A healthy dose of envy
by Kathy Matuschka
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Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world (Romans 10:18b).
Read Romans 10:14–21
Romans 10:18 (above) is a quotation from Psalm 19:4. While the psalmist was referring to the way the heavens bear witness to God’s greatness, Paul uses it to refer to the voices of the gospel preachers that have gone out into all the earth.
Previously, Paul lamented the way the Israelites rejected Jesus, but now he celebrates those who have heard and believed. Now the reading gets juicy: Paul hopes that the Jewish people might be stirred with envy about the blessings in Christ these new believers are receiving!
What about those of us who have traditionally carried the Christian faith, perhaps over many generations? The gospel message has truly gone to the ends of the world. It is now common for us to encounter Christians from non-western nations worshipping our Saviour Jesus Christ alongside us.
Having been born to missionary parents in Papua New Guinea (PNG), I love to hear Christians (often Lutherans) from PNG preach the gospel to me when I meet them through my hospital work! I am also humbled when people who have so much less materially than I am accustomed to having share their conviction that God will provide for their every need. I am inspired by the stories of LCANZ members continuing to teach and serve wherever they know faith is ready to be fanned into a flame, whether in Australia, New Zealand or beyond our shores. By God’s Spirit, the gospel has gone out and continues to go out to the ends of the earth.
Do you sometimes envy the faith of those whom the gospel has reached in more recent times? Or perhaps you are a newer believer, and you wonder why Christians who grow up in the west do not treasure Jesus more and why their faith is not more vibrant? Today’s reading tells us that the bearers of the good news have beautiful feet (verse 15b). That sounds like a good remedy for envy!
Loving God, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! By your Holy Spirit, please fill me with envious hunger for a deeper understanding of you and your ways. Please give me the grace to listen to and learn from those you call to speak. May my feet carry your good news to the places you call me to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Kathy Matuschka works as a hospital chaplain and worships at Our Saviour Lutheran Church Rochedale in Brisbane. As parents of three adult children, Kathy and her husband Mark have been taking great delight lately in learning how to be grandparents.
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