Working On It

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

A young woman who was active in my campus ministry group some years ago, had a delightful way of dealing with adversity. After describing some setback, disappointment, or loss, she would say “In a way, I’m glad it happened.” Then she would proceed to tell me why: some lesson learned. Some surprise benefit found. Some alternative route discovered. Megan would find the silver lining in every cloud that came her way.

I think about Megan a lot when I think about what we do with problems that we don’t know what to do with. There are some big ones out there. We have white supremacists running around with torches and guns and vehicular weapons. We have a loose wingnut in North Korea threatening nuclear war. Is there any silver lining to be found?

No one can find the silver lining for another – it is up to each one of us to determine if there is any upside or purpose to the difficulties we face. Some trials do have hidden joys; others are simply to be endured with perseverance and hope.

I don’t think Paul’s grappling with the question of the Jews is a simple matter of finding the upside. For Paul, there was no upside, really. His agony is written all over the pages of these chapters of Romans. He cannot believe that there is any way to salvation outside of Jesus Christ, but neither can he believe that God would abandon God’s people and the promises made to them.

Yet he has a strong belief that God works through all the stuff of this world and these broken people. While Dr. King said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” Paul said, “All things work together for good for those who love God.” God works through it all and God is good.

So, Paul hypothesizes, perhaps it was necessary for the Jews to reject Jesus so the gospel could be taken to the Gentiles. This is a temporary thing, Paul believes. In time, God will bring all people – all of creation – into the fold.

It is a comforting notion, that God is working through it. No matter how abandoned we might feel, God is working through it. No matter how topsy-turvy things might seem, God is working through it – I don’t know how, but God is working through it.

But let’s not miss one essential piece. God might be working through it by working through us. Paul is not giving his readers license to shrug off a problem because God is in control. On the contrary, this is a command to be a part of what God is doing. Our trust in God is lived in the confidence that we might work alongside God, knowing that God will guide us in the right way.

God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable. God’s promises are true. God will not let us down.

photo: By Eric Kilby from USA - Silver LiningUploaded by Partyzan_XXI, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8311839