daily java

Daily Java: I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 6Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. 8 Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. 1 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings. (Romans 16:1-16)

In Romans 16, Paul greets a whole lot of people in the Roman church by name.

I believe the Roman letter was Paul’s idea of systematic theology written before he died and a circular letter like 1 John. I also believe a separate ending was put on each letter depending upon where it went. The letter we have preserved in the Bible was sent to Rome, so we have that record of that church.

That makes sense to me for the simple fact that the writers just plain did not have time to write out that many letters. Since the early church was taught in this way, and since there was no compilation of the Bible until later, all of them, or at least the major churches, received a copy.

For one thing, the ending of the book, from the middle of chapter 15 to the end is different in tone from the rest. It stops being formal and becomes personal.

But one thing kind of comes out to me in this ending. He said hi to a lot of people. But you know there were some he did not say hi to who felt they deserved a “shout-out” since they felt they were prominent people in that church. And they probably got miffed that they were not mentioned.

I have known pastors who, when they were not recognized from the pulpit at a church they visited, would get offended. They felt it their due as a minister of the gospel to be noticed. And they weren’t.

People love to be noticed. I recently had a person become angry when they were not noticed publicly for doing something, and left the church. I suppose I should have commented on it publicly, but there was more than that at stake.

It is a desire to be seen, a desire to be authentic in what you are doing. Or at least, a desire for others to see you as authentic.

In Matthew 23:9-11, Jesus talks about this desire for public recognition. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant.

It is good to notice people for what they do, but a desire to be noticed can easily morph into pride and arrogance. When we do what we do to be noticed, we have lost the point.

The point is to serve God. We are, after all, the servants of a servant. We are assistant servants. If Jesus could do what he did without looking for people to acknowledge him. He knew God saw him so he was fine.

I suppose that I get this from 36 years of ministry and viewing people’s reaction to stuff. Those who were mentioned were pleased to have been and those who were not were probably disappointed that they weren’t.

Of those who were not mentioned there were probably those who were angry because that is human nature. Some overcome it with humility and love, some give in to it and cause trouble in the church.

It is a sad part of the church but true nonetheless.