Who Am I?

A Reflection on the Second Reading for March 9th, 2025:
First Sunday of Lent

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Romans
​10.8-13

Brothers and sisters, what does Scripture say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

The Scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Saint Paul is one of my favourite saints — my saint bestie, so to speak. We’re both converts, we both deal with chronic pain, we’re both known for being extremely, some might say too, opinionated. I always love the chance to wrestle with his writings. 

Something else Paul was famous for was having two strong and often diametrically opposed identities. He was a Pharisee, a firm believer in strictly following the Jewish law and worshiping at the temple in Jerusalem. He was also a Roman citizen, making him a powerful member of an exclusive political body that often oppressed his religious practices. 

These identities must have been at war within him on more than one occasion. But after his dramatic conversion experience, they both faded into the background of his life as he became a follower of Christ, first and foremost. In the second reading for this upcoming Sunday, he encourages the early church in Rome to do the same — to let go of their past identities and divisions and see themselves as believers in the grace of Jesus.  

Paul never erases his other identities. Indeed, he preaches to his fellow Jews as a Jew, interpreting Jewish scriptures to convince them that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. And he preaches to Greeks and Romans as a Roman, making use of Roman rhetoric and drawing them from their pagan beliefs into faith in Christ. But these identities are firmly secondary. They can be used as needed to share the Good News, but they no longer define him. 

In modern times, we wrestle just as much as ancient peoples with our identities. Political identities are especially divisive in our modern age, as are gender, race, ethnicity, class, and geography. None of these would have been alien to Paul and the cultures he preached to. Paul’s message is as relevant in 2025 as it was in the year 55: “the same Lord is Lord of all.” 

This means we must not allow ourselves to draw lines where Christ does not. Perhaps you have been faithful to Him for a long time and you struggle to welcome newcomers. Or perhaps you see the spiritual practices of your Christian friends and feel incompetent or unholy because your faith doesn’t look like theirs. We can and should share our struggles and share our identities in ways that bring God glory: I think of the beautiful African-American tradition of gospel music, or the intricate art of Ukrainian Easter eggs. But these identities must be rooted in faith, or they will lead us to division. Only Christ can unite us, making us equal in value and dignity, saved and put to work for the Kingdom.



Jenna Young

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