RBWords

     These words come toward the end of St. Paul's long greeting at the beginning of the Letter to the Romans!   They are a warning as well!  We are about to enter a theological thicket and will be encountering a tremendous richness and variety of faith.  The Letter to the Romans is, arguably, one of the most important documents in the New Testament.  Large commentaries have been written about it for as long as it has been in existence!  There are a few scholars who believe that St. Paul is the second "founder" of the Christian religion and point to his Letter to the Romans as "Exhibit A" in its development of ideas and as Paul's "gospel."  The first scripture of the day for this week and the next couple of weeks will be taken from Romans - a sign of its significance!

     The "greeting" in this letter is a theological course in itself!  It is worth taking a few moments to read each phrase.  However, I had to pick one and the quote above caught my attention, especially the words, "among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ..."  The power of this letter can be considerable if we consider it as being addressed not only to the Christian community in Rome (before Paul went there) but to each of us personally and as a community!  We are "called to belong to Jesus Christ."  Later on in the letter, we will see how baptism literally makes us part of the crucified and risen Christ.  When I preach a parish mission, the very first service focuses attention on our baptism "into" Christ and what it means for all of us.  We "belong" to Christ.  Right now, we can see that there is much in store for us!  Just to be told that one "belongs to Jesus Christ" is enough to cause one to think:  "Who? Me?"  AMEN