A reading from Paul’s Letters to the Americans

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Saint Paul by Pompeo Batoni. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

To the Church in America, called to be saints and followers of the Way. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I must speak plainly because there is a report of a great stumbling block among you. You claim the name of the One who was crucified in weakness, yet you find your security in the weight of your shields and the number of your chariots.

When I came to you, I did not come with lofty speech or the wisdom of the world. I came to proclaim a Messiah who shamed the strong by becoming low. If you say you are a Christian nation, why do you boast in the tools of death? The Gospel is not a banner to be carried by an army, but a life to be lived in the shadow of the Cross. You have traded the armor of God for the iron of men.

You argue over borders and the strength of your walls, but I remind you that our citizenship is in heaven. The weapons of our warfare are not worldly. They do not kill; they bring life. They do not conquer nations; they take every thought captive to obey Christ. If you seek to be first among nations through the show of force, you have forgotten the one who became last of all.

For the message of the Cross is folly to those who trust in the sword. The world seeks power to protect itself, but the follower of Christ finds power in giving themselves away. Do not be conformed to this age, which measures greatness by the ability to destroy. Instead, be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God.

Consider your calling. Not many of you were powerful by human standards when you were chosen. God chose what is low and despised in the world to bring to nothing things that are. Therefore, let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. Put away the pride of your armaments and the vanity of your might. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then you must live by the law of the Spirit, which is love, joy, and peace.

Agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.