There are basically two ways to enjoy stained glass windows.

You can examine the intricacy of each uniquely shaped piece of colored glass individually and inspect the craftsmanship with which they’re joined, or you can stand back and let the sun shine through all the pieces and bring the whole thing to life in glorious detail.

The past several weeks we’ve been looking at the book of Romans up close, examining the particulars of some of the doctrine that’s developed in this letter. This week, though, we’re going to stand back.

Because this week’s reading isn’t primarily about particulars, although there are a fair number of them. This passage is about a pattern; the culmination of an argument St. Paul began way back at the beginning of chapter 5.

It’s what all the particulars are about.