Reading for Tuesday, 5th Week of Lent

Romans 10:1-13

In today’s reading for Romans, we see a continuation of the theme we ended with yesterday: control. Paul chides his Jewish brothers and sisters for vainly trying to “establish” their own system of justice, of being right with God. Then, he quotes the final words of Moses to the people of Israel:

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). According to Paul, Jesus Christ is that “commandment” that is as close to us as our own heart. But if that is the case, then is there no visible code that everyone can agree upon? If each of us must look to our heart, can not our hearts deceive us? Don’t we need something else a little more concrete?

In the centuries since, Christians have responded to these fears with attempts to make the commandment of the heart visible. On my shelf is a book called, “Creeds of the Church.” In it are 700 plus pages of creeds and confessions from the time of ancient Israel to our own time. We are always debating what it means to be a Christian, refining our basic belief. Sometimes, such refining has been necessary to make clear that some ideas are not of the faith. We Episcopalians have our own statement of faith, the Nicene Creed, which is not actually our own, but has belonged to the universal (or “catholic”) Church since the 4th century. It was formulated by the bishops of the Church to refute any notion that Christ had not always been with his Father eternally.

Still, sometimes it might be a good discipline to turn to verse 9 in today’s reading, and slowly repeat to yourself, “Jesus is Lord,” until you understand what it means in your life to submit to his lordship. Then, the commandment of the Lord, which brings truth and grace, will be on your mind and in your heart. Get that “Jesus is Lord,” and everything else will fall into place.