Read: Romans 16:1-16, 21-23
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. (v. 16)
As a pastor coming to a new church, one of my important resources was the church photo directory. Consider our Bible reading today as Paul’s “photo directory” of the church in Rome. Paul had a deep love for people. Scanning the names of the Roman church directory we see perhaps seven Hebrew names: Mary, Andronicus, Junia, Aquila, Prisca, Herodion, and Rufus and his mother. There are also a few Latin names: Ampliatus, Julia, Urbanus. The others are Greek names.
The Roman church was not one big church but rather a series of five or more house churches of diverse backgrounds. There are women in the list, and no doubt some were leaders and founders of a house church. The greeting to the families of Aristobulus and Narcissus (vv. 10-11) indicates that the church may have included slaves. The inclusion of Erastus, “the city treasurer” (v. 23), among those who sent greetings indicates that some in the Roman church were well-off and connected.
Different personal backgrounds shaped every moment of the Roman church and are the context for all of Paul’s writing in this letter. Paul sought a unity in the diversity that transcended and affirmed one’s ethnicity, language, gender, and status. This is symbolized by “greet one another with a holy kiss” (v. 16). We have different cultural gestures in our time, but we too must transcend that which divides.
As you pray, pray for members of your church community who are different than you.
Kent Fry is a retired pastor and visiting research fellow at the Van Raalte Institute in Holland, Michigan. He and his wife, Joyce, are active members of Second Reformed Church in Zeeland, Michigan. Kent is an active cyclist, and he and Joyce enjoy time with their children and grandchildren.
