Monday Devotional: June 19, 2023

Bible Reading: Romans 6:1b-11 (NRSVUE)

^1b Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸ But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

What does it mean to be baptized not only into Christ’s death but also his resurrection?

Oscar Romero, archbishop of El Salvador, lived deeply into this mystery. At a time of sweeping injustice and shocking violence against those who worked for change, Romero listened to the cries of the poor and oppressed and stood in solidarity with them. His belief that the image of God was embedded in every person led him to fight for the dignity and rights of the poor. This put Romero in direct conflict with the powers of his day. He ended up following Christ all the way to his death.

“But if we have died with Christ,” writes Paul, “we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.”

On March 24, 1980, Romero was assassinated while presiding over Mass. Just before he was murdered, Romero preached about how a grain of wheat will only bring about the harvest if it dies to itself. He encouraged all who listened to get involved in the “risks of life which history demands of us.” Indeed, he had found his purpose and even a sense of liberation in using his life to create a better society. He lived as if the powers of death and injustice had no dominion over him. “If they kill me,” Romero told the journalist just two weeks before his death, “I will rise again in the people of El Salvador.”

Every day, we choose to live either for ourselves or for some greater narrative, mystery, and cause. What risks are history and our faith demanding of us today? What does it mean for us to be baptized not only into Christ’s death but also his resurrection?

Prayer

O God, teach us to stand in solidarity with the poor. Amen.

By Lindsey Krinks, The Upper Room Disciplines 2023, page 212.