Word to the Wise
Monday, October 29, 2007 - Thirtieth Monday in Ordinary Time
[Romans 8:12-17 and ]For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Although St. Paul was raised as a Jew, he was a native of a town in what is now modern day Turkey but at the time was in the Roman province of Cilicia. Roman citizenship was available to the people of the area and Paul had that status. It would give him the right to appeal to the emperor later on! In today's scripture, we learn that Paul knew his Roman law of adoption! Adoption made a person a full member of the adopting family and an equal heir with the "natural" children. (That's generally the law now.) The image is used to indicate our relationship with Jesus when we have faith and are baptized. We become co-heirs with Christ (although not divine in the same sense) and are privileged to refer to God in the intimate term of "Abba!" (Daddy). What is more, in Roman law (in contrast to Common Law tradition) one could be disinherited only for certain very specific and terrible reasons. Thus adoption created both a legal and personal bond and St. Paul uses the concept as a metaphor for the new relationship with Christ that comes with baptism. Perhaps we should also note how this "adoption" also creates a spiritual bond with all other Christians! It is not just the vague "brothers and sisters" that we hear at the beginning of a scripture reading. This is a true relationship. It could give us pause in considering our way of loving others! AMEN
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