A Book of Questions

 

Romans 10:5-15

Proper 14 / Year A

Plenty of people refer to the bible as being an Answer Book, saying, “When you have a problem, just turn to the bible because it has all the answers.”  Have you ever heard anyone refer to the bible as a Question Book?  Doubtful, but it might not be as farfetched as it seems because, according to one source, it contains 2,506 questions. 

Some of those questions are minor, but others are deeply significant and timeless:

·    What does the Lord require of you?

·    From where is my help to come?

·    Who are we humans that God would even consider us?

Sometimes asking the right question is just as (if not more) important than having the correct answer.  And some questions have fixed answers, such as “How many commandments did God give to Moses?”  Others are more of a moving target, like “What should be the most important thing in my life right now?”  This is the kind of question you need to return to over and over.

In this morning’s second reading, we find Paul wrestling with a theological concern debated in the early Church: if and how salvation is extended to Jews and Gentiles.  Our passage falls in the middle of three chapters in Romans where Paul struggles with this question: If the people of Israel are the inheritors of God’s promise to Abraham, why are so many refusing to embrace Jesus as the Messiah and what will become of them?     

Chapters 9-11 contain Paul’s dizzying, complex and, at times, ponderous answer.  He writes:

·    Not all of Abraham’s descendants are the “true children”, so God’s promise never extended to them. 

·    God will have mercy on whom God will have mercy.  It is a gift we do not earn.

·    Some are destined for mercy, others to have their hearts hardened.

·    Why does God work this way?  Don’t ask, a lump of clay should not question the potter about its design.

And yet Paul goes on to offer a possible explanation:

·    “What if” God choses some for destruction so those of us who are chosen for mercy can gain a deeper appreciation of what we have?

If you are beginning to scratch your head, not because you don’t understand, but because you don’t agree, rest assured you are not alone.  He adds:

·    Gentiles receive mercy by having faith in Christ.  Israelites who attempt to earn mercy by adhering to the Law are bound to fail.

·    God extends mercy to Gentiles to make Israel envious so that some might be aroused and saved.

·    You demonstrate your faith by believing in your heart and confessing with your lips that Jesus Christ is Lord.

And finally:

·       How can those who have never heard the name of Jesus possibly call upon his name?  Well, this is why we need people who are willing to go out and proclaim the good news.

Reflecting on all of this, one commentator wrote,

I feel like I should post about the Epistles every now and then.  I don’t really like to.  A lot of times they feel like essays about particular theological points… I am not really that interested in, but, you know, they are in the bible, so…

We might add, “And some of the answers don’t sit that well either.”

Here are some of my thoughts.

Of all the questions recorded in the bible, some answers are chiseled in stone, but many are the kind you must return to again and again.  Sometimes, like with what is most important to me right now, circumstances change requiring new reflection.  Other times, new information, new perspective, new insight need to be considered and the answer needs to make sense of what was not available before. 

Paul himself is doing exactly this in today’s reading.  To the question, “Who will be saved?”, the established answer for generations had been the children of Abraham.  But then new data comes into play: Some gentiles are coming to Christ while most Israelites are not.  What we read is Paul’s initial attempt to make sense of this.  The question is, “Should Paul’s answer found in Romans 9-11 be chiseled in stone, or is it something we should revisit from time to time?”

I argue for the later.  There is much in Paul’s thinking on which to build.  God freely extends mercy, we receive it.  It is not something we earn, it is a gift offered to all out of Divine Love.  Some embrace it, others reject it, and, if we are honest, many take it for granted.  Those of us who are able to believe in our hearts and confess with our lips Jesus is Lord have found a pearl of great treasure (to use an image from a parable). 

How blessed are we, due to a variety of factors – some within our control, others beyond it – to have been raised in a setting where we have come to know Jesus as being the perfect image of God; to be able to embrace him as our Lord, our Savior, and our Guide!  Is it a blessing intended to make people of other faith traditions jealous?  No.  Are those who do not confess Jesus as Lord destined for destruction?  Well, God will have mercy on whom God will have mercy, so is it really up to me to say?

Ultimately, the concern Paul contemplates is of minor importance to me because, while Jesus talks about the life to come, he is more concerned with living into the kingdom here and now.  I don’t worry about who will be saved because the thrust of the Scripture suggests to me God will take care of it and in the end all will say God’s judgements are just.  I am more interested in questions about sanctification: how am I to live here and now? 

What the most faithful, most grateful, most generous, most grace-filled way for me to live, given I have been given a pearl of great value?  How can my life be a witness to the life God offers to all, not to shame others to repent, but to attract those who are dissatisfied with what they have found so far, those who are searching for a better way?  Read every single page of the bible and you will not find a chiseled answer for “What is the best way for me to live right now?”.  Turn to the Scriptures and ask this question and you will find, as the Catechism says, how God speaks to you through them even today.