From Weakness to Glory (Romans 8:26-30)--May 24, 2020
Channel: Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church
Date: 22/05/2020

Paul’s architectural genius keeps us moving closer to our emotional center. From the foundational analysis of spirit and flesh, using concepts of rabbinic training, he designs rooms with emotional and spiritual imagination. He no longer uses theological analysis to engage his Roman readers, instead he moves to a personal and ecstatic presentation of what the spirit is doing and can do in their life. We feel God’s presence with our heart not only our mind. The mind is important to our spiritual direction but the heart draws us closer to God’s way of life. Paul wants us to be drawn to God through the spirit and through engaging the world with our mind. He turns to mystery to help us understand that God is beyond the mind. We must depend on the promptings of the Spirit to move ahead, even to pray.

Everyone needs a place where we can feel we are going to be fine, that the mystery that scares us will be illuminated. In Romans 8:26-30 there is a comfort that emerges as we walk in and find a chair that fits us like a glove. When Paul says, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words,” he is telling us that God not only protects and provides us peace, God also provides prayers for our hearts. When these inarticulate prayers emerge from our spirits, we suddenly know more than when we entered this room. Our weaknesses become strengths, our inadequacies become wisdom and our groanings become our glory. It is then that we know that “all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Paul has created a language, describing a spiritual life that engages the deeper mysteries of our inner self.

This passage reminds me of a Frederick Buechner short story titled A Room Called Remember. A young man is confused about his future; wondering what he might do in this world and how to find peace. Many people ask these questions before we make our way into the hustle and bustle of work and building a family. During this time of questioning, he stayed at a hotel. When he entered the room, he began to feel different, everything coalesced, his life made sense and his direction was clear. He left that room and started his life. He found work and worked hard. He started a family and did everything that demands. A growing malaise soon crushed him. He was no longer happy or on the road to happiness. He had lost his way and his identity.

He knew he had to drop everything and figure things out or he could not move forward. The only step he could think to take was to go back to the room where it all made sense. He was happy there because he knew where he was going, instead of being reluctant to take any road because he has lost confidence in himself.

So he went to the hotel that provided him such well-being. He told the clerk he stayed there years ago, asking if he had a record of what room he stayed in. The clerk confirmed the information and gave him the key. He entered the room but nothing happened. He still felt the same even after a day. No resolutions came to him, along with no insights about his future. He went down to the clerk to check whether this was the right room. The clerk assured him it was, which brought an immediate sense of despair.

Distraught, he related his experience those many years ago. The clerk listened attentively and replied, “I know what room you want.” Hearing this, the man breathed a deep sigh. The clerk continued, “You want the room called Remember.” The man went back to his room and began to reflect on those days long ago. When he left, he was at peace.

This is not an unusual story. We forget that “all things work together for those who love God.” We forget that this experience is forged within the Spirit helping our weakness, the Spirit interceding on our behalf because we don’t know what to say. In this architectural marvel of Paul’s we are reminded that nothing can separate us from God, and that all things work together for those that abide in a loving relationship with God.

Paul may not have known it but he has built a room called remember. It’s a place where we hear the prayers of the Spirit and make them our own. Our weaknesses are turned to glory through the power of the Spirit moving our lips to utter mysteries too deep for us to create on our own. These mysteries are about love and the convergence of our spirit with God’s.

On this Memorial Day we are not only called to remember those that fought for peace, but also the gift of the Spirit that brings peace. The Spirit that intercedes on our behalf before God, creates memories of God’s embrace. When we are there with God, we know that all things work together for those that love God. Our weaknesses are turned to God’s glory. Our despair is turned to hopefulness.