“Paradox”
Sermon Presented July 4, 2010
Galatians 6:7-16
I always have a library book on CD’s in my car. When I left for Missouri and Kansas on the 24th, I had four books, one of which was Mackenzie Phillips’ memoire, High on Arrival. Phillips is a celebrity in her own right, having starred in the television sitcom One Day at a Time and the movie American Graffiti, but she is most famous for being the daughter of John Phillips, the lead singer and song writer of the Mamas and the Papas. She was rolling joints for her father and his friends at the age of 10. She was heavy into drug use as a teenager because of the world into which she was born and the influences around her. She stayed clean for 10 years – beginning in the 90’s, but when her father died, she began using again to cope with her pain. Memories of decades of incest at the hands of her father conflicted with her great love and admiration for him, and this caused mental upheaval. The coexistence of these feelings became a paradox.
I couldn’t help thinking of her story as I read our text. Paul tells the church at Galatia that people reap what they sow. If they sow to the flesh, they reap corruption from the flesh. Let’s look at our text and hear a summary of Paul’s advice to the church at Galatia – advice that when examined, is filled with paradox! I’m reading Galatians 6:7-16.
The church at Galatia is in crisis! There are infightings and divisions. False teachers have told them that they must obey the Law of Moses – especially the law of circumcision – if they want to come to Jesus – a practice that is foreign to these non-Jews. What should they believe? Paul wants to set them straight. He wants to save the church.
As Christians, we talk a lot about the grace of God that accepts us and forgives us. We believe this and cling to it! But Paul reminds these new Christians that even though God offers grace and forgiveness, there are consequences to sin. Oh, we may not “get caught” in our sins, but we do bear the consequences of guilt and the fear of discovery. We live the paradox of life in Christ: freedom and responsibility – receiving grace and consequences.
The book Leading from Within: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead is a compilation of brief essays by leaders who shared poems that have influenced their lives. Harry Barnes, a former director general of the Foreign Service, as well as an ambassador to Romania, India, and Chile, wrote of his dream and battle for human rights in the world. The portion of the poem that sustains him is from Robert Browning’s poem Andrea del Sarto. It reads: “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?” (pp. 132-3) We are to sow to the Spirit. We are to have big dreams and not to grow weary in doing what is right, as we reach for that which often exceeds our grasp.
It takes effort to sow seeds that result in a good crop. When I was in Kansas last weekend, I saw the wheat fields that I love – some were cut and others were not. The farmers had no control over the rain that delayed the harvest in low-lying areas, but they did have control over how they produce the crop. They didn’t just go into the field and throw seeds on the ground and expect an abundant harvest. They first prepared the soil to receive the seed. Then they planted the seed and tended the crop. In life, there are always things that we can control, and things that we cannot. But when we work for the good of all – as the text teaches – we are sowing to the Spirit, and thus being faithful to Christ’s teachings.
This final chapter of Galatians is a summary of the arguments of the first five chapters. It draws to a conclusion the relationship between circumcision and the law, the Spirit and the flesh, and individual responsibility and concern for others. And there lies the paradox. God gives us the gift of freedom shaped by grace, but we aren’t to abuse this gift. When we confront paradox in Scripture, we need to look for the dominant pattern and resolve the difficulties if possible by contextualizing the words. (Mark Douglas, Feasting on the Word: Year C Volume 3, p. 208)
Verse 7 is not a rejection of the claim that Christians are justified by grace made possible by the crucified Jesus, but a recognition that actions have consequences (natural implications) that follow from them. If we don’t see the paradox, we can be guilty of trying to manipulate Scripture. Scripture isn’t to be used to prove our own point or give validity to our own agenda, but to find the truth God wants us to realize. (ibid, p. 210) However, the truth in Scripture, that is evident, should be proclaimed faithfully.
Now just because there is paradox in Scripture doesn’t mean that we don’t try to resolve it. So how do we discern between two differing positions? Christians find the core of the gospel in different places depending on what influences our lives. If that weren’t the case, we wouldn’t have so many Christian denominations, or so many different beliefs in the same congregation. We are rational beings and we need to think long and hard about the differences we observe as we examine a text. We are also spiritual beings and we need to examine Scripture in prayer and meditation. In other words, we need to seek enlightenment. (ibid)
But sometimes we can’t understand the contradictions. Then we need to live in the paradox and treat the presence of statements that are contradictory as an opportunity to affirm that faith is greater than understanding, that truth is never straight-forward, and that God can mysteriously hold together what would otherwise be divided. We are justified by faith through grace alone, but free will matters. We aren’t bound by the law, but should be fulfilled by the law. We should work for the good of all, especially for those in the family of faith. The new creation has come and yet we wait for it. (ibid)
This approach recognizes both human limitation and God’s power. Rather than making faith a matter of intellectual assent, it connects faith to trust. Those who live in paradox rest in the belief that there is wisdom deeper than our understanding. We still continue to search for understanding, but without anxiety. (ibid, p. 212)
The true gospel produces a church in which unity exists with remarkable diversity. We aren’t mirror images of one another – looking alike, thinking alike, speaking alike, and voting alike. Paul teaches that the church of Jesus Christ has unity with amazing diversity. Paul modeled radical freedom and said that Titus didn’t need to be circumcised. (Carol E. Holtz-Martin, Feasting on the Word, Year C Vol. 3, p. 211)
The circumcision party set down a litmus test for orthodoxy. And many churches today have such tests – what you should read, wear, believe, listen to, and study. It’s important not to overwhelm new Christians with expectations that mirror our own. Our backgrounds and interests differ. AND as we grow in our faith and practice, we learn to trust God to turn us in the right direction.
The true gospel produces a church of miraculous unity. I don’t think we will ever forget the Amish community in Nickel Mines, PA whose children were killed by a deranged shooter. This community took the work of Jesus seriously and forgave the shooter, reaching out to his family with food that same day. Later they shared the cash that poured in from Americans who reached out to them in their grief. (ibid, p. 213)
Grace and responsibility! Freedom and expectations! Such is life in Christ that produces a new creation. Paul writes: “For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule – peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” Advice and blessing!
07/04/2010
