Shade Tree Wisdom 4/20/10

The last thing St. Matthew writes is this command: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen(Matt.28,18-20.)

And their final time together after 40- days St. Luke reports: And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight (Acts 1, 7.8.)

What an assignment. The story is written in the book of Acts especially. How they did what they had been told, how the Church grew, how the Word of the Gospel and the Resurrection spreads. St. Paul describes the work when he writes, “Our Gospel came o you not only in word, but in power, and in the holy Spirit with full conviction” (1 Thess.1,5). The word he uses refers to a cup so full that it overflows. So they were so full of the news that Jesus is Alive it simply spilled over. They had to share, they had a message. They did not say, “Going to Church is a nice thing to do.” Instead, their way was to share their great news. They were excited, they were changed, and they were blessed.

But when the letter of St. Paul to the Romans first arrived, only such people read it who were of no real consequence. They were not the ones in power, and the man who wrote it had no connections to speak of. Yet the letter has had more affect than any of the philosophy and literature Rome was noted for. And it addresses the problem, and adds a solution. “Here is what is wrong, and this is what was done to correct that wrong.”

For after Christian greetings, Paul lays out the real thing wrong with them, with all people, for that matter. For people can know God, yet they “glorified him not as God, or were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened,v.21. Then the first chapter ends with a listing of their sins.

It’s interesting that he mentions homosexuality among the first sins. The Romans probably reacted this way, “We don’t do that. That’s one of the things that brought the Greeks down”.

But Paul mentions other sins, sins that happen all the time, and in our day as well. This section of the Book of Romans is probably the clearest description of our world today, and the cause of the trouble, and the rest of the letter of Romans gives the solution. It is always repentance, and asking for forgiveness from God, who in His grace grants that forgiveness. St. Paul writes this calming passage to the shaken sinner. “But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom.5,8.

That’s the news the early Christians shared, and that is the same news we can and do have to share with our world. Hopeless? Remember what Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” So, may God bless our overflow of the good News.

GPD 4/20/10