This Week's Sermons

Sermons for the Month
The Power People
DATE: December 20, 1998
SERVICE: Advent IV
TEXT: Romans 1:1-7
"To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

Throughout the year, millions of letters pour into Washington, D.C. Some go to Congress, some go to the White House, some go to the governmental agencies best known by an alphabet soup of acronyms: NASA, HUD, DOD, NIH, HHS. These epistles complain, compliment and cry out for help, and they are directed to Washington because the city is a center of power. It is a city that has power to make things happen, for good or for ill, across this country and around the world.
How can this power be defined? It is surely more than a set of duties and responsibilities described by the U.S. Constitution. As much as anything, it is seen in the "power people" within the beltway that fill the federal buildings and law firms of the nation's capital, "power people" who push legislation and pull strings to make things happen, "power people" who trade opinions and favors and access to people even more powerful than themselves.
When the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he addressed it to the center of power in the ancient world. Rome was the city that had power to make things happen, for good or for ill, across the Italian peninsula and around the known world. But when he sent his epistle "To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints," he wasn't sending it to the "power people" who pushed legislation and pulled strings to make things happen. Instead, he was mailing it to their slaves: the Christian slaves of Rome who were the highly educated servants of the government and wealthy patrician class.
In other words, the letter from which our reading for this morning comes didn't go to a Senator, Congressman, or President. It went to his assistant. But maybe it should have gone right to the top, because Paul is very good at speaking the truth to power.
And what does Paul tell the Rome's servants, clerical workers, the people that enabled the government to run, people that would be called today "all God's beloved in Washington"?
1. It's okay to be a servant. Paul begins his letter by identifying himself as a "servant" or "slave" (doulous) of Jesus Christ. He sees no shame in being a slave, and certainly does not think that the Christian slaves in Rome should feel ashamed of their position in society. If pushed, Paul would probably acknowledge that everyone is a slave of someone or something, a slave of good or evil. The important thing is to get clear about the person or power you are serving. Aging rocker Bob Dylan, as popular today as he was two generations ago, includes this insight in his song "Gotta Serve Somebody" (1979). He sings:
"You may be an ambassador to England or France, You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls, But you're gonna have to serve somebody. Yes, indeed, You're gonna have to serve somebody, Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you're gonna have to serve somebody."
Every one of us serves somebody, whether we are power people in Washington or powerless persons in Honduras. The truth Paul speaks to the Washington insiders is, "you're gonna have to serve somebody." It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody. "Choose this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15).
2. Real power belongs to the Son of God. Two lawyers are having a drink after work. "The most amazing thing happened to me last night," said the first one. "I was working, and suddenly the devil was standing before me, right there in my office! He told me that in exchange for my soul, I could become a United States Senator!" "Great!" says his friend. "But what's the catch?"
It is easy to be misled by the power of the world. After all, we look at the residents of the White House and Congress and Washington law firms and cannot help but think: Those people are powerful! But the influence of earthly leaders should not blind us to the true power that creates, redeems and sustains life throughout the universe. Paul reminds us that Jesus is the real power person, "declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead" (v.4). His might and influence are everywhere, whether we acknowledge it or not. Our Savior does not ask the U.S. Government to give its approval to his resurrection from the dead. Our God does not ask Congress for a resolution declaring that Jesus is his Son with power according to the spirit of holiness. Christ is already the Redeemer of all creation, whether the leaders of the world agree or not.
The challenge for us is whether we decide to plug into this power - plug in through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If we do, we will enjoy a life of wholeness and hope, a life full of the "power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith" (v.16).
3. The greatest gift is apostleship. Chantelle Thomas, a 7-year-old from the Petworth neighborhood of Northwest Washington [D.C.], was a hit at the International Women's Business Conference in Maine last month.
Now she has an invitation to Ghana from a group of female entrepreneurs there.
Chantelle sells goodies - lollipops, Now and Laters and chips - and gives half the money she earns to needy children and adults. She practices what her grandmother, Juleta Contee, has taught her: "If you give somebody something, it will double all the time, and it will bless you."
There are many gifts given to Washington insiders: door-to-door limo service, skyboxes at sporting events and fabulous receptions with wise, wealthy and well-connected people. But the greatest gift and highest honor is not something we receive as a treat, according to Paul. It is, instead, the chance to give of ourselves as apostles: to be sent out to spread the good news of what God has done in Christ.
Although this sounds like an assignment, it is really a gift. Paul makes clear to the Romans that his apostleship is a gracious gift (charis), designed to bring about faith among the Gentiles, "including yourselves," the people of Rome, "who are called to belong to Jesus Christ" (v.6). He sees his call to be an apostle as a joy, not a burden; as a privilege, not a duty. He has been given the greatest of gifts: the chance to deliver good news to all God's beloved in Rome ... and in Washington.
Don't ever doubt that the chance to deliver good news is a very high honor. The public today is growing more and more skeptical about the press's trustworthiness, and people are desperate for news they can believe and use. After last summer's media fiascoes involving the discovery of lies in magazines, newspapers and television, Newsweek took a poll which asked: How much of what you see, hear or read in the news media do you think you can believe? The results:
Only 46 percent said "almost all of it" or "most of it." A full 42 percent said "only some," while 11 percent said "very little" (Newsweek poll, July 20, 1998). The majority of Americans are finding the news being delivered to them to be less than completely truthful.
Can the same be said about the good news being delivered by today's apostles? Our goal should be to be so truthful, so captive to the word of God, that "almost all" if not all of what we say will be believed. To often we let personal opinion, biases and prejudices cloud our hearing of Bible truths. The challenge for each of us is to see our apostleship as the greatest of gifts. To accept, with joy, the opportunity to deliver good news to all God's beloved. To speak truth to the powerful and the powerless, through word and through deed. This can be done any number of ways:
- Tell a friend about your faith, instead of keeping it a secret. In society today, we talk openly about problems with our jobs, our children and now even the sex lives of the rich and famous, but we are reluctant to speak about the faith that sustains us and helps us to cope. Why not say a word about your experience of the power of Christ for wholeness and salvation?
- Look for opportunities to serve, rather than to be served. If you are going to spend a week of vacation in Mexico, why not do it helping build a medical clinic?
- Speak out about the greater good. Why not write your senator about human rights in Gaza, or vaccinations for poor children, or issues that offend your sense of morality and fair play? The challenge for Christians is to see beyond self-interest, and work for the welfare of all the beloved children of God.
Perhaps we could each take a cue from the apostle Paul and begin our letter to the most powerful city in the world:
"To all God's beloved in Washington, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." The truth is that you do not have to be a power person to have an impact - it is okay to be a slave, as long as you serve Jesus Christ. You may have power in your agency or law firm, but remember - real power belongs to the Son of God. And while you may enjoy the earthly treats that go along with life in Washington, don't forget - the greatest gift is apostleship, the chance to spread the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ.
Such an epistle may provide the guidance needed by our leaders in the nation's capital, and by ourselves.
In the end, affiliations with particular political parties and congressional staffs and legal megafirms don't really count for very much. All that matters, for any of us, is that we belong to Jesus Christ.

AMEN