Devotion of 02 July 2020, for “eNews” of First Christian Church of Hampton VA.
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LETTER TO THE GALATIANS 5:13-16, Common English Bible)
You were called to freedom, brothers, and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.
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First off, Happy Independence Day! We do love our nation, taking in both its glories and its failures, its achievements, and its challenges. We are still a young nation, in the broad sweep of history, and are best called the “American ‘Experiment,’” one that Thomas Jefferson rightly said needed to be given a refreshing in every generation.
The same, of course, can be said for what we call “Church.” What made sense at one time, may still make sense… or conditions have changed over time and so it adapts. This has been true of hymns, of worship formats, even who gets to read the Bible itself (at one time they were chained to the pulpit and average people had no access!).
I have been thinking much about “freedom” in recent days. It seems a word very much in conversation now, but what does “freedom” mean to us who follow Jesus? How does this singular word relate to how we live our lives, and how we see the community of the beloved centered in Jesus?
For instance, the latest issue has been the wearing of masks to reduce the numbers of those who acquire COVID-19. I’m not here to convince you as to their need, but engage in a conversation as to what is our primary source of revelation, and what guides our personal and communal effort in witness of Jesus Christ: Now, to be honest, Jesus didn’t use the word “freedom,” but he instead spoke of “he who lays down his life for his friends…” [John 15:13]. In short, he spoke of those who surrendered their very right to life, to freedom, to save others. He did this by his own example. We proclaim this as a central tenet of our faith.
Paul did often use the word “freedom” but let’s look at his usage. So it is that Paul wrote to the Corinthian community, which had a tough time understanding that freedom was not license… and what we may feel fine about doing, may harm another. So, he saw in I Corinthians 6:12, “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.” This is what underlies his later statement; “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” [9:19]. In his Letter to the Galatians [5:13-15], Paul elaborates, saying how we are “called to freedom,” but he then goes on directly to say not to use freedom as “an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love.” Love, then, is the highest form of freedom – the operative force in the life of the Jesus follower.
There it is. The question as to what we witness to, as those who follow Jesus. Does sacrificial love for others guide us? Is freedom something we seize to justify ourselves, or to surrender at times to uphold others? This all raises the question, as we celebrate “Freedom” – thankful for our nation and most of all thankful for Jesus Christ, to what meaning of this word are we moored?
Again, I wish you a most happy and safe Fourth of July. Be well! Love one another.
In Christ,
Pastor Vinson
©2020 by Vinson W. Miller, Hampton VA.
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