Presented to Trinity UMC, July 3, 2022. A video of the complete service of worship can be found at https://youtu.be/JOd4YOlwrFE
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Queue Janis Joplin, singing in her inimitable voice: “Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose. Nothin', don't mean nothin', honey, if it ain't free,”
I'm not exactly sure what those lyrics, penned by Kris Kristofferson, really mean, but I've always loved that song, “Bobby McGee.” It's a song about love and loss, about how we sometimes let something or someone special slip away, about how sometimes when we free ourselves of hard things – of obligation, duty, of burdens, we also lose the good that comes along with those things or people. That song reminds me that freedom is a double-edged sword; that caring about an issue or loving a person naturally entails obligation, that those obligations, freely chosen, are what give meaning to life. That thing that you fully give yourself to, binds you.
This Independence Day weekend has brought the idea of freedom much to my mind. Freedom is a word and a concept that is thrown around freely these days – one group or another demanding their freedom, each side making their contradictory claims on freedom. In honor of Independence Day, I want to briefly review a history of freedom in this nation.
Popular mythology has it that our country was founded on religious freedom and that is partly true. The Puritans in the northeast and the Huguenots in the South were fleeing oppressive state religion in England and Western Europe. State religion was a merger of the religious institution, Catholic or Anglican, with the political power of the monarchy and ruling government. The Puritans, in particular, were fleeing FROM religious authority, but established their own religious authority merged with the power of government – a Theocracy. They were less interested in freedom OF religion because they did not tolerate dissenters. So 150 years later, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, the framers were very particular about keeping the secular instiutions of government separate from religious authority. They understood very clearly that freedom OF religious expression required freedom FROM religious control and that this separation was key to the success of both church and state. Nothing don't mean nothin', honey, if it aint free.
On a history site on the internet, I found a list of eight great civic freedoms in our country, beginning with (1) the Declaration of Independence, then (2) the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Read it sometime. Two weeks ago we celebrated the first Federal holiday recognizing Juneteenth, (3) the Emancipation Proclamation and the abolition of slavery enforced by a Civil War, and enshrined in the 13th Amendment. That freedom struggle is on-going. The list included (4) the era of immigration which made our country the great melting pot and beacon of freedom around the world and is symbolized by the Statue of Liberty. (5) The 19th Amendment extended the right to vote to white women and expanded rights of women. (6) D-Day and the fight against tyranny and facism in Europe, allowed democracy and democratic republics to extend across the globe and set the stage for prosperity. (7)The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and associated legistation codified civic freedoms for people of color. Finally, (8) the Supreme Court's landmark ruling which guaranteed the freedom to marry extended the fundamental personal liberties guaranteed under the 14th amendment. A history of freedom in a nutshell!
Each of these civic freedoms guarantees freedom FROM an oppressive or restrictive policy or practice and gives a freedom TO greater self-determination,
The freedoms that Jesus spoke about and that Paul wrote about were also freedoms FROM and freedoms TO. Jesus began his ministry in Nazareth with these words found in Luke 4:18-19: (Jesus is quoting Isaiah 61:1) “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” For me, this is one of the most significant passages in the gospel story because here Jesus reveals how he saw his ministry. So I ponder: Jesus is going to set me free; in what ways am I a prisoner; where am I acting the jailer imprisoning another; in what ways am I blind; what am I failing to see; in what ways do I act as the oppressor. When will the year of the Lord's favor come? Will I recognize it?
John 8:31-36 "Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, "You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
John records Jesus as speaking in an indirect, metaphorical language that needs some interprepation. But that line is often quoted: “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” Here He is speaking about freedom from the bondage of sin.
In his letters, the Apostle Paul elaborates in more practical detail on this “truth” from Jesus. Let's look at today's passage from the letter to the church at Galatia: 1 Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don't submit to the bondage of slavery again. Jesus's New Covenant set us free from the Old Testament Laws which governed every aspect of life. But freedom from the old Law did not mean freedom to do anything. Now we are governed by a new law – that is, the Law of LOVE. 13 You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don't let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. Freedom FROM the law has given us freedom TO live under the Law of LOVE – Love God, Love One Another.
You remember when you were just coming of age. Those freedoms of adulthood were so alluring: we could drive a car and go places that our parents never knew about; we could buy and use alcohol, cigarettes, maybe other drugs; we could choose relationships that may or may not have been healthy. We could even eat our dessert before dinner if we wanted to. Now young people have many more choices and freedoms than most of us could have imagined, including going into debt. But any of those so-called freedoms can become bondage – to addiction, unwanted pregnancy, debt, anger, hateful speech. Paul has a long list.
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.” Whatever we give ourselves to, binds us and restricts our freedom, so we best be careful of where we our priorities and passion. If we don't give ourselves fully to anything, sure, we're free. But what do we have in our freedom – Nothing. That is the paradox of freedom. Claiming the freedom that Jesus offers truly sets us free – free to live in the Spirit under the Law of Love. What a joy life can be when it is governed by Love.
Paul goes on to describe what it looks like when we give ourselves to Jesus's Law of LOVE: 20 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this. Just like eating healthy fruit is good for our bodies, so these fruit of the Spirit are good for us. They are not a giving up, they are a gain. This fruit expands our life and increases our freedom. Not only that, but as we live into these fruit of the Spirit, our JOY in life increases. We become ever more free to live in LOVE and our Joy increases and on and on.
I hope our Wacky Wednesday children are absorbing something of the idea of the Fruit of the Spirit as character traits to help them live in right relationship, in loving relationship, with one another. I hope that we adults are doing the same! Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. There is no law against these. Putting this fruit into our daily life brings us the freedom that Jesus promises. These are the evidence, the fruit, of a Jesus-follower. If more folk who claim to be Christian incorporated this fruit into their daily life, what a different world we would have.
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified self with its passions and its desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let's follow the Spirit.
Breath Prayer: Breathe in Freedom; Breath out in Christ. (repeat 3 times or as much as you like)
Amen.
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