The Way of Life
The Way of Life
July 3, 2022
Galatians 6: 1 - 16
The letters of St. Paul – except for the Letter to the Church in Rome -- are generally considered to be responses to letters or other communication from the congregations that he had established. Our lesson today from the Letter to the Galatian churches is a good example of his writing process. We have seven or eight ideas addressed in just a few verses; Paul seems to be touching a series of complaints sent to him before he ends his letter.
The first concern is what we should do if one of our members is “detected in a transgression”? It happens, you realize, that some of our members might not adhere to all of the policies or rules that the church organization writes down. One of the older members of the former Harrison Street Church told me about the Sunday morning that in his sermon the pastor challenged him for driving a beer truck – this was thirty or forty years later, and he was still trying to deal with it – after he had moved his membership to Silverbrook Church.
Sometimes our members can embarrass our Church. And did you know that The Book of Discipline, our procedures, rules, and policies book, has a provision for a local church to conduct a trial of a member accused of immorality, crime, disobedience to the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church, or dissemination of doctrines contrary to the established standards of doctrine of the Church? [It has similar procedures for bishops, clergy members, local pastors, and diaconal ministers.]
In Paul’s day the local congregations did not have all of these procedures and guidelines. Paul’s instruction – to whatever the situation was that raised the question to him – is “If anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. That sounds nicer than a trial or some kind of pre-trial negotiation to change the person’s behavior of to remove him or her from the membership of the congregation. And Paul assumes that the one detected in a transgression is willing to be restored to faithful living – I guess as defined by the church elders.
Paul next raises a concern for the one or more persons “who have received the Spirit” and are gently restoring the transgressing member. He writes to them, “Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.” He does not say tempted to do what – maybe to join in the transgression because it is so inviting. More likely, he is cautioning the restoring people not to be too proud of their own “faithfulness.” It is faith that saves us is his point; it is not our following the rules and avoiding transgressions that the Spirit requires.
In the second verse, Paul seems to address another concern which is somewhat related to the first. In probably the most quoted verse of the letter, Paul writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Loving your neighbor is, I guess, the “law of Christ.” So, helping each other with their issues, concerns, problems, or situations is what the Christ asks of us. And, in verse five, he adds the other half of this teaching, “For all (who are able) must carry their own loads” – their own burdens. We are not to ask, wish, or expect the Church to give us free a free ride. So there apparently were freeloaders in the Early Church as in today’s churches. We are to (help) bear each other’s burdens while carrying our own, as much as we are able.
Verse six suggests that the teachers in the congregations of Galatia were making out pretty well. So much so that Paul interrupts his thoughts to say, “Those who are taught the word – that would be the members of the churches – must share in all good things with their teacher(s).” There is no context for this verse; the translators set it off as a single-sentence paragraph. Apparently, the teachers of the word were given money or food or gifts for their teaching; Paul is saying that they need to share their “blessings” with their students.
Next, verse 7, is another big jump in subject. Paul seems to be going down the list of complaints addressed to him. Here he turns to another attitude that is reflected in the behavior of the members of the church. “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.” Some members have apparently been claiming that their faith relieves them from some of the responsibilities and obligations of faithful living – that would likely include avoiding transgressions, bearing other peoples’ burdens, and sharing their good things.
He doubles down on this statement. “If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh.” That is, if you sow wild oats, you get wild oats. “But if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” Just in case the Galatians did now know what sowing to the flesh or Spirit might mean, he gives them – and us – some instruction. He writes, “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right because we will reap goodness at “harvest time (at the end of the world or at the end of our lives), if we do not give up.” And what is doing right? It is working “for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith” whenever we have an opportunity.
That is a really good teaching: Never grow weary of doing good – of doing what is right – whenever you have an opportunity. That is doing good to all – to everyone: church member or not, good citizen or not, -- to everyone. In all things sow to the Spirit, loving God, rather than letting yourself use your opportunities for your own selfish pleasure or gain. That guidance is clear; I think that we can understand and apply it to our situations today in this radically different culture.
Finally, Paul turns again to one of his major concerns. Some people – missionaries or preachers – have been claiming that everyone has to become fully Jewish first in order to become a Christian. After all, Jesus was a Jew as were most or even all of his disciples. To the Church in Jerusalem led by Jesus’ brother, James, as well as some other groups, this was a primary article of faith.
To Paul this was a stumbling block. He was working to open the Church to all people – to the Greek cultured people as well as the Jewish people. But asking everyone to follow the 618 religious and cultural Jewish laws including requiring adult men to undergo circumcision was a bit much. It was okay for infant boys who couldn’t do anything about it to be circumcised. But, who would even know who was or was not circumcised? Their culture was much less open to partial nudity than ours; no one would know a man’s status unless he was upper class enough to go to the gymnasium. [Gymnos means naked. There were no gym clothes; the gymnasium is where everyone (but it would only be men) went naked to participate in athletic activities.]
The matter of being circumcised really references following the 618 laws of the Pentateuch (the five (penta) Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) which, of course, includes circumcision. Paul’s argument is that following all of the laws does not earn our way into heaven. Only faith in Jesus leads to God’s gracious gift of salvation. As Paul sums it up in verses 15 and 16, “For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!” Peace and mercy are the result of following this pattern, this attitude, or this way of life.
Well, we don’t live in Galicia two thousand years ago. How might we hear these instructions from our Big Brother, Paul.
First, when one of us transgresses the policies of Mt. Salem church, we need to restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. That makes good sense. We have a number of members and friends of the Church who have drifted away, no longer attending and participating regularly in our programming. In a spirit of gentleness, we need to invite and urge them back into our community of faith.
In the process of gently renewing their faith, we need to take care that we ourselves are not tempted either to join them in their transgressions or to present ourselves as puffed-up, greater-than-thou, nose-in-the-air perfect Christians, because we are not. We are just ordinary people learning and practicing the ways of our faith.
We all need to practice bearing one another’s burdens and, at the same time being certain to carry our own loads or burdens. Whatever gifts and capacities that God has provided to us, we need to share in our community of faith. That is God’s plan for our fellowship.
Teachers and preachers and leaders, we must share all good things with which we have been blessed. We are blessed so that we may be blessings to those around us here in the Church and in our neighborhood.
And Paul’s principle is always spot on: Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. Let us learn to sow in the Spirit so that we individually, we our congregation, and we our neighborhood may grow into God’s dream for humankind right here in this community.
That is, we need to do right. We need to do what is good of for all people, not just for me and mine or even ours. That is God’s dream for us.
So let us never grow weary of doing good – of doing what is right, of doing what is loving and caring -- helping our families, our friends, our close neighbors and our distant neighbors; loving them whenever we have the opportunity. That is God’s way for us. This kind of faith in Jesus’ teachings and examples leads to God’s gracious gift salvation in this life and in the life to come.
Let us be it and let us do it.
Amen.
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