Growing Up / Based on Galatians 5:1, 13-25 / Delivered June 26, 2016

Growing Up

Based on Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Delivered June 26, 2016

Delivered to Christian Community Home, Hudson WI

Hymns:

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, Be Thou My Vision, They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.

 5:14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

 5:15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

 5:16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.

 5:17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.

 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.

 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,

 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions,

 5:21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 5:22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,

 5:23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

The Jewish people had law upon law.  First there were laws as communicated by the prophets.  Then they added additional laws to help guide people further to not break a “big” law as a safety net.  We see hundreds of laws written in the books of the Old Testament and more referred to in the New Testament from the old ways.  There were many more in separate volumes not within our standard Bible.

People were killed for not following the law.  The Old Testament has stories of painful punishments given by God for not following the laws.  The religious leaders were the police department of the day.  It was better to stone one person than to put the whole tribe in danger.  Laws kept them safe from God’s anger.  The added laws kept them even more safe because it forced a step farther away from breaking a law of God.

They were living in a time of “do it because I told you so”.

The switch from many rules to just one major rules seems like crazy change.  It helps to consider the people of Israel as a whole being like a person in their relationship to God. 

My three thoughts today take on that theme.

Grow up

Understand the ‘why’

Live with love

Grow up

When a child is young most parents have a lot of rules.  In the beginning of life they don’t have historical knowledge of what can hurt them or others.  They don’t have the ability to handle complex tasks safely.  They haven’t developed their full brain centers to help drive good behavior.  So we set rules for their safety and the safety of others.  We cover power outlets, we lock cupboards with cleaning supplies, we install fences to keep them in the yard and out of the street and stick them in a play pen full of soft toys.  To the best of our ability we attempt to keep the house free from breakables or things that would poison them if they put it in their mouth, because they put nearly everything in their mouths! 

We use the word “NO” so much that often that is the word the baby says back to us.  That “NO” is sometimes followed by consequences; things being forcefully taken away, being grabbed and moved suddenly, a time-out in their room, or even a slap of a hand.  The loud “NO” is enough to scare sometimes, and that is its purpose.  The “laws” we give certainly are like a yoke of slavery. 

Not only do we set rules to protect them, we also set rules to train them how to be a good person.  Share your toys, do not hit your brother, do not pull your sisters hair, say “thank you” to Grandma for the present, do not shout in the house – such things help a person fit into their community as they grow and learn.

A small child cannot understand the why so we as parents must resort to the “because I told you so” in the early stages of life.  This would equal the stage of laws.  They don’t understand the “why” but they know if they break the rule there will be consequences. 

Those childhood laws remain until they develop self-control.  That is a sign of maturity.  If we leave out self-control and just do what feels right, we easily fall into the list of the works of the flesh.  At our most immature level we care deeply about ourselves and self-preservation, but not so much about others.

Understand the “why”

As a child gets more understanding some of the rules are eased.  They can understand the “why” a little better too.  You can cross the street, but look both ways.  Cars come down the street fast and drivers don’t always look for small children.  You can help in the kitchen, but use oven mitts when you are around the stove.  The stove is very hot and can burn you.  You can look at Mommy’s pretty vase but be very gentle with it.  It was a gift and Mommy would be very sad if it was broken.

Some of the rules stay, but as you age you don’t see them as rules because you understand the “why”.  You don’t hit others or pull their hair because it is unkind and makes them feel very hurt.  You say thank you to show gratitude and it makes Grandma feel good inside.  Sharing with others builds a sense of community.  Plus, hopefully the child learns that when he is kind to others more often they are trusting and kind back to him.

Paul is giving us a parenting lesson in our scripture today.  Through Jesus ministry the “why” was clearly revealed.  Verse 14 – “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."”

The 10 commandments given directly by God support that commandment.  They don’t go away, but now we know the “why”.  If you truly loved another you wouldn’t steal from them, take their spouse, kill them, or lie to them.  If you truly love God you would keep Him first in your heart and honor him.

The “why” is love.  We love because He first loved us.  We love our neighbor like a brother or sister because God loves them as His child just like He loves us.  It isn’t that far away from a parent training a child not to pull their little sister’s hair.  Not only does it hurt the little sister, but it hurts the parent because they love her.  We may not have the capacity to love everyone, but God does.  He loves what we find unlovable, and that is enough to be the “why” for us to be kind.

Live with love

We are freed from the laws because we no longer need to memorize them.  If we are looking through the lens of love we will do them naturally.  “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.”  Our mammal selves are selfish.  At our lowest level we are about survival and procreation so our genes live on.  That life is living as ‘flesh’.  But we have the Spirit to guide and teach us a higher way.  “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  This is learning to live in community and seeing a higher purpose than your own brief life.

The scripture today is asking us to grow up.  It is true we are called ‘children’ of God, but we are challenged by Paul to mature from childish ways of thinking.  We are not asked to forget about ourselves, we are asked to love others as we love ourselves and to love God most of all.

Christ has set us free from those hundreds of laws by teaching us the “why”.  The laws are still a guide to what love looks like.  If you are acting in love you will be following them naturally and without the stress of worrying a religious leader was going to punish you.  We no longer act in this way because we fear punishment.  We act in love because we know it is the right thing to do.

Our path can be one of adding to what we care about and who we love.  We start by caring only about ourselves.  Next is caring about our family unit.  Next is our community – people who think and believe like us.  Next our country.  But what if we continued to expand our love to include all of the human race, and beyond that to all living creation on our small planet.

I dream of a world where all people love and care for each other.  It doesn’t seem very possible as I look at the world today.  I can only pray we, the human race, grow up.  I commit myself to live with love.  I pray you each join me in that path.  It is a start.

Amen

The Good the Bad and the Average / Based on Luke 7:36-8:3 and more / Delivered on June 12, 2016 at UMC Hudson

The Good the Bad and the Average

Based on 1 Kings 21:1-21a, 2 Samuel 11:26-12:15, Luke 7:36-8:3, Galatians 2:15-21

Delivered on 6/12/2016

Delivered to UMC-Hudson, WI

Luke 7:36-8:3

 7:36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.

 7:37 And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.

 7:38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.

 7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him--that she is a sinner."

 7:40 Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "Speak."

 7:41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

 7:42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?"

 7:43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly."

 7:44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

 7:45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.

 7:46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

 7:47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."

 7:48 Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

 7:49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

 7:50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

 8:1 Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him,

 8:2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

 8:3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

I chose the passage from Luke to be read during the time for scripture, but we’re going to cover four different passages this morning.  I’ve had them listed for you if you want to pull out a Bible, or bring one up on your phone, to follow along.  I’m going to pull highlights of the lessons from 2 Samuel and 1 Kings but encourage you to read them.  Galatians I’ll add in fully during our time together.

I hope to cover three ideas with you this morning.

The Good, the Bad, and the Average all sin

Sin has consequences

God’s grace is here for us

The lesson from 1 Kings gives us a brief look into the life of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel.  King Ahab was a bad man.  1 Kings 16:30 tells us so; “Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.”  I add in that earlier verse because by the story it seems like the evil deed is all on Jezebel

King Ahab is visiting one of his palaces and he decides he’d like a vegetable garden.  He politely asked the owner of the vineyard next door, Naboth, if he can buy it from him.  Naboth refuses because the land is part of his ancestral inheritance.  King Ahab is bummed about it and his wife, Jezebel, basically calls him weak.  “Do you now govern Israel?” She writes letters using Ahab’s seal to have others bring up false charges against Naboth saying “Naboth cursed God and the king”.  This was breaking the commandment from Exodus 22:28 “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.” Poor Naboth is stoned to death based on the lie, and King Ahab takes the vineyard.

God calls Elijah to let King Ahab know that what he did in secret was known to God.  Elijah is to deliver this message, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.  It isn’t included in our passage today but down the road King Ahab and Jezebel both pay for their actions with their life.

The lesson from 2 Samuel gives us a brief look into the life of King David.  King David was a good man.  Acts 13:22b tells us, “After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'”  Yet King David wasn’t without sin.  Just before our lesson today is the telling of King David hanging out in his palace while he sent his men to war.  He takes a fancy to Bathsheba, who is Uriah’s wife.  He forces her into his bed and she becomes pregnant.  So to cover up his indiscretion he has his commander put Uriah in the front lines of the battle without support from his fellows to get him killed.  Then he takes her as his own wife.

His cover-up may have fooled the people, but God is not pleased.  God sends Nathan to David to tell him a little story.

"There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.

 12:2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds;

 12:3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.

 12:4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him."

 12:5 Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die;

 12:6 he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."

 12:7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man!

David confesses his sin and seeks forgiveness, and is told his life will be spared but the child born of his adultery will die.  And the child does die.

You heard the passage from Luke.  The woman washing Jesus feet with her tears had many sins, according to the host of the meal.  She is neither very good or very bad.  She is my “average”.

The Good, the Bad, and the Average all sin.

King Ahab – very bad.  King David – very good.  The woman – neither bad nor good, just average.  The only thing they had in common was falling short of God’s law.

When my kids were growing up I remember parenting advise encouraging me to not call the child “bad” when they had acted out, but instead focus on the “bad behavior”.  “Bad” wasn’t who they were, it was a description of what they had done.  The Old Testament lessons are a reminder of how true that is.  You can be a very good person and still fall out of relationship with God.  You can also be a very bad person but keep up good appearances for the public.

In each of the events the separation from God is brought out.  King Ahab and King David both create an elaborate scenario to keep a good face to the public.  They are so focused on what their peers will think that they don’t remember God already knows the true story.  Their cover-up only adds to their list of wrongdoings.  King Ahab could have just taken the garden, but he would have looked bad.  King David could have left Uriah alive and maybe adopted the child, or not, but he would have looked bad.

To God…they both looked worse after their creative plans played out.

Even the New Testament lesson carries the idea of God being aware. 

7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him--that she is a sinner."

God does know. 

Not only does God see the sin, he sees the heart.  We need to remember this as well.  I’ve heard people say of someone who has their bad behavior revealed, “I thought he was a good person but I guess I was wrong.”  I disagree with that statement.  Sin does not mean the person has a bad heart.  It means they fell short.  The good that they did in other areas of their life can still be honored.  It is the sin that needs to be confessed and the relationship to God restored.  The Bible tells us ALL have fallen short.  That means the good, the bad, and the average all need to deal with sin.

Sin has consequences

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

King Ahab and Jezebel both payed for their sin with their life.  They did not reconcile with God.  They didn’t turn from their evil ways.  King David did confess his sin and sought to be reconciled with God.  His desire to renew his relationship was honored and God spared his life.  Yet his first son with Bathsheba died instead.

I don’t know about you, but such thoughts make me very uncomfortable.  Did God just kill an innocent child there?  Or perhaps the child was born ill because of the stress King David’s acts put on the mother.

The message is clear though, that sin does cause innocent lives to be lost.

Jesus was the innocent life that paid the cost for us.  He faced death in our place.  The woman at his feet had returned to focus on her relationship with God through Jesus and she was reconciled.

7:47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."

 7:48 Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

 7:49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

 7:50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

There are still consequences as the results of our behavior.  I was told as a child, “when you pick up one end of a stick the other end comes with it.”  Your actions and behavior have consequences.

I have heard it said, “You aren’t punished for your sins; you’re punished by your sins.”  A song by Steven Taylor called “Sin for a Season” came to mind.  In the lyric there are two examples of falling short, as well as their result.

There's a sweaty hand handling his cocktail napkin

 "Come on up and see me", is scribbled with a gold pen

 But you'd better ring twice

Seven months after his little indiscretion

 He sits with his wife at a therapy session

 For a little advice

If the healing happens as the time goes by

 Tell me why I still can't look her in the eye

God I'm only human, got no other reason

 Sin for a season

There's a shaky hand shaking with the hand of her hostess

 Drank a little much, but she'll drive herself home

 If she can make it to her car

She never saw the sign or the boy with his daddy

 Driving home late from their very first ballgame

 And they don't get far

Now the years run together as her guilt goes wild

 She still sees the body of an only child

God I'm only human, got no other reason

 Sin for a season, sin for a season

There is pain in sin.  It brings a mental and emotional weight that can bring us to the depths of despair.  Our scripture offers us another path.

God’s grace is here for us.

Here is the passage from Galatians 2:15-21

 2:15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;

 2:16 yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.

 2:17 But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!

 2:18 But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor.

 2:19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ;

 2:20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

One definition for justification is “the process of making the letters at the right or left edge of a printed page form a straight line.”  To me that fits!  Christ helps straighten us out.

In sin we have lost our relationship to the degree that we no longer even remember God is there.  I believe the root cause of all sin is this separation from God.  My daughter was married in a catholic church a couple weeks ago.  After the rehearsal the priest said he would be available for anyone who wanted “reconciliation”.  In my youth that was called going to confession, but I really appreciated the change in the name to “reconciliation”.  It gets to the core.  Reconciliation is defined as “the restoration of friendly relations.”  It is by returning to relationship to God that we are healed.

It is by living in relationship to Jesus Christ that we understand our relationship to God.  The law couldn’t accomplish that.  King Ahab and Jezebel even used the law as part of their murder plot. 

But we have this promise.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ died to restore our relationship with God.  The law failed to accomplish that.

So what do I hope to leave you with this morning? 

First, recognize sin comes to us all – the good, the bad, and the average.  Sin does not indicate a bad heart.  It indicates separation from God.  We must remember that before we judge another because of their sin, and remember it when we become aware of our own. 

Second, remember that sin has consequences.   This is the cost of our free will.  We can choose to cause pain and suffering to ourselves and others.  Jesus sacrifice on the cross assured us God’s love is there for us when we return to him but our choices still have an impact on our life. 

Third, when we become aware we have fallen short we can return to God.  Christ is there for us as he was for the woman.  His words for all who return are, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."  Like Paul I pray we can pursue a life where we can say, “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  

Remember Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That “anything else” includes our sin.  It cannot separate us from God’s love.  We don’t have a ceremony of “reconciliation” in the Methodist church, but we can each come to God ourselves and acknowledge where we have fallen short and seek to restore friendly relations.  The love of God that is in Christ Jesus is there to restore wholeness for all who turn back to Him.  These are wonderful words of life.

God’s amazing grace reaches out to heal and make us whole again.  We can use that free will of ours to return to him, to be reconciled, and to be justified by our faith in Jesus Christ.  Let that be our choice today. 

Amen