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Dear Church Family,
In my humble opinion, the most popular Bible verse found on t-shirts for youth group retreats and mission trips over the last 20 years has been from Paul’s letter to the Romans, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (12:2) This is an awesome verse - and really taps into the energy and zeal of young faith. I can remember this verse capturing my attention as a High Schooler, inviting me to consider what worldly distractions are fighting with my focus on God’s will. It’s an admirable endeavor, but can also be a slippery slope into fearful separation from the world outside. We can become blindly set against what is deemed a ‘wordly’ pattern because fellow Christians tell us to be, rather than discerning God’s good, pleasing and perfect will at work in the places we fear to tread.
This passage comes up this month in the lectionary, as the continuing journey through Paul’s epistle to the Roman churches, and I was thinking about the fuller context of Paul’s letter being one about finding a way for believers of differing traditions to find harmony in the reality of Christ. Paul frames the verse above first with humility and self-sacrificial invitation - that our worship involves our investigation of God’s mercy, and then paying it forward. Wrapped on the other end of the verse is the language of the many members of the body of Christ - how we need one another to function, and how we belong to one another.
As a High Schooler the verse felt very personal, about who I am and how I might become better. But as I’ve grown, as I explore the greater context of Paul’s letter and intentions, I see how much it is about the community around me - that we work alongside one another AMIDST our disagreements, in a way that exhibits God’s mercy and grace, loving compassion, humility and hope. We don’t shy away from conflict, but are invited to see the image of God in one another, recognize that we belong to one another, and must find a way forward together for the sake of the body of Christ.
There is so much in our world that is aching for God’s transformation, and often it feels like the communities around us are more interested in fighting to be right than truly discerning the good and perfect will of God - those wearing the Christian label are not doing any better (and often do it worse) than the general public. To discern takes sacrifice, it means taking a hard look at where pride is getting in the way, it takes patience and courage to be curious with those we have deemed ‘enemy’ or ‘them’.
Pulling another thread from my 90’s playbook, WWJD - What Would Jesus Do? This phrase was trendy back then, but honestly now captures the spiritual curiosity of younger generations, and they are not content with labeled Christianity that doesn’t actively care for or engage with the poor, the marginalized, the immigrant, and all the others Christ invited to his table. How is the gospel - the good news - being lived out to the world we inhabit? A recent study shows that Trump’s ‘Christian’ politicking has kept large swaths of Gen Z from exploring Christianity altogether - it seems to me that the patterns of this world are more interested in power, not Jesus’ actual practices of mercy, love, and grace, and younger generations are hungry for Jesus’ actual good news.
May you accompany Paul in his letter to the Romans - seeking God’s good and perfect will in what it means to participate in the body of Christ in the world that is right in front of you. Navigating what it means to be a living sacrifice guided by God’s mercy, humble and hopeful in the power of the Spirit’s transformational work - not just for each of us personally, but also for the communities we inhabit hungry for change.
Blessings,
Pastor Becca
