I am going to approach these texts from two perspectives that seem prominent to me: 1) Creation as God’s theater and 2) the Hebrew take on righteousness.

Preachers and theologians often try to help people understand God and God’s activity around us in propositional language: language that is logical and makes intellectual sense, not unlike lots of what we find in Paul’s letters. Much of scripture, however, are not propositional. Our texts today, including Paul’s letter to the Romans, present Creation as the theater. It is not merely the stage for the action or the non-playing characters, but is part of the cast.

My understanding of the Hebrew take on righteousness comes from a story Dr. Joseph Sittler told of being in Israel with a rented car that lost power outside a small village. Tow trucks were unavailable, but the local people knew of a mechanic within the village, who they brought to where Dr. Sittler was stranded. The mechanic brought a cloth bag with less than a dozen tools. The mechanic asked a friend to use the key to turn the motor over and listened to the sound. He picked tools and adjusted things in the engine. After repeating this process a number of times, the engine roared to life. When the mechanic heard that he smiled and said,“Tsedeq”, the Hebrew word translated as “righteous”. The engine was tuned so that it was just the way it was meant to be and was now able to act just as it was intended to act. Dr. Sittler said this is the Hebrew understanding of righteousness.  Righteousness is not certain designated standards which God demands or religious traditions. It is being who and what God has meant us to be, trusting children of God who live in and serve Creation with care.

The context of the 1 Kings text is highly theatrical. Elijah and the prophets of Baal had a showdown in which Baal fails to show up and the LORD burns Elijah’s sacrifice, the altar itself, and all the prophets of Baal. Queen Jezebel puts out a “shoot to kill” order on Elijah and our text finds Elijah in a cave when God asks, “what are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah tells God that all the faithful prophets are dead and he is all alone and being hunted. God says, go out, for I am on my way. Elijah then experiences a storm that breaks rocks, and earthquake, and a fire, any of which could be seen to be the LORD, but these were characters trumpeting God’s entrance. Next was the “sound of sheer silence” and that’s where God was. It reminds me of some Shakespearean tragedies that are loud and violent and then move to a quiet soliloquy. God repeats the first question; Elijah repeats his lonely lament. God sends Elijah to recruit Hazael, Nimshi, and Elisha, and reminds him of 7,000 people who have been faithful, when Elijah was sure that he was all alone. Creation is not the stage but dramatic characters (storm, earthquake, wind, fire) that announce God with power, then step aside when God needs to be quiet and encouraging. Creation itself is part of God’s cast.

Psalm 85 opens with the desire to hear God’s word of peace to his people. The theater begins. Salvation is at hand for those who are in awe of God, so that God’s glory may dwell in our land. This glory is at the heart of the land, not just a pretty costume. The glory of the land is righteousness - being just what Land was always meant to be. “Faithfulness will spring up from the ground and righteousness will look down from the sky.” The land will yield increase because that is what it is intended to do. The land will be a path for God because that is what it is intended to be. Creation is not only supplying much of the cast and the plot, but is also a large part of the audience. Notice that Creation as theater and God’s righteousness reflected in the elements of Creation intersect!

The gospel text is also good theater, with elements of nature as part of the action. After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus retires for prayer and rest on the mountain. Meanwhile the boat full of disciples is foundering in the wind and waves on the sea. The wind and waves are not out of character or unrighteous. This is what wind and waves do sometimes. Jesus “spooks” the disciples in the boat, who are already pretty frightened, so Jesus does the righteous thing, what he is meant to be and do, and says, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Now the theater gets really exciting. Peter, with his impulse control issues, asks to come to Jesus on the water - on his feet. The wind and waves play their part. Peter loses heart and starts to sink. Jesus does the righteous thing, what he is meant to be and do, and saves him. They get in the boat; Jesus exercises his relationship with the wind and it quiets down. Jesus is proclaimed Son of God. End of act.

The context for the Romans text is essential (you might want to read it). Paul is concerned for the righteousness of Israel. They are stuck with the righteousness that comes from the law and not from Christ, which is righteousness for everyone who believes. Paul presents a case based on propositional language that can be hard to follow (maybe really hard to follow). The gist is that we are not meant to be law based, rather we are meant to be faith based. We are meant to be tsedeq through trust in our relationship with God instead of tsedeq through tradition or law. It is to be who we are in Christ, not working hard to be something we are not. There isn’t much theater here until Paul breaks the fourth wall of his performance and engages the audience. He moves from “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” to “how can ‘they’ call on one in whom ‘they’ have not believed” or even in whom ‘they’ have never heard? This is not a rhetorical question. It invites the readers/audience to ask it more than answer it. Oh, and how can they hear unless it is proclaimed, and oh again, who will proclaim unless they are sent? The theater is still Creation, it is just that it recognizes that we are standing in for winds and earthquakes and fires and waves. We are the members of Creation that take the stage here. Paul entices us to take the stage with the line, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Those feet are righteous because they are doing what they have always been meant to be and do - joyously speaking of trust that Jesus inspires within us to be exactly who God intended us to be. Thanks be to God.