Free by God--but for What?
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Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Illustration - Veteran
It is the Fourth of July. An old veteran puts on his medals and makes his way to the park where Independence Day celebrations have already begun. He is greeted by the inviting aroma of hamburgers and bratwurst cooking on portable grills, and the sounds of happy voices floating out over the grass on a warm summer breeze.
The park is full of picnickers gathered around tables and sitting on blankets under the trees. Children are playing on the swings and slides, and chasing each other around the merry-go-round. There is a softball game on the diamond in the far corner, and splashing can be heard as swimmers cavort in the waves along the beach. A band begins to play patriotic songs from a stage which has been set up next to a statue in the center of the park. Later there will be fireworks.
The old veteran smiles as he takes it all in, and then he carefully maneuvers himself into a spot where he will have a good view of all the activities. He takes out a sandwich and a small thermos of coffee. Then he settles back into his chair to watch and enjoy.
After a while a group of young people comes by. They select a spot under a maple tree, not far from the old veteran, and spread an American flag on the ground.
He knows immediately that they intend to use it as a picnic blanket. Anger wells up inside of him. How could they use the flag that way?
They take out food and beverage and pass it around over the flag. Then they begin to eat and drink and talk and laugh.
The old veteran is not alone in his anger. Others nearby have noticed the young people and their flag. Murmurs of disapproval are heard all around. Soon a group of irate picnickers comes over to confront the young people.
One man yells out, "I fought for that flag! I will not see it abused like that!"
"Hey man, it's the Fourth of July. We're just showing the colors."
"Not like that, you're not. The flag is not supposed to touch the ground."
The sound of their impassioned voices can be heard all through the park. People come from every direction to see what the fuss is about. Before long there is a large crowd gathered around the flag. The shouting continues, with both sides getting louder and louder. Someone goes to call the police.
The old veteran can stand it no longer. He rolls his wheelchair in the direction of the angry crowd. There are so many people now that those on the outskirts cannot see the flag. Latecomers are not sure what the argument is about. The old veteran pushes his way into the center and shouts, "Enough!"
The crowd becomes quiet, more from the unexpected sight of an old man in a wheelchair than the sound of his booming voice. Their eyes go immediately to the stumps that stick out over the seat just above the place where his knees used to be. And then they see the medals pinned to his jacket -- the purple heart and silver star.
They watch in awe as he raises himself up out of his seat with arm muscles hardened by years of pushing and pulling the wheels on the chair which is his home every waking hour of every day. When his head is almost even with the faces of those who are standing over him, his eyes look down at the flag and he says, "This is not what it's about. It's what it stands for. Freedom. Freedom to choose. Freedom to be."
Then he lowers himself back into his seat, and as the crowd parts he wheels away back to his original spot. The picnickers go quietly and quickly back to their families. The young people continue their meal around the flag, and the old veteran watches and waits.
Soon it is dusk and the fireworks begin. The dark sky explodes with color as rockets go up, one after another. Then comes their noise, boom, boom, boom. Somewhere out on the lake someone sets off a string of firecrackers. Their ack, ack, ack hits the old veteran's ears like the sound of machine gun fire he remembers from the war almost 50 years ago. For a moment he is back in the battle with shells exploding all around him. He hears the cries of the wounded and sees the faces of the dying.
He comes to himself in time to see the grand finale, the colors red, white and blue emblazoned across the sky in the form of a flag. "Yes," he whispers to himself, "for freedom."
Our Text for Today
Our reading from Galatians today is part of a larger text that speaks to the idea of the freedom of a Christian. The issue on the debate table in Galatians is not about using the flag as a picnic blanket… but it was one that the folks at the time would have considered their patriotic, no, their divine duty to fulfill and stand up for.
While the issue for us feels far removed, for the Jewish Christians of the day it would have been just as important as the flag was for that veteran.
The good Jewish-Christians of the day had begun to gather around the Gentile converts as the question of circumcision was debated.
History of Circumcision
Circumcision, for the Jews, was a tradition that went back all the way to the time of Abraham. It was a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham that God would make Abraham the father of many nations. Abraham’s descendants and even his slaves were made a part of that covenant—that promise from God.
Circumcision meant prosperity for the people. It declared a special connection between Israel and God.
And, perhaps just as importantly, it meant tradition. By the time Christ had come around, circumcision had been a part of their society and tradition for over 2,000 years.
Question of the Day
The big question of the day—could someone join the faith without being circumcised? And in response, Paul, this grizzled old Christian who had already weathered storms of persecution, this man who had put his life on the line for his faith, who had travelled across the ancient world spreading the Word of God… this Paul steps forward to share his perspective to those gathered around the subject.
And in a moment of hushed voices around him, Paul declares that circumcision is not necessary. He proclaims a message of grace and inclusion. But why?
Covenants
I think before anything else, we need to know more about Covenants of the Bible. First of all, what is a Covenant in the Bible?
Well, put simply a Covenant is a contract. It is an agreement that is made between God and God’s people. It is a promise that God makes to the people and also generally God requires something in return—some specific conduct from the people such as, becoming circumcised.
Now there are only seven primary covenants that God makes throughout our scriptures. Most of those covenants are created specifically with the people of Israel.
In the Abrahamic covenant that we have been hearing about, God promises great lands and more descendants than ono can count! The demand is that all men shall be circumcised at the age of 8.
In the Mosaic covenant, God promised to make the people of Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation… the demand is that they follow God’s Ten Commandments.
There’s the Priestly covenant that God makes with the house of Aaron that he and his descendants will serve as priests in God’s temple. The promise is that the House of Aaron will have a special place in God’s temple. The demand is that the House of Aaron will have many duties to perform as priests in God’s temple.
Next, in the Davidic Covenant we see God making a covenant with King David that his dynasty will unite Israel and will rule. You can see the importance of this particular covenant playing out when we read the lineages in Luke and Matthew describing how Jesus is of the line of David. The people will have a King… but the demand is that they must also obey that King.
These first four covenants of the Old Testament that we’ve covered were created specifically between God and the people of Israel. There are two more covenants that we find in the Old Testament and both of these are a bit different because they apply not just to the people of Israel, but to all people.
The first is the Edenic Covenant which happened in the Garden of… anyone? Garden of Eden, yes. It is part of the creation story. The Edenic Covenant declares that humankind is given a special place in creation to care for that which God has created. Jewish Rabbis will likely tell you that we as humankind were given the promise of having dominion over all the land, fish, birds, animals, etc… but that we as a species are also given the demand of being good stewards of those resources.
And the other Old Testament Covenant is known as the Noahic covenant. The Noahic covenant is special in that applies not just to Israel, not just to humankind… but to humankind and all other living things. In this covenant with all living creatures, God promises never again to destroy all life on Earth by flood. The demand is for Noah and his family to refrain from shedding any blood during their life-times. So no hurting animals and no hurting one another.
There, in about 5 minutes we’ve covered all six Covenants of the Old Testament. But wait, I think I said there were seven covenants in the Bible, yes? Any ideas what the seventh might be?
I’ll give you a hint, we’re going to hear the words of the Seventh Covenant later on in the service.
Around the table with his disciples after supper, Jesus takes a cup filled with wine, he blesses it and gives thanks… and then he says, this cup is the new covenant of my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this, in remembrance of me.
Christ is the seventh Covenant. And the covenant is this… God promises to forgive the sins of the world. And what do we have to do in return? What is the demand on humankind? Christ dies for us—he sheds his blood that we might live. Our part is to lift the cup, bring it to our lips, and sip as we remember this promise of forgiveness from God that was then fulfilled not by our works but by God.
Paul and Freedom
Getting back to Paul and the conversation about circumcision for the gentiles, in the midst of this debate Paul begins to realize something. God’s covenants with the Jewish people… God’s covenants with all of creation had changed with that seventh Covenant… with that Christ Covenant.
Prior to Christ, while God’s promises were great there was always a demand on humankind… on Israel. The promise we had in the days of Noah was that God would allow us to continue to exist! God wouldn’t declare war on humankind. But in the Covenant of Christ’s blood, we hear something new… something different.
We hear God not only speaking acceptance of our existence but proclaiming God’s love for who we are as we are.
Our sins… your sins ARE forgiven… there are no ifs ands or buts. The work that needs to be done, according to the covenant, is done by Christ, not by us. There are no amount of good works, hours of prayer, times visiting church, or anything else of that nature that can hold up your end of the bargain. Being saved is not about your work… it is not about how faithful you are being to God even. Instead, it is about the work of Christ. God gives the promise, Christ fulfills the demand.
In this, Paul recognized the freedom that we have been given through Christ. But Paul also encourages throughout his letters that despite being given that freedom without cost to us, that we might respond to that freedom not with selfish living but through our own work in the world inspired by the one who loved us.
Pastor David Peters wrote about it as thus:
“Each of us is free in Christ to be for the world
what Christ was for the world:
an agent of reconciliation and love.”
On this weekend after the 4th of July, I encourage you to remember the Covenant of Christ’s blood. I encourage you to remember that Christ battled sin, death and the devil and willingly gave his life so that you might live.
As we come before the table today to receive the bread and the wine, I encourage you to remember the extraordinary grace and forgiveness that you have been given. As you taste the wine, remember the words of the covenant fulfilled by our savior.
And as we close the worship service and hear the words, “Go in peace, Christ is sending you!” and you respond, “Thanks be to God.” I encourage you to consider what exactly it is that Christ is sending you out into the world for.
Consider how you are called to respond to that extraordinary grace and forgiveness by being an agent of reconciliation and love in the world.
Seek out the places of injustice within the world, our country, and yes, our community… and speak boldly. Act boldly. Pray that all peoples may have the opportunity to know what it is to live in freedom not only through a government but through Christ. Peace be with you. Amen.