Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Last week we spoke of blooming where we are planted. This week we take a look at something which prevents us from doing that and this is fear. Even the Galatians dealt with this. This is why Paul tells them not to take up the yoke of slavery again. Fear will do that to us. We want what is most familiar, what we can cling to with certainty and so did the people of Galatia. They fell back to something that was familiar, Jewish law.
This for Paul was the struggle of his career. When he had his encounter on the road he was completely changed. Changed from being a Jew of the Jews as he outlines in his letter to Philippi. He knows deep within that since Christ came and died and rose that the law is empty. This makes the Jerusalem church nervous. They want to reign Paul in and so the first division starts and yet they remain in dialogue and submit to the authority of one another.
So here today we have Paul telling his people not to fall under the yoke of slavery because the law is something certain, something we can cling to, something we can measure. Yet the way of Jesus is different. The way of Jesus doesn't end in absolutes. Just like the disciples were confused today because Jesus didn't allow them to call down destruction on Samaritan towns which rejected them, we are called to reach out beyond what we think can be right or wrong. Fear of rejection cannot be a factor in assessing right and wrong.
Paul goes to the one commandment Jesus gave which is the hardest to live up to, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." This is a tall order. As an example of this there was a story I read from AARP magazine about a woman who recognized an officers distress as she was driving. When she saw the fear in his eyes and knew he didn't have things under control, she stepped into the fray and helped, without regard for her own life. We are never asked to go this far, but fear would not rule her decision to help. She explains it as this overwhelming sense of peace and going forward from there.
To be guided by the Spirit is to recognize the gifts it brings: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. This brings us far from fear and what fear produces quarrels, envy, factions, strife, jealousy just to name a few. Every one of these is fueled by a fear. A desire for our own control and not God's. These keep us bound and engaged in spirals which damage our relationship with God and with others. We are not willing to allow the Spirit to work within us, neither are we willing to learn what the Spirit might teach us because we have decided the sure ground is enough.
We are not asked in a real way to lay down our lives like the woman in the story did, we are asked to lay down our lives as followers of Christ. The first Christians were known far and wide for their works in caring for those outcast by society. They had to get over their own fears in this and believe the gospel called them to something higher. They were the first to care for the sick, at least until the plague came. They were the ones caring for lepers instead of leaving them outcast and alone. Their own fears of catching disease had to be left behind. It was not safe or rational, it was what they were called to in Christ.
We are called to this today. Our call has not changed, Christ has not changed the love your neighbor as yourself message, we are called to take up this mantel and shed our fears. We are called to take care of those who are usually forced to the margins and considered not worthy. The challenge is to shed our fear. Shed our fear in a society which is more fearful now then ever. To take off that yoke of slavery which leads only to strife and chaos, and pick up the cross. The way of love, the way of light, and the way we are all to walk.
Last week we spoke of blooming where we are planted. This week we take a look at something which prevents us from doing that and this is fear. Even the Galatians dealt with this. This is why Paul tells them not to take up the yoke of slavery again. Fear will do that to us. We want what is most familiar, what we can cling to with certainty and so did the people of Galatia. They fell back to something that was familiar, Jewish law.
This for Paul was the struggle of his career. When he had his encounter on the road he was completely changed. Changed from being a Jew of the Jews as he outlines in his letter to Philippi. He knows deep within that since Christ came and died and rose that the law is empty. This makes the Jerusalem church nervous. They want to reign Paul in and so the first division starts and yet they remain in dialogue and submit to the authority of one another.
So here today we have Paul telling his people not to fall under the yoke of slavery because the law is something certain, something we can cling to, something we can measure. Yet the way of Jesus is different. The way of Jesus doesn't end in absolutes. Just like the disciples were confused today because Jesus didn't allow them to call down destruction on Samaritan towns which rejected them, we are called to reach out beyond what we think can be right or wrong. Fear of rejection cannot be a factor in assessing right and wrong.
Paul goes to the one commandment Jesus gave which is the hardest to live up to, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." This is a tall order. As an example of this there was a story I read from AARP magazine about a woman who recognized an officers distress as she was driving. When she saw the fear in his eyes and knew he didn't have things under control, she stepped into the fray and helped, without regard for her own life. We are never asked to go this far, but fear would not rule her decision to help. She explains it as this overwhelming sense of peace and going forward from there.
To be guided by the Spirit is to recognize the gifts it brings: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. This brings us far from fear and what fear produces quarrels, envy, factions, strife, jealousy just to name a few. Every one of these is fueled by a fear. A desire for our own control and not God's. These keep us bound and engaged in spirals which damage our relationship with God and with others. We are not willing to allow the Spirit to work within us, neither are we willing to learn what the Spirit might teach us because we have decided the sure ground is enough.
We are not asked in a real way to lay down our lives like the woman in the story did, we are asked to lay down our lives as followers of Christ. The first Christians were known far and wide for their works in caring for those outcast by society. They had to get over their own fears in this and believe the gospel called them to something higher. They were the first to care for the sick, at least until the plague came. They were the ones caring for lepers instead of leaving them outcast and alone. Their own fears of catching disease had to be left behind. It was not safe or rational, it was what they were called to in Christ.
We are called to this today. Our call has not changed, Christ has not changed the love your neighbor as yourself message, we are called to take up this mantel and shed our fears. We are called to take care of those who are usually forced to the margins and considered not worthy. The challenge is to shed our fear. Shed our fear in a society which is more fearful now then ever. To take off that yoke of slavery which leads only to strife and chaos, and pick up the cross. The way of love, the way of light, and the way we are all to walk.
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