By Michael Smith
A Reading from Romans 5:12-21
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned — 13sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. 15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Meditation
I appreciate Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of a portion of today’s epistle reading in The Message: “Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! [Adam] said no to God and put many people in the wrong; [Jesus] said yes to God and put many in the right” (Rom. 5:18-19). The notion of Adam as an archetype of disobedience and Jesus as the model of obedience to God puts things in simple perspective for me. Adam brought sin and death into God’s good creation and Jesus restored righteousness and life in a new creation. In another place, Paul tells us: “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
After coming out of a year dominated by the COVID-19 virus, I am ready for some new creation. The vaccines, made possible by human use of God’s gifts of memory, reason, and skill, are being rolled out. Outside, the temperatures are getting warmer, and sunlight is increasing. I am reminded that even the word “Lent” is from an old English word meaning “spring.” We can show gratitude by offering obedience to our Creator. May the new season we are entering be marked by saying yes to God!
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Michael G. Smith served as bishop of North Dakota for fifteen years and is currently the Assistant Bishop of Dallas. He works with the Navajoland Iona Collaborative and is a Benedictine Oblate and an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
Christ Church Episcopal, Tulsa, Okla.
The Diocese of Auckland (Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia)
