Title: Greet Romans 16:1-16 27
Contents
No. 27 'Greetings'
When I visited the city of Philadelphia, the most impressive thing was neither the Liberty Bell nor the old wagon marches. It was a copper-clad Braille ticket attached to the side of a park. When I saw the description of the park in English above and in Braille below it, I felt very envious. “Ah, this is what it means to be a developed country and human rights”
However, an incident that made me recall the envy of those 5-6 years had already occurred. I went to the Spomax company for Bible study, and by chance, I discovered that there was something embossed in the stainless steel under the buttons on the outside of the elevator. At first I thought, “What is this?” I soon discovered that it was Braille. Then, with gratitude and joy, I closed my eyes and tried to recognize the Braille. I could be grateful that someone was working hard for the look of the society I had previously envied. It is exciting to be able to feel so moved every time you discover an anonymous effort for a better society in various places in your life.
Today's Word is Romans 16:1-16.
Sometimes I think like this. What does the world understand about the identity of the church? Where kind-hearted people gather? Where religious people gather? A place where weak people who want to depend on something without self-reliance gather? A place where people just vaguely hope for good fortune?
What, then, is our own understanding of the church? What the hell is the church to us?
At the end of a letter to the members of the house church in Rome, whom he himself had never met, despite the tiredness of returning to Jerusalem after receiving relief money for the famine of the Jerusalem saints from the Gentile churches, We want to have an understanding of the Christian community.
At the end of his letter, Paul usually says hello to a few people he is grateful for, as we do when we write letters. This list of 27 individuals shows us what life in the early community was like.
1. You will notice that there is no restriction on which country you are from: Jews and Gentiles are mixed. Some were Greeks, some were Romans, and some were of Latin origin. The Christian community of the Roman Church could be made up of several peoples.
2. Whether male or female, Paul expresses the same love.
We never get the impression that one group is more important than another in his greetings. This does not mean that everyone has received uniform love, but it means that they can receive the greatest love.
It was ‘in Christ’ or ‘in the Lord’ that made this possible.
It was not a simple slogan for Paul that all in Christ are one, and that each of them constitutes one body. This is a profound understanding of who Christians are. The Christian community is people who belong to Christ, and the Christian community is people who want to place their lives and meaning under Christ's control.
This understanding was not unique to Paul himself. So, a sister named Phoebe, who was heading to Rome with Paul's letter, was a protector (diaconus), trying to help the poor and the weaker members of the church. They were able to help the saints in need. Material sharing was possible, not just spiritual fellowship.
Aquila and Priscilla also stayed in Ephesus after meeting Paul for the first time in Corinth and worked together with Paul for a considerable period of time (Acts 18:18, 26). wanted to bear the
Paul also often calls those who greet him as fellow ministers. And Mary is also called zealous for the saints in Rome. They were devoted to each other.
The churches in Rome that received the correspondence did not have large buildings as they are today, but rather small churches in the form of house churches. When Paul tells Aquila and Priscilla that he is grateful not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles, you can see that there is a deep fellowship with each other within the small church.
What is the driving force that makes all of this possible? The fact is that we are in Christ. To be in Christ means to live in acknowledgment of His sovereignty. True fellowship is possible when we recognize this. It was inconceivable that Paul and the church in Rome wanted to keep a certain distance from each other. Because if you truly recognize that you are in Christ, you cannot. Although we hadn't seen each other a few times, that was the reason why Sister Kim Moo-gyo came and wanted to welcome her so much. I know that you also have excitement about Sunday in your heart.
Christians are not just people who get together in the same space once a week to see each other. They are not helpless people who bow their heads because they are not confident in life.
We are part of a larger ship called the Church. The ship is heading home, carrying all the churches in the East and the West, past, present and future. We are people waiting for the new heaven and new earth in the ark, just as Noah and his family waited for the 120 days as a family on the boat together.
It was because of this understanding of the Church that it was possible to greet each other with a holy kiss. They served each other generously and rejoiced in each other. And they shared their lives. It was not a level of self-realization. This will be the way we live when we reach heaven. If we can have this understanding even though we are far apart, we are partners.
It is a pity that our parting after the worship service is sad, but it is also regrettable that we are far apart, but it is not parting. Because meeting and parting on a Sunday is not the end of our gatherings. In fact, we are together because we go out to help each other by living our lives diligently. As long as we pray for each other, we are not separated, we are scattered