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The
word is… church….
All
right, you can open your eyes again if you want. What did you think of, I
wonder?
Some,
perhaps most people in this country, would think immediately of a building, probably
an old one. Badly heated, a bit musty, lacking toilet facilities and quite possibly
hosting more bats than regular worshippers.
Other
people when they hear that word “church” think of the hierarchy; grey people dressed
in strange gowns, with words like chancel, synod, chasuble and absolution in
their vocabulary. For these people church means the pope, bishops and a parish
priest. They are “the church.”
The Church Is
People
The
word “church” in the New Testament is a translation of the Greek ecclesia
from
which we get “ecclesiastical.” But ecclesia doesn’t mean ecclesiastical.
Ecclesia simply means ‘a gathering of people.’
In
fact, the very first church was just a coming together of quite ordinary people.
They owned no buildings for the purposes of worship (so they met in homes). They
used ordinary language, with no special jargon. They dressed like everyone
else. And they didn’t have ordained clergy as such.
What
we find in Romans 16 is basically a list of names isn’t
it? At first sight, it’s only slightly more interesting than the telephone
directory. But look beyond that and you get a great insight into what
the church is and should be like.
It mentions by name 29 different individuals as well as other unnamed
groups like “those who are in the household of Narcissus” and “the other
brothers and sisters.”
Paul is now drawing his marathon letter to a close. But before he
signs off, he just wants to say, “Oh, say hello to so and so for me.” And, as
he does that, he deliberately picks out a dozen of them for special commendation
or honour. That’s what I want to focus on particularly this morning.
Worthy of
Honour
What does it mean to honour someone? A leader
in children’s church somewhere was teaching the Ten Commandments with her five-
and six-year olds. After explaining “honour your father and mother”, she
asked, “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat brothers and
sisters?” In a heartbeat one little boy answered, “You shall not murder!”
But before we look at honouring, a quick reminder that Paul has never
visited this church in Rome before and yet he knows nearly 30 individuals
by name.
In how many local churches, that you have never been to, do you
know the names of even six members? I don’t think I know any.
But you see, the early church, the blueprint church as I think of
it, wasn’t flags on a map in a dreary head office. It wasn’t a faceless organisation.
It was a living organism.
Romans 16 tells us that it was profoundly relational. People knew
each other. People loved each other deeply. This ecclesia was a living
and breathing network of interconnected people and ministries, with one focus –
Jesus Christ – and one mission; to reach the ends of the earth with the gospel.
This is how God wants his church to be.
You know the saying “all roads lead to Rome.” Well, they don’t,
not anymore. But they did then, in the first century. Rome dominated the world.
It was the undisputed centre of political power. It was easily the world’s largest
commercial hub. It was focal point the of art and civilisation. So, people
found their way there from all over; like London today, it was a magnet.
That’s why Paul knows many of these people or knows about them,
even though he has yet to visit that city.
There are clues here that point to the sort of people we should
expect to find in any gathering of people that calls itself church.
Starting with Phoebe in v1-2, She is a deacon which means ‘servant’ and
she is set aside for a recognised role. 1 Timothy 3 lists the qualities deacons
should have; they have earned respect, they’re sincere, they don’t drink too
much and they don’t take cash in brown envelopes. So, Phoebe is trustworthy and
that’s why she is probably the postwoman who hand delivered this letter to Rome
from where Paul wrote it in Corinth.
It says, “[Phoebe] has been a benefactor of many people, including
me.” So, she is a woman with plenty of money in the bank, but she uses her
wealth to supply others’ needs. In fact, Paul says she supported “many people.”
She is known to be incredibly generous.
And look. Paul says in v1, “I commend her to you.” He’s
saying, “Phoebe is just great. She’s amazing. You don’t know her yet, but I’m
telling you, you can absolutely trust her.” She’s the real deal.
Would your boss, your teacher, your youth leader, your life group
leader, commend you? What would they commend you for?
Priscilla and Aquila in v3-4 are old friends of Paul. He worked with
them in Ephesus and Corinth, and now they are back home in Rome. What does he
say about them? “They risked their lives for me.” We don’t know what that
refers to exactly, but at some point, they put themselves in mortal danger out
of love and loyalty to Paul. How far would you go to help a Christian friend?
Paul says, “I’m so grateful to them.” Priscilla is always named
first in this couple, contrary to conventions of the time, perhaps because she
was high-born. Or perhaps she was
converted first (and led him to Christ). Or maybe she just played a more
prominent role than he did in the life and work of the church.
But significantly, they are always named together. Nothing keeps a
marriage happier and stronger than serving the Lord together.
What about Epenetus in v5? What about him? “Greet my dear friend
Epenetus who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.” “My dear friend” –
I love that, there is such affection and warmth in the early church. There’s no
“Reverend Lambert and Mrs. Belmont.” It’s “my dear friend” – the expression
occurs four times in this list of names and it ends with, “Greet one another
with a holy kiss.”
Paul has just planted 12 churches in 9 years, and met hundreds of
people, but this guy Epenetus is special. He is Paul’s very first convert in
Asia and now he’s ended up in Rome, but Paul has never forgotten him.
In our first year of marriage, Kathie and I took in a lodger for a
few months. While she stayed with us, she became a Christian so Gill is special
to us, because she was the first. We’ve never lost touch. She’s a dear friend.
Have you ever led someone to Christ? If so, you know how thrilling
it is. If not, why don’t you pray today, and every day, that God will give you
that privilege in the next year?
Andronicus and Junia in v7 have shared with Paul the glorious disgrace
of imprisonment for Christ.
They were Christians before Paul, so possibly they were amongst
the 500 mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15 who were witnesses of the risen Christ. That
would qualify them as apostles, witnesses of the resurrection, which is what
Paul calls them here.
But notice how Paul honours them, calling them “outstanding.” “These
are just exceptional people,” he says. Kathryn is outstanding among the youth pastors.
Martin and Karen are outstanding among the church wardens. I could go on, we are
blessed with many outstanding people here.
Who are the Christians that stand out for you? Who do you look up
to? Andronicus and Junia are not stars. We don’t know anything about them
except in this verse. They didn’t light up conferences or have churches named
after them but they are troopers; they stuck it out with Paul in jail and have
kept the faith all those years.
Then
what about Ampliatus (v8)? Another dear friend. Ampliatus is a slave’s name. It
doesn’t actually say here that he is a slave but let’s put it this way, (and
this is going to be politically incorrect).
What
are the odds that Megan and Prince Harry will name any future children they
have Kylie or Dwayne? I mean, it’s not impossible, but it's not going to happen
is it?
Similarly, how
many babies born this week on the neediest housing estates in England are going
to have Hugo or Felicity on their birth certificate? Most likely, none.
My
point is not to pigeonhole but to show that different names are more or less popular
in different social groups – it’s always been that way. And if you lived
in Rome in the first century you would just know that Ampilatus is a slave because of
his name.
But
isn’t that even more wonderful that Paul qualifies him as “my dear friend in
the Lord” rather than “so and so’s dogsbody”?
When
God designed his church there was no pecking order, no class structure, no
cliques, no in-crowd and no outcasts.
Then what about Mary (v6), Tryphena and Tryphosa (which means Delicate and Dainty) and Persis (v12)? Here are four individuals singled out for
having worked hard, and in one case “very hard” in the Lord.
They are all women’s names! Only women in Romans 16 are honoured
and commended for working hard! I don’t know what that says about the men! And,
and I’m just putting it out there but, in my experience, in most churches I’ve
been part of, women are on average far more likely to respond to a call to
volunteer than men.
When I was a very young Christian, in about 1980, someone handed
me a copy of a popular magazine called Buzz with the provocative headline on
the cover page, “Why are so many Christian men wet?” It wasn’t about
baptism or swimming either…
The article lamented so many passive, lukewarm men in church. It said,
Christian men; where’s the fire? Where’s the energy? Where’s the get up and go?
Where’s the passion?
I was reading about Samson this week; when the Spirit of God fell
on him in power, he would rise up and tear a lion apart in his bare hands like
one does a young goat. You know, like one does a young goat…
Maybe that’s a little excessive, but sometimes us guys need to
step up. (I can almost hear female voices in my head, saying, “Preach it man,
preach it baby, preach it, preach it preach it…”
Well, Paul doesn’t rebuke men for being passive here, but he does
honour and commend some of the women for putting in a shift. Is that he would say
of you? Do you work hard in the Lord?
And then I love what Paul says in v13. “Greet Rufus” he says,
“chosen in the Lord, and also his mother, who has been a mother to me.”
What a blessing it is to know we have been chosen by God to belong
to him like Rufus. Do you know you’re chosen and precious to God?
And how wonderful it is to have spiritual fathers and mothers in
the church. People who are real and just ground you. Kathie and I have a
spiritual mum and dad who discipled us both as young Christians; I honour Ian
and Lynda King today – exceptionally dedicated followers of Jesus. I love them
and owe them so much.
Rufus' mum is a mum to Paul. Isn't that special? This dynamic leader,
this towering apostle, this energetic missionary,
this brilliant scholar sometimes just needs someone to ruffle his
hair, knit him a new scarf, serve up some good home cooking and wash his smalls.
We sort of all need a bit of that sometimes, don’t we?
Ending
Well, that’s the church, full of lovely people worthy of honour –
because they’re like Jesus – to whom all honour and praise ultimately belong.
Isn’t it beautiful?
As I end, I want to quote Bob Kauflin in his book “True Worshippers.”
He says this:
“Every person who has trusted in Christ will be an honoured
attendee at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Looking around, we’ll be amazed to
see table after table stretching endlessly beyond what our eyes can make out. Men
and women of every background, ethnicity and nation will be eating, laughing,
perhaps singing awash in peace, joy and an overwhelming sense of loving and being
loved. We’ll notice people whose faith we questioned in this life. Individuals
who irritated us, who seemed immature, who actually made our life harder. We’ll
see people we thought had no chance of eating at this table. And before any
shred of self-righteous judgement rises up in our hearts, we’ll be rendered
speechlessly grateful.”
Let’s pray…
Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 15 September 2019
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