Musings for Lent 1: Romans 5:12-19 (20-21)

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— ¹³ for sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam, who is a pattern of the one who was to come.

¹⁵ But 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 gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. ¹⁶ And the gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the gift following many trespasses brings justification. ¹⁷ If, because of the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Therefore 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. ¹⁹ For just as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ But law came in, so that the trespass might increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, just as sin reigned in death, so grace might also reign through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“She started it!”

“He, the serpent, told me it would be okay, it’s not my fault! And you did it too!”

Sound familiar? Children passing blame around. If you have, or had at one time, young children, you have probably heard some version of this. Books and films take liberties with biblical stories, filling in gaps with imagined conversations. This is my imagined conversation as Adam and Eve might have explained to God what they had done in today’s Genesis reading.

Historically, Eve has been saddled with all the blame. Eve and women in some circles, even today, are still carrying that burden.

In his letter to the Romans assigned for today, Paul writes in verse 18:

            Therefore, just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all…

Here, Paul names Adam as carrying the weight of the fall. Why?

This letter, though placed as the first of Paul’s letters in the New Testament, was a later letter of his, most likely written in the late 50s CE. The Romans Paul is writing to is not a community he has met yet and may have served as a means of introducing himself to gentiles, and to Jewish Christians who had been expelled, prior to an upcoming trip. 

Among the many points that Paul speaks to in this letter, is the idea of universal human sin and death. By focusing on Adam, Paul is setting up a parallel of opposites. If one man’s sin, or disobedience; one man’s breaking his relationship and trust with God, can condemn all persons, then one man’s actions can reconcile the relationship. 

What Adam has broken for “the many”…for all; Jesus has restored for “the many”…for all.

Romans 5:18-19:

¹⁸ Therefore 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. ¹⁹ For just as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

And that is what grabbed my attention in this passage. “The many” is all. That little word, “the” is the key. Drop that little word and “many” means that some are not included. Paul’s position here is “for all”, “the many”…universal.

Humanity’s knack for sin, disobedience, and death is indeed universal. Death is also not limited to actual bodily death. As Martin Luther summarizes in his Small Catechism, the fifth commandment, “You shall not murder.”, means that we are not to harm or endanger our neighbors, but rather to help and support them.

In what ways are people experiencing “death” as a result of sin today?

How about parents and children being separated, or people being disappeared by immigration officers in the name of national security? Or trans-persons denied healthcare? Or young girls being sexually abused? These are some of the big trespasses in the news right now.

But what about the small, everyday ways we harm one another?

Maybe we don’t show up as agreed to because something better comes along. Or we make snarky, passive-aggressive, or otherwise unkind remarks that “kill” a person’s spirit…or we steal their thunder. Or maybe we get angry at the slow cashier, who unknown to us, is struggling with their own heavy burdens.

Whether big acts of disobedience or small, everyday transgressions, we, all people, are pretty good at causing harm to others, even if we are unaware that we are doing so.

Yet Paul reminds us that for all of humans’ trespasses, Jesus the Christ reconciles and restores all to right relationship with God.

Verses 20-21 are not included in today’s passage but speak to the generous divine gift of grace:

²⁰But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so 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.

And there lies the good news for this first Sunday in Lent, at the start of this season of self-reflection and repentance which can feel heavy:

For all the sins, evils, trespasses and transgressions in the world, the gift of grace and reconciliation abounds even more.

As Father Richard Rohr is known to remind his readers, our story doesn’t start at Chapter 3 of Genesis, but at Chapter 1, with God declaring all of creation to be good.

So, when our social media feeds and the news cycles highlights the world’s evil, or when our own relationships are suffering, the good news is that grace is abounding even more and the many, ALL…are brought into right relationship with God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

The burden of the fall in the garden which Paul places on the shoulders of Adam, and which we all feel on our own shoulders at times, is always lifted and carried by Christ. 

For this we give thanks.