Community Church Sermons
June 10, 2007
Pentecost
2
Psalm 146
Galatians 1:11-24
Listen to this Sermon!
That old spiritual is fun to sing, isn’t it? I love how the lyrics capture the theme of Pentecost. As we have been saying these past few weeks, the Holy Spirit is moving!
You can see the Spirit moving in the life of the apostle Paul. Here in Galatians 1, Paul describes the gospel he preaches as not having come to him from any human being. No, Paul claims, the gospel he preaches came from none other than Jesus Christ himself.
Now, don’t you think that’s rather odd? After all, Jesus had long ago ascended back to heaven. Long before Paul ever came on the scene, Jesus was gone!
So how in the world did Paul get
this Good News message from Jesus? Well, verse 12 offers us the answer: “I
did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it
from Jesus Christ by revelation.”
Now if you think back to our Holy Spirit readings from the Gospel of John, when Jesus was preparing the disciples for his soon-to-come departure, Jesus promised the followers that – even in his absence - he would not abandon them. No, Jesus said, he would send them the Holy Spirit. And one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to take the life and love and teachings of Jesus and bring them to us! As we learned last week, the Holy Spirit is the one whose job is to grow us as Christian followers. The Holy Spirit leads us more deeply and fully into the truth of Jesus Christ.
And how does the Spirit do this?
Well, by revelation. And often that revelation comes from within.
Or I will serve others, or I will speak truth, or I will worship, or I will love my enemy, or I will feed the hungry, or I will know the difference between right and wrong.
One of our church members recently told about being at a Dedication service for a small child. The Dedication took place in a church that some might describe as Fundamentalist, and while the pastor was dedicating this beautiful little child, he urged the parents to raise the child “in the fear of the Lord.”
And right away, something stirred in our member’s heart, and she felt those words were just not right.
Now most of us probably know that the phrase “fear of the Lord” never should have found its way into the Bible in the first place. It is a bad interpretation of biblical words that really should be translated “awe of the Lord.” Don’t you think there is a difference between being in fear of the Lord and being in awe of the Lord?
God is not fearsome that we should be afraid of him! No, God is awesome that we should be awestruck by God’s beauty and power and love! Don’t be afraid of God! Rather, drink God in in all of God’s beauty and find yourself saying, “WOW!”
Now which of those two ideas do you think is healthier to convey to little children?
Our church member knew right away. Something stirred in her heart, reminding her of her own upbringing in a similar religious setting where there was an awful lot of fear mixed in with the faith. She thought about the long journey she herself has been taking to get disentangled from that religion of fear and guilt and judgment in order to be set free to love this AWESOME God of ours and to love God’s AWESOME children as herself.
Something stirred inside and right away she knew those words – though traditional in some churches– can be very misleading and ought to be put away forever and replaced by words that more accurately describe what the Bible is trying to say. And this same sort of inner stirring that happened to our church member is what Paul is describing about his own experience here in Galatians 1.
The Holy Spirit, given to the Church on the day of Pentecost, and to each of us when we were baptized into the Lord, takes the grace and truth and love of Jesus Christ and REVEALS it to us!
Listen to how the apostle describes his own journey with the Holy Spirit out from his life as Saul – the enemy of Christ and all Christians – and into a new life as Paul, the great Christian missionary:
“…you have heard of my previous life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of the past. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to REVEAL his Son to me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles, but I went out immediately to Arabia and later returned to Damascus.”
The book of Acts and the letters of Paul tell the amazing story of this man whose life was totally turned upside down and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. And its important for us to see some of the details of this Spirit-led journey. So this morning, let’s explore this revelatory trip together!
It is, first of all, a journey out of the traditions of the past into a new and living faith.
Let me ask you this morning – how many of you would consider yourselves to be “traditionalists”?
Tradition is a good thing. Tradition anchors us into values and practices that can be very helpful to us. One of the things I noticed a year ago when we gathered at Greendale Peoples Church after my mother’s death was that most everything that went on that day at the memorial service pretty much flew right past my head. Pffftttt! The words I spoke, the beautiful homily offered by her pastor, the countless expressions of sympathy from many, many people were all appreciated but somehow seemed to blur and become dissipated in the face of our grief. Thinking back, I don’t recall many details about the service that day, but here’s what I do remember:
“The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want; He maketh me to lay down in green pastures;
He leadeth me
beside the still waters; He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me in
the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
For thou art
with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a
table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou anointest
my head with oil, my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
That’s what I remember from that difficult day. Words I learned when I was in third grade. Words we always say at times like those. Tradition.
Tradition is important. Tradition anchors us into places and ideas and thoughts and behaviors that help get us through the stormy times of life. Sometimes when the world is swirling all about us and we are unable to think clearly or know what to do, tradition is what carries us.
And tradition binds people together in many ways and draws us closer. Tradition enhances the life of families, and churches, and communities. Thanksgiving dinner. Christmas Eve. The Veteran’s Day parade. Telling family stories. One of the most beautiful traditions I’ve ever witnessed is the southern tradition of when a funeral procession goes by and cars traveling in the other direction stop out of respect, and people on the sidewalks take off their hats and place them over their hearts. In some wonderful way, that tradition unites us all.
Tradition. Tradition is important. I hope you have some beautiful traditions in your family and that you treasure them.
But not all of them.
Some traditions are not helpful. Some are unhealthy. Some are harmful. Some are completely contrary to what God is trying to accomplish in our lives and in our world.
Do you remember Tevye singing that song about tradition in “Fiddler On The Roof”?
[TEVYE]
Tradition, tradition! Tradition!
Tradition, tradition! Tradition!
[TEVYE & PAPAS]
Who, day and night, must scramble for a living,
Feed a wife and children, say his daily prayers?
And who has the right, as master of the house,
To have the final word at home?
The Papa, the Papa! Tradition.
The Papa, the Papa! Tradition.
Now are there any men here today who THINK they actually have the final word at
home? Are there any women who would like to adopt that tradition? The the song
continues:
[GOLDE & MAMAS]
Who must know the way to make a proper home,
A quiet home, a kosher home?
Who must raise the family and run the home,
So Papa's free to read the holy books? (or, we might say, to go and play golf)
The Mama, the Mama! Tradition!
The Mama, the Mama! Tradition!
Any wives here buy that tradition?
[SONS]
At three, I started Hebrew school. At ten, I learned a trade.
I hear they've picked a bride for me. I hope she's pretty.
The son, the son! Tradition!
The son, the son! Tradition!
[DAUGHTERS]
And who does Mama teach to mend and tend and fix,
Preparing me to marry whoever Papa picks?
The daughter, the daughter! Tradition!
The daughter, the daughter! Tradition!
Any sons or daughters here today want to let their parents pick out their mates? I don’t think so!
Tradition is good…sometimes. But other times, tradition can stand in the way of progress, it can force people into roles they do not want to play, it can help controlling people be more controlling, and let those who do evil continue in their sin.
I remember the young man who came to talk with me after his wife left with their small children. He couldn’t understand. All he had done was hit her – just like his father had hit his mother, and his father’s father had hit his wife. It was just…tradition.
I so admire St. Paul for honestly telling us that he had to let go of some of the traditions of his fathers in order to come to know God more fully. In Paul’s life, that included seeing that God loved even non-Jews, and that in Christ even women could play important roles in leadership, and that salvation comes through God’s gift of grace and not by human status or position or merit. Paul’s faith had to grow from one that excluded others to one that opened its arms to everyone. Paul’s ministry had to change from violent enforcement of the religious rules to patient love and nurturing friendship.
Oh, what a journey the Spirit and Paul embarked upon.
“Every time I feel the Spirit movin’ in my heart…”
Where is the Spirit moving in your heart these days? What traditions of the past might you need to let go of in order to serve God today?
Then there’s a second discovery found in Paul’s amazing
journey: It takes time to become the person God wants you to be!
In our American religious culture, people often ask, “When did you become a Christian?” In some circles, being able to tell the very day and hour of your becoming a Christian is the proof of your salvation.
I think we ought to take that question and never ask it again! What an utterly irrelevant question!
Didn’t you hear Paul’s words in verse 15 where he tells us when his Spirit-led journey into Jesus Christ began?
Not on the 8th day of his life when he was circumcised! Not when he was bar mitzvahed at age 13. Not even in that life-changing moment in his adulthood when, on the road to Damascus Jesus appeared to him in a bright light that blinded him and knocked him off his horse! Oh, most people think that’s the moment Paul’s journey into Christ began.
But its not.
Listen: “…you have heard of my previous life in
Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.
I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age and was extremely zealous
for the traditions of the past. But when God, who set me apart from birth and
called me by his grace…
When did the journey begin?
When God’s love claimed him before he was even born!
So why did it take so long for Paul to get to where he was when he sat down to write the letter to the Galatians?
Because the journey into the fullness of Jesus Christ takes time. In fact, it takes a lifetime!
I think, if you will reflect back upon your life, you’ll
recall many moments when God’s love came to you in special ways – when God
seemed especially close – when a desperate prayer was answered – when God
helped you through a rough time, or showed you where you needed to change. I
personally can go back to when I was 4-years old and the terrible tornado that
virtually destroyed our neighborhood was roaring outside. My mother had taken
us children into the cellar and, convinced we were going to die, gathered us up
in her arms, and said, “If something happens and we get separated, we’ll
meet at the throne of Jesus.”
And I – even at 4-years old – believed it to be true.
You see, its not so important when you fell off the horse on the Damascus Road. What’s much more important is when God claimed you with his love.
When was the first time you knew God loved you?
That – and all the other experiences of God’s grace that have come to you – add up to the new life God is creating in you through the Holy Spirit. And God is not through with you yet, just like God was not yet through with Paul. There is much more to be learned, more growing to be done, more of the journey to be taken.
So be patient with yourself – and with others. Cut each other a break. And trust that God is faithfully at work.
Jesus has sent us the Holy Spirit.
We no longer subscribe to a static religion. Rather we have a living faith.
“Every time we feel the Spirit movin’ in our hearts…” let us journey on!