Pentecost 4 +
Year C + Proper 8 Fr. Robert R.M. Bagwell+
30
June 2013 St Thomas Isle of Hope GA
I Kings 19: 15-16 & 19-21; Psalm 16
Galatians 5: 1, 13-25; Luke
9: 51-62
He was very excited but being his very first time, he was very nervous as well. He thought hard how to introduce his message. On the day he arrived at the prison, he was greeted by a large group of prisoners waiting to hear him. As the young pastor walked and stood behind the pulpit, he said, ‘Good morning. It’s so good to see you here!’
How do you perceive 'freedom.'? We will celebrate the next
week the concept, the precept, the context by which we are made free by a Declaration of Independence, then later
a Constitution and a Bill of Rights. Freedom: Webster defines
it this way: : the quality or state of
being free: as
a : the absence of
necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another :
independence c : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous. There are others but the question I want to
ask is: "What does freedom mean to you?" Paul's focus on freedom is
in sharp contrast to a culture in which human slavery was rampant. When he used the allusions that he used
contrasting freedom and slavery, they had some sense of a deeper meaning. Those who founded this nation which Lincoln
called a "government of the people, by the people, for the people," was the great
'experiment'. No people had ever ruled
themselves by 'vote'. Even today when we try to 'export' the concept and spread
democratic representative republican government around the world, it is a most
difficult concept for the majority of peoples to grasp.
Our founders came at it with a view toward the
"protestant" understanding of St Paul. This is even evidenced earlier in Jewish
history when God alone was their King and until they asked the prophet Samuel
to make them a king "like all of the other nations have." A human intermediary versus directly living
under the leadership of God.
Hmmmm…neither God or the prophet Samuel were impressed with the
idea. St Paul however returns to
somewhat of the original argument or principle if you will. Can God trust us
with freedom? Yes. But true freedom in Christ is not coming from
the 'flesh' or our most human thoughts, words and deeds, but from the Holy
Spirit and that new person baptized into Christ that fights against the flesh.
What
controls you? Are you controlled by
others? Do you have Aself-control@? Many of life=s
goods and evils come from the issue of control. As we approach the day we
celebrate American Afreedom,@
it behooves us to ponder what it means for us as Christians. . This morning we are going to talk about what
God means by Acontrol@ and what the Devil means by Acontrol.@ Many who live in the Aflesh@ or natural sinful nature are in
bondage, not in Christ=s
freedom. The Epistles are largely about 'how' to live the Christian experience.
Control
is important because within it is the concept of Asubmission.@ No one likes to be
controlled. When we think of Acontrol@
we often think of Aoppression@.
Oppression is why the first
pilgrims came to this country. Submission and oppression are not the same
thing. Submission is a word of power
because only the person being asked to submit can do so. Oppression is one being forced against the
will. God does not do that. Freedom in
Christ is freedom to be wrong or right.
Submission
is to come under THE MISSION of God in Christ. It is to
become world-makers, kingdom-builders for the sake of God in Christ. God
does not oppress those he calls. God
respects our rights so much that he will protect our right to go to hell if we
want to. God offers what he offers out of love.
It is not for AGod
to fulfill his needs@
that God says, Alive by
the Spirit@ but for
our good, not his. Many in this world who desire to control others, do it for
something that is not for the other person's benefit.. Some have been hurt in
the past and believe that unless they control others, they will be hurt again.
Some learned the behavior from others. After
all, it feels 'good' to have authority over others and feel important.
But God
did not put us here to Acontrol@. A good rule of thumb is not to try to
Acontrol@
that for which you are responsible. Then
seek to exercise authority with love and self-less concern. If in this world, someone is controlling us,
we need to confront that person, lovingly but firmly and not allow ourselves to
be controlled. If we do not, we become
as guilty as the one controlling us. If we wish to have favor with God and
enjoy the benefits of our salvation in Jesus Christ here on earth, we will seek
to submit ourselves to being Acontrolled@ by the Holy Spirit. Each week most
of us pray or sing AThy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven.@
Do we offer ourselves to God as a
living sacrifice and then when God comes to bring some pain, some change,
something in our lives that will require of us a thimbleful of Asubmission@
do we say, ANOooooo
GOD !@
Jesus
painted a picture of what it means to
really follow him in less than glowing colors. In today=s
gospel readings Jesus encountered three
persons who asked him if they could follow or whom he invited to follow him.
Jesus= answers
with a no nonsense kind of answer in each case. Jesus give the first guy an advertisement
that seems to say, Athis
is a really tough life. Can you cut it?@ The second two simply wanted to fulfill
obligations that society and family puts on them. Jesus clearly says that the priorities of the
kingdom of God take precedent over those obligations. Commitment to Jesus and
the kingdom of God calls for sacrifice and honestly, few even in the Church of
Jesus Christ seem able to Acut
it.@ We don=t
like sacrifice. Sacrifice is
painful. Sacrifice, pain suffering, even
death at least to those very human reactions and desires.
What
sacrifices are we called to make? They all involve our natural responses.
In
the Epistle from Galatians today, notice what St. Paul calls the Aworks of the flesh@. Skip the first four and the last
three because those are what we usually
think of . Of course most of us do not do these or are not tempted to do these,
so that makes them much easier to use as battering rams to talk about all of those Abad
people@, who of
course, we always believe that we are not. Paul names idolatry
and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions Some of us have made idols of many things in our lives.
An idol is something that we put ahead of God or we consider of the supreme
value. But some of these others, if we
are honest with ourselves, we commit under an excuse: "that's just how I
am." But that is not how the Spirit
is.
Do
we form factions, become divisive? At
times someone does something we do not like or hurts us. Do we confront that person and say, Awhen you did this, I felt this way?@
Perhaps that would require too much effort and potential pain. No,
rather we make up our mind that this person is like Athis@ or Athat@.
We make a judgment, without all the facts mind you. But we think that we can read their
minds! That is why God said, Ajudge not, lest ye be judged, for with
the same judgment that you judge others you will be judged.@
Do we keep this to ourselves? We have been wounded, so we go to this person or that
person, saying something negative about this or that person or just saying what
will leave a little doubt in another person=s
mind. But Paul said today in the
readings, Abut those
who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires.@ I
recently read a quote attributed to Pope John Paul II: "Freedom is not the right to do as you please, but the
liberty to do as you ought."
Notice
what Paul speaks about: if you keep on
biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each
other. So I say, live by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (vss. 15 &
16) ABiting and devouring each other@ The Devil wants to control our mouths. ASubmitting@ to that control feeds out flesh. It is so hard not to spread gossip. Gossip of course need not be a false rumor,
gossip can be the truth, but it involves something that we are not given
the responsibility for. Do you like to talk about other people? The entire law is summed up in a single
command: "Love your neighbor as
yourself..@
Yes, I know some neighbors are more difficult to love than others!
Jesus
said, Athe
truth shall set you free@, (Jn.8:32) but that of course is
only true if we believe the truth and act upon it I have noticed that Satan tries to find a
wound, usually an emotional wound, to enter a life, especially if that life has
potential for God. So take care how your
respond. Do not reward evil for evil but
as St. Paul said, Aovercome evil with good.@ (Romans 12:21) Satan doesn't know what to do
with that. It is so against our flesh
and his. If you want to really Aget@
the Devil, when someone offends you, praise God and show love to the person who
hurt you. Submit to the Spirit and find
the light of God beginning to shine through you and all of your works and the joy of God=s
salvation. St. Paul wrote: A
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self‑control.@
This is true freedom! So this week as we think about American freedom, let us
place our own let us remember to love our neighbors as we do ourselves. To cherish their freedom as much as our
own.
Notice
what we prayed for together in our collect: "Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone:
Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we
may be made a holy temple acceptable to you."
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