Advent Fast Begins

I always enjoy this time of year - the fall leaves are out, and the starkness of the trees matches the mood of the feastly fast: austere, yet full of beauty.

During this fast, I'm reading Romans. I'll post my musings here, though I'll be reading only in the NKJV, so I'm not sure that some of the particulars will pan out if the text is read in the Greek.

Romans 1:1-4
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

The Apostle declares himself a bondservant - that is to say that he, though a leader of the Church, is merely a servant in the household of another. As Metropolitan Jonah has said, "episcopos" means "head servant" or "overseer of the slaves" - like a head butler. The Apostle confirms this - the leaders of the Church are here to serve it, not lord over it. Christ alone is Lord. They are only "dressed up" like a noble when in liturgy - and then because they are the ICON of the True Lord in Heaven. They are called, as St. Paul is called - they don't self-elect. If we nominate ourselves or self-promote, then we are full of pride. The desire to be clergy can be dangerous, if it makes us into Pharisees who desire to be the center of attention.

The Old Testament is here called "Holy Scriptures," and we are reminded that all of the Old Testament prophesies of Christ. It is to be read typologically, through the Apostolic lense of Christ's incarnation, death and resurrection. Any other reading (historical-critical, for example) is incomplete if it doesn't develop and deepen into this Apostolic / Patristic view of the Scriptures.

Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, the Christ - this man is the Son of God and the Lord. Unless there is any doubt, St. Paul makes clear that this Son of God - the Lord (which is to say, God) - became flesh. He states "according to the flesh" and "born of the Seed of David." This indicates both that the Lord became flesh, but was also properly called the Messiah and the Christ because of His lineage from David.

We know that He is the Son of God because the Holy Spirit reveals it, both through the Holy Scriptures and the Prophets (inspired by the Holy Spirit) and through the Resurrection and its proclamation by the Apostles (St. Paul, who here declares it). No one could rise from the dead of His own accord unless He were life in Himself - that is to say, unless He were God. The Holy Spirit, revealing the Resurrected Christ, confirms Him as the Son of God and God.

Romans 1:5 - 6
Through Him we have recieved grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.

The "Him" in this case is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This confirms that St. Paul believes Christ is God, since in verse 1 He says that he was separated to the gospel of God - and this is also called the gospel of Christ.

This calling, this grace, is "for obedience to the faith" - no bishop, nor any apostle, can alter the faith of Christ. Nothing can be added to it; nothing can be taken from it. Rather it is sealed. The tradition is Apostolic in that it is delivered to us by the Apostles, but they are obedient to Christ's revelation.

The most important part of these two verses, though, is that this obedience is "among all the nations for His name." Remembering that this letter is being written to the early community in Rome, St. Paul is affirming that the Gospel is for all humanity. "The Nations" refers to the Gentiles - the Romans and Greeks and other ethnicities present in the multi-cultural metropolis. This statement would have been radical to St. Paul's Judaizing opponents, whom he has in mind throughout this letter (indeed, the letter seems half addressed to them).

The Romans, in their entirety - both Jews and Greeks - are called as part of this obedience to the faith among the nations. There is no distinction between them.

Romans 1:7
To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be Saints
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Those in Rome are beloved by God and called to be Saints (that is, called to be holy and set apart for God). This is one of the few points in scripture where the word "saint" carries the meaning we use it with today. Called to be saints can be seen as implying that they are not yet saints, but rather are in the process of becoming saints.

This is part of the "already, but not yet" sense of the Kingdom. It is at hand, and in so much as we are in Christ we are saints. Our baptism and the eucharist effect sainthood in us by clothing us in Christ and filling us with Christ, and our repentance unites us to Christ's holiness. However, we should never pretend that this process is complete so long as one ounce of sin remains in us. We are to be slaves of Christ's, and obedient slaves do nothing outside the commandments of their masters. Such should we be. In so much as we sin, we remain "called to be saints" - exhorted by their example (and first by the example of Christ), but aware that we remain outside the Gates of the Kingdom and must knock in humility in order to enter.

Here again we see the co-equality of the Father and Son. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is said to give grace and peace on the same level as the Father. Indeed, it would an insult (from an Arian, Judaic, or Muslim point of view) for ANYONE'S name to be included alongside God's in this way, unless that person were God. Therefore, St. Paul cannot be a Muslim, nor a Jew (in the modern sense) nor an Arian, since he boldly (and by the inspiration of the Spirit) places Christ's name adjacent to the Father, and even calls Jesus "Lord" in this context. Within the first 7 verses of Romans, Paul reveals himself as "trinitarian" (Christ, the Son of the Father, revealed by the Holy Spirit; is coequal to the Father) and "incarnational" (the Son of God, who is God, became flesh). The Nicene Council invented nothing, but remained true to the teachings of the Apostles. In so much as we adhere to that Tradition, we adhere to the teachings of the Apostles, and by them, the teachings of Christ.

Romans 1:8-9
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers...

God is thanked through Jesus Christ because only in the Eucharistic sacrifice of Christ can we have access to God in order to thank Him. Jesus Christ bridges the gap between man and God in the Incarnation and on the Cross (whereby He conquered death, the last barrier between God and man). Herein also is the gospel called "of His Son" (Jesus Christ), confirming what was implied in verses 1 through 5. Paul was called by the Gospel of God, which is the Gospel of the Son of God, which implies that the Son of God is God.

St. Paul prays continuously, setting an example for us. Prayer is not requesting stuff from God. Prayer is the means by which we open our hearts / minds / souls / "nous" to God. It is the act of being present to the presence of God, not in awareness, but in communion. Praying continuously is, therefore, nothing short of what it means to be saved, since if we truly prayed continuously, we would be (necessarily) filled with the presence of God and in full communion with God. This is theosis.

More to come in subsequent days, or perhaps latter tonight. My hands are tired. I'm most excited about getting into the later chapters of Romans.

Forgive me,
Macarius