Sunday Readings : Luke 9. 51-62; Galatians 5. 1 & 13-25; Psalm 16
Sermon preached on: – Second Sunday after Trinity 30.06.19
Prayer:-
Freedom is a wonderful thing. As far as I know commonwealth nations as well as nations which were under rule of other nations at some point of time, celebrate their freedom from them. I have seen people marching in the parades and watched fireworks during the celebrations. Freedom is highly sought after around the world even today: in politics, in society, in voting, in education.
But freedom can also be abused, as when that freedom is used as a license for immorality. So the question becomes: What are we using our freedom for? St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians talks about something far more important and deeper than all of these other important freedoms.
The first verse of our reading from the epistle of Paul to the Galatians includes a reiteration of the great theme of this letter : “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1).
He is talking about the freedom we have in Christ. He is talking about our eternal freedom through the gospel of Jesus Christ. What are we using that freedom for? And what Paul tells the Galatians and us is that, yes, we are free in Christ, with a true spiritual freedom. But that freedom is not meant to be used as a license for immorality or any other such sin. Rather, we have been set free for a purpose. For by the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are “Free to Be Fruitful.”
As Christians we are thankful for this greater freedom—our eternal freedom through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Martin Luther was especially thankful for it. As a young monk Luther was terrified of God’s wrath over his sins. He would pray for hours, fast for days, whip himself, and sleep on the cold stone floor of his monastery trying to please God. But Luther never found peace until he found the gospel of the Scriptures that pointed him away from his own works to the completed work of Christ Jesus. That gospel is particularly obvious in the letter to the Galatians. Luther loved Galatians so much that he called it his Katherine von Bora. It was as dear to him as his own wife. He even changed his last name from Luder to Luther to reflect the key Greek word in today’s lesson. “Eleutheria” means freedom. Luther Stood Firm in Freedom.
If we look at the background to this letter. It is the most personal letter which Paul ever wrote, it is also known as most controversial or argumentative letter, Paul is more critical of his audience here than in any of his other letters. Also, it is probably the very first letter Paul wrote,.. in AD 48. He wrote it to a group of Christians to whom he had brought the good news that God saves sinners simply through faith in the person and work of his Son, Jesus Christ. But when Paul left, another religious group moved into the area. They acted like Christians and said many Christian sounding things, but really challenged the gospel. This group taught that sinners are saved by believing in Jesus and obeying many of the laws God gave to the Israelites in the Old Testament. Some of the Galatians were being swayed in that direction.
What Paul wrote to the Galatians, God meant for you and me as well as for all of humanity to hear.
Freedom
and Love
In
Verse-13,
Paul sounds the call to freedom once again: “For you were called
to freedom, brothers and sisters.” He then begins to sketch what
it means to live in the freedom Christ gives.
Paul was likely aware that his emphasis on freedom could be viewed as dangerous, opening the door to libertinism. Paul exhorts the Galatians not to use their freedom as an “opportunity for self-indulgence,” or more literally, as a “base of operations for the flesh.”
Flesh for Paul is not merely the physical body, but the whole self under the power of sin, with its self-serving desires and motives. This self is never satisfied, it seems, never has enough esteem, status, wealth, pleasure, or whatever else it is seeking. Self-indulgence easily becomes a new form of slavery.
Christ frees us not only from the law, but from the sinful self. Freed from self, we are free to serve our neighbour, to “become slaves to one another” through love. To serve “through love” means that serving is done not to meet the demands of the law or even to feel good about ourselves. It is completely focused on the needs of the neighbour.
Quoting Leviticus 19:18, Paul says that “the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself'” (5:14). The word translated “summed up” could also be translated as “fulfilled.” Quite possibly Paul intends both meanings here. This commandment sums up the intent of the entire law, and loving the neighbour in this way fulfills the entire law (cf. Romans13:8-10; Mark 12:28-34; Matthew 22:34-40; Luke 10:25-37).
Paul’s understanding of love is (agape), of course, is not about sentimentality or warm feelings. It is the self-giving love God has shown us in Christ, “who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). This kind of love goes far beyond what the law demands. It is an all-encompassing way of life, constantly seeking to serve the neighbour.
Flesh and Spirit
Now here’s the best part. God actually remade us to act like this to others. Paul explains, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” As a believer in Christ we possess all these traits and characteristics. It is interesting that Paul calls the list of sins “the works of the flesh” or “the acts of the sinful nature,” things that people can do by themselves. But the good things listed do not come naturally. They are planted and grown by the Holy Spirit in believers. Also these good things are called “fruit,” not “fruits.” In other words, you can’t say, “I’ have got a lot of kindness, but I’m lacking patience,” as if the Holy Spirit forgot to give you that particular fruit. No, these are the fruit of the Spirit, given just like a cluster of grapes. If you have one, you have them all because that’s how the Spirit distributes them. And we are free to use them to their maximum potential to glorify God and serve each other. Paul says, “Against such things there is no law.”
Paul offers a radically different understanding of freedom. The freedom Christ gives is not freedom for self-indulgence but freedom from self for service to others. It is the freedom in which life in any community flourishes. In our Gospel today, Jesus rebuked his disciples because they wanted to use their freedom as they liked. They wanted to command fire to come down from heaven and consume the Samaritans.
Paul warns that by seeking justification in anything other than Christ, we cut ourselves off from Christ and fall away from grace. The law cannot provide the security we seek. Our identity, our justification, our inheritance as God’s children are secured solely by God’s promise made good in Jesus Christ. God’s unconditional, self-giving love is the only power that can set us free to love our neighbours as ourselves. And faith working through love is the only thing that counts (5:6).
In the name of God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen