Proclaiming Good News and Making Confession of Faith --A Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 10A (Romans 10)


Pulpit at Cane Ridge, Kentucky

Romans 10:5-15 New Revised Standard Version

Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? 
“The word is near you,

    on your lips and in your heart” 
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 
14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15 And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

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                It’s done differently in different faith communities, but if we’re part of a faith community at some point in our lives we’ll be asked to confess our faith. It might be during baptism or confirmation. It might take place weekly in worship as communities recite one of the creeds. Even in non-creedal churches, like mine, we still find ways of confessing our faith in God. It could be in our hymns, our prayers, or in our sharing at the table.  

In the reading from Romans 10, which is designated for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 14A), reference is made to both the confession of faith and its proclamation. Both of these actions require, words spoken either in a confession of faith or in the proclamation of that faith. The reading opens with a reference to Moses, righteousness, and the Law. Paul is in the midst of a lengthy section of his letter dealing with the Law, which he contrasts with faith. He’s concerned about the fact the majority of his fellow Jews haven’t had a “come to Jesus” moment. He suggests that they have embraced righteousness that comes through the Law, but he wants them to embrace righteousness that comes through faith.

Paul is focused on a righteousness that comes through faith. That concern leads to this word about confession. He takes up a quotation from Deuteronomy 30:14, as the springboard for what follows: “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.” With that reference in mind, I want to move to references here to confession and proclamation. Again, whatever we say here has to stay clear of supersessionism. Paul has concerns about his own people, but we shouldn’t take up that part of Paul’s concerns. For Paul, the righteousness that comes through faith is available to everyone.

With the reference to Deuteronomy 30 that speaks of the word that is on our lips and in our heart, which is the “word of faith that we proclaim,” we hear that if we confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead we will be saved. That is the starting point. This confession is a bit more detailed than Peter’s confession in Matthew 16, but it’s similar.

Salvation, according to Paul, requires a heart-felt confession of faith in Jesus. It begins with a public confession of faith in Jesus, whom we proclaim as Lord. Even non-creedal communities make this creedal confession. But, it’s not enough to recite words. We have to take them to heart. He’s not interested in what is called a cultural Christianity that is only skin deep.  Thus, to confess Jesus as Lord is to say that he defines who we are in relationship to God and one another. What does this mean? suggests that for Paul the focus will move from watching the boundaries to living out of the center. She writes:
The Christian faith creates an entirely new geometry. The circle of believers that was once defined by its boundaries, the law, is now defined by its center, Christ. The attention to who is in and who is out is no longer the focus. Rather the focus is on the One who calls and claims, redeems and loves. We are called to start in the center and live as though the circle is infinite—which, of course, it is.  [Martha Highsmith, “Pastoral Perspective,” Feasting on the Word, p. 328].
To live from the center doesn’t make the life of faith any easier than living with an eye to the boundaries, it simply changes the focus.

While Paul is often portrayed as a rather narrow figure, if we pay attention to his words, he is focused not on exclusion but inclusion. Notice that in Christ there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. Those boundaries have been removed so that the two can come together as one body. If we listen closely to this word, we likely will hear voices of dissension within the community. The concern here might be the integration of Jew and Gentile Christians. We know from elsewhere, including Galatians, that Paul is dealing with this challenge. So, he wants to move the focus from the externals to Jesus, whom God raised from the dead.  

In our day we continue to struggle with inclusion. Our churches remain segregated along racial/ethnic lines. We remain divided along theological lines as well. The Eucharistic Table, which should be a place of inclusion remains a place where not all Christians are yet able to gather. We’ve discovered that true unity as Christians is difficult to achieve and maintain. It will remain a challenge until we have faced the realities of our world. Until we affirm the premise that Black Lives Matter, we cannot truly say that All Lives Matter. For we who are white and inhabit predominantly white churches, the same is true of our LatinX, Asian, and LGBTQ siblings. Let us then take to heart Paul’s declaration that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”     

As we sort out these realities, seeking to live into the center, we hear a call to proclaim the news about Jesus. After all, “how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard?” (Rom 10:14). Then comes word to the church, how will they hear if no one is sent out to proclaim the good news? To top it off, Paul draws a word from Isaiah 52:7, though he edits it for his purposes, to speak of the beauty of the feet of those who proclaim the good news. This leads to a further question, what does mission look like in the twenty-first century? How do we proclaim the good news that focuses more on dialog than conversion, especially when it comes to Jewish Christian relations? Sarah Heaner Lancaster suggests that “dialogue allows Christians to bear witness to faith in Jesus Christ as we explain what we understand to be the significance of Jesus for ourselves and the world, but such witness is made without a feeling of superiority or attempts to coerce belief. Dialogue also requires listening to Jews express their own convictions and insights. It includes being willing to listen as pain and fear from centuries of persecution or personal discrimination are expressed” [Lancaster, Romans, p. 181].  In this, there is good news!  

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