Reflexion Connexion

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
Be with us
Among us
Close and known
Immanuel
Calling to us
Helping us along
Bringing us near
Restoring us
Making us new
Ready to love
And serve
With joy and expectation

And join us here today Lord
One people
One family
One body
Close and known
Serving each other
Restoring each other
Learning together
Growing together
Building up
Sharpening
Softening
With gentleness
And kindness
And patience
With joy and expectation
Amen

Today’s Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Therefore, I am about to beguile her
and will lead her to the wilderness
and speak to her very heart.
And I will give her from there her vineyards
and the Valley of Achor an opening to hope,
and she shall sing out there as in the days of her youth,
as on the day she came up from the land of Egypt Hosea 2:16-17 (Robert Alter translation)

Intro: Since it has been a couple of weeks, let me remind you . . .

The book of Hosea is a love story – but not like a romance novel
– it was never meant to entertain
• God’s message came to Israel in a graphic illustration,
◦ played out in the life of his prophet
• first, God told Hosea to marry a prostitute
◦ the point was to give Israel a living re-enactment of
◦ their history with God – deserting him for another god or other gods
– Hosea and his wife had three children who were placed onto the stage with their parents
• each of their names revealed an aspect of the unfolding crisis
◦ Jezreel – a place where God would render a verdict, to bring closure
◦ Lo-Ruhamah – No Mercy – God would leave them to their fate
◦ Lo-Ami – Not Mine – God rejected them from being his people
• so up till now, the unfolding drama has been harsh

We cannot allow ourselves to lose the “big idea” of Hosea’s prophetic story
– God’s message is intense–and urgent– and must be heard
• what is revealed in Hosea is God’s Crazy love
◦ although he says he will stop loving his people, stop caring for them,
◦ his love won’t let him dump them and walk away
• though God’s complaint against them is brutal and ongoing,
◦ though his threats are severe and painful to read,
◦ God’s chief aim is to repair the rupture in their relationship
– it is important for us that we own the storyline
• we are God’s people – we are the subjects of his intense love
◦ the truth is revealed through Hosea for us to learn it and experience it
• the first half of the chapter was brutal
◦ God rejects Israel from being his wife because she cheated on him
◦ abandoning her, their land would come to ruin

Now, the prophecy makes a sudden and unexplained turn (vv. 16-24, Hebrew Bible)

God reveals his strategy to win Israel back to himself
– first he would beguile her – sometimes translated allure, entice, even seduce
• but the context suggests “woo” – God would romance Israel
◦ “lead her into the wilderness” – that’s where it all started
Henry McKeating, “God and Israel spent their honeymoon in the wilderness. It is there that God will take her back and make a new beginning.”
Compare this to God’s reminiscence in Jeremiah’s prophecy
“I recalled for you the kindness of your youth,
your bridal love,
your coming after Me in the wilderness,
into an unsown land” (Jer. 2:2)
◦ there, God says, he would “speak to her very heart”
• Alter has translated this statement literally
(some versions paraphrase the Hebrew as tenderly, comforting, soothing)
◦ this is an idiom in the Hebrew language that is found many time in Old Testament
◦ in this passage, speak to her very heart captures the idea of courtship
– once God wins their love again in the wilderness,
• he will give them gifts – two, in particular:
◦ “vineyards” – which makes sense as evidence of their restoration
◦ and “the Valley of Achor and opening to hope”
▫ this makes less sense – that’s because this valley has a history
• Israel’s first battle in the promised land was against Jericho was a total victory
◦ but there was a glitch; one soldier, Achan, disobeyed a direct order from God
▫ his disobedience sabotaged Israel’s next battle and they suffered a disastrous defeat
◦ Achan had to be exposed, confronted, and suffer fate of enemy
▫ the Hebrew name Achan means “to trouble”
Joshua confronted Achan, asking him, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD brings trouble on you today. . . . Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor” (Jos. 7:26)
▫ Achor is related to the name Achan, therefore that place was “the Valley of Trouble”
– you can see why this is odd, that the Valley of Trouble would become “an opening to hope”
• but this is how the story finds its way to a solution
◦ it is in Israel’s trouble that they wake up and return to God
◦ hope lies on the other side of the door in the Valley of Trouble
• instead of their hardship being the end,
◦ it would lead Israel to a new beginning with God
◦ a renewed romance, renewed covenant, and renewed commitment
“and she shall sing out there as in the days of her youth . . .”; i.e., in her prime
– finally, they will demonstrate the response God wants to see
– when we go to the Psalms, we find Israel had a song for everything
• the Hebrew word translated “sing out” has another meaning: to respond or answer
• we will come to that alternative translation in a few verses
◦ in this and the following verse we see a combined effort
◦ God says, “I will” which is followed by, “she shall”

At this point, the poem picks up momentum
And it shall be, on that day, said the LORD,
she shall call Me “my husband”
And no longer call Me “my Baal.”
And I will take away the names of the Baalim from your mouth,
and they shall no more be recalled by their name Hosea 2:18-19

Three times in the next six verses we find the words, “on that day”
– on that day that Israel returns, God becomes very busy taking care of his wife
• I think we can all appreciate what we see happening here
◦ we feel like we’ve waited so long to see God answer our prayers and take action,
◦ but when he moves, he makes a lot of changes all at once
– the first thing God does is restore his exclusive role with Israel
• Ba-al had the general meaning of lord, master, and husband
◦ but it was also the name of the primary God of the Canaanites
• it’s possible Israel sometimes referred to God as Baal Yahweh
◦ God was going to remove that word from their vocabulary
◦ he was going to leave no memory of their former lover

God’s covenant with his people must be renewed and reaffirmed
And I will seal a pact with them on that day,
with the beasts of the field and with the fowl of the heavens
and with the creeping things of the earth.
And bow and sword and battle
will I break from the earth,
and I will make them like down secure Hosea 2:20

“And I will seal a pact with them” is usually translated, “make a covenant”
– this is something that both Jeremiah and Ezekiel emphasized
• Israel broke their covenant with God, so now it must be restored
• the covenant is what binds them together
– God’s part as described here is first of all protection
• part of this promise picks up some of the very words from God’s covenant with Noah
“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you . . . .” (Gen. 9:8-10)
• the promise also includes protection from their enemies’ armies

These verses come as close to vows as anything we find in the Scriptures
And I will betroth you to Me forever,
I will betroth you to me in right and in justice
and in kindness and in mercy.
And I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you shall know that I am the LORD Hosea 2:21-22

Three times the Lord says, “I will betroth you to Me”
– “betroth” meant to become engaged with a determined commitment to marriage
Robert Alter, “The triple repetition of ‘I will betroth you’ sounds very much like a performative speech-act, God pronouncing the wedding vows.”
– these are the shared commitments of God and his people:
• first, the relationship is forever
• second, it is sealed in right and justice
◦ righteousness is personal – doing what’s right given the nature of one’s relationship to another specific person
◦ justice communal – to practice and maintain fairness in the social realm
• third, it is sealed in kindness and in mercy – (Heb. chesed and racham)
◦ there is a suggestion of strong passion in both of these words
• fourth, it is sealed in faithfulness

“And you shall know that I am the LORD”
– to “know” is a frequent theme in Hosea
• it isn’t merely memorizing information
• here it is a personal and experiential knowledge of Yahweh

God describes a goodness granted to Israel that advances by degrees to an ultimate blessing
And it shall be on that day,
I will answer, said the LORD,
I will answer for the heavens,
and they shall answer for the earth.
And the earth shall answer for the new grain
and for the wine and for the oil,
and they shall answer for Jezreel.
And I will sow her for Me in the land
and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah,
and I will say to Lo-Ami, “Your are My people,”
and he shall say, “You are my God” Hosea 2:23-24

“I will answer” – this is the word that I told you also means “to sing”
– the poem moves through the following stages:
• God responds to the heavens that depend on him for rain clouds
• the clouds respond to the earth that needs to be watered
• grain, wine, and oil depend on the moist soil in order to grow
• Jezreel now stands for the culmination of God’s work
– finally, the restoration of all that Israel had walked away from
• this is the heartbeat of the covenant:
God says, “You are My people”
Israel responds, “You are my God”

Conclusion: Whatever devotion we have toward God,

What ever praise we give him, or love we have for him, it is always a response
“We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn. 4:19)
But where I want to leave you today is at the opening to hope in the Valley of Trouble
The help is there, so for our part, we have to walk through the open door

In 2003, after reading this chapter, I wrote the following in my collection of meditations:
“Despair can come to us through loss, ongoing hardship, chronic pain, clinical depression, a series of bad choices, and so on. God cares enough to provide a door of hope–light in our darkness, joy in our sorrow, a glimmer of faith in our unbelief.
‘And she shall sing there.’ Amazing how hope creates a song!”
There is always a door of hope.”

Podcast

Intro: If what I read doesn’t match your Bible, there are two reasons

First, I’m reading from Robert Alter’s translation of the Old Testament
– so obviously that is different from other standard translations
• but another reason is that Alter worked from the Hebrew Bible,
◦ and in that version, chapter 1 has only nine verses
◦ in our English Bibles there are eleven verses in chapter 1
• so those two verses missing in chapter 1 are the beginning of chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible
(If you didn’t get all that, just trust me; the texts are basically the same)
– reading through this chapter can be confusing
• that’s because in the first part God condemns his unfaithful wife
• but without warning, in the second part he is romancing her again

As I begin reading in chapter 2, be prepared to be surprised
And the number of the Israelites shall be like the sand of the sea that cannot be measured and cannot be counted, and it shall happen, instead of its being said of them, “You Are Not My People,” it shall be said of them, “Children of the Living God.” And the people of Judah and the people of Israel shall gather together and set over them a single chief, and they shall go up from the lands, for great is the day of Jezreel.
Say to you brothers, “My People,”
and to your sisters, “She is Shown Mercy.” Hosea 2:1-3

Okay, you probably weren’t surprised after all
– but we’re two weeks away from when we last read in Hosea
• there we heard God’s initial message to his prophet
◦ the odd command to Hosea and the birth and naming of his children
◦ two of them were given unhappy names: No Mercy and Not Mine
• Israel broke their covenant with God, so he was done with them
“I’m not going to show you mercy and you are no longer My people”
◦ that’s why we’re surprised at this sudden shift, because here they are shown mercy and are his people again
◦ God is letting his people have a “do over” “instead of it being said to them . . . .”
– this is the first bit of encouragement we find in Hosea
• a secret is leaked–an intention moving behind the dark parts of his prophecies
• for all of Israel’s failure, God doesn’t want to lose his people

If the first words regarding the “number of the Israelites” sound familiar, it’s because we’ve heard them before
– long ago, when God swore a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 22:17)
“like the sand of the sea that cannot be measured . . .”
• this was the picture God planted in his mind
◦ and though Abraham did not live to see its fulfillment,
◦ God had his eyes on his people through all the future ages
• eventually, the hundreds of thousands of Abraham’s children split into two nations:
◦ ten tribes of Israel lived in the north, while Judah dominated the south
◦ toward the end of Hosea’s life, the ten tribes of Israel had all but disappeared
– God, however, had not forgotten his promise to Abraham
• nor had he given up hope for their covenant relationship
◦ so here, God retrieves the extravagant word picture of sand on shore
• because he does not–he cannot–let go of his people
◦ I hear a meaning in the gospels of something Jesus did not intend, but fits here as an analogy:
“Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost” (Jn. 9:12)
◦ I don’t think he wanted to lose even one person who had been in the crowd he fed
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise . . . but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9)

“great is the day of Jezreel” repeats the name of Hosea’s first son (Hosea 1:4)
– the name was chosen to signal a crisis – Israel’s punishment
• but now it seems God’s purpose was not Israel’s destruction,
◦ but a purification leading so their restoration
• this is the new announcement:
“Say to your brothers, ‘My People,’
and to your sisters, “She Is Shown Mercy’”
– the prophecies of Hosea move like a teeter-totter
• one minute God prepares to punish Israel,
• but the next minute he pours out his mercy and forgives them
◦ later he will ask,
“How can I give you over, Ephraim,
surrender you Israel?
How can I make you like [the cities destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah]?
My heart churns within me
My compassion altogether stirred (Hos. 11:8)

Israel is summoned to appear in court
Bring a case against your mother, bring a case,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband Hosea 2:4

It’s her children’s sad task to serve her the divorce papers
– we enter an imagined courtroom and Israel is told dress properly
• not with appearance and accessories of a prostitute
Let her take off her whoring from her face
and her adultery from between her breasts,
lest I strip her naked
and set her out as the day she was born.
And I will turn her into a desert
and make her like a parched land
and let her die of thirst Hosea 2:5
◦ “from her face” – thick, black eyeliner (kohl) and deep red lipstick
◦ “adultery from between her breasts”
Robert Alter, this would be a “sachet of fragrance” hung around her neck (Song. 1:13)
• if she enters the courtroom with that attire, she’ll be stripped bare
– from God’s perspective, idolatry is adultery
• the most radical and focused example in the prophets is recorded in Ezekiel 16
“As to your birth, on the day of your birth, your navel cord was not cut nor were you washed smooth in water nor were you rubbed with salt nor were you swaddled. No eye had pity on you to show mercy on you ” (Eze. 16:4)
• in v. 5, Hosea makes a quick jump to a different metaphor
Alter, “As often happens in biblical poetry, the prophet switches from one set of images–Israel as a promiscuous female body–to another–the barren desert as a representation of national ruin.”

And to her children I will show no mercy,
for they are the children of whoring.
For their mother played the whore,
she who conceived them acted shamefully Hosea 2:6

We’re probably not meant to take “her children” literally
– this would be the fruit of her affairs with idols and pagan gods
• this is the evidence that is stacked against her

If we next imagine the judge asking, “How do you plead?”
– she answers, “Let me go after my lovers”
For she said, “Let me go
after my lovers
who give me my bread and water,
my wool and my flax,
my oil and my unguents.” Hosea 2:7

• Israel was giving pagan gods credit for their provisions
◦ staring with basic needs, progressing to non-essentials
◦ first food, next fabric to clothe them, then luxury items
• this was an extreme insult to the Lord their God

God’s first response is to stop her in her tracks
Therefore I am about to hedge in your way with thorns
and raise a wall for her,
and she shall not find her paths.
And she shall run after her lovers
and shall not catch them,
and she shall seek them and not find them.
And she shall say, “Let me
go back to my first husband,
for it was then better for me than now.”
And she did not know
that it was I who gave her the new grain and the wine and the oil,
and silver I showered upon her
and gold that they fashioned for Baal.
Therefore I will turn her back and take away
My new grain in its time
and my wine in its season
and reclaim my wool and My flax
that would cover her nakedness Hosea 2:8-10

Her instant reaction is desperation–she runs “after her lovers”
– but it’s wasted effort
• we know the secret why she could not find them: they don’t exist
◦ that’s why she runs into a wall or gets lost in a desert
• what God hopes, is that his people will come to their senses
“Let me
go back to my first husband,
for it was better for me than now”
– through the entire period of Israel’s wandering from God,
• there has been one central defect, “she did not know” !
◦ the word know (or knowledge, Hebrew yada) occurs multiple times in Hosea, all the way to the last verse
◦ it is central themes in this book of prophecies, and in chapter 4 we read:
“My people is destroyed without knowledge,
for you—you rejected knowledge” (Hosea 4:6)
• Israel forgot that all their blessings came from the Lord
◦ but she had abused his gifts and, instead, dedicated them to the Canaanite god Baal
◦ again, this is a complaint skillfully expressed in Ezekiel
“And you took from your garments and made yourself tapestried high places and played the whore on them. Such things should never be. And you took your splendid ornaments, from My gold and from My silver that I gave to you, and you made for yourself male images and played the whore with them . . . .” (Eze. 16:15-18)

At this point in the trial God pronounces sentence on Israel
And now, I will lay bare her shame
before the eyes of her lovers,
and no man shall saver her.
And I will put an end to her rejoicing,
to her festivals, her new moons and her sabbaths
and all her appointed times.
And I will wither her vines and her fig trees
of which she said, “They are a whore’s pay for me
that my lovers gave to me.”
And I will turn them into scrubland,
and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
And I will make a reckoning against her for the days of the Baalim
to whom she burned incense,
and she put on her nose right and her jewelry
and went after her lovers,
but Me she for got, said the LORD Hosea 2:11-15

This is what her punishment would be:
First, her guilt would be publicly exposed to the world (cf. Eze. 16:35-37)
Second, no one would come to her rescue (no one could)
Third, every joy and cause for celebration would be taken from her
Fourth, her agriculture would be ruined
– the shrubs their fields produced would be food for wild beasts

If we remember that this drama was played out in Hosea’s life,
– we might have an idea of the wrenching sadness he felt
• betrayal strikes hard and leaves deep wounds
◦ Shakespeare captured the deep pain of betrayal in three words
◦ as Caesar was being assassinated, he noticed his friend among the conspirators and said,
et tu, Brute – “And you, Brutus? Then fall Caesar.”
• we know we can ignore and reject God,
◦ but it doesn’t occur to us that we might cause him sadness
◦ we see it, however, in Jesus
“And when [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Lk. 19:41-42)
• here are the sad last words of our text for this morning: “but Me she forgot, said the LORD”

Conclusion: One morning twelve years ago, my meditation was on this line: “And she did not know”

I wrote:
“It is what we don’t know that ruins us
We do not know:
• how far the effects of one kind deed we skipped would have traveled
• the wound we inflicted by one mean word or rude expression or gesture
• that the person who was in our way carries an intolerable burden
• that Jesus was expecting us to return to him to give thanks after an answered prayer
• the greatness of God’s love for us or the immense depth of his grace and mercy
• how much more God will give us when we joyfully share what we have

That morning, I also reminded myself about the parable of the talents;
that the boss gave ten to one servant, five to another, and two to another
My thought was, God does not give only assets, he makes investments
and we do not know when he will come to collect

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
We are such frail creatures
Full of anxiety
Full of fear
And often full of hate

And we organize our lives
around this fear and hate
We codify it
Institutionalize it
Teach it in our families
And in our schools
And in our churches

That this person
should be feared or hated
Or that one
And how we
should be
Regarded carefully
Honored
Treated well
Better than others
As is our due

And though this satisfies
the hunger of our fears and hate
It keeps us tied up
Locked up
And stuck
within sight
of the kingdom of heaven
But still outside

Break through to us
Break us down if you must
So we may fully enter
Your kingdom
Your presence
And fully partake
Of your love
As it casts out all fears
And makes us able
To love our neighbors
All of them
Just as you have loved us

And help us help others
Especially our neighbors
who already claim your name
Love this way
Putting aside every hinderance that
Leads to bigotry
And oppression
And prejudice
And disregard
And cruelty
So with you
And in your way
We can be
The kingdom of heaven
At hand
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand Galatians 6:11

Intro: The Galatians were coming to the end of Paul’s letter,

And suddenly the handwriting was different
– instead of the well-formed characters of a professional scribe,
• the printed letters were large and scribbled
◦ this shift was certain to grab their attention
◦ like changing the “font” of a sentence in a document to all upper case or bold print
• but why did Paul insist on writing this last bit with his “own hand”?
◦ perhaps this is how he usually signed off (as many commentaries point out)
“I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write” (2 Thes. 3:17)
◦ or, he wanted to ensure that they took notice, and that is why he drew attention to it
– here at the end, Paul returns to what had been his hot topic–and I think I understand why
• it is frustrating to manage a crisis from a distance
◦ had he been with them, their feedback would been immediate
◦ he would know whether they understood him and agreed or disagreed
• separated by many miles and months of waiting for a response by mail,
◦ he could not be sure they were convinced
◦ so he hammers at his point one last time

Paul looks at the same issue, but from a different angle
 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh Galatians 6:12-13

His previous concern has been with what the legalist party was demanding
– and this is something we need to understand
• they weren’t preaching Christian conversion, but cultural conversion
◦ this has been goal of many Evangelicals and missionaries

Question: How do we know when a person is a true Christian?
Answer: When they look and think and talk like us
For those of us who remember the Smothers Brothers, one of their famous parodies went like this:
As I walked out in the streets of Laredo,
as I walked out in Laredo one day,
I spied a young cowboy, all dressed in white linen,
dressed in white linen as cold as the clay.
I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy.
I see by your outfit you are a cowboy, too.
We see by our outfits that we are both cowboys;
if you get an outfit you can be a cowboy, too!

◦ this is the simplistic message of some evangelists, “Want to be a Christian? Get the outfit.”
• Paul has covered that, but what he is telling them now is new
– he is exposing the motives of these interlopers, and he lists three:

First, they were concerned with their image
– The New Living Translation, they “want to look good to others”
• there was a group of rigid Pharisees they wanted to please
◦ this was the popular movement back home in Jerusalem
• talking Gentile Christians into circumcision and law-keeping would enhance their status with other religious bigots
Second, they wanted to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ
– when Paul refers to “the cross,” it is shorthand for his central message
• it’s the entire story of Jesus, which Paul also refers to as “the gospel”
◦ it features the death and resurrection of Jesus
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. . . . For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:18 and 22-24)
• Paul was brutally persecuted for taking this message to Gentiles
◦ he could have compromised his message to avoid persecution
◦ but then he could no longer say that we are “saved by grace”
Third, converting Gentiles to Judaism would give the interlopers bragging rights
– Paul makes this point in an odd, but graphic way
• in effect, these people could win popularity points when they could control what Gentiles did with their bodies
• this is a basic requirement of bad religion
◦ and it is a recognizable characteristic of every cult

In listing these motives, Paul exposed another problem
“they do not themselves keep the law”
– it’s hard to think of anything that does worse damage to religion than hypocrisy
• but people who pretend they can achieve perfect holiness cannot help but fail
◦ and their failure can destroy others who looked up to them and trusted them

So where did Paul stand in comparison?
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God Galatians 6:14-16

Paul uses the word “boast” a lot (twenty-two times in 2 Corinthians)
– the same word can also mean something like, “look for glory”
• in high school baseball, we called players who stepped in front of other players to catch an outfield fly ball “glory hounds”
– but though bragging was frowned upon in Paul’s day, boasting was considered a legitimate behavior
• the social structure in Mediterranean world has been labeled honor/shame cultures
◦ it was okay to boast to enhance your social standing

Paul, however surrendered all his boasting rights
– he considered himself fortunate to be God’s slave
• his Lord was everything and he was nothing
• so though the bigots boasted in their achievements,
◦ Paul refused to boast in himself
– I feel it necessary to point out that we find Paul doing some hefty boasting in 2 Corinthians
• the Corinthians were greatly influenced by boasting of spiritual leaders
◦ so to win the Corinthians’ attention, Paul was compelled to boast
• however, he was embarrassed in doing this, and more than once apologizes for it
◦ in fact, he stated openly how he felt about it:
“‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends”
“let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.”
“I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you.” (2 Cor. 10:17-18; 11:16; 12:11)

In chapter 2, we’ve already seen how the cross affected Paul’s life
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20)
– this is the life to which Jesus called his disciples
“If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mt. 16:24)
• to this day, Bible scholars are still working out a coherent theology of the cross
• at any rate, somehow the cross becomes an experience we share with Jesus
◦ it is death to an old life of addiction to sin
◦ it is resurrection to a life of new possibilities
– we’ll leave it there for now

So what is Paul’s last word on circumcision?
– “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision” – a huge relief!
• there are many trivial issues in which religious people can get tangled up or be driven crazy
• in 1 Corinthians, Paul addressed eating food offered to idols
◦ for some, it was an issue with great importance, but Paul wrote,
“Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do” (1 Cor. 8:8)
– like circumcision, the issue is irrelevant to the life of faith in Jesus
• what is relevant, is that in Christ we are something new–a new creation (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17)
After these concluding thoughts, Paul pronounces a benediction for a specific community
– namely, “all who walk by this rule”; that is to say, who live by this principle
• “peace and mercy”
– the “Israel of God” is the new people of God, brought together in Jesus Christ

Paul’s parting words
From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen Galatians 6:17-18

This past week the President of the United States and the United States Secretary of War addressed a gathering of career military soldiers, including Generals and other high ranking officers
– without commenting on it, Paul’s demand seems to be an appropriate response of the audience to the speakers that day
• Paul’s message is essentially, “Back off! I’ve earned my stripes”
• when he came to Galatia, he wore the marks of physical abuse on his body
– in verse 18, Paul comes full circle, closing the letter the way he began–with “grace”

Conclusion: If you’ve ever gone in the Ocean at Salt Creek beach,

You may have experienced the strong riptide there
If you try to fight it, all you will gain is exhaustion — resistance will only wear you out

Some of us have felt a similar exhaustion trying to deal with the division in our nation
(However, sociopaths never get tired of irritating and angering others, arguing, and name-calling)
Reading in Revelation yesterday, I came to Jesus’ letter to the church in Ephesus,
“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false” (Re. 2:2)
Jesus knew their resistance to the false apostles had taken a toll on them
He also knew that resisting the strong current of deception had carried them away from their “first love”
It is possible that in resisting what we perceive as gross error and deadly trends,
our first love for the Lord and others has been threatened or lost
(and in all honesty, at times we have lost it)
But then, if lose our first love, what have we been fighting for?
We need to find our way back to the center,
where rational and meaningful spiritual conversations can take place
We need to find our way back to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
We need to let the Spirit of God help us recover our first love
We need to receive the benediction of God’s peace and mercy and grace

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, Join us this morning
Our lives are fragile
And our need for you is great

Life can change in a minute
Our security stripped
Our work arounds crumbled
Our lives at risk
Our true situation made plain

Sometimes our need for you
Fosters resistance
Fosters pride
And we step out on our own
Still, eventually,
The course of life
brings us back
to the lived reality
Of every human:
We are dependent
Creatures in this world
In need

If we are in resistance
Call us gently to you
With your great good love
Assure us of your care
And strength
And your desire to make us whole
As we navigate
And negotiate
Our lives

We thank you Lord
for meeting us in our need
As well as in our resistance
Each day
Each moment
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Brothers and sisters, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Galatians 5:26-6:2

Intro: Years ago, and in another life, I had a feisty personal assistant

Although she is genuinely compassionate, she had a favorite line: “Get over yourself”
– I think that held her together through a hard and complicated season of her life
• she said it to herself, to he friends, to people who called the church office for help,
◦ and more than once she said it to me–her boss
• but she never said it when I didn’t need to hear it
◦ Paul’s next lesson in this letter to the Galatians is, “Get over yourself”
– the chapter break here is unfortunate
• his contrast between the works of flesh and fruit of Spirit ended at chapter 5, verse 25
◦ verse 26 fits perfectly with where chapter 6
◦ now he begins to stress the importance of caring for each other
• “conceit” interferes with that personal care
◦ rather than assisting each other, conceit provokes others
◦ rather than respecting others, conceit envies others
“Get over yourself so you can be here for those who need you”

Paul sets off in this direction with an unexpected example

He begins by addressing a negative problem and how to deal with it
(compare this with places where his instruction to believers is encouraging and positive)
“Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build [them] up” (Rom. 15:2)
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thes. 5:11)
– here he jumps right into helping someone who has taken a fall
• I suppose this happens frequently enough that everyone in the spiritual community must prepare for it
◦ in fact, that’s what this entire letter has been until now,
◦ Paul leading the Galatians back to Jesus and the true gospel
• the way Paul sees the Christian family is that everyone is affected by one person’s slip-up
◦ the goal in this instance is restoration (the same Greek word is used for mending nets, Mt. 4:21)
– his specific advice is excellent
• first, identify the agents who need to be deployed to help this person
“you who are spiritual”
◦ no doubt, these people display the “fruit of the Spirit” he had just gone over
• next, they’re to approach this person “in a spirit of gentleness”
◦ in my experience, this is a rarity
◦ often people who assume this role show no hint of “gentle,”
but go in a spirit that is judgmental, or self-righteous, or aggressive
• third, those who go must be watchful of their own issues
◦ of course, we all have our own temptations
◦ but may Paul means they may be tempted to be too harsh with the person who slipped

This is just one example of how we help others with their burdens
– there are also financial burdens, health burdens, grief burdens, mental burdens, and so on
• the nature of our burdens shift as we age
◦ and so does the kind of help we’re able to give
• when we were young, we did a lot of physical labor
◦ now we may be more with providing money, or meals, or emotional support, or spiritual counsel

I’m not sure, but here’s what I think Paul had in mind
For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load Galatians 6:3-5

Some people are unwilling to do anything for anyone else
– Paul says they think they are something “special”
• like they’re above helping someone carry a heavy object
◦ “Why should I help them when I have my own burdens?”
• perhaps Paul means, if you’re not helping, then you’re not something, you’re nothing
Dad used to say, “If you’re not good for something, you’re good for nothing”
– you can see that God swings back to conceit, which is where he started into these things
• when people think they’re something when they’re not, Paul says they are lying to themselves
• and the only ones deceived are themselves
◦ everyone else sees the truth of what they are

Paul issues a challenge to his readers
– “test” often refers to a method used to check the strength, quality, or purity of a metal, a jewel, a blood sample, etcetera
• so the challenge is to examine your own work
◦ its value, effect, quality, and quantity
• then, if you prove to be talented, gifted, brilliant, or generous
◦ you will have earned your bragging rights
◦ also, you won’t be comparing yourself to anyone else
– again, I am guessing that Paul is saying,
• we each have to deal with our own issues, carry our own load
◦ but that doesn’t mean we’re exempt from helping others
◦ here is how the these verses appear in the Message Bible:
“Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life”

We’re all responsible for what grows in our spiritual garden|
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life
Galatians 6:6-8

Again, deception is an issue – Greek word for deceived here means “led astray”
– I find it significant, when the disciples asked Jesus,
“what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
• in his first words of warning he used this word:
“See that no one leads you astray” (Mt. 24:3-4)
• it’s as if there will be so many wrong ideas and wrong teaching
◦ that we will hardly be able to trust anyone
“And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray” (Mt. 24:11)
– Paul gives one of the clearest explanations of a spiritual principle in the entire Bible
• it is so simple, anyone can understand it
◦ what plants do we want to grow in our garden? what sort of life do we want to live?
◦ well, what thoughts are on our mind much of the time?
what desires do we hold in our hearts?
what feelings do we hang on to? (resentment? regret? impatience?)
what habits do we want to form?
(constant worry or constant prayer? getting along with our neighbors or fighting everyone?)
• think about it – this has to with everything!
– Paul has brought us back to the opposition of the flesh and the Spirit
• the contrary dynamics of works versus fruit

Years ago, a television commercial ran for a glue that formed a super powerful bond. Two pickup trucks were lined back to back and chained to each other, with glue holding the chains together. Then both truck revved their engines, trying to pull away from each other, but the glued chains held them in place. Now as I think about, it seems there was more than met the eye. But being a kid, I was more interested in how I could get one truck to defeat the other truck and drag it away. The simplest solution I could think of, was don’t put gasoline in one of the trucks, and the other would win with no problem. That’s like the advice I hear Paul giving the Galatians.

If you don’t want to grow weeds in your life’s garden, stop planting them
– this analogy makes understanding the solution very simple
• but that may give us the impression that it’s easy–it’s not!
• like any garden, it takes effort, diligence, and self-discipline

Paul delivers his application to our real-life situation
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith Galatians 6:9-10

Does it ever break your heart,
– that with all the good many wonderful Christians are doing in the world, there is still so much suffering?
• so much deadly poverty?
• so much violence and warfare?
• so many unmet needs?
• and just so much apparent insanity?
– Paul tells us specifically what we should be planting
• and not get weary of it, even if we’re working under a hot sun and our backs ache
• “doing good”–it confounds me that some Christians reject this word
◦ they assume if you’re not preaching at people, handing out tracts, converting them,
◦ but “only” feeding them, providing clean water, clothing them, and giving them soup without a sermon,
that your work is worthless
◦ that keeping people alive physically is not Christian, if at the same time we’re not saving their souls

Contemplative spirituality is learning to always be aware of God in the moment
– we are living in the moment but not for the moment – we always lean toward the future
• and so, “in due season we will reap”
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecc. 3:1)
• I was a silly child the first time I tried planting a peach seed
◦ I figured there would be no need to wait for my parents to go to the store if I could just go and pull a peach off of my own tree
◦ so I planted my seed and watered it every day for a week
◦ then I dug it up to see if it was growing roots, but it looked just the same
◦ so I kept watering it and kept digging it up every couple of days
◦ finally I gave up and threw it over the fence into the neighbor’s yard
• Paul assures us there will be a harvest, a reward, even if we have to wait for it

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone”
– I promise you, if we look, we will find an “opportunity” every day to do good for someone

Conclusion: Maybe this next week I can be a little bit better person than last week

And when I get to the end of this week,
maybe the following week I can be a little better than that

Paul has shown us a sample of what “doing good” looks like
He’s also shown us the things that tend to gets in the way
Yesterday, reading in 1 John, it struck me that we have a way to see who is a real deal Christian
and who is not
And it’s so simple!
“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother or sister”
And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ AND love one another, just as he commanded us (1 Jn. 3:10 & 23)
Political affiliation does not determine who is a Christian,
nor does it set limits on who we love, whether Republican or Democrat,
or even whether Capitalist or Socialist!
The question is,
Are we showing love to our human siblings?
It’s as simple as that

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
There are days
when the choices
before us are stark
Crystal clear
Forcing us to choose
This or that
Good or evil
Life or death

Other days creep up on us
Saddling along side
And we are
Hardly noticing
the reality of
The new conditions
The new situations
The new demands

Hardly noticing
Our new,
Greater
Present
Need of you
With our weakness made bare
In fresh ways
The vulnerabilities
Of those we love
Laid bare
The power
we have relied upon
Stripped bare
Our resources no longer enough.

It was always a lie that we
Should manage on our own
An illusion that we even could
Because the security in our lives
never came from us
Or our group
Or our intelligence
Or our following the rules
Or our wallets
Or our rights

Always, always, always
Our security
Our hope
Our life
Is rooted in you
And your great love

Make this a day
Where our need for you
Is plain
And your loving care
For each and every person
Is just as crystal clear
And once again
we give ourselves
To you
wholly
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the desires of the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do Galatians 5:16-17

Intro: Paul has chased a serious concern through his entire letter

So it is not surprising that near the end, he would present an the ultimate challenge of the Christian life
– in verse 16 Paul begins last segment of his central message
• what follows in chapter 6 is his concluding remarks and directions
– what we have in verses 16-25 is this chunk of scripture that tracks one theme
• Paul makes this clear by marking where it begins and ends
•it begins in verse 16, “walk by the Spirit,” and in ends in verse 25, “live by the Spirit”
◦ in scripture, framing a passage this way is common, and is referred to as an envelope structure or closing circle
◦ anyway, the literary structure reveals the heart of the passage–it’s one key point

Before moving on, we need to know what he means by “flesh”

It sounds like Paul is referring to our physical bodies of flesh and blood
– in the past, some believers assumed that’s what he meant
• in all sorts of odd ways, they mistreated their bodies

St. Francis famously referred to his body as “Brother Ass,” and treated it like a donkey that needed training to become useful to its master, yet did not require much work as to its welfare or compassion regarding its burdens, and that the body was meant to suffer like Christ through self-denial. St. Francis, for example, subjected himself to severe fasting and slept on a stone floor rather than on a bed or mattress. However, before he died he did ask his body’s forgiveness for how he treated it.

– the human body is not naturally corrupt, sinful, or evil
• self-control isn’t denying the body’s basic needs, like food, shelter, and the family unit
◦ the body’s drives are related to our intrinsic animal nature
◦ but unlike animals, we have knowledge of good and evil
• later, God’s law given to Moses was meant to regulate our human drives
◦ but something with in us rebels against God’s law
◦ that rebellious nature or impulse is what Paul calls the flesh
“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Ro. 8:7-8)

Paul identifies the spiritual dynamics of two opposing forces

These forces account for an internal conflict and its external manifestation
– this is the core challenge of the Christian life: flesh vs Spirit
• between the Spirit and the flesh, there can be no truce, no alliance, and no compromise
• but the point he makes, is not that we must battle the flesh
◦ that was the old struggle of trying to be right with God through law-keeping
◦ we weren’t able to win that wrestling match
– Paul turns our attention in a different direction
“Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”
• remember Enoch? He walked with God – so did Noah
◦ they enjoyed God’s companionship
• Paul reveals something even more intimate and profound
◦ the Spirit of God living with you, inside of you
◦ his thoughts becoming your thoughts; his ways becoming your ways

The next point Paul makes is rather simple
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law Galatians 5:18

Walking by the Spirit is God’s alternative to law-keeping
– the Spirit enables us to be what we could never be on our own
and to do what we could we could never do on our own

Our sinful nature produces “works”
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissentions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God Galatians 5:19-21

Reading in the Old Testament, what comes to my mind are the artisans and sculptures who made idols
“The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. The it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it” (Isa. 44:13-15)
• I wanted to emphasize this, because of the contrast Paul makes
• our sinful nature produces works, the Spirit produces fruit
– we won’t go over every item on the list of works
• instead, there’s a specific theme I want to highlight
◦ for me, the words that stand out are:
◦ enmity, strive, rivalries, dissensions, and divisions
• the first picture we’re shown is of a divided person
◦ someone within whom a battle is raging
◦ the Spirit against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit
▫ but the picture we’re shown now is a divided community

In my lifetime, I’ve never seen our country more divided
– never so much open hostility, aggressiveness and abusive speech
• the heartbreaker is I’ve never seen Christians more divided
◦ the fundamentalists have always criticized the liberals,
◦ and the liberals have often ridiculed the fundamentalists
• but there has never been so much open warfare and hate expressed openly
– I wish that the message in every Christian church today was:
“Remove the barriers, build a bridge, repair the broken relationship, love one another, love those on the right and those on the left, love everyone, even your enemy”
• Paul told the Christians in Rome,
“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the teaching you have been taught; avoid them” (Ro. 16:17)
• be safe, avoid people who harm, upset, offend, and divide
◦ however, there may be another possibility

Thursday morning I was reading in 1 Peter and came to this:
“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing” (1 Pe. 3:8-12)
– immediate my reaction was:
“How could that possibly be achieved in a Church so radically divided as it is in the U.S. right now?”
• before I finished asking the question, an answer came:
“Look for unity of mind in a realm that transcends political and theological commitments and disagreements”
• if all we attempt is to force people to agree with us, we lose the kingdom of God, that transcends every earthly empire
– look again at what Paul says about the works of the flesh:
“I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”

Fruit is grown on the other side of the fence
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires Galatians 6:22-24

There is not just one fruit (though the English word is singular)
– this is more like a fruit bowl
• the seeds of most fruits are carried inside the fruit
◦ so the DNA of love produces more love, and DNA of joy produces more joy, and so on
• so let’s ask, “What does the fruit of peace look like in practice or in a person?”
or the fruit of patience, kindness, etcetera
◦ and what does this person who is an entire fruit bowl look like?
– I can tell you this: Worse than death is a fruitless life
• this list ends with a statement like the previous list
• crucifixion is a brutal and gruesome image
◦ but it reveals the intensity and seriousness of Paul’s concern
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20)
“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14)

Paul closes the circle
If we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another Galatians 5:25-26

Paul tells us we do not have to live in frustration over the flesh
– we can go through our lives on another path – “live by the Spirit”
(Although I’m convinced that verse 26 actually belongs to the next chapter, there’s still something in it worth considering now)
• even at this point, we can still be sabotaged by conceit
• the Greek word suggests an empty glory
◦ maybe you take pride in winning an argument, but the cost of it is division
◦ it turns out to be a worthless victory

Conclusion: I don’t know if there’s been a more difficult time to walk in the Spirit than it is today

The entire world has become overwhelmingly materialistic
There are entire nations ruled by governments devoted to “dialectical materialism”
It would be naive to assume the Church has not been infected
But there is hope
We can go through life by a different path
It is possible to walk in the Spirit
and in the energizing power of his might
Turning to Jesus,
he never leaves us hanging out to dry
Rather, his promise is,
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”
And that promise is good for today

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us today

It is easy to say we are yours
That we follow you
That we carry your name in honor
Sacrifice
No turning back

But so many are afraid today
Terrified
Terrorized
They are unsure of what is real
Of what is true
And fear gains a footing in them

And some wander from the path
Hoping to find safety, shelter
In power and
In the power of violence

Protect us from those who manufacture fears
Who profit from fears
Who leverage fears
Protect us from those things
That are nurtured and encouraged in fear
Like resentments
And self-justification
And revenge
And contempt
And rage
And hate

Day by day
Moment by moment
Bring us back
To learning the way of love
Our focus and our practice
Our path for living
For abundance
For healing

So our words are not empty
When we claim that we are yours
And our lives bring you honor
Full of gratitude for your love
Always
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery Galatians 5:1

Intro: I assume most of us are familiar with The Message Bible

One of the more popular versions, and easiest to understand
– Eugene Peterson did not set out to write a new translation
• beginning in early 1980’s the U.S. economy went into a slump and mortgage interest rates were rapidly climbing
◦ people in his church were feeling the pinch, and reacting in the same way as people in town
Peterson, “Paranoia infected the small talk I would overhear on street corners and in barbershops. To my dismay, all of this seeped into my congregation without encountering any resistance.”
• to turn them from worldly concerns and find freedom in Jesus, he chose to immerse them in Galatians
Peterson, “Here I was laying the groundwork for a major renewal of Spirit-torched imagination in my congregation. Galatians, Paul’s angry, passionate, fiery letter that rescued his congregation from their regression to culture slavery was on the table and nobody was getting it. . . . I tried to imagine Paul as pastor to these people who were letting their hard-won freedom in Christ slip through their fingers. . . . I just wanted them to hear it the way I heard it”
– so he began translating Galatians, giving the sense of the words, but with contemporary expressions
• it was eye-opening for his Bible study group, and they began to feel Paul’s passion
◦ they were brought into the Bible in a new way
◦ in fact, his church wanted more of his translations of scripture – other people also wanted more
• that is what eventually led to The Message Bible
◦ and it began with Paul’s “angry letter” to the Galatians

From the founding of our nation, we have cherished freedom

But Paul’s idea looms much larger than political freedom
– we can live in a “free society” yet be inwardly enslaved
• many are mastered by fear, others by greed, hate, or longing for something they’ve never had
◦ in the New Testament, there’s always the danger of slavery to sin
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34)
◦ but Paul also saw the danger of a religious form of slavery
• this is one of the goals of Jesus’ work in our lives
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:31-32
◦ it makes sense that once in awhile we would ask ourselves, “Am I free?”
◦ some of the things that control us are very subtle, so it pays to ask
– religious slavery reduces a person to law-keeping — a focus on jurisprudence rather than God
• there is very little joy in that – and not much life in it either
◦ rule-keeping doesn’t make anyone a good person
◦ but it can make a person self-righteous and judgmental
• Paul tells Christians, “Protect your freedom! Stand firm”
◦ there is an illusion that if you’re not in prison, then you’re free
◦ don’t let anyone strap a yoke of slavery on you–Again!

Before moving on, I have a question for you
– Paul doesn’t say “Jesus has set us free,” but “Christ” – Why?
• name of Jesus always feels warmer to me, more personal than “the Christ”
• but in these first four verses, Paul doesn’t use name, Jesus, but refers to Christ three times
◦ he’s the same person–Jesus and Christ–and in verse 6, Paul says, “Christ Jesus”
– I think the answer is “Christ” is specific to his role as the Savior
• Christ is his title – it reveals the work God gave him to do in us
◦ the Christ (“anointed one,” Messiah) is also the One true Ruler of God’s people
“For freedom Christ has set us free”

Paul projects a picture on the screen and says, “Look”
“Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified^[a] by the law; you have fallen away from grace” Galatians 5:2-4

Paul wants us to see what happens if we capitulate to legalistic religion
– there are four consequences:
First, Christ is no longer of any profit to us
– Paul’s use of “circumcision” is symbolic
• it refers to people who attempt to make themselves right with God through obeying the laws of Moses
• this is serious!
◦ if someone talks us into a legalistic form of Christianity, we lose Jesus – even if we still use his name
Second, you’re obligated to keep the entire law
– we’re signing up for everything in it
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law” (Jas. 2:10-11)
Third, we become cut-off, alienated from Christ
– we either go with Jesus and follow him, or we go on our own
Fourth, we’ve fallen out of grace – thrown ourselves overboard
– we pick up the backpack of religion and head out on our own — and God’s grace does not go with us

Here we learn what works and what doesn’t work
For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love Galatians 5:5-6

What works: first of all, the Spirit
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as [children], by whom we cry ‘Abba! Father!’” (Ro. 8:15)
“it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, and who has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a down-payment” (1 Cor. 1:21-22)
– the Holy Spirit holds us in God throughout our lives
• his presence sustains our hope
Secondly, what works: faith, operating through love
– we shouldn’t be surprised to find these triplets in Paul’s letters — hope, faith, and love
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest is love” (1 Cor. 13:13)
(a strong statement is coming in verse 14)
What doesn’t work:
• neither circumcision nor uncircumcision if you make a big deal of it
• the critical factors are faith and love

Paul turns their attention again to the agitators among them
You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump Galatians 5:7-9

They were off to a good start, running well,
– so who tripped them up? Who refocused their attention
• carrying all the weight of religious legalism, they are unable to run well (if at all)
◦ they’ve veered off the track and away from “the truth”
• Paul can tell them who it was not that did this to them!
“This persuasion is not from him who calls you” – God did not put this on them!
– in some matters, even a slight turn, ruins everything
• “a little leaven leavens the whole lump”
• the significance of yeast as a symbol in the New Testament it is permeating influence

Finally we come to something positive
I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! Galatians 5:10-12

Paul expresses his confidence in the Lord regarding the Galatians
– he’s not so certain about their stability, but absolutely certain regarding God’s faithfulness
• at the same time that he trusts God for their welfare,
◦ he trust God to deal with the troublemakers
• this can be very liberating too!
◦ it’s not up to us to take action against cults and their leaders
– apparently, some were saying Paul still endorsed rule-keeping
• but he argues if he were, they wouldn’t be persecuting him
◦ what offended them was that the cross covered everything,
◦ leaving them no room to add any religious accomplishment of their own
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:13-14)
– regarding the religious agitators, Paul suggests that they don’t stop with circumcision,
• instead, they should go the whole distance and castrate themselves
◦ I think this is the point Paul is making, is that if they were castrated, that if they would become infertile and incapable of producing offspring
◦ in other words, they would no longer be able to make new converts, and, therefore, no longer pose a problem

Paul closes this section by returning to freedom
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another Galatians 5:13-15

Again Paul reminds them that they have freedom,
– but here he tells them not to misuse it
• it’s freedom from religious bondage and sin,
◦ but sin isn’t irrelevant and our freedom doesn’t void the law
◦ we still adhere to its ethical and moral guidance
• we use our freedom in loving and serving others
◦ and though we are not made right with God by the law,
◦ love fulfills the law (v. 14), we cannot say this enough
– this statement isn’t scripture, but it’s true, “All you need is love”
• Paul leaves s with this warning
– we have freedom, but don’t misuse it
• it’s freedom from religious bondage and sin,
◦ but sin isn’t irrelevant and our freedom doesn’t void the law
◦ we still adhere to its ethical and moral guidance
• we use our freedom in loving and serving others
◦ and though we are not made right with God by the law,
◦ love fulfills the law (v. 14), we can’t say this enough
– it isn’t scripture, but it’s true, “All you need is love”
• Paul leaves us with this warning–choose love in the community or it becomes a dog fight
And with all the biting and devouring, someone is going to be consumed by the others

Conclusion: We constantly need to practice spiritual disciplines that help create new habits

A good habit to develop would be to train ourselves to “think love”
That would mean, making the first step in every new encounter,
whether with other people in the world or in our Christian community, would be to think love
Reminding ourselves, “God placed me here to be his love in this situation
Then, feel God’s love
Inhale his love
Become his love
THINK LOVE

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
Help us to step into your grace
Help us to be where you actually are
Not where we imagine you are
Or believe you ought to be
Or where someone else has said
You have been before

For this we will need to listen for you
So grant us the stillness to hear you

And we will need to be emptied
Of our expectations and theories
So grant us simplicity to receive
You as you choose to come to us

And we will need to turn toward you
So grant us a hope of a more and better
And fuller life in exchange for the life we have today

Call us Lord and
Let us come to you
Help us to swipe away
Every obstacle
And rest in your loving goodness
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? Galatians 4:21

Intro: If you ever decide to read the Bible all the way through,

At some point, you will find yourself struggling to understand it
– even if you’ve been a believer for a long time and read it before (or read a kiddie version)
• a passage will confuse you, trouble, or just seem wrong
◦ I’m fortunate to have many helpful resources
• however, when even those study aids leave me with questions
◦ then I resort to creative thought experiments; for instance, I ask, “what if”
◦ what if this were meant to frustrate? or be a puzzle? or experienced rather than studied?
– there have been occasions when these “off trail” ventures,
• have led me to surprising and edifying insights

Our reading in Galatians has me wondering if Paul used similar techniques
– I imagine Paul pouring over the story of Abraham and Sarah–again!
• we know that Abraham’s relationship with God was key to Paul’s theology
◦ God’s promise, Abraham’s faith, miracle of Isaac’s birth
• Sarah was his partner in all of this and also had an important role
◦ but her first attempt to fulfill it, misfired
◦ she offered her slave girl, Hagar, to Abraham to sire an heir through her
– as Paul reads, he suddenly catches a glimpse of something he’s never seen
• he re-reads the story, not as history, but through a dif. lens
◦ a truth comes to him in a new way
• and now, in his letter to the Galatians, it seems like the perfect way to demonstrate his point
◦ that’s what we’re heading into – Paul’s strangest use of scripture in all his writings

Paul begins with a challenge

The supposed “experts” . . .
(I apologize that I haven’t come upon the perfect title for them. The term “Judaizers” was once used, but many biblical scholars question its authenticity. Anyway, there is a wide range of legalistic Christians in the world these days, some of whom are in cults, some who think they’re experts in exposing cults, some who are doctrinarie, and some who have weird customs and rituals that make them consider themselves more advanced than other believers.)
The supposed “experts” had convinced the Galatians they were not true Christians
– that to be truly “saved,” they had to fully embrace Judaism; both the religion and culture
• they needed to practice a law oriented do-it-yourself righteousness
• so Paul asks these experts whether they had really listened to the law
◦ BTW, when Rabbis referred to law, or Torah, they included all of the first five books of the Bible
◦ so that included Genesis, where story of Abraham is found
– Paul asks if they really paid attention to what was there,
• because he intends to reveal insights they had never discovered

Paul gives a short and simple overview of the story
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Galatians 4:22-23

What Paul makes absolutely clear, is that running through this narrative, is a binary division:
– two sons – two women – two classes (slave and free)
• and regarding the two sons, they arrived in two different ways:
Ishmael: “according to the flesh”; the normal, natural process of conception and birth
Isaac: “through promise” – God’s covenant with Abraham – a miracle baby
– so Paul has set the stage:
• he has introduced the players – the mothers and the sons
• and he has revealed their positions and roles in the storyline

This is where Paul gets creative . . .
Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
    than those of the one who has a husband” Galatians 4:24-27

Seriously creative! Unlike any of his other writing
– he continues to insist on the binary divisions
• two covenants – two places (Mt. Sinai and Jerusalem) – two mothers – and two sets of children
◦ and like before, two classes: those in “slavery” and those who are “free”
• but he expands the characters to represent more than the persons
– Paul adds to them specific associations
• Hagar, the slave he associates with Mt. Sinai (where the law was given)
• Sarah, the free woman and Jerusalem
◦ perhaps “free” because as God’s presence in the sanctuary was his gift to Israel
– at this point, Paul reveals the identities of these children
• the slaves were the imposters who imposed the law on the Galatians
• the free were the true believers, made right with God by faith
– he tacks on at the end a quote from Isaiah
• it doesn’t relate directly to Sarah, but her ordeal, and how it was replayed in Hannah’s story,
◦ became a set image in Israel’s poetry and prophecy
◦ it is the God’s promise to turn the barrenness of his people into abundant fertility

Paul has had to explain to the Galatians what he’s doing here

In other words, if you studied the Torah carefully all your life,
– you would have never come up with these meanings
• Paul informs us that he has used a specific method of reading the text
◦ allegory – this is an unusual category of literature
◦ a story is told in which everything has a double meaning
▫ there is the literal meaning, in which everything makes sense
▫ and there’s a hidden meaning that requires close observation (and imagination)
• this is not the usual way that we read scripture,
◦ nor is it the recommended way
◦ the majority of the Bible is to be taken at face value
(while noticing that many statements are idioms or metaphors)
– there are preachers who see the entire Old Testament as allegorical
• perhaps they have a hard time understanding the Old Testament,
◦ or making it relevant to believers today
◦ so they interpret as much of it as they are able, by treating it as a faint indication of what was to be revealed in the New Testament
• for some believers, this allegorical type of teaching sounds “deep,”
◦ as if they’re really going down into the spiritual truth of the Old Testament
◦ but the problem with allegory, as one scholar says, is that
“It is too easy to make things mean just what you want them to mean.” (William Neil)
– A friend has built almost his entire ministry on allegory,
• one time I teased him, “You ought to write a book: ‘Pastor J’s Fanciful Insights from the Word of God’”

Paul is not using allegory to prove his point, but to illustrate it
(he already proved it in the previous chapters)
– what I am noticing, is that he cannot overemphasize his concern
• the Galatians had been told they’re not good enough; that their faith in Jesu was not enough
◦ Paul says, “We were never good enough! Even with the law, Israel was never good enough”
• the Galatians were told they had to convert to Judaism
◦ Paul says, “Gentiles are only required to believe in Jesus and follow him and his teaching”
• the Galatians were told, the only way to be right with God is through the law
◦ Paul says,
“That never worked for Israel, and it will never work for you. Instead, that road will take you into a religious slavery in which you will never come to the freedom that is in Jesus Christ”
– having made these important points,
• Paul finds one more important lesson in his allegorical reading

What the Galatians have experienced is persecution
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman” Galatians 4:28-30

Continuing to develop the allegory, Paul adds an episode
– Isaac was the miracle baby born to elderly Abraham and Sarah
• I don’t know whether parents generally celebrated a child’s weaning,
◦ but I wouldn’t doubt that Isaac was a little bit spoiled
• anyway, at the occasion of the event,
◦ Sarah caught Ishmael making fun of his half-brother (or so it appears)
◦ in Paul’s allegorical view, this behavior becomes persecution
– his message to the Galatians is that living by faith in Jesus will result in persecution
• they would face the wrath of the teachers who insisted on Gentile obedience to the law
◦ Paul was quite familiar with persecution
“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. [I was in] danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at seas, danger from false brothers . . .” (2 Cor. 11:24-26)
◦ eventually he came to the conclusion that
“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12)
• I promise you, there are high-conflict Christians who, when they see your freedom in Christ,
will sharply criticize and condemn you for it

Paul asks what the Scriptures have to say about this, and answers,
“Cast out the slave woman and her son . . .”
– he doesn’t go on to make as strong application that to the Galatians,
• but he may imply that is what they need to do
– remove the hyper-religious, hyper-critical people from their spiritual community

Conclusion: We can finish this morning where the chapter ends
So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman Galatians 4:31

Sometimes, when our circumstances don’t make sense,
or they’ve become overwhelming and we feel lost or hopeless,
we might want to consider shifting to allegory
(or use a different lens when reading scripture)
Maybe there’s a hidden message that will emerge when use an open ended reading style
At least, remember this:
Creativity thrives in freedom and freedom thrives in creativity

Podcast

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons Galatians 4:1-5

Intro: For the last month or two, I’ve noticed a trend
– people are using a “Jesus image” in a variety of video posts
• like a famous celebrity, he’s immediately recognizable
◦ there’s the trademark long hair and beard, the robe, and sandals
◦ his image is used to promote an ideal, or to criticize, ridicule, or make fun of something
• three observations immediately come to mind:
◦ first, the image is used for propaganda purposes
◦ second, they’re all impersonators
▫ third, not one of these characters is the real Jesus
– Galatians is Paul’s attempt to rescue his readers from impersonators
• all of the communities addressed in Galatia were new churches
◦ and all the believers were new Christians
◦ so they were susceptible to people posing as experts
• their message was, to be right with God, one had to obey his law
◦ but the spiritual effect on the Galatians was arrested development
◦ the point Paul makes here: you’ve outgrown the law

In the previous chapter, Paul presented an analogy that personified the law

The law was like an ultra-strict tutor or guardian
– the law served for a time in history when Israel’s religion was still a work in progress
• the law was necessary at that time, because people needed boundaries
• but now, in Jesus, the believers had come of age
◦ they no longer needed the law as a guardian
◦ they were made right with God through their faith in him
– Paul now adds to the analogy
• we could be heirs to a fortune, but not have access to it
◦ a will could be written to specify that heir had to reach a certain age before receiving the inheritance
◦ until then, they shared the same status of a household slave

Next, Paul explains the analogy, “in the same way . . .”
– in our spiritual immaturity, we were
“enslaved to the elementary principles of the cosmos”
• for the Jews, that refers to God’s laws
• for Gentiles, it refers to whatever forces they believed ran the universe (gods, mathematics, the push and pull of love and hate, and so on)
– I want to draw attention to one word: “under” – five times in these verses
• Greek is hupo, by looks like hypo (hypodermic is a combination of two Greek words under/hypo and skin/derma)
◦ in these verses “under” is a dark place where we can easily be trapped
• it is to be under the influence and control of someone or something,
◦ it is to be subject to the will of that person or condition
◦ it’s the opposite of freedom, of choice, of the opportunity to become our true selves

When did we reach the age that the inheritance became ours?
– the “fullness of time” (v. 4) corresponds with “date set by his father” (v. 2)
• that was when God sent his Son
◦ Paul says he was born as we were, “under the law”
◦ Jesus joined us where we were – to “redeem” us – to set us free
• something unexpected happens at this point
◦ Paul doesn’t say that we have come of age in Jesus,
◦ he says we were adopted!
“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!’ “So you are no longer a slave, but as son, and if a son, then an heir through God” Galatians 4:6-7
similarly he wrote in Romans
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ . . . .” (Rom. 8:14-17)
• the cry, “Abba” is the marker of our transformation
– this entire world is an orphanage
• we’re all orphans who want to be chosen
◦ we want to belong to someone
◦ we look at every visitor with hopeful eyes
• God sent his Son Jesus into this orphanage
◦ he finds us and asks, “Do you want to come home with Me?”
“In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I do to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (Jn. 14:2-3)

Next, Paul reminds the Galatians of their past lives (verses 8-11)

That can be uncomfortable, but it’s not a bad idea–to look back
– if the concept of having “a god” means a controlling influence over a life,
• then everyone has a god – maybe supernatural or material
◦ the god of some people may be their own self
• Paul reminds them that they were slaves of their non-gods
◦ that metaphor is easy to comprehend if we’re talking about drugs or alcohol
◦ slavery is exactly the nature of addiction
– more recently, the Galatians have come to know God
• to me, this is the most wonderful expression of our faith
◦ we know God – not perfectly, not completely,
◦ but still, it is a real and personal knowing (some day we will know him fully; 1 Cor. 13:12)
• but now Paul asks in disbelief,
“how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world . . . ?”
◦ as before the elementary principles: for Jews referred to the law, for Gentiles to the forces of nature
◦ only here, Paul points out that these principles are weak and worthless
– he bases his assessment of the Galatians on their observance of annual and seasonal rituals
• their use of ceremonies, offerings, and incantations, to influence God or other gods
• they have Paul worried that his work with them was futile

In verses 12-20, Paul attempts to restore the bond they once shared

He began this pointed criticism of their wrong turn, calling them “foolish Galatians”! (Gal. 3:1)
– now he addresses them as his brothers and sisters – and,
• instead of scolding them he begs them to meet him half-way
◦ he lets them know that they have not wronged him
◦ they don’t have to apologize to him
• he also reminds them, that when he first came to them,
◦ he had a physical disorder that was difficult for them manage
◦ but, even so, they did not avoid or mistreat him, instead
you “received me as an angel [or messenger] of God, as Christ Jesus”
– he asks them, “What happened to that? Where did that blessing go?
That radical kindness and generosity?”

Then Paul refers to something that we do not know much about:
“For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me” (v. 15b)
– This is rather graphic! Did Paul have a reason for using this shocking expression?
• he could have said, “removed” or “traded an eye with me”
• but apparently that is not his point, because a surgical procedure like that was impossible anyway
– it seems that he uses this strong language to intensify the fact of their deep and sincere love for him

He wants to know if telling them the truth made him their enemy
– when he came t them, he presented the gospel of Jesus
• then the others showed up and told the Galatians Paul had misled them
◦ it seems that now he feels betrayed
• I imagine that is how the Old Testament prophets often felt (especially Jeremiah)
– all through this, Paul has had in mind the impersonators
• the troublemakers who came after Paul and contradicted him
“They treated you like you were a big deal, but with wrong motives. They wanted to lock you out of the grace I preached to you, and in such a way that you would think they were a big deal.”

Many years ago a young man approached me after a Sunday morning service. He had a letter in his hand that he showed me. It was from a famous television evangelist and faith healer. I could see that it was a form letter, but the young man did not know that. In the letter, the TV guy said, “The Lord has told me that you have a high calling.” The kid asked me, “What is a high calling?” He was sincere and truly concerned. He assumed God had some important work in mind for him, and he did not want to fail to fulfill it, only he did not know what a high calling meant. I felt very sorry for him, as I do for everyone who is taken in by religious scams like this one.

• every preacher, every lecturer, and public speaker knows,
◦ there’s a way to deliver a speech that glorifies the speaker

Paul didn’t see anything wrong in him thinking the Galatian believers were a big deal
– as long as he’s working for their sake and with a “good purpose”
• and he lets them know this is how he feels about them, always, and not only when he’s there with them
• before he finishes that thought, he adds a flourish of affection; now they are, “my little children”
– he finishes off this section with an apology
• if he were with them, he’d change his harsh tone
• but he’s treated them roughly, because they have him “perplexed”
◦ are they still with him and trusting in Jesus or are they not?

Conclusion: We’re done–except, I skipped a line in verse 19
“my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”

When Reflexion first began to host Sunday meetings,
I found in this verse the assignment God had given me
This inner formation of Jesus within us is not theoretical, but experiential
The witness of God’s Spirit, knowing Jesus, and the working of his person into our inner self is the essence of our new life in God
To assist others through this metamorphosis is the challenge of every pastor and spiritual director
The new self is the true self
The process is ongoing
Even in this very moment