June 29, 2025 Proper 8
Penelope Bridges
We continue the theme of freedom in Christ this week. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul pleads with them to use their freedom in Christ for positive ends, to build community, to practice the spiritual virtues with one another, as concrete signs that they love one another. Paul uses colorful and punchy language to get his point across: “if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” We see far too much biting and devouring in our world right now. It seems that every political issue becomes one of character: if you disagree with me, you must be a terrible person. We are constantly wound up into a state of outrage, and that isn’t healthy.
In the Gospel, the disciples react with anger when the Samaritan villagers set a boundary and decline to entertain Jesus and his friends – Jews and Samaritans generally didn’t mix. James and John, elsewhere called the Sons of Thunder, want to do violence to the villagers – the brothers are demonstrating the works of the flesh that Paul addresses, overreacting in rage : “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
As this story in Luke immediately follows the Transfiguration, when Jesus was seen in conversation with Moses and Elijah, they are perhaps remembering the episode in Kings where Elijah called down fire on the messengers of King Ahab. It’s not clear that James & John would be able to do that, but in any case Jesus rebukes them for their violent words and simply leads the way to the next village. Jesus shows us the way to act in the Spirit: thoughtfully, proportionately, and without threats or insults. Even when we are rejected, cast out, called names, marginalized, we are to respond with intentionality, to follow the example of our Lord. Let it go: shake off the dust; carry on to the next place. Violence will never bring people closer to God. Love must always lead.
Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh” reminds me in a strange way of Stanley Green, who for 25 years walked among the shoppers in Oxford Street in central London, carrying a sandwich board that exhorted everyone to eat less protein in the interest of dampening the passions of the flesh. His sandwich board read, “Less Lust by Less Protein: Meat, fish, bird, egg, cheese, peas, beans, lentils … and SITTING.” Mr Green took “flesh” very seriously, but Paul doesn’t confine himself to physical sins in his list: “the flesh” seems to mean all kinds of activities that are driven by passion, instinct, or the subconscious; whereas the works of the Spirit have an intentionality to them.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but the freedom in Christ that frees us to live more fully involves a measure of self-restraint and discipline. As we celebrate the tenth anniversary this week of the Obergefell decision legalizing marriage equality, I think about the positive discipline that marriage can offer a relationship. Entering into this sacramental life frees us to put our spouse first, forsaking all others. It frees us to let go of former lovers, of unhealthy ties to our family of origin, in favor of creating new, forward-looking relationships with spouse and children.
But as any long-married person knows, marriage takes work and intentionality and discipline if it is going to be healthy. Knowing that we have made vows before God and all our loved ones “ups the ante”: it is an added reason to keep at it. And goodness knows that there will be plenty of opportunities in any marriage to practice spiritual virtues, because in any relationship there is going to be conflict and disagreement, and correspondingly the need for forgiveness and humility.
If you read texts on marriage counseling, you find that, according to some therapists, the fatal blow to a relationship is the expression of contempt. We can fight, argue, debate, express anger, pain, hurt, but if we can refrain from resorting to contempt we have a much better chance of finding ultimate healing and reconciliation. Paul wants the Galatians to go further than simply refraining from contempt though: it’s almost as if he is against all kinds of conflict, and I am not sure that is right. If we want to change as God wants us to change, the effort will often create conflict. In fact, you could say that the very act of initiating change, whether it be personal or institutional, inevitably and necessarily involves conflict.
Perhaps it’s an inner conflict between excitement at the possibilities and fear of the unknown. I certainly experienced that conflict when I accepted the call to St. Paul’s. Perhaps it’s a conflict between striving for a brighter future and mourning the good things about the beloved past. We might feel that about changes to the cathedral, such as the move from pews to chairs, or the letting go of the Rite One service and Morning Prayer on Sundays. At some point in our lives we need to come to terms with the likelihood that any change in our lives, however positive, will bring mixed feelings with it.
And when we commit our lives to Jesus, we should prepare ourselves for change, even for transformation, of ourselves, of our relationships, of the world. This commitment may require, as Jesus said, that we give up home, tradition, even family. It isn’t going to be easy to put Jesus first.
Paul casts our freedom in a positive light. In Christ we are freed to live fuller lives, to love more extravagantly, to forgive more readily, to embrace life without fear. This freedom doesn’t free us from all ties or responsibilities: rather, it is within those ties and responsibilities that we get to exercise our freedom.
Mother Teresa was reputed to have said, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Being kind to someone may seem insignificant in the great scheme of world events, but our acts inspire others to act. One kindness leads to another. One moment of self-restraint in a tense situation can change an outcome. This is how we contribute to the coming of the kingdom of God: through our small expressions of the fruits of the Spirit, that act like yeast in the world. For freedom Christ has set us free: free to work for peace, free to offer kindness, free to love as God loves us, free, as St. Paul instructs, to live in and by the Spirit. Amen.
