NOTES for Rom 15:14-21

Describing his ministry, the apostle points to its distinguishing feature: he never said anything that he was not aware of as coming from Jesus Christ Himself. As a rule, Paul says nothing on his own; if he does say (or write) something, he openly warns about it. He distinguishes with absolute clarity his own words, thoughts, and will from the words, thoughts, and will of the Savior.

This is a characteristic feature of the ministry, and indeed of the whole life, of every Christian, if that life is truly Christian. A Christian is always aware of the difference between himself and the One whom he serves and in whose name he speaks and acts. Of course, a situation is entirely possible in a Christian's life when the Savior leaves certain things to his discretion, but then the Christian understands exactly what has been left to his discretion and within what limits.

And then, naturally, he knows that he speaks and acts in his own name, relying on his own experience and reason. And here it is not simply something general, as often happens even with quite religious people, who speak about God's will as something they read about in the Bible or in other books, or as some thoughts and ideas of their own that, as they think, came from God.

Here everything is entirely clear and distinct; here the will of Christ is perceived as a completely concrete reality of one's own life, one's own spiritual space, where its presence is as obvious as the presence there of one's own will is obvious to anyone. Properly speaking, only such a life can be called truly Christian. It is continuous, conscious communion with Christ, who is always present in a person's life.

And, of course, equally conscious communion with His heavenly Father. Communion in which a person does not disappear or dissolve, does not sink into some faceless "grace," does not lose himself in "spiritual" ecstasy, but builds his life and ministry by following Christ's will, to which he freely gives his own human will. He gives it not in order to lose it, but to receive it back renewed, capable of becoming an instrument of God's action in His Kingdom.

In the final part of the epistle, the apostle seems to justify himself before the Roman community. He travels a great deal, one might think, and could have come to Rome to meet face to face with those waiting for his pastoral word. But however pleasant it may be to associate with like-minded people and share in the life of Christian communities, his labor is dedicated to bearing witness to Christ crucified and risen among those who do not even know of the one God. The example of the apostle Paul is very important for us too. Not because no one has heard of Christ, but, on the contrary, because the example Christians give is not a very successful proclamation to the world. Because it is often awkward and embarrassing simply to pronounce one's Creed in public. It is far easier to remain within the narrow circle of those with whom one no longer has to find a common language and before whom one does not have to answer for every little thing not yet surrendered to Christ. But the apostle tells us that we must go and bear witness to what we have seen and know, answer for our lives and bear witness no matter what. Not with words, but with deeds, with an entire life given to Jesus.