"The Gifts and Calling... Are Irrevocable."

I ask for the grace of focus and presence as I pray through the sacred text.


Romans 11:25-32
25 So that you may not claim to be wiser than you are, brothers and sisters,^* I want you to understand this mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written,
‘Out of Zion will come the Deliverer;
   he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.’
²⁷ ‘And this is my covenant with them,
   when I take away their sins.’
²⁸As regards the gospel they are enemies of God^* for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; ²⁹for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now^* receive mercy. ³²For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.


1) "...wiser than you are;" "...mystery;" "...Israel will be saved;" "...as regards election they are beloved;" "...the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable;" "...by the mercy shown to you;" "...God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all;"


2) If only we could all remember the humility we are called to when we are feeling wiser than we are.  The Christian tradition has completely ignored this passage... except for the words "they are enemies of God."  Someone stopped reading, the very next words are, "for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."  If the Christian calling is to make any sense at all, the inclusion of Israel in God's mercy is absolutely necessary.  I'm not so big on "God has imprisoned all in disobedience..." but I am very aware than every last one of us fails in our holy manners.  How do we call others to justice without risking "to claim to be wiser than you are"?  Is it even possible to ask for accountability to justice?  I feel  like every time I try to call someone accountable, someone shoves a log in my eye.  Or rather, I start knocking people over with the log in my eye.  If only those who are holy and blameless can call for accountability to justice we are in a whole lot of trouble!


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To consider and seek the humble way of calling one another to just action.  This has to do with the "how" we call people into dialogue, rather than calling people out for ignorance or injustice.  Shaming teaches us nothing.  Trust in the irrevocable gifts and calling of God.


"Holy One, the way becomes very narrow between demanding just action and not claiming to be wiser than we are.  Be our guide."


Breathprayer: "The gifts and calling... are irrevocable."

"Kindness... and Severity."

I ask for the grace to let go of the resentment I hold in my heart.  I ask for the grace to lower my expectations.  I ask for guidance as a person who seeks to be self-aware amidst people, some of whom are more self-aware than me and some of whom are much less self-aware, without judgment, even though their actions and my actions impact me and my community.  I ask for the wisdom to live out of justice, kindness, and humility, even when I am not feeling just, kind, or humble.


Romans 11:21-24
²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you.^{* 22}Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity towards those who have fallen, but God’s kindness towards you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. ²³And even those of Israel,^* if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.


1) "...kindness and severity of God;" "...provided you continue in his kindness;" "...a wild olive tree;" "how much more;" "natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree;" "kindness and severity;"


2) So... I don't imagine God up in heaven judging humanity severely.  But I do know the world to be both kind and severe.  Another "terrorist" attack in New York yesterday in which some 30 people were driven down by an ISIS devotee in a truck.  And, closer to home, wading through difficult relationships.  There is so much out there in social media about walking away from people who do us no good.  But we can't walk away from the entire planet.  I can't walk away from the 45th president of the US.  How do we end up embodying both the kindness and severity of God, if we are images and likenesses of God?  Especially when none of us gets to claim anything like moral high ground.  How do we reduce harm?


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To maybe sit with the severity of God a little, without judgement, just knowing that the world is both kind and severe.


"Holy One, help me to trust both your kindness and your severity."


Breathprayer: "Kindness... and severity."

"A Wild Olive Shoot... Only through Faith."

Once again, I'm unsure for what I should be asking, which is probably indicative of needing more time in silence.  I have a task today that I feel unsure about, a relationship where there is pain and discomfort and I expect we are both avoiding conflict and trying to keep peace.  I ask for guidance and to trust what I don't know and to be open to affirming opportunities when they present themselves.  I ask for the grace to stay close to Christ as I walk a difficult path, to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly... for both of us, and the community we seek to serve.


Romans 11:17-20
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root^* of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not vaunt yourselves over the branches. If you do vaunt yourselves, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹You will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ ²⁰That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe.


1) "...a wild olive shoot;" "...the rich root of the olive tree;" "...the root... supports you;" "...you stand only through faith;" "...do not become proud, stand in awe;" "...stand in awe;"


2) Okay, this little passage delights me.  I love the image of "a wild olive shoot."  I also hear the instruction to "not become proud, but stand in awe."  I wish it were as easy as deciding to stand in awe.  I agree.  I'm am much more responsive in any situation if I am in a state of awe.  But it is so easy to be pulled out of "awe" and think I know better, or to be offended, or hurt, or to take someone else's incompetence personally, or to get frustrated.  It is too easy to "vaunt" myself "over the branches." 


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To stand in awe.  Maybe spend some time remembering what it might feel like to be a wild olive shoot grafted to a rich root.  Funny, just this morning I was observing the shoots that need to be pruned on the Japanese maples in front of the condo.


"Holy One, increase in me awe and wonder.  Keep me mindful that I am a wild olive shoot grafted to a strong root only through faith."


Breathprayer: "a wild olive shoot... only through faith."

"If the Part... then the Whole."

Hmm... I'm not even sure what to ask for.  Which means I probably need to sit in silence, more than with lections.  So may I receive whatever it is I need in this time of prayer.


Romans 11:13-16
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry ¹⁴in order to make my own people^* jealous, and thus save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead! ¹⁶If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; and if the root is holy, then the branches also are holy.


1) "I glorify my ministry;" "...life from the dead;" "...if the part.. is holy, then the whole batch is holy;" "...if the root is holy, then the branches also are holy;"


2) Paul wants the two factions within the community to stop condemning each other.  He's trying to assert one body, even if different parts of the body have different observances.  I don't think he won his argument, but I agree with him.  I think the church quickly abandoned oneness in Christ, and judged that the branches were holy, while the root was rotted.  I just don't get how an institution that claimed to hold these texts as sacred, could end up persecuting Paul's own people.  Our capacity to bend and twist words to our own discriminatory and self-interested purposes is so pervasive.  And where are we today?  So many so called Christians have horrific "observances:" the subjugation of women, the persecution of LGBTTQ* people, racism, classism.  I can't help but feel Paul would be disgusted.  It breaks my heart.  My use of "so called Christians" bespeaks my desire to did-identify.  I do not want to be part of the body they are claiming.  I'd rather be an atheist that a hateful, bigoted, racist, homophobic, misogynistic anything.  I don't need to.  That isn't at all what Paul calls us to.  But I would.


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To observe what is right, compassionate, just, and holy.


"Holy One, I don't pray for 'oneness', but for peace, justice, compassion, and empathy for all your creatures."


Breathprayer: "If the part... then the whole."

"Stumbling... Means Riches for the World."

"In this time of prayer and meditation, may I be grounded in the ground of all being."


Romans 11:7-12
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, ⁸as it is written,
‘God gave them a sluggish spirit,
   eyes that would not see
   and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.’
⁹And David says,
‘Let their table become a snare and a trap,
   a stumbling-block and a retribution for them;
¹⁰ let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
   and keep their backs for ever bent.’

The Salvation of the Gentiles

11 So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling^* salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel^* jealous. ¹²Now if their stumbling^* means riches for the world, and if their defeat means riches for Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!


1) "...sluggish spirit;" "...down to this very day;" "...By no means;"  "...through their stumbling salvation has come;" "...if their stumbling means riches... how much more will their full inclusion mean!"


2) I still giggle at the sight of the expression, "By no means!"   Clearly Paul is still working the same argument he's been working the last several chapters.... it is an argument towards "full inclusion."  I love the expression "sluggish spirit."  I feel so familiar with "sluggish spirits."  In my own self, and in the communities I've served.  I encounter a great deal of sluggishness.  "But we've always done it this way." "We did that before." "We have no idea how to do it differently."  It brings to mind, hearing people complain about there not being anywhere to eat in downtown Port Coquitlam.  Within a short walking distance there are actually about 30 dining establishments: four or five pizza, twoi Donaire, Greek, three or four sushi, Chinese, Pho, Mongolian, Thai, two or three grills, A&W, Subway, DQ, three coffee shops, a greasy spoon, to name only a few.  What people mean is, "The places we used to like to eat have all closed or moved from downtown and we don't want to try anything new."  I love living in the downtown area because there are so many different dining options!  It's a world of opportunity if I'm not sluggish about trying something different, something I might not like, but something that I might like more than ever!


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To consider my own sluggishness.


"Holy One, when we stumble and fall, may this mean riches for all your children."


Breathprayer: "Stumbling... means riches for the world."

"His People... Chosen by Grace."

May I have the grace to pray and meditate faithfully.  May I touch the firm foundation and know that I am not alone.  May my actions, thoughts, and words be just, loving, and humble.


Romans 11:1-6
11I 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. ²God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ³‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.’ ⁴But what is the divine reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ ⁵So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.^*


1) "By no means;" "...God has not rejected his people;" "...there is a remnant;" "...chosen by grace;" "...by grace;" "...otherwise grace would no longer be grace;"


2) Is Paul trying to have his cake and eat it too?  It seems like such a fine line.  "It is no longer on the basis of works,"  but "there is a remnant."  He, of course, is a member of the remnant.  How can he make such a claim without throwing humility aside?  He trusts that he is a member of the remnant?  He trusts that it doesn't matter if he is a member of the remnant or not, he is doin what he has been called to do?  That sounds more in keeping with Elijah.  Things never went well for Elijah, even though Elijah, we are told, always did as he was told.  "Rewards" mentality is troubling.  Am I doing it because it is the right thing to do, or do I do it because I expect some kind of reward or advantage?  the latter takes me into works righteousness.  How do we let go of our desire for a particular outcome, especially a particular outcome for ourselves?  Remnant theology is more than a little harsh.  I seem to recall reflecting earlier, is a "remnant" enough to be considered graceful?  Who gets on the ark?  Who gets left behind?  I don't want to be choosing.


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To trust grace to be grace.


"Holy One, by your grace."


Breathprayer: "His people... chosen by grace."

"Foolish Nation... Contrary People."

May I pray and meditate faithfully.


Romans 10:18-21
18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for
‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
   and their words to the ends of the world.’
¹⁹Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,
‘I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation;
   with a foolish nation I will make you angry.’
²⁰Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
‘I have been found by those who did not seek me;
   I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’
²¹But of Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.’


1) "...disobedient and contrary people;"


2) This is a call to humility.  If we should ever get ahead of ourselves and think we "know" God, or "God's will."  Or that we somehow have found special favour that places us above or ahead of others.  We are the "disobedient and contrary people;"  We are "jealous" and "angry." Do we not hear?  Do we not understand?  God is found by those who do not seek God; God reveals God's self to those who do not ask for God.  But, at least, all day long, God holds out hands to us.  There is plenty of opportunity to hear and understand.  I can certainly identify with being angry with a foolish nation... Is there hope that this foolish nation will find what it isn't even looking for?  That would be such a good thing.  Do I hold my hands out to disobedient and contrary people?  Can I?  God's "chosen race" is a foolish nation, a disobedient and contrary people.  There's room for everything...


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To hear and understand, even the foolish can find what they aren't seeking; to hear and understand: God holds out hands to even the disobedient and contrary people.


"Holy One, hold out your hand and gather me in, even when I am not seeking you, not asking for you."


Breathprayer: "Foolish nation... contrary people."