Read: Romans 15:30-33; 16:25-27
May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. (15:33)
Some of my most powerful times in Christian community have been experiencing “the God of peace” while praying with fellow believers in Jesus in other languages.
We have imagined Phoebe, Paul’s letter carrier, dramatically reading the letter to the Roman house churches (May 3, 10). As she came to the end of this section of the letter, I like to imagine that she turned and looked intently at members from the Jewish and Greek house churches and invited them to pray. The prayers of this diverse church would have been in different languages, but “the God of peace” united them together. And conceivably in unison there was the response of “Amen.”
Throughout Romans, there are doxologies and invitations to prayer (see 11:33-36; 15:13; 16:20, 25-27). After Paul pleaded for unity among the weak and the strong (the Jew and the Gentile) in chapters 14-15, Paul asks Roman house churches to pray that he “may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea,” and that his “service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints” (15:31). Furthermore, Paul invited the house churches to pray that he may come to Rome so that all may be “refreshed” in each other’s company (v. 32). In the midst of a violent empire, Paul not only called them to act in the way of peace, but to pray for peace.
We are still called to pray for peace, in our own languages, and in our own churches! Do I hear an amen?
As you pray, ask God to show you ways you can make peace in a divided world.
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.
