"Freedom is More Demanding than Rules"  2010

Psalm 86:1-7          Galatians 5:1-6, 13-16, 22-25

 

Psalm 86 (NRSV)

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication. In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me.

 

Galatians 5:1-6, 13-16, 22-25 (NRSV)

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

 

Soon after seminary and while serving my first congregation,

            some parents asked me to baptize their baby.

    A friend of the family came to see me and brought along a bottle

            of water he had scooped up from the Jordan river in Israel.

 

He explained that he wanted me to use it for the baptism

                             because that would make it more special

                                    since that is where Jesus was baptized.

 

The problem was, that in seminary one of my theology professors

            had devoted almost an entire lecture     to explaining why

                        using Jordan River water for Christian baptism

                                    is as he described it,  a theological travesty.

 

The problem is not with the Jordan River water itself,

                        but   that when we perceive it as something special,

                                    or we assign some spiritual significance to it, à

 

              we can be distracted from the important meaning of baptism…

                        …the grace     that God chooses and uses  ordinary things                                            to accomplish God's divine purpose and will.

 

An important symbol   and critical sign of baptism

               is that God uses common and ordinary things,

                 setting them apart, and using them in extraordinary ways.

 

* For example, common everyday bread and juice

            are set apart to accomplish God's purpose   in Communion.

 

* Ordinary human beings are

            called and equipped by God to serve in extraordinary ways.

 

* In baptism  plain old tap water

            symbolizes the saving and gracious   love and mercy of God.

 

In all of these, the gift and grace of God, 

            is that the ordinary is put to extraordinary use by the Lord.

 

The ordinary being transformed into something extraordinary

            which is used to accomplish the will and purpose of Godà

                                    is an important theological understanding

                                       that is carefully laid out in the Book of Order.

 

So I tried to explain the theology behind our Presbyterian rules

            when I refused to allow

                        water from the Jordan River to be used for the baptism.

 

Theologically,

            and according the Book of Order and Directory for Worship,

                                    I was absolutely right in my refusal -------

                 but as a servant of Jesus Christ and participant in grace,

                                                I could not have been more wrong.

 

As a young, new pastor,

            my focus was on the rules    and getting the ritual right

                        rather than reflecting God's grace and

                                    being guided by the Spirit of God's love and mercy.

 

This is the irony;  that in my fervent insistence

            that this sacrament and symbol of God's pure graciousness

                    not be encumbered with human distortion or distraction;

 

    I was in fact, placing man-made rules, the Book of Order

            above    reflecting the grace, mercy and forbearance of God.

 

I was adding rules to the symbol of God's gracious love in baptism

                        by insisting that it was necessary

                                    to get all the theology and the ritual just right.

            Looking back these many years later,

                             I was being foolish,   and I was missing the point.

 

            And this is similar to the issue and challenge

                        that the Apostle Paul was writing about in Galatians.

 

When Paul began his ministry in to Galatia, the gospel message

    was well received, lots of pagan gentiles became Christians.

            Paul had stayed long enough to establish the church,

                        and they were doing well with all that he taught them.

 

But after Paul moved on to spread the Gospel elsewhere,

            some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem  came to Galatia

                        and began teaching there was   more to being a Christian

                             than just the things that Paul had taught them.

 

These folks from Jerusalem had always obeyed the ways of Judaism

            and continued to follow those rules and traditions

                        even after they became Christians.

So they assumed that for everyone,  part of becoming a Christian,

            also meant following the rules and rituals of Judaism.

 

Yes, one was saved by the grace and sacrifice of Jesus,

                        but they believed   that it was still necessary to live

                             according to the rules and rituals of Judaism …

    … specifically, in addition to accepting grace through Jesus,

                        when men became Christians, they had to be circumcised. 

 

When Paul heard it, he was horrified at what they were teaching,

            for that misses the whole point

                        of God's grace given through the  love of Jesus Christ.

 

When they added more requirements as necessary for salvation

            beyond simply receiving the grace of Jesus Christ by faith,

                 --- they immediately lost the meaning and truth of grace.

 

To add any additional rules and requirements     meant that

            the death and resurrection of Jesus are not enough,

                        and salvation is not entirely the gracious gift of God.

 

And if our salvation does depend on righteous works that we do,

            that in effect, denies the message of the gospel and grace;
                        and puts Christians    back under bondage to the Law;

     which means that the sacrifice of Jesus accomplished nothing.

 

Either we are saved entirely by

            the gracious love of God through Jesus Christ, or we are not.

So,  Paul writes:  vs. 2-4, 6

            Listen!  I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.  Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law.  You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.

 

What Paul is describing is way à

            more complicated and difficult than simply following rules.

It is not independence or license to do anything that I want,

                    but it is a loving relationship with God, through which,

                                    the Spirit leads us to act lovingly toward others…

 

… which Paul describes:            vs. 13-14, 16, 18

            For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.  For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  Live by the Spirit,       I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.

                                   

What Paul is describing

   is way more demanding than simply following rules of religion.

 

For about a month or so

            between summer school and my fall semester at college,

                        I worked as a dishwasher at a resort hotel,

                                                and it was one of the best jobs I have ever had.

It was very clear cut and simple ---

   either the dishes were clean & ready for the next meal, or not.

        There was no uncertainty, & virtually no decisions to make.  

 

My job was not about whether the hotel was making a profit,

            or if the guests were happy or the rooms were all filled.

  I just had to make sure the dishes were clean, that was the rule.

 

In contrast, when I ran a business,

    nothing was as simple and clear cut as just washing the dishes.

Every decision was complicated by balancing lots of other factors.

    Operating a profitable business

            is far more difficult and complex than just washing dishes.

 

From a religious perspective, just obeying the rules of religion

            is fairly simple,   because you always know what to do,

  and it's not nearly as difficult and complex

            as balancing the rules    with our call to love our neighborà

                        and faithfully reflect God's goodness, mercy & grace.

 

As a young pastor I knew that the rule was,

     Presbyterians don't baptize with water from the Jordan river,

                                    so I should  refuse do it.

 

But Christ set us free to do more than just follow a set of rules.

            As Paul warns and urges, vs. 1

                        For freedom Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

 

The question is more than just what the church rule book says,

            but what is the more loving response in this circumstance?

    How do I reflect God's grace in this situation?

                                                And how can I best let God's gracious love

                                                   flow through me and the things I say and do?

 

Our Christian life together can be difficult and complicated,

            and goes way beyond just following rules and  rituals,

                   or trying to impose our set of rules & rituals on others.

 

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came as God's gift of presence

            to guide us in faithfully walking with Him in grace and love,

                        which replaces rigid specifics of ritual and law.

The question is not so much knowing the right thing to say or do

    as it is, discerning what is the most loving thing to say or do.

 

This means that there is more at stake

            than just the right theology or following all the rules …

… for as those led by the Holy Spirit

            our relationships become the more important consideration.

 

There was a very bright and talented young man

            working in one of my stores for a while …

                 but Pat always had to be right, and usually was factually.

 

But he would get so intense about proving he was right,

     that upset & angry customers would storm out, never to return.

 

What I couldn't get him to understand and appreciate,

            was that if winning the argument   cost you the customer,

                             then it really wasn't much of a victory ---

                    and in fact, if he kept winning and proving he was right,

                                                he was going to put me out of business.

Sometimes there is a much larger issue

          than just being right or getting all the rules right.

 

We can be absolutely correct in our theology and doctrine,

            we can have all the facts straight & even truth on our side;

                        but if in our adherence to the rules,

                                    we crush other people like bugs on a windshield…

            … then  we have missed the point of the gracious love of Godà

 

à because the people involved

            always matter more than the rules themselves, for the à

                        Church is really about God's grace & our relationships.

 

Now that doesn't mean

            that we never take a stand  for what is right –   

                        but it shifts our emphasis beyond insisting on rulesà

      to a deeper consideration and compassion for others –

             because it's God's will that we do no harm to other people.

 

 Knowing when to take a stand, and when to relent for love

       is difficult & complicated,  it's not an easy simple choice.

 

I find that knowing God's will is agonizingly complicated       

     and that the Christian life requires great wisdom & patience;

                        coupled with that rarest of commodities,

                                    caring compassion for the true needs of others.

 

This Galatians text challenges me to consider how easy

            it is to grow comfortable and complacent in my old ways,

                        rather than being willing rethink my decisions & plans,

                                    or allow more room for the Holy Spirit

                                                to reveal new ways of doing grace and love.

 

My hope and comfort is , that even when I don't get it right,

            God's grace prevails, and God's victory is assured…

               … and over this lifetime,

                          I am learning to trust and follow the Holy Spirit more,

                                    more than I have to cling to   mindless rules.

 

            The question is,  will I trust and rely

                        on the grace and truth revealed in Scripture,

                                    and will I trust and rely upon the Holy Spirit?

 

As we read in  Lamentations 3:21-23

            But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

                                    The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,

                                               his mercies never come to an end;

                                         they are new every morning;  great is your faithfulness.

vs. 25             But if we are led by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.