Galatians 3:23-29
Intro
Galatians is very interesting for several reasons. First off, we really don’t know who this letter was written to. Part of this is because the letter was written to a group of churches, most likely in several different towns and cities, in the central part of modern day Turkey. It would be like Paul writing a letter to the churches of the Mid-Hudson Classis, from here in Red Hook, down the river to Beacon, across the bridge to New Paltz, out into the Catskills before sweeping through Saugerties and Kingston. Yes, we are connected geographically, but we are individual congregations that have our own identities, opinions, and articulations of our theology.
However, there seems to have been a movement within this geographical grouping that has begun to lead the churches, as Paul states it, to a false teaching that perverts the Gospel of Christ. At least some portion of this ‘perversion’ is a general understanding that more of the Jewish religion, including circumcision, needs to be followed, in order to be considered one of God’s children.
Now again, we don’t know the total background of this letter, but whatever was taking place got Paul all sorts of fired up. He writes this letter like we write angry or upset emails today, where its almost stream of consciousness, and then before we had time to edit the email, or flesh out our thoughts a little bit more, we hit send. The verses that we are about to hear, have that rapid-fire feeling.
The amazing thing is, even in that quick cadence, the thoughts that are presented declare a truth that the church has needed to learn ever since, because unfortunately if Paul we’re to write the church today his critique would be much the same as it was low those many years ago. The scripture reads this way.
Galatians 3:23-29
23
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise."Not an Easy Task"
The Reformed Church in America held its denominational gathering two weeks ago. This is where representatives from every corner of the church (throughout the US and Canada) descended upon the tourist hotbed that is Iowa (yes, Iowa) to discuss the direction that the church should be heading. From what I’ve heard about the meeting, it went along rather smoothly, which is always a good thing.
However, one of the items that had some contention was in regards to the funding of the Church Herald, the denominational magazine that is sent to every family in the RCA. Let me give you a little back story on the Herald. First off, the magazine is paid for through the assessment that is assessed for each active member. Secondly, this magazine has an independent editorial board so it has no one telling them what they should print. At the same time, they have recognized that with this freedom comes with a whole lot of responsibility to make sure that the diversity of thought that is represented within the boundaries of the Reformed Church can be heard.
From my perspective they do a pretty good job. The reason that I say this is because of the Flak and Flattery section (the letters to the editor) that are published. These letters range from saying (and I paraphrase, because churchgoers are rarely this direct), "you’re a hatemongering mouthpiece for the right" to "all you’re doing is spouting the sin-filled lies of the left" with quite a few letters saying, "thank you for saying what you did. It is exactly what I’ve been thinking". When you’ve got that sort of a spread I think you doing a pretty good job of offering a different opinions, because you are clearly upsetting almost everyone.
In any case, because the magazine has been willing to upset various interest groups, their have been several people who have been blowing the horn that declared, "this magazine doesn’t believe what I believe so why should I be responsibly for paying for it". This opinion has come from groups on both sides of the theological spectrum.
Well, two weeks ago, they got their wish. The Church Herald was not included in the budget for 2008 and if it is to survive, it will be on a subscription basis. My guess is the Herald will be shut down before 2008 finishes.
The reason that I bring this up is because of how we continue to divide ourselves. Instead of realizing all the areas that we do agree upon, we focus on those things that we disagree upon and just keep leaning on them until everyone either agrees with us, or we’re all by ourselves, because besides the person we see in the mirror, who is going to agree with everything that we believe?
As I mentioned prior to the scripture reading, Paul is asking a similar question of the churches in Galatia, or at least the interest group that leading the muckraking brigade in the Galatian churches. He’s hearing that there are people who are creating religious hoops and if you weren’t willing to jump through that hoop, well, then you weren’t a ‘child of God’. The hoop that most commentators believe Paul is referring to, is the requirement that all Christians must be circumcised as is found in Jewish law.
Paul has heard about this artificial barometer of faith and, at least as I picture it, is in the process of blowing a gasket. Paul’s statement of, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" is not intended to be a gentle suggestion, but instead a hammer that hopefully opens their eyes and minds to why Jesus came in the first place.
For Paul, unity is not found in the religiosity of the person, but in the faith that is held in the One who came, lived, and died for our sake. It’s not about the religion. It’s not about what is cut off or left intact. It’s not about how many times you stand up or sit down during a service. It’s not about whether you sing to an organ or a guitar. It’s not even about how sinful or sinless you may consider yourself to be (because in God’s eyes we are all equally guilty).
The people who Paul was writing to were getting hung up on religion and he’s saying, "It’s not about the religion! It is about Jesus and how the Spirit is able to move in and through people to help them to serve as they have been called."
It’s not about religion. And yet, as we’re able to see in the example of the Church Herald, people are still ready and willing to fight when they feel that their religion is being infringed upon, or even worse when someone outside of their religious circle might be saying that those inside the circle aren’t as right as they think they are. God forbid anyone ever questions our religion!
I have no problems admitting that the way that I put my faith into religious practice is not for everyone. Again, we are sinful creatures and it will only be in the last days that God will reveal how worship should be truly done. Simply put, I’m not going to go out into the world of which I am a part and decry anything that doesn’t completely line up with my particular understandings. The Roman Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Greek Orthodox churches ( let alone other churches in the Reformed denomination) are different both in terms of their religion and also what they believe. At the same time, in spite of those differences I am able to look at the members of those churches, look at their lives and the way that the Spirit is moving in and through their lives, and say, "yes, they are my brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t always agree with what they believe but in Christ, the differences are put to the side; in Christ, we are unified.
There will always be disagreements. The world of religion is one of the classic areas where those disagreements are articulated. I believe that is part of our fallen nature. However, instead of coalescing to that side of our nature, a side that is based in separation from neighbor and God, shouldn’t we instead struggle against it? Shouldn’t we struggle to find ways to say, "even though I may not agree with you (or even like you), I can still love you because in Christ we have been brought together and (as Paul states) heirs according to the promise"? I believe that the answer is yes, that we need to struggle to stand upon those places of common ground, not dumbing down what we believe, but at the same time recognizing that the Spirit of God is at work in all people, striving to bring us all back into a right relationship with the Almighty.
Loving our neighbor is not an easy task. Neither is following the Spirit of God. And yet, that is the task that is before us, both as individuals and as a church. Let us step out into the world and stand with all those brothers and sisters who have been unified in the loving sacrifice of Christ Jesus.
After Sermon Prayer
Gracious God, in these days of me, me, me where so much of what we hear tells us to shun all those who do not agree with what we believe, help us to strike a different position. Help us to stand with others in the unity of Christ, not of our religion, but of the one in whom our religion is based. Help us to stand with all those who are willing to stand with Christ to share his message and show his love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.