Pastor Sue Koenig
Graceham Moravian Church
(9/1) I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,* by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and
perfect. - Romans 12:1, 2 (NRSV)
Followers of Jesus are not to be conformed to the world, but neither are they to abandon the world or set they minds only on heaven. Christianity is "an in the world faith;" the church is the body of Christ present in the world. "Our goal is not the reward of heaven, not personal reward, but of living in God’s reign, of sharing in God’s glory when
God’s will for all of creation is fulfilled." [Art Ross/Martha Stevenson, Bible Studies on Romans] "Our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him." [The Message 2 Cor. 3:18]
This is our hope and trust, from the grace we have received, that by the Spirit’s renewal of our minds, we will be transformed more into the likeness of Christ and live as Beloved Community. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned the Beloved Community as a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love of one's fellow human beings. You can find
25 Traits of Beloved Community at this United Methodist website www.gcorr.org
From our grief and sorrow, our anxiety and distress, and our uncertainty as we face a global pandemic, a severe economic crisis, a cry and command to end systemic racism and its devastating outcomes so that all people may truly be "free at last," and deep division among people, our minds may be renewed and our lives transformed to more clearly reflect
the image of God and God’s love for the world.
In a changing world, the church must both "claim and test its heritage," and discern who God is calling the church to be in this our time and place. We can claim and test our heritage and the ways we have acted or failed to act in the past, to discern together what it means to reflect the image of God in the world today and to live as Beloved
Community. With renewed minds and transformed lives we can be a healing, reconciling, and hopeful presence in the world. We can repent of our past complicity and be the church that listens and discerns and begins the journey toward racial justice and racial healing. We can let the same mind that was in Christ Jesus be in us, a mind focused on love, justice, forgiveness,
reconciliation, wholeness, unity, and peace. We can choose to love those with whom we disagree; we can choose to see the humanity of every person and seek understanding. Bryan Stevenson, Founder of the Equal Justice Initiative says, "I’ve always had this idea that we are all more than the worst thing we have ever done."
We can have faith that God’s will for the world will be fulfilled. Rep. John Lewis wrote in his book, Across that Bridge, "Faith is being so sure of what the spirit has whispered in your heart that your belief in its eventuality is unshakable." We can have an unshakeable faith in the Spirit’s power to renew minds and transform lives and relationships,
and in the eventuality of Beloved Community this side of heaven. At the heart of it all is our ability to love one another with the love of God that has been poured into our hearts.
Our view of the world and our responsibility is discerned by the grace of God working through our humility, gratitude, and acceptance of our need for God. What we cannot know in ourselves, God reveals to us; and in community we discern what is good and acceptable to God, what is mature and complete. In response to God’s great mercy, "taking up our
cross" and following Jesus, we freely offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, made holy and acceptable by God. In this way we worship, dying to self to have selfless love for others.
Paul has written to the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 6:19) that our bodies are an abiding place of God – the temple of the Holy Spirit. We may worship in spirit and truth wherever we are, on Facebook or Zoom from our homes, outside, in our vehicles in church parking lots, or in our church buildings with masks and social distancing and other loving
precautions to care for one another. For decades, we have struggled as the church with how to get outside our buildings, to focus on the world beyond our walls, to mission and ministry in our communities and neighborhoods. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is renewing our minds by inviting us into a new understanding of what it means to be the church, rather than just go to church.
In Romans chapter 12, Paul describes Christian life in community: "Let the love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the
needs of the saints. Show hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them…" [Romans 12:9-15] This is not a list of what we are to do, but who we are to be as those who follow Christ. This is to be our identity.
Our lives are transformed by the renewal of our minds – so much so that the world may think us "unreasonable" which is another translation of the word "conformed." "Do not be reasonable to this world…" Do what is "unreasonable" – respond to suffering with empathy, respond to hate with love, respond to self-centeredness with selflessness, respond to
violence with non-violence, respond to fear with courage, respond to injustice with justice, respond to dishonesty with truth, respond to death with life.
With minds that have been renewed and lives transformed, we glorify and worship God with our lives, loving others with the love we have received from God, crossing bridges to build Beloved Community, and actively awaiting the eventuality of the glory of God’s reign and the fulfillment of God’s will for all creation.
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