Third Sunday after Pentecost, 8C June 30,
2019
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke
9:51-62 Panzer
Liturgical Service, Stuttgart
The Freedom Paradox
Freedom:
the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
As we prepare for Independence Day celebrations this week,
we often think of the word Freedom, if we think of anything besides hotdogs,
watermelon and fireworks. As a preacher, I find it ironic that the Revised
Common Lectionary chooses lessons about freedom on the Sunday before this
holiday. And mildly annoying… and challenging… especially this year.
Everybody wants freedom. School kids like summer vacation
because it’s an escape from mandated bedtimes, homework, and early morning
trips to school. Among us there are students preparing to leave for college,
looking forward to the freedom of living away from home and setting their own
schedules. The adults among us are looking forward to the freedom of vacation,
focusing on seeing new things and renewing relationships with family and
friends.
We’d love to think that freedom is only about the ability
to act without hindrance or restraint. But I don’t think that’s the way that
freedom really works. It only takes a few days for even the smallest child to
remember that sleep is good. It only takes until the first test, or lab, or
writing assignment, to know that college works best when there are schedules
and routines. Freedom requires responsibility.
As Americans, we think of freedom as one of our inalienable
rights. Our forefathers said these rights were granted to us by our Creator –
life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness. It’s so easy to slip into a
mistaken belief that it’s my life, my liberty, my happiness that are most important. That is not the kind of
freedom that Jesus and Paul are talking about. It’s also not the kind of
freedom that the founders had in mind, either, but that’s a conversation for
another time.
In his letter, Paul reminds us that freedom is not absence
of responsibility. True freedom is about dedicating our lives to the gifts of
life which God has placed before us. Freedom through Christ, no matter where it
leads us, means choices, more often than not putting others needs before our
own. As Americans, freedom means that we are willing to make sacrifices to
serve our country and our community. As Christians, it means the same. We must be
willing to serve one another in love, and follow Christ wherever that road
leads.
So
how does this happen? In Christ, we are a new creation. We learn about who we
are as we study scripture, experience God in worship, mission, and in our life
together. It is those relationships that we understand the kind of freedom
Christ promises and Paul teaches. Last week, Chaplain Trotter reminded us that
Paul’s ministry as a roaming preacher and teacher, and that he wrote letters to
correct communities who hadn’t fully absorbed the essence of living on the
“Jesus way.” The Galatians were caught up in the controversy over whether or
not converting Gentiles had to become Jews first. In this letter, Paul drives
home the final lesson: that their freedom is neither limited or empowered by
their motivations. Jesus wants people to follow in love. And everyone is
welcome to come.
The
same is true today. The Bible has stood the test of time. Whatever questions we
have about how can be in the Kingdom are answered right here, not in rules, but
as we model the relationships we encounter. So many things divert us from our
primary mission – to live and love as Jesus’ witnesses in the world. Like other
early Christian communities, we get bogged down in the rules of engagement and
forget that it’s the relationship with him and with our fellow travelers that
gives our lives meaning.
Fortunately,
Paul writes of the freedom that teaches our spirits to live. In Eugene
Petersen’s biblical paraphrase, The Message, he translates the fruit of the
Spirit into action words, helping us to see how to put each of them into
practice.
But
what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the
same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others,
exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things,
a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness
permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments,
not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies
wisely. (Galatians 5:22-23)
And
how do we do those things, day in and out? Paul names those gifts: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and the hardest
– self-control. They don’t all come at once, and they are often hard to hold on
to, but this fruit – this gift – of the Spirit gives us the courage and
strength to follow where Christ leads, and to answer when he calls. This fruit
grounds us, and centers us, and anchors us in the faith to which we have been
called.
The
cost of discipleship is the central theme of the Gospel text from Luke. Jesus
has "set his face towards Jerusalem." From early in his ministry,
maybe even from the very beginning, he was journeying there in order to fulfill
God's plan for his life, a plan that involved a cross and crucifixion on
Calvary.
On
the way, Jesus encountered a lot of people. Some of them were insiders… some of
them not. To many Jesus’ message sounded pretty good, but also a little odd. T
some it was revolutionary, even dangerous. I venture to say, it’s a little of both.
In this passage, we see an encounter between Jesus and some people who were
testing him out. The first man said, “Lord, I'm ready to follow you wherever
you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but
the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." Wow! That’s a pretty big
commitment to go into a future without a map or timeline in hand.
To
another Jesus said, "Follow me," and the man replied, "I'll come
along but first I need to take care of some family business. I have to bury my
father." To this, Jesus replied, "Let the dead bury their own dead;
but as for you, go and proclaim the Kingdom
of God
How
hard is to follow Jesus in this way? In his book, A Conspiracy of Love, Kurt
Struckmeyer writes, “Lots of people believe in Jesus. They just love him to
pieces. They worship and adore him. They praise his name. They invite him into
their hearts and accept him as their Lord and Savior. But not as many people
are willing to follow him.”
As
modern-day Jesus people, we understand Jesus’ words, but do we stand under them?
Are we just worshipers of Jesus or are we followers? Because if we are
followers, there is a cost to that kind of discipleship. Our journey, this Christian life that we have
been called to, parallels the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem
The balance of all this freedom comes with practice. And
eventually it changes the way we live every part of our lives. It is hard? Yes!
Does it take practice and accountability? Also, yes! So how can this be done? What
Paul is saying is, “I know you can’t do this on your own, so let this fruit be
your standard and your guide… let them light your way and the way of others.
With this fruit as the foundation of how we think and how we act, there is no
limit to what can be done.
I know that some of you come to church looking for a word
of encouragement in the midst of difficult challenges. Many of us are smackdab
in the middle of caring for our kids and our worrying about our parents and
older relatives. Many of you work every day, late into the night, to keep what
little peace is balancing in the world. We are left reeling by the news that
one of us was in worship last Sunday and tomorrow will be having the first of
several surgeries and treatments for what looks like cancer. And at every turn,
we wonder how to make good decisions that will keep us and our families safe
and secure and if we are even making a difference.
And I’m pretty sure that you come here to get away from
the overly-political nature of our society. And here is where I’m going to
disappoint you. Because I think these lessons about freedom and responsibility
don’t just apply to our own lives and those of our families and friends.
Following Jesus means caring for people outside our comfort zones. It means
digging deeper into the disturbing news of the day and figuring out what is
real and how we are called to respond as people who are called by Jesus to
follow.
Here, we are gathered without regard to denomination. But
most of us relate to some ecclesial body in the US or Germany that speaks out
for and ministers with the least, the last and the lost. I’m giving you a
homework assignment this week.
Find your denomination or church’s website, look for the
advocacy or relief section, and figure out how you can be a helper. Maybe it’s
giving money to support the work being done. Maybe it’s reading and learning as
a family with available resources. Maybe it’s writing to or calling your
members of Congress to ask for support for legislation that your denomination supports.
Maybe it’s doing something that I would never even think of. I believe that God
is speaking to each of us to serve in some new way. Listen to the voice. You’d
be amazed what you can do from so far away.
It’s so easy to be lured into the belief that we have to
work our way into the Kingdom of God. But that’s not the way it works. We are
already members of Christ’s body and of his Kingdom. Jesus and Paul both teach
us that we need to step up and embrace the paradox of freedom. It is only in
the freedom of love and service that we will truly encounter the Christ who
lives in our hearts.
Peace, Deb
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