The promise fulfilled
by Kathy Matuschka
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… it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring (Romans 9:8).
Read Romans 9:1–18
I love reading narratives (including biblical narratives) because I love to picture the people and the places of the story in my mind. In contrast, I find it difficult to connect with the Book of Romans. Described by some commentators as part letter, part treatise, it seems to be full of reasons and rationales, with many words and long sentences.
But not far beneath the surface, there is still a story – an amazing story! Saul of Tarsus had been pursuing God’s righteousness fastidiously, following the Jewish laws and rituals and protecting the faith from impurity and threats as he waited for the promised Messiah.
Suddenly and dramatically, his life and assumptions were changed when he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. Saul, persecutor of Christians, was transformed into Paul, follower of Jesus and apostle to the Gentiles.
In previous weeks, our devotion writers have been unpacking the chapters of Romans that have been termed ‘the heart of Christianity’. Now, in our readings this week, Paul grapples with what the arrival of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, means for himself and both Jews and Gentiles. A new aeon has dawned; unprecedented things are happening, and it is a lot to process!
Paul processes the implications of what has been revealed to him. He expresses both amazement that the Gentiles are included in the promise first given to Abraham and grief that, at the very moment the promise was fulfilled, so many Jews chose to reject the Messiah. It’s a plot twist, all right!
The Christian church in the western world has been the major keeper and teacher of the Christian faith for centuries. But are you noticing some plot twists today? Are you amazed at how God’s Spirit is leading people from all over the world to Christian faith in our day? Do you grieve that many western Christians no longer connect with a local congregation, and some have even rejected Jesus Christ?
Loving God, your mercy never fails to amaze and delight us, but we are a fickle lot. As a church, we are sorry for all the ways we have distorted the freedom you won for us, leading many to reject you. Please forgive us and restore us, so we can be part of the new things you are doing. In Jesus’ name, we pray, 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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