Monday, May 25th
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
–Galatians 5:22-23
On this Memorial Day, I am struck by the thought of how much talk we’re hearing during these days about the notion of freedom. The word “freedom” is a very emotional one for us as Americans, ingrained in our societal psyche from the original colonists’ rebellion against English constraints, their struggle for religious liberty (particularly dear to us as Baptist Christians), and subsequent debates over basic human rights related to race/ethnicity, gender, economic status, age, etc. This word that used to be a source of pride and seemed so easy to define now often seems to be wielded as a weapon by those pursuing their own liberty at the expense of that of others. I’m reminded of Martin Luther King’s admonition: “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” We followers of the way of Christ have much to ponder in these times.
Interestingly, today’s Scripture verses are found in Galatians, a book that has been called “the charter of Christian liberty.” While it was not intended to be a spiritual directive for all times (It was addressed to a particular situation and deals with some cultural topics that may seem minor to us modern-day readers.), its value for us lies in Paul’s contrasting the freedom of the spirit through Christ versus bondage to the ways of the world. The things that Paul had taught to the Galatian churches were under attack by Jewish Christian missionaries, who were teaching the people that if they wanted to be true people of God, they had to follow specific Jewish religious laws. In this response to those criticisms, Paul adamantly strove to remind the Galatians of those things which were most important to the Christian faith.
In traveling with Paul to Galatia, we find ourselves in a part of modern-day Turkey that at one time extended to the Black Sea in the north and the Mediterranean Sea in the south. The name, which comes from the Greek word for “Gaul”, referred to Celtic/Gaulic tribes who had migrated eastward from Europe to occupy the land early in the 3rd century B.C.E. The tribes became relatively important in the area, partly due to their roles as allies and foes in critical territorial battles. The area was made a Roman province in 25 B.C.E. by Augustus Caesar, but its diverse people remained well-known for their love of freedom and independence.
Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia contains some of his most elegant expressions of faith – the letter has been described by scholars as the precursor to his magnus opus, Romans. He augmented that with the aggressive intensity of his denunciations against those Jewish Christians who criticized his theology and sought to impose behavioral criteria for determining who could or could not be authentic people of God. The letter was adopted by Martin Luther in his efforts to talk about the necessity of freedom in church life, which was one of the major tenets of the Protestant Reformation. Paul’s overarching premise in the letter is his emphasis of “justification by faith,” basically that salvation/a right relationship with God is attained solely by faith in God’s promise of future grace through Jesus Christ, that specific deeds or behaviors are not required.
William Muehl, who for years taught preaching at Yale, tells about a time when he recognized that we still need to read Paul about this “justification by faith.” In a sermon at Duke, he said “A few years ago, I spoke at a corporate communion breakfast sponsored by a council of churches in central Pennsylvania. The ecumenical spirit was strong in that community. And there were representatives of many denominations taking part in the occasion. As I chatted with my host, who was the chairman of the breakfast, he pointed to a middle-aged man who was obviously at the center of all the action that morning. He was carrying trays, directing other waiters, exhorting the cooks and so on. ‘That’s Amos Schmidt,’ my friend said. ‘He’s one of the leading Lutheran laymen in this town. A real fireball in municipal affairs. He’s on the Board of Education, he’s a guiding spirit in our program of downtown renewal. He singlehandedly sold the city council on setting up a soup kitchen and a house of hospitality for street people. And in his spare time, he coaches a racially integrated Little League team. Now he’s my idea of a real Christian.’ Well, for reasons which will become clear, I sought out Amos Schmidt and cornered him when the breakfast had ended, and made a point of chatting with him for a few minutes. ‘I’m told,’ I said, ‘that you are a splendid example of Christian responsibility in the community. That you sacrifice most of your leisure time in doing good works and that the people of the town feel beholden to you on many accounts. Why? As a staunch Lutheran, you must believe that you are saved by faith and not by works. Why bother doing so much? Is it simply to show your gratitude to God for the unearned gift of grace?’ Well, Mr. Schmidt made all the disclaimers required of any reasonably modest person in such a situation. But when he saw that I meant the question to be taken seriously, he thought for a moment and then said, reflectively: ‘I suppose that I believe in justification by faith and not works, that’s certainly what my church teaches. I guess I believe in it. But,’ (and here he made a great show of looking around to see whether his pastor was within earshot, and then he concluded), ‘but I figure, why take a chance?’ Now this conversation dramatizes, for me, one of the more serious problems of Christian faith in our time. Most of our churches teach that we are justified by faith and not by works. Paul proclaimed the doctrine so emphatically that one contemporary theologian has called it the ‘heart-beat of Paul’s gospel.’ But it’s been my experience that in spite of the enthusiasm of theologians for the formula, few lay men and women really understand and accept its thesis.”
Dr. Muehl’s insights are so true, but it’s not just true for lay people. Ministers have the same unexpressed doubts about “justification by faith.” Dr. Wayne E. Oates is remembered as one of the original authorities in pastoral care in our country. In 1971, Dr. Oates wrote Confessions of a Workaholic: The Facts about Work Addiction, adding the word “workaholic” to the American lexicon; the Oxford English Dictionary credits him with inventing it. His concept was that work can become an addiction, akin to alcoholism. Mr. Oates said in an interview at the time the book was published that the work-addict ”drops out of the human community” in a drive for peak performance. Now, the irony for so many of the ministers who studied under Oates was that they could not practice what he preached. Nevertheless, his hypothesis has obvious connections to Paul’s ideas about “justification by faith.
Fortunately, there are those in Christian education circles who are trying to build on this thinking. Dr. Craig Barnes, the President of Princeton Theological Seminary, has written: According to the Westminster Catechism, our chief end “is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” As we make God the delight of our lives, so do we discover how to delight in all of life. Recently I spent the morning in the hospital with a family whose nine-year old son has a brain tumor. Then I rushed back to the church to lead a funeral for one of our elders who died from a car accident. Finally, that afternoon I spent a lot of time on the phone with a woman who has a terrible disease that now appears to be terminal. That evening my wife and I went to see Margaret Edson’s wonderful play, “WIT.” It is about a very accomplished woman with stage four ovarian cancer. As she says in the play, “There is no stage five.” By the end of the day, I was getting the message. Life is fragile and death is not pretty or poetic. The poetry is in life. And death lasts for a long, long time. Too soon it is coming for all of us. Maybe even tomorrow. So this life is it! This is your one shot at enjoying life in this world. Is there a next life in a heaven? Absolutely! But everything we are told about the next life is meant to help us understand this one and heaven proclaims that life is a grace to be enjoyed. The best way to wreck your life is to try to get it just right or make it always successful. You don’t have time for that. And, remember, you’re not in charge. That is not meant to rob you of power. It’s meant to make you free, free to enjoy the unfolding mystery of life. Free to be a light to your end of the earth.
A Time of Reflection and Prayer
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For many of us, a sense of duty and responsibility was impressed upon us in our early lives as Christians. Does a sense of freedom have a role to play in our spiritual lives? If so, is it freedom from… or freedom for…?
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Paul saw the “fruit of the Spirit” — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control — as naturally-emanating from a genuine relationship with God. Looking at those qualities, which come more easily for you? Which are more difficult?
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Are there people in your life who have embodied those qualities for you? Express gratitude for those gifts given, and seek guidance in sharing them with others.
A Musical Guide for Prayer: Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”
When you’re weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all, all
I’m on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I’ll take your part, oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
Oh, if you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind