June 30, 2019        Freedom in Christ                                             

This coming Thursday, we will celebrate the fourth of July. Many of us will do this by having family and friends over, or going to the lake, or having a barbecue. We will celebrate our freedom to be who we want to be and to do what we want to do.

Some on that day, will remember our independence day. They will remember how the thirteen colonies declared their independence from England, and great quotes about “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” They will remember how the people banded together and became “one nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.”

One of the things I remember from my high school history class, was reading a critique of American Democracy, written by Alexis De Toqueville. Having seen the struggles and failures of democracy in Europe, De Toqueville found in America, a hunger for freedom and liberty, that inspired men and women, to live responsibly in their lives together, and to seek justice and equality for all. Having lived without freedom, under British rule, they seemed to understand that unless there was freedom and justice for all, there would be freedom and justice for no one. At the end of his critique, De Toqueville warned of the danger of losing that hunger for freedom that could lead to the collapse of democracy in our nation.

Some 200 years later, there are some who argue, that that nation of people who had a hunger for freedom that sought justice for all, has devolved into a nation of people all seeking their own personal freedom at the expense of one another. Some call for a renewed respect for established authority and the law. While others call for a renewed spirit of responsibility and love for one another.

And that is where we come to our Epistle lesson today. As I mentioned earlier, the church at Galatia had two factions. One group heard Paul preach about their freedom from the law, and took that to mean that they were free to do whatever they chose, to live however they wanted, without regard for it’s effects on others, or even themselves. That was the part about worshipping idols, indulging in witchcraft, drunkenness, and selfishness leading to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds.

The other group, were the moral majority, who advocated a return to law and order, justice and punishment for those who did not follow the law of Moses. This was the part of the crowd that was jealous, envious, hateful, and argumentative. Always looking for a fight, always looking to condemn one another.

The problem for Paul was that neither self-indulgence nor strict adherence to the law, resulted in freedom. The only thing that resulted in freedom, was the Spirit of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. Perhaps the line I focused on the most from our reading was this. “My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love.”

In this statement, Paul rejects both the seeking of personal freedom through self-indulgence, and slavery to the law as a means of freedom. In regard to the latter, our motivation for our actions should not be the law, or any law, but should be LOVE! Another ways of saying this, is that we should not be motivated to do what is in the best interest of others, not out of fear of punishment by the law, but we should do what is in the best interest of others, out of love. A love that guarantees the rights and freedoms of all, therefore each one of us.

This week, I read a quote by Reinhold Neibuhr that put it this way. “Basically love means… being responsible, to our family, to our civilization, and … to the universe of humankind.” Since he starts with the phrase “our family”, let’s put it this way. Shouldn’t the motivations of our actions towards our family be that of love, rather than fear of punishment. And shouldn’t the motivation of our family members towards us be from love, rather than fear of punishment? Neibuhr’s idea, is that this motivation of love, should extend beyond our family, to our community, and to the world as a whole.

Now, one of the things I love about this church, and it’s people, is that you have a strong spirit of this love. I have observed your love for others in this community in your acts of service to one another. You suffer yourselves in love for one another, so that all may benefit, so that all may be free to live their lives, and have the opportunity to become the best they can be. You have a sense of justice and equality for all, that calls you to expect the best from yourselves, and lovingly encourage others to be the best that they can be.

And this last week, I spent 5 days at General Synod, discussing and voting on resolutions, that were grounded in this kind of love. A love for others that sought to set them free from their oppression by the powers that be in this day an age. A love that sought their freedom, so that we might also be free! A love that, as the theme of General Synod stated, a love that shines in the darkness of the world.

This is no accident. This kind of love comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. This kind of love comes only from a deep sense of God’s love for us, and a belief that this love is both our salvation, and the world’s salvation.

And that’s the good news of Jesus Christ!