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            Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Romans 12:14-16)

            Again, today’s passage flows after the verses about gifts that we should, if we have them, put to use for others in our community. The ability to bless those who persecute you is a gift. If you think that forgiving someone who has harmed you or something you care about is hard, releasing them from your justice is nothing compared to doing them good! (Keep in mind that doing them good doesn’t involve putting yourself or anyone else in harm’s way. “Good” could involve their being put in jail, which will limit the amount of harm they can do to others.) We desperately need to ask for that one to be put in our list along with the wisdom to know what would bless them.

So is the ability to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Sometimes, we are tempted to be jealous of others, either because they are rejoicing or because of the reason they are rejoicing. We can also get impatient with those who are mourning, insisting that they “get over it and get on with life.” After all, other people have it worse than they do. It is a gift and service to them, however, to join in their rejoicing and their mourning.

These all lead to living in harmony with others, not being proud, being willing to associate with people of low position (no matter what you are considering “low”)  and not being conceited. Keep in mind that living in harmony doesn’t mean playing the same notes as everyone else, or even playing in the same timing. Chords are made up of several notes, and while one person is hitting a middle C, another may sing an E and a G, an E♭ and a G, or an A and an E. They all work together to accomplish the task set for them. Just as we should.

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