistle "To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints," he wasn't sending it to the "power people" who pushed legislation and pulled strings to make things happen. Instead, he was mailing it to their slaves: the Christian slaves of Rome who were highly educated and serving the government and wealthy patrician class.
In other words, the letter didn't go to Rahm Emanuel or Valerie Jarrett. It went to their assistants. But maybe it should have gone right to the top, because Paul is very good at speaking the truth to power. In fact if Paul where writing the letter today he may very well have addressed it “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:”
What does Paul tell the Romans that should also be told today "to all God's beloved in Washington"? But let us also remember that what Paul tells to those in power is also good for us peons to here also.
The first thing that Paul tells us is that it is okay to be a servant. Paul begins his letter by identifying himself as a “servant” or “slave” in the Greek it is the word “doulous” which means a slave either voluntarily or involuntarily but always being in a position of subjection or subservience. Paul sees no shame in this position as he gladly identifies himself as a slave in the beginning of his letter and so he doesn’t think the Christian slaves in Rome should be ashamed of their position either. I would even go on to say that if asked Paul would say that everyone is a slave or servant of something, a slave of good or evil, you need to be clear about what or who you are serving. As Bob Dylan said says in his 1979 hit “Gotta Serve Somebody”;
"You may be an ambassador to England or France, You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls, But you're gonna have to serve somebody. Yes, indeed, you’re gonna have to serve somebody, Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you're gonna have to serve somebody."
Every one of us has to serve somebody, whether we are power people in Washington or powerless persons in North Eastern Iowa. The truth Paul speaks to the Washington insiders is, "you're gonna have to serve somebody." It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody. As Joshua told the Israelite community "Choose this day whom you will serve", we have to make that choice too.
The second thing Paul tells them is that real power belongs to the Son of God. It is easy to be misled by the power of the world. After all, we look at the residents of the White House and Congress and Washington law firms and cannot help but think: Those people are powerful! The decisions they make and the laws they pass affect us in very real and tangible ways. When they speak people listen, they command the largest corporations to appear before them and give account of their actions. But the influence of earthly leaders should not blind us to the true power that creates, redeems and sustains life throughout the universe. Paul reminds us that Jesus is the real power person, in verse 4 he writes that Jesus is "declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead" (v.4). Let’s see congress try to outlaw death, or pass a law requiring us to be resurrected. And lets be honest the power brokers in Washington derive their power from us, if we suddenly choose to quit obeying them then they become powerless. Jesus on the other hand His power comes from God and His might and influence are everywhere, whether we acknowledge it or not.
Author Nancy Mairs makes this point in a conversation with her daughter: "I'm just not a believer," my daughter once said to me in the mildly defensive tone one uses to deliver unwelcome news. "Don't worry about it," I told her. "God believes in you." I wasn't being cute. I really do hold that being believed in is a matter of supreme indifference to the Holy. I take Jesus Christ not as my personal Savior but as the Redeemer of all creation, who bears into the world news that is no less good for being ignored (Nancy Mairs, The Christian Century, April 1, 1998, quoted in Context, July 1, 1998).
Now one might argue with Ms. Mairs on her point that God does not care about being "believed in," yet I believe we can still agree completely with her statement that Christ is the Redeemer of all creation, and that this news is good whether it is accepted or not. Our Lord does not depend on us to give his gospel power. Our belief or disbelief does not diminish the power of the gospel to save. Our Savior does not ask the U.S. Government to give its approval to his resurrection from the dead. Our God does not ask Congress for a resolution declaring that Jesus is his Son with power according to the spirit of holiness. Christ is already the Redeemer of all creation, whether the leaders of the world agree or not it makes no difference. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Until that day the challenge for us is to plug into this power - plug in through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If we do, we will enjoy a life of wholeness and hope, a life full of the "power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith" (v.16).
The third thing is that the greatest gift is apostleship or the opportunity to spread the good news. There are many gifts given to Washington insiders: door-to-door limo service, skyboxes at sporting events, trips to exotic and far off places and fabulous receptions with wise, wealthy and well-connected people. But the greatest gift and highest honor is not something we receive as a treat, according to Paul. It is, instead, the chance to give of ourselves as apostles: to be sent out to spread the good news of what God has done in Christ.
Although this sounds like an assignment, it is really a gift. Paul makes clear to the Romans that his apostleship is a gracious gift (charis), designed to bring about faith among the Gentiles, "including yourselves," the people of Rome, "who are called to belong to Jesus Christ" (v.6). He sees his call to be an apostle as a joy, not a burden; as a privilege, not a duty. He has been given the greatest of gifts: the chance to deliver good news to all God's beloved in Rome ... and in Washington.
Last week I preached about good news and how we rarely hear good news and what a joy it is to here it. Well how many of you like to deliver bad news? No one wants to be the one who has to fire someone. I a number of years ago I had to tell two very young children their dad was dead. No one wants to deliver bad news. But delivering good news well who doesn’t want to give good news in fact giving good news is not only a joy but also a very high honor. But as well as giving good news the news must also be belivable, and be delivered by trustworthy people.
The public today is growing more and more skeptical about the press's trustworthiness, and people are desperate for news they can believe and use. Newsweek took a poll which asked: How much of what you see, hear or read in the news media do you think you can believe? The results: Only 46 percent said "almost all of it" or "most of it." A full 42 percent said "only some," while 11 percent said "very little" (Newsweek poll, July 20, 1998). What you might find amazing is that poll was conducted 12 years ago in 1998. It seems even then the majority of Americans are finding the news being delivered to them to be less than completely truthful.
Can the same be said about the good news being delivered by today's apostles? Our goal should be to be so truthful that "almost all" of what we say will be believed. The challenge for each of us is to see our apostleship as the greatest of gifts. To accept, with joy, the opportunity to deliver good news to all God's beloved. To speak truth to the powerful and the powerless, through word and through deed. This can be done any number of ways:
- Tell a friend about your faith, instead of keeping it a secret. In society today, we talk openly about problems with our jobs, children and even our sex lives, but we are reluctant to speak about the faith that sustains us and helps us to cope. Why not say a word about your experience of the power of Christ for wholeness and salvation?
- Look for opportunities to serve, rather than to be served. If you are going to spend a week of vacation in Mexico, why not build a medical clinic on the border instead of working on that tan at the beach?
- Speak out about the greater good, instead of only those things that are good for you. Why not write your senator about human rights in China, or vaccinations for poor children, or issues that offend your sense of morality and fair play? The challenge for Christians is to see beyond self-interest, and work for the welfare of all the beloved children of God.
Let us join the apostle Paul in sending a letter to the most powerful city in the world. Such an epistle can provide guidance to our leaders in the nation's capital, and to ourselves:
It might begin something like this; "To all God's beloved in Washington, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." The truth is that you do not have to be a power person to have an impact - it is okay to be a slave, as long as you serve Jesus Christ. You may have power in your agency or law firm, but remember - real power belongs to the Son of God. And while you may enjoy the earthly treats that go along with life in Washington, don't forget - the greatest gift is apostleship, the chance to spread the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ.
In the end, affiliations with particular political parties and congressional staffs and K Street megafirms don't really count very much. All that matters, for any of us, is that we belong to Jesus Christ who has the real power.
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