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Romans 6:12-23

Pentecost 5, June 28, 2026

Holy Trinity Cathedral

 

“What Power Holds You?”

It’s five thirty in the morning and the crying begins.  “Mom, mom- I’m hungry”.  I can hide under the covers.  I can ignore the plaintive sounds.  But then there is the padding of feet and the little one is up on the bed between us.  “Mom!”  Do I give in, get up and feed the darned cat?  Who is the slave and who is the master here?

This is the question that Paul is asking in his Letter to the church in Rome.  Who is your master?  Who has power over you?  Is it sin, or is it God?  The apostle uses the language of slavery to make his point that we are rescued from the clutches of sin in order to enter the service of God.  For his listeners who were in servitude, this is emancipation.  For those who are struggling with forces that leave them helpless, this is new life.  And for those who think that they are sufficient unto themselves, it’s a reminder that every soul comes under a greater power.  For Christians, dominion shifts from the powers of this world to the lordship of Christ.  Ultimately, there can be only one power to which we give allegiance and service.  What power holds you?

Now slavery was an accepted part of society in the era Paul wrote.  Those who were indentured formed part of a social structure that most of his listeners understood as the norm.  But slaves didn’t get to choose the household they served: they were the property of their masters.  They could be bought or sold, promoted or punished. They could be set free.  But they couldn’t do that themselves.  Someone else had to buy them out. In the same way, Paul says, all humanity was enslaved to sin.  People were under the law, but even the Jews fell short of what was required and are therefore under judgment. There is no way they can satisfy God with holy lives because sin has hold of them. 

The good news of the gospel- the teaching that Paul refers to- is that with the death of Jesus Christ, people have been set free from sin.  Being “free from” is what we call justification.  God’s action makes us right, not any good works of our own.  Now we can choose.  Do we go back to sinful ways under the law, or do we begin to live a life of grace?  Choosing to come under the dominion of God’s love is what we call sanctification.  Now we are “free to” choose Christ as our Lord.  This choice is not forced.  We have free will to turn back or to come to righteousness.  Grace makes this possible. Our challenge is to become servants of righteousness through love.

Jesus taught us that the great commandment to love has three parts: to love God, to love our neighbour, and to love ourself.  To be a good servant, we have to keep all three in balance.  If a person only loved themselves, that would be selfish.  And conversely, if you do not love yourself, you are denying that you are God’s child.  If you say you love God but don’t extend that love to the people around you, this is spiritual arrogance.  God’s household has more than one servant.  Even if you feel you love another deeply, but do not keep in mind a love of self or God’s greater purpose, it gets twisted into something unhealthy and unholy.  Sanctification is the process of choosing rightly in obedience to God’s will. 

There are many things that we can fall slave to in this world.  We can be slaves to fear, to wealth, to bitterness, to reliving traumas.  And humans have inflicted much pain on each other through creating addictions, human-trafficking, forced labour, policies of dis-enfranchisement, and appropriation of resources. As the apostle says, “What advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of these things is death” (Romans 6:21). There is a lot of reparation needed before this world starts looking like the kingdom of heaven.  We can choose to side with the way the world is now, or with the One who came to break the grasp of sin over us.  We are redeemed, paid for, purchased with the work of the cross.  The only thing that can hold us back from entering into a new contract is our own free will. 

Stepping forward into the path of righteousness doesn’t make us perfect.  It doesn’t even make us good.  But we are loved and forgiven, and we will find help rather than judgment as we try to follow our Lord.  The power of love sets us free from sin and free to serve God.  This gives us courage to respond when we hear the cries of the world around us.  One servant can’t do everything.  But many hands in the household help our Lord to extend the good news by word and action.  In the process, we learn to love God, our neighbour, and ourselves more deeply. Amen.