Anxious Anticipation

For 7/17/2011
Scriptures are from The Message

Paul has just written in his letter to the church at Rome about the power and freedom that comes with living by the Spirit. Now, after an initial reaffirmation he injects a dose of reality – our faith journey will encounter some serious bumps in the road and we will long for resurrection of ourselves and all of creation.

Romans 8:15-17 This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!

· How does he describe our “resurrection life”, what words does he use? How does it speak to us about what we should expect in our congregational life?
· What should we anticipate if we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit? Do you associate words like “adventurously expectant” to any portion of your faith journey? Can you see this attitude and relationship with God in the way Paul lived his life? Does he set too high a standard for us? Should we be frustrated or encouraged by these promises?
· Is your faith journey in any way based on seeing God as a loving father? What other images or pictures do you use in your relationship with God?
· What inhibits a willingness in us to approach God saying, “What’s next Papa?” Have you ever done anything like that – how did it work out?
· What is the promise that we should remember in our hard times? Who should we expect to be with us during the good and bad? Does the reality that Christ went thru hard and good times have any meaning for you as you experience life?

Paul now leads us back to reality, in the midst of the hope, freedom and power that comes from living by the Spirit exists in a very imperfect world. We have the promise and yet we must wait patiently for the new creation. Early in his ministry Paul believed that this new creation could come about in his lifetime but it seems to have been modified as time went on.

Romans 8:18-21That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

· What would you include on a list of examples of “the present hard times”? Is this a new phenomenon or is it part of the human condition?
· Are there people in our world who are going through difficult times because of their faith – any examples? How about here in North America? Do you know of people who have sacrificed and taken risks to be God’s good news to others? Think not only of the big things but everyday acts of sacrifice and risk taking.
· Paul anticipates that transformation will occur in all of creation not just in humankind. Does the idea of transforming creation resonate with you? What has occurred in nature during the past year that a new creation would exclude?
· When does Paul tell us this transformation of creation take place? What does it tell you about God? Can we explain why we must wait?
· What needs to be present in our faith life for us to have a sense of “joyful anticipation” about a new creation? Do you have a picture of what that new creation might look like? Isaiah saw it this way:

Selected verses from Isaiah 65:17-25 "Pay close attention now: I'm creating new heavens and a new earth. All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten. Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I'm creating… No more sounds of weeping in the city, no cries of anguish; No more babies dying in the cradle, or old people who don't enjoy a full lifetime; No more building a house that some outsider takes over, No more planting fields that some enemy confiscates, For my people will be as long-lived as trees, my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work… Before they call out, I'll answer. Before they've finished speaking, I'll have heard… Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill anywhere on my Holy Mountain," says God.

As an exercise you might write your own description of what the anticipated new creation. Is it something to long for and really expect God to bring about?

Romans 8:22-25All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

· Paul uses an analogy of the birth experience to give us a picture of our present situation. What have you seen or experienced happening in the last trimester of pregnancy? What keeps a pregnant mother going during these times?
· One of the reasons expectant mothers have joyful anticipation is the reality that of new life at the end of their pregnancy. Do you believe that God will eventually bring about a new creation? Do you expect to be part of it? Have Paul’s words today had any impact on your faith life? What questions do they raise?
· What about a new creation in our congregational life, what do these words say to us about what we should pray for?

Closing Litany (Matthew 7:12-14)
Don't look for shortcuts to God.
The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time.
Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do.
The way to life—to God!—
is vigorous and requires total attention.
Amen

Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, Romans 8:26-39, Psalm 105:1-11, 45b or Psalm 119:129-136, Genesis 29:15-28 or 1 Kings 3:5-12