Towards the end of his letter to the Romans, Paul asserts his authority as an apostle. He notes his pride — but it is pride in the service of God (15.17). He points out how he has proclaimed the gospel (word, deed, signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit - vv. 18-19). And, then he claims that he makes it "his ambition to proclaim the good news." (15.20). To paraphrase another biblical verse “Zeal for God's house had consumed him.” (Ps 69.9 and John 2.17). In short, Paul was “on fire” for the gospel!
“Ambition" and “zeal,” in the Bible, are dangerous emotions! Indeed, in the New Testament, most of the references to “ambition” are cautions against self-promotion!! And Paul uses “zeal” in such a way as to point to his work both on behalf of the gospel as well as his work (before his conversion) to hinder and persecute the gospel! The two parallel emotions—ambition and zeal—clearly are strong . . . and must be channeled in the right direction.
Yet, once the direction has been discovered, channeling zeal and ambition clearly worked wonderfully! “Zeal for God’s house” drove Jesus to cleanse the Temple, to create a space for a new way of being with, and for, God. Paul’s zeal and ambition for spreading the gospel beyond the walls of the synagogues opened the way for Gentiles to reap the benefits of Christ’s work — benefits of which most of us 21st-century Christians are the heirs. It wasn’t always a smooth trip, but charting the course, and summoning the ambition to set out, changed the world.
While we, at Good Shepherd, are just at the beginning stages of recognizing the destination to which we are being summoned, we DO know there is much we can assemble, much good work we can do, many fellow-travelers we can engage. That is why, in my letter to the congregation in the Love in Service stewardship brochure, I adopted that loaded word “ambitious” to describe our budget for 2020. Our “ambition” is to provide the resources that we can use, like Paul, “to proclaim the Good News.” Paul knew that he couldn’t rest content simply trying to convince his Jewish neighbors; he needed to step out into the “neighborhoods” of the Mediterranean world. His example to us is that we, too, cannot rest content simply taking care of our own needs . . . but to extend our “Caring Relationships” for one another to those around us who are starving for such care!
As we look to 2020, as we seek to provide resources to turn our “Love (into) Service,” let us never be ashamed that “Our ambition is to proclaim the Good News!”
Ambitiously,
Fr. Gary+