Michael Seiler

Year: 2022

  • Kingdoms

    If you were to ask any random person on the street about a prayer that they could recite from memory, the Lord’s Prayer would make the top five. It seems that this is a prayer that everyone, whether they attend church now, or only as a child, has committed to memory. And as is often the case when we have committed words and phrases to rote memory, we often quit reflecting on their meanings and purpose.

    The disciples asked Jesus to show them how to pray, and Jesus gave them a short and simple prayer, the elements of which are intended to focus our relationship with God, and with each other. 

    Hallowed be your name

    The word hallow isn’t often used in English language anymore, but it is the best word to translate the Greek word, which means to “make holy,” “to set apart,” “to consecrate.” In other words, we are to set God apart as holy, to venerate, respect, and stand in awe of God. And when we say that we wish for God’s name to be holy, what we mean is not just the words we use to describe God – a person’s name encompasses more than just the letters and pronunciation – it is the very essence of who they are. To hallow God’s name means to set God apart as one is worthy of our praise, our love, and our respect.

    And what is the opposite of “hallowing,” of “setting apart” and “making holy?” We might think that the opposite would be to slander God’s name, to draw up stories where God did not live up to the reputation, or where God had failed to live up to our expectations. But even in that case, we still acknowledge that God is separate and different – we just don’t like what God has done – but God’s distinction from us, from humanity, is never a question.

    The opposite of “hallowing,” the opposite of making holy, is to make mundane, to make ordinary, to make commonplace. To see God not as something to be venerated, praised, and glorified, but to see God as something akin to a Magic 8 Ball, an oracle that can be consulted from time to time, and whose advice is no better than rolling dice or consulting the advice column in a newspaper. It would be, in essence, making the name of God – the very essence of God’s being – no more important than our own thoughts and feelings, an afterthought to our own understanding.

    And if God is not Holy, and if God is nothing more than something mundane, then we would have made God’s name – God’s very essence – no more powerful than our own. Or, to be more blunt, we would have considered ourselves equal to God. And when we have succeeded in making God mundane, then we risk making God a tool in our hands that can be wielded to accomplish our own desires and goals.

    If God is not holy and venerated in our lives, then the question is, who, or what is?

    Your kingdom come

    Without a king, there can be no kingdom. And before the world turned to various other forms of government, the world was ruled by kings, and the King’s will was the rule of the land. The king’s will was law. What the king wanted, the king got.  So, while it is not present in Luke’s Gospel, the common phrase of “Your will be done” is implied by praying for God’s kingdom to come to earth. 

    The trouble with humans, with all of us, however, is that we often would rather that our will is the law of the land. Just ask any toddler.  We are a people who value self-determination and who value self-reliance. Just imagine what can happen when we have quit hallowing God’s name, and instead made God nothing more than a tool to accomplish our own desires.

    Just recently, I was speaking with a coworker about recent events in this country. And as we spoke, my coworker became more and more angry with me because I kept insisting that if we wanted to see real change, that we as Christians had to push for an unbridled love of our neighbor, rather than forcing people to live under the laws we might consider to be the will of God. My coworker insisted that it was clear that the laws of this land should follow God’s moral code, as adherence to God’s moral law was the best way to run any country, with strict penalties for not living up to God’s law. 

    And then I had to ask, “But then who interprets and decides what God’s will is? Is it only the people in power that can interpret God’s will?”

    History has shown us that there has never been a time when people claiming to know God’s will has ever produced good results. For example, take John Calvin, one of the protestant reformers of the 1500s. Persecuted for challenging the church, he fled to Geneva Switzerland where he became one of the leaders in what was soon called “The City of God.” In Geneva, the moral law and civil law soon became one and the same, a man named Michael Servetus was deemed a heretic, and burned at the stake. 

    People who had at one point been persecuted by the Catholic Church for heresy now killed this man for the same crime. Even the reformers behaved like those they had tried to reform. People who had violence committed against them quickly turned to violence of their own once they held the reins of power.

    Or, perhaps looming even larger in history, consider the Third Reich. In Germany before WWII, there were Protestant Christians who actively supported the Nazi regime, calling themselves “storm troopers for Jesus Christ.” These were the type of people who believed that Jesus had selected them to bring about his kingdom on earth through violence or power or the rule of law. And, the Nazi Party took advantage of this type of thought and encouraged protestant churches in this belief to such a degree that the German Christian movement eventually released a statement that said: 

    “the eternal God created for our nation a law that is peculiar to its own kind. It took shape in the Leader Adolf Hitler … This law speaks to us from the history of our people … It is loyalty to this law which demands of us the battle for honor and freedom … One Nation! One God! One Reich! One Church!”

    Those that claimed to follow a crucified God, now looked to use Jesus Name to justify the violence and murder of others while they shaped the world to their own desire. It was an evil that had the support of religion to grant it divine legitimacy.

    It has never worked well when people use God’s name to push their own will through a political agenda. History is full of examples, from the Crusades to the Spanish Inquisition, from the Ayatollahs of Iran to the Clerics of Afghanistan. In each case, God was nothing more than a tool, a sword brandished in support of the will of those wielding it.

    There can be no kingdom without a king. And if God is not king of our lives, our hearts, and our minds, then the question remains: who, or what is?

    Give us our daily bread

    While the word we use is “bread,” the word is used to indicate everything that we might need to survive. This phrase is a plea for provision, for what we need to live our lives, to survive and be taken care of. 

    It is not a plea for what we want, because we often confuse what we need with what we want, as evidenced by the immortal words of Janis Joplin: “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz. My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.”

    What we need is not always what we want. And what we want, is not always what we need. Praying for God to provide us with our daily bread is an acknowledgement of our complete reliance upon God. If we look further in the passage, the words of Jesus following the prayer speak about how a parent treats a child, or how someone treats a neighbor. How much more will God provide for God’s beloved than people like us providing for those we love?

    There is a book which he recounts the stories of the Desert Fathers, mystics and monks who lived in the desert during the 3rd century. In one story, we hear of a disciple and his mentor:

    Abba Doulos, the disciple of Abba Bessarion, said: When we were walking along the sea one day, I was thirsty, so I said to Abba Bessarion, Abba, I am very thirsty. Then the old man prayed, and said to me, Drink from the sea. The water was sweet when I drank it. And I poured it into a flask, so that I would not be thirsty later. Seeing this, the old man asked me, Why are you doing that? I answered, Excuse me, but it’s so that I won’t be thirsty later on. Then the old man said, God is here, and God is everywhere.

    God is here, and God is everywhere is a statement of ruthless trust in a God who is to be revered, whose name should be hallowed, and who provides. And while I would like to say that I am like Abba Bessarion, it is often more true that I am like the disciple, who would rather put water into a flask for future use because I have not yet entirely come to live within the idea that the God whose name is hallowed will provide all that I need. It is not a bad thing to prepare for the future, but when we trust in our own preparations rather than God’s provision, that is when we step into murky waters. Do we trust God, or do we trust ourselves more? And if we trust ourselves more, then the question remains: who, or what, is king of our lives?

    Forgive us our sins – as we forgive those who sin against us

    Martin Luther King, Jr. said “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Change takes time, but change will come. He, much like others of his time, were committed to peaceful means to bring about the hope that they wished to see. Despite the violence he and others faced, they continued to forgive those who had wronged them, and continued to love those who persecuted them. 

    They could have chosen the path of violence, as some others during that time chose to do, but instead they chose to continue peacefully, putting trust in God’s great arc of justice. It was through this continued choice to remain peaceful in the face of violence that other people began to see the evil, and to see the need for change, slow though that change was in coming.

    Forgiveness is the most radical form of trust in a God that provides. Because if God can provide for us in all things, then God can certainly provide for us in the face of evil, and provide for us despite that evil. And if we are unable to forgive, then the question remains: who is really king of our lives?

    First person plural, not singular

    Finally, with all of what we have discussed today, the most important thing to remember is that the prayer is not about “My Father in heaven,” or “Give me my daily bread,” but instead, it is all about the first person plural: Our. Us. We. 

    Human nature is to harm those who harm us, to seek out for ourselves as much as we can, to prepare our own little kingdom, and to name ourselves masters of our own domain.

    But we are not masters of our own domain, we are a community of believers, and a community will not grow without forgiveness, and a community cannot forgive unless it expects God to provide, and we cannot expect God to provide unless God is the king of our lives, and that happens when we consecrate and hallow God’s name.

    Our father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come.

    Amen.

    [This sermon was delivered at The Episcopal Church of St. Matthew in Tucson, AZ on July 24, 2022.]

  • Boasting about the Cross

    See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised — only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule — peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

    Galatians 6:11-18

    In this final closing bit of the letter, Paul kind of reiterates the main points about circumcision that he made in the previous chapters, and then sends blessings. But The most interesting part of these final few verses is the sentence that says, “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

    Paul is claiming to boast in Christ’s crucifixion. That in itself reminds us of the passage in 1 Corinthians 2:2 where Paul says he wants to know nothing but “Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified.” This thought that Paul repeats is to remind us that the main thing, the most important thing, in the story of God’s salvation in this world is that God died for us to make us a part of God’s family, to bring us into communion with God.

    Then the second part of that phrase makes more sense. If we accept that God died for us, then we too have taken on the crucifixion of Christ – that is, we have accepted that God suffered for us, and that we will share in that suffering as we progress in our spiritual and physical lives. And we will share in that suffering particularly when we try to share this news with others. But it is this that brings about communion in the world. The world is crucified to us, and we to the world. That is, we are to become one, and strive for unity between ourselves and the world; the crucifixion simply reminds us that it may require sacrifice, and it will not be easy. But neither was Christ’s death.

    The idea that Paul carried “the arks of jesus branded on his body” has led some to suggest he had the stigmata. But others suggest that Paul is simply implying that he has suffered and retained scars and physical damage for his work in this world. In other words, Paul has suffered physically to spread the Gospel. This would be in line with the idea of the world crucified to Paul and Paul to the world.

  • Understanding

    My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

    Galatians 6:1-10

    If the last section focused on allowing ourselves to think too highly of ourselves and thereby allowing ourselves to delve into free for all behaviors, then this section is the flip side. It’s still related, though, and in this case, Paul is urging us not to look at others with judgement. Judgement of others always comes from a feeling of superiority, so Paul warns us to confront others with a spirit of gentleness. It’s intended to help us see that the other is most likely burdened with something that is provoking those behaviors, rather than pure spite.

    When it comes to people who have been arrested for crimes and imprisoned, it is far too easy to simply write it off as “they got what they deserved,” and leave it at that. But the work should not end there. Carrying one another’s burdens should lead us to understand why this person felt the need to act they way they did. Understanding goes a long way to making sure that they will not do it again. It’s not that we are looking for an excuse to their behavior, but rather an explanation for why they ended up where they did. That understanding will help them to make positive changes in their lives, and hopefully keep them from repeating the behavior. This is the spirit of gentleness that Paul mentions; this is carrying one another’s burdens. Carrying each other’s burdens is not just for those that agree with us, or with those we find agreeable, but for all of our siblings in Christ. Even those that have wronged us or others.

    While I use an example about criminal behavior, this need to seek understanding between ourselves and others is what will drive unity. Without seeking each other out in a spirit of gentleness, and without seeking to understand the motivations behind why we act the way we do, we will continue to entertain the idea of superiority. Ultimately, it is behavior that is focused on others and on a comparison between those others and ourselves. When we focus on God we focus on the benefit of others. When we focus on what others are doing, we focus on the benefit to ourselves; it is this comparison between where they stand, and where we stand in whatever measurement we are using that forces us to draw our attention to our own issues. This is why it is so important to approach others with a spirit of gentleness, so that we can understand one another, and move each other toward the common goal of Christ’s reign in this world.

  • Duct Tape and Dwelling Spaces

    Several years ago, I was part of an intentional community of young men who served the church called the Brother’s House. My position, as the oldest, was as the head brother, and the three others living with me were all aged 19 – 21. I was in my early thirties. You can imagine that living in the same house together with these young men didn’t always go as I would have hoped. Sometimes, I had prepared food, only to find that at the moment that I wanted to eat this food I was looking forward to, someone had beat me to it. Or I would vacuum the floors, only to have someone track mud into the house. Or one of them would fail to pay rent, and we would find ourselves without services. Not the best arrangement, but certainly an opportunity to grow my ability to forgive.

    Every time we live with others in community, we open ourselves up to growth – opportunities to expand as people, as spiritual beings; we learn to live together as a beloved community with those on the same journey toward God.

    As we read in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his followers that if they keep his commandments, he and the father would come and dwell with them. In a sense, God becomes our housemate, and the house in question is our soul, our mind, our heart. God wants to live in community with us, and make a home with and within us.

    For those of you who know that you’ve lived with anyone else, you know that the best relationships are ones in which there is no deception, no lies, no lasting secrets. We get an idea of what it means to live with God in the reading from Revelation today. In the place where God dwells, the streets and homes are illuminated with the light of God. There is no darkness at all. To expand our metaphor of a home, if God dwells with us, our souls themselves become illuminated, and darkness and falsehood are cast out. 

    These readings are a foreshadowing for what we – and the lectionary – celebrate in two weeks: Pentecost. The arrival of the Holy Spirit to guide us, to illuminate our paths, and to move us into a state where falsehoods and lies can not find any shadows in which to lurk.

    It is a slow process. Changes developed through a life together.

    God will never push, but God will prompt. God will not demand, but God will suggest. God will not nag, but God will remind. God will seek to shine light on anything that we might wish to keep secret, so that we might draw ever closer to a relationship with the Divine.

    Imagine, then, a home, filled with rooms, and God has come to dwell with you. As you show God around the house, you point out the beautiful view from the balcony, overlooking the mountains across the valley from where you are. You show God all the beautifully decorated rooms and let God know that you are pleased to share your home.

    And things go well. You wake up in the morning and spend time on the balcony, drinking your coffee and having deep and meaningful conversations with God. And you feel God’s love and closeness, as though you alone are God’s most beloved.

    Until one day, God says, “What’s behind this door here? You’ve never shown me what’s in this room.” And you respond, “You don’t need to see that room. Come, let’s go to the balcony and talk a bit. I’ve got a new bottle of wine I’d like us to try out.”

    But God persists, and eventually you open up the room, pull back the curtains and reveal a room covered in cobwebs, filled to the ceiling with old boxes of junk of things you know you need to get rid of but somehow cannot bring yourself to let go of. But God brings the light to it, helps you throw out what needs throwing out, and with other items, God dusts them off, and helps you use them to decorate other parts of the house.

    And this happens over and over again, with different rooms, as God shakes out those things we would rather keep hidden, and renews those things we may have forgotten.

    This is transformation. This is growth. This is a refining of our lives so that we more closely reflect the image of God as the light of God’s love permeates our hearts and minds.

    Imagine, however, one day, walking through the living room, and, turning, you see God sitting on the balcony with someone else. And God is laughing and joking, and talking with the other person just as God does with you. 

    So you confront God, asking, “How can you love this other person and spend time with them when they are clearly not keeping your commandments? They are not worthy of your love.”

    And rather than answer you, God takes you to one more room, and opens the door. And in this room, God pulls open the curtains and reveals duct tape on the floor, separating the room in two. “Okay,” you say, “But that’s just because my brother will make a mess of things if I don’t set some boundaries. He is not like me.” And God leads us out of the room, showing us the duct tape lines that divide the hallway, the living room couch, right over the top of the kitchen table, all the supposedly shared spaces of the house, and we protest all the way, saying that we need these dividing lines, because God’s love simply cannot be for those that don’t keep his commandments, right?

    We enjoy seeing our own lives transformed by God’s love, as we slowly shape our lives to reflect the will of God in this world. We are fond of seeing our lives change as we slowly transform into “good people.” And somehow, we always seem to think that those commandments that we keep are the only ones that make us worthy of God’s love.

    We, as a people, like to be curators of the commandments that we believe will please God. We have lists of rules, and catalogs of morality, and we like to be the ones to enforce it all  too. Because, isn’t that what makes a person worthy of God’s love? Isn’t keeping God’s commandments the prerequisite for God making his home in and with us?

    We forget, however, that others are being transformed through the light of God’s love just as we are. And we forget that our understanding of God may be out of sync with theirs. What has been revealed to them may not yet have been revealed to us. And the opposite is also true: what has been revealed to us may not have yet been revealed to them. 

    God dwells with them, just as God does with us; God loves them, just as God loves us; God forgives them, just as God forgives us. 

    There can never be a beloved community – a community that includes all God’s children regardless of any differences that might keep us apart – there can be no peace, no living together in harmony, unless there is forgiveness and understanding.

    This is not easy, and it doesn’t have to happen immediately. In my own life I have people that I still think are evil. Who have wronged me, done much to disparage me and cause me harm. And yet, I know that if they are actively trying to love God, then God will dwell with them, just as God dwells with me when I seek to love God.

    At some point, the light of God’s love will shine deeply enough into my own heart that I will find the strength to forgive them, understand them, and reconcile. But today is not that day. Not yet.

    It is also never easy when in this world we are confronted by war, genocide, violence and hatred. When we see people being murdered for the crime of being different. When we see people pushing for laws that make life more difficult for others simply to suit their own morality; when we see hatred showered upon some people in the name of a loving God; when we see people cast aside and deemed unworthy, simply because of who they are. 

    It is never easy to respond to those hateful actions with love, when we would rather respond in kind. We see so much of this world that still needs to be transformed by God’s love, and it seems so overwhelming. What can be done? How can the world be changed when there is still so much desire for power and control – and the ensuing hatred that springs from it?

    But we are not called to change the world.

    At least, not all at once.

    We may get caught up in the idea of what makes a person worthy of God’s love, pulling out those lists and catalogs again, and running down the checklist to determine someone’s qualifications for becoming God’s beloved.

    But God doesn’t care about any of that. God doesn’t care about the commandments and rules we come up with. Because the commandments that please God are only two:

    Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, mind and soul.

    Love your neighbor as yourself.

    There can never be a beloved community – a community that includes all God’s children regardless of any self-imposed differences to keep ourselves apart – there can be no peace, no living together in harmony, unless there is forgiveness and understanding.

    God makes a home with us, so that God’s love will transform us. And God transforms us so that we might transform the world – slow and difficult as it may be.

    We are called to throw open windows and allow God’s light of love to shine in the dark places. We are called to rip up the duct tape that divides our living spaces between those worthy of God’s love and those deemed to not live up to all the requirements. We are called to stand in the face of hatred and power armed with nothing more than God’s love. 

    We are called to allow ourselves to be transformed by God, so that through God’s love working in us, we can transform the world.

    And if we continue with this path, then slowly, ever so slowly, we may see the world transformed into one that resembles the heavenly city of God. A world in which there is no darkness at all.

    [This sermon was delivered at The Episcopal Church of St. Matthew in Tucson, AZ on May 22, 2022.]

  • Freedom Fruits

    Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

    Galatians 5:16-26

    From the title you might think I’m a farmer with a street cart trying to get you to buy my patriotically grown product (whatever that might mean). But I assure you, this fruit is devoid of any jingoism or supposed conflation of Christianity and national pride. In fact, the fruits of the Spirit that Paul is speaking about transcend anything remotely isolationist, since it speaks of our belonging to a tribe of people that exist outside of national boundaries.

    Often, when students head off to college for the first time, they are suddenly struck with the realization that no one is watching their every move; they are free from family, free from old friends, free from the people across the street, and their neighborhood pastor. Suddenly, they encounter the idea of freedom to do as they please, without the social repercussions experienced in a community that has placed expectations upon them from birth. And with that comes the possibility for acting on every whim, devoid of second thoughts and responsible actions; it comes with the possibility of a free for all.

    In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote that all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial.1 He said this while discussing a similar set of free for all behaviors. But, moreover, in Corinthians, Paul continues that while all things are lawful/permissible, he will not be brought under the power of any of them. Those comments in the letter to the Corinthians share the same words as Paul frequently uses in the letter to the Galatians; Paul is saying that he will not become a slave to these behaviors. There is a fine distinction here between acting upon every whim of our desires and acting out of self-control and out of a spirit of love. If we allow ourselves to follow our innate desires, we may very well descend into behaviors that are driven by our addiction to them and our addiction to our own sense of self-worth and power. But if we moderate those behaviors, based in our love for God and our neighbor, then those behaviors will never dominate or enslave us; instead, our behavior will be tempered by our relationship with Christ, and with his children.

    The important thing to remember, of course, is that these fruits of the spirit are a result of seeking God first in all we do, and not in seeking to fulfill our own desires. If we look at all the things Paul mentions in this passage, we see that all of them stem from some form of self-importance; every one of these behaviors can be traced back to the idea that we are more important than others, or that others have harmed or infringed upon the stellar specimen of humanity that is us.

    And, just as in the last section, Paul is attempting to point people’s lives toward God, and not toward selfish desires and ambitions. He ends this section with the command that we should not become conceited, that we should not compete against one another, nor that we should envy one another. There is no reason to fear one another, to compete with one another, to envy each other when we all share in God’s promise to us through our belief in Christ. If we all have the same promise, then our lives should be tempered through the lens of that promise, the lens of seeking Christ’s work in this world. When we do this, we do not run the risk of becoming enslaved to these behaviors, but instead our behaviors are lived out through the lens of a shared goal and through our shared love of Christ and neighbor.

    1. 1 Corinthians 6:12

  • The Only Thing that Counts

    For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love. You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves! For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

    Galatians 5:1-15

    Many years ago, while still a part of a Pentecostal congregation, there was a particular individual who had come to preach and to provide healing to members of the congregation. When people were not automatically healed, they were informed that they either did not have enough faith, or that they had done something (a vague something) to remove God’s blessing from their lives. In other words, God’s work in this world was dependent upon their actions; if they had sin in their lives or sin in their hearts, God would refuse to work. Naturally, this either spurred people to keep ridiculous man-made requirements, or it caused them to despair of God’s grace, and walk away from the church, knowing that no matter how hard they tried, they would never be able to uphold all of the requirements.

    In a sense, Paul is telling the Galatians that by trying to keep the Law, they were taking the work of salvation into their own hands. Granted, this is more of a shift in thought, but the orientation of their thoughts makes a big difference in how their lives would unfold. If they chose to follow the Law, and to be bound by the Law, they would be placing themselves under the obligation to uphold all of the law. And that, of course, as Paul has been saying is something that is not possible to do on one’s own.

    What’s more, Paul goes on to say, in the freedom that Christ’s death and resurrection had brought to them, upholding the rules and regulations really meant nothing. In Christ, the only thing that mattered was “faith working through love.” Paul then goes on in the next several verses to explain that the only real thing that matters is fulfilling the law by Loving your neighbor as yourself.

    This, of course, is again Paul’s main point. Living in the relationship, attempting to love God and one’s neighbor is where the freedom in Christ comes from. There are no rules and regulations to follow, except for loving one’s neighbor, just as one loves oneself. This is simultaneously easier, and more difficult. Sometimes, loving our neighbors is not easy, even though the commandment is simple. For people who would rather have things be both simple, and easy, they can feel as though they are living up to the requirements by checking things off a list. The trouble is that they will never be able to check off all items.

    The caveat to living in this freedom, Paul goes on to say, is that we might abuse that freedom to indulge ourselves. If we do not use this freedom in Christ to love one another, then we become consumed in pushing our own agendas and actions. And when we push our own agendas and actions, we become self-centered, and then we begin to devour one another with our actions that seek to serve ourselves, rather than others.

    This sort of devouring and consuming behavior is probably not something that needs an example, as each of us can think of a situation where fellow believers pushed their own agendas despite the needs of others. They loved themselves more than others, and therefore came to a point where their actions proved to be self-defeating.

  • Do Not Heap Up Empty Phrases

    “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. The LORD’s Prayer “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

    Daily Office, May 17, 2022

    This past week we had two mass shootings in this country. Or, rather, there were reports of 18 mass shootings from Tuesday of last week (May 10th)1, but only two of them made the national news. The one that garnered the most attention was the shooting in Buffalo, New York, in which thirteen people were shot, and ten people died, committed by a man motivated by hatred and bigotry.

    After every such shooting, politicians and social media users alike post about how their “thoughts and prayers” are with those who have died, and with their loved ones who survived them. I wonder what those “Thoughts and Prayers” really are? Are the thoughts, “I’m glad that wasn’t me there?” and are the prayers, “Please lord, don’t let it happen again?” Or, maybe, are the thoughts as crass as, “I need to post something so that I don’t lose any votes?” and the prayers as self-serving as, “Please, lord, don’t let them ask me about my voting record?”

    “Thoughts and prayers.” If ever there was a heaping up of empty phrases, these three words after every major mass shooting in this country would win the prize for most overused phrase with the most under-whelming effect. “Thoughts and prayers” mean nothing when they do not move people to affect real and lasting change. “Thoughts and prayers” do not mean a thing, when the words are bandied about as a salve to an epidemic of death and violence in this country – an epidemic that no one in power seems to want to address.

    Those on the side of 2nd Amendment Gun Rights can agree with those on the the side of Gun Control legislation that we have an epidemic of violence in this country. The facts support this statement. Eighteen reported mass shooting incidents in this country since May 10th of this year – just seven short days. That’s more than two mass shootings a day. Naturally, while those on both sides might agree that we have an epidemic of violence in this country, that is where the agreement stops. Both sides have their understanding about what causes these problems, and both sides have arguments for what needs to happen next.

    Today’s Gospel reading shares with us the way that Jesus wants us to pray, and it warns against heaping up empty phrases so that we are heard by many. And then it teaches us that we are to pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done.” It is not telling us to pray for our rights, it is not telling us to pray for our own desires, but it is telling us to pray for the manifestation of God’s kingdom on this earth. And in doing so, hopefully, we find ourselves questioning what God’s will might be. By focusing on God’s will, we begin to find ourselves changing into people who push less for our own agendas, and instead search for what God might want in this world.

    It should be fairly obvious from reading the accounts of Jesus in the Gospels that violence meted out upon others is not God’s will for this world. Hatred and bigotry are not God’s will in this world. Anger and fear are not God’s will in this world. It should be clear that as Christians we are supposed to be the arbiters of peace in this world, those who reflect the love of Christ in this world. It should be clear that God’s will should become our will, rather than seeking to bend God’s words to justify our own.

    Ten people in Buffalo, New York are dead. Their lives, their purposes, their dreams, all cut short. Their families grieve. Three more are wounded, their lives forever shattered by a trauma that will be relived over and over again, which is its own kind of death.

    If all we do is offer our “thoughts and prayers” then we have done nothing but heaped up empty phrases.

    Something must be done to end the violence and to perpetuate God’s peace in this world. And we, as part of the family of God are to be a part of it. We cannot sit idly by and do nothing as violence and bigotry grow in this country. To do nothing is to remain silent, and “silence is complicity.2“

    1. https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting
    2. https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1526627890539929602

  • Fearful or Free

    Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, “Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children, burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs; for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the children of the one who is married.” Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac. But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the scripture say? “Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.” So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman.

    Galatians 4:21-31

    Wow. At first reading this makes my head spin. What do these two women have to do with the Law? At first I got caught up in the place names, and the comparisons to other places, wondering what might be going on. But it seems to be much more simple than all of that. Men in those days might have had children from their slave women, but those children were never brought in to the will, the inheritance. In this case, those children born of slave women would never have the inheritance that Isaac would have, because they were not part of God’s promise to Abraham. That promise was to come through Isaac. And, Paul alludes to this when he says, “Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children … for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the one who is married.” Sara was barren until the promise of God came to her that she would be the “mother of nations.” And the promise came to be.

    But imagine what Sara must have gone though all those years of being childless while wanting a child. Or, later, of seeing Abraham have a child with her servant Hagar. We know she was upset, because the bible tells us that she treated Hagar harshly 1 – jealous, most likely, at Hagar’s good fortune of fertility. Even later, when she herself gives birth to Isaac – through whom God’s promise was to come – she again treats Hagar harshly; this time probably not from jealousy, but more likely fear that Ishmael would try to usurp Isaac’s rights, or even kill him 2. Obviously, we can only speculate at her intentions based on what the scripture tells us, but the end result is that Ishmael is kicked out of Abraham’s group of people.

    These speculations on what Sara might have been thinking come from my experience of being in ministry, and watching others in ministry. There are times where our ministries and lives seem to be spiritually barren, where nothing quite seems to go as expected, even though we believe with all our might that God has brought us to that place. And yet, despite our work, our ministries and lives seem to bear no fruit. Meanwhile, others seem to enjoy the fruits of God’s blessings, their ministries flourish for no apparent reason, and they are gifted with God’s promise of abundant ministry. Being human, we often tend toward anger, bitterness, and maybe even mockery, instead of rejoicing that God is accomplishing work in the world in partnership with others.

    What’s even more odd, is that often when ministry does take off, when God’s blessing seems to rest with our work in partnership with God, then when we see someone else who might infringe up on “our” work, we often enter into the same anger, bitterness, and mockery. I’ve seen it happen where a new pastor at a church has demolished the work of others – good work, bearing fruits within the community – simply because they feared that the others would take the spotlight, or take over their own ministry. Those people were, in every sense of the word, banished from the community, simply because the new pastor feared their work.

    It is good to remember, though, that Paul is simply giving us another example of how we are related to God’s work in this world. We have received a promise through our belief in Christ, and that belief frees us up from being slaves to rules and regulations to being free to relish in the promise and live our lives according to the joy that comes with a promise of that magnitude, rather than in the fear of retribution for failing to keep all the rules. Also, we’re not an only child; we are children of the promise, which means that everyone who believes shares that promise. Just because one’s work is bearing fruit at this time does not mean that we will miss out on the promise; we’re all going to get the same, regardless of how mundane or fantastic our ministries or lives are here on this earth. That alone should be a freeing thought.

    1. Genesis 16:4-6
    2. Genesis 21:9 and Genesis 25

  • Beyond The Rules

    Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again? You are observing special days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted. Friends, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you; though my condition put you to the test, you did not scorn or despise me, but welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What has become of the goodwill you felt? For I testify that, had it been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you may make much of them. It is good to be made much of for a good purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

    Galatians 4:8-4:20 (NRSV)

    Years ago, I used to smoke. Regularly. You might say I was enslaved to the little death sticks. And each year at New Year’s, sometimes maybe during the rest of the year, I would make the declaration that I was done, finished with this nonsense. And quitting might last a few days, maybe a few weeks, but then I would return to smoking with a renewed sense of passion, almost like I had to make up for those days or weeks without.

    This is because all of my momentary changes were based on external stimuli, either others telling me it was necessary to quit, or hearing more news about the dangers of smoking, or cultural pressures that made sure to make you feel bad for doing so. It wasn’t until I had that moment of clarity, that moment of disgust that made me want to quit for my own reasons that I finally kicked the habit. The motivation came from within, rather than without.

    In a sense, in this passage, Paul is questioning how deep the motivations of the Galatians lie: “how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again?” Especially, since the whole reason that they had left these things in the first place was because they had “known God.” Or rather, they had been “known by God.” The distinction is one that Paul wants to clarify in their own minds. The Galatians had known God, and in return been known by God. This was an active, living relationship, not one that grew out of blindly following rules and regulations. They had been known by God, and yet, they still returned to the old ways, the way of the Law, which prescribed behavior, rather than dealing with the relationship of being known by the God of Love. What could motivate them to leave that relationship for the legalism again?

    A few weeks ago, I sat with a couple around a fire, and we were discussing God and religion. The conversation turned to what Christians were supposed to do, and what they were not supposed to do. My response was, “if your faith revolves around what is allowed or not allowed, then you’ve missed the mark. Your faith should be about the relationship with God.” I then drew a comparison between their own relationship and how they probably don’t have rules for each other to follow, but rather have expectations. And if one of them failed to live up to those expectations, there wouldn’t be punishment, but rather a conversation, since the idea was to strengthen the relationship, rather than punishing one for failing to live up to the other’s standard.

    If the Galatians would rather just have a list of things that they could do, and could not do, and would rather just have a a menu of behavior that was deemed acceptable, then that rightly made Paul fear for them, that his work for them might have been wasted (v.11) If they would rather have a list of prescribed behaviors than a relationship with God, then that meant that they had chosen the easy path, the easy way out.

    Paul reminds them that he gave up this legalism in order to preach the Gospel to them, because if he had been following the prescriptions of the law, he wouldn’t have even been able to eat with them, much less spend time speaking with them. Instead, he didn’t allow himself to be hamstrung with rituals and childish ideations so that he could form a relationship with them, and show them how to form a relationship with God.

    And this relationship that Paul has with the Galatians is what allows him to tell them the truth. Real friends do not shy away from telling each other the truth. But the truth is not always easy to hear, so the Galatians have branded Paul their enemy. And it is for this reason that Paul calls them “my little children.” It is not just to remind them of the relationship he has to them, but more importantly, to remind them that they are behaving as children, because they have not yet come to understand the freedom in Christ that comes with a relationship with God.

  • What’s my Inheritance?

    for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

    Galatians 3:26-4:7

    According to some studies, up to 70% of people who receive an inheritance squander it within two years. Other studies show that up to 90% of people who inherit money no longer have that wealth by the third generation. More often than not, it seems, it is because those who made the money did not adequately prepare those who inherited it on how to spend it wisely.

    Paul often talks about being joint heirs with Christ, and tries to remind his readers that by believing in the work of Jesus in this world, we are not just children of God, but that we also inherit God’s kingdom. Children in the ancient world really didn’t have much more rights than the slaves that they were being raised by, because until they came to be of age, they would not have the rights to the inheritance granted to them. Paul is likening being under the law, or being required to uphold the law, as the same as being a child. Then, coming to understand the freedom that Christ’s death and resurrection granted to people is likened to becoming an heir to the kingdom of God. Those that were slaves in a wealthy household in the ancient world could never attain the inheritance that the child they were raising could. But under Christ, they would become an heir, just like that child. This is a reference to the Jews – God’s chosen people – and the gentiles; now that Christ had come, Gentiles have the same inheritance in the kingdom of God as those born into the Jewish faith. This was good news to those outside of Israel – or should have been.

    It seems to me that we often forget that we are joint heirs of Christ, and therefore have access to the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. Too often, belief in Christ is equated with eternal life, as if that is the only inheritance that we receive. But as expressed in the book of Acts, and in various other areas of Paul’s letters, the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God is one of the things that we inherit as children of God. And this gift, the gift of the Spirit, is not something that we get only at the end of our lives.

    Instead, as Paul gets further into his letter to the Galatians, he gets around to expressing what the fruits of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. These are the gifts that we inherit even now, and which we can access through our acceptance of the gift of Christ. Trouble is, it seems, we have not always been taught how to use our inheritance, and so we squander that inheritance, rather than using it wisely. Instead of love, we often push hatred in the name of Jesus, saying that God would not love those who live in sin. Paul called himself chief among sinners, because he understood the gift he had received, while too often we call others sinners, and name ourselves as the righteous. We often peddle anger, and self-righteous indignation, rather than joy, kindness, and gentleness. Instead of faithfulness to the good news that Christ’s death made us heirs in God’s kingdom, we often find ourselves faithful to political ideologies.

    Why do we squander our inheritance? Probably because it is easier to live within the construct of our cultures than to be countercultural like Jesus. Jesus up-ended the way of life for many people who thought that they were righteous, by showing them that they were motivated by fear, by power, or by greed, rather than love for God. If we are children of God, we inherit the Spirit of God, and if we inherit the Spirit of God, we begin to display in our lives those things that are of God, and not of this world.

    κληρονόμος – Kleronomos, out, o – heir;1

    1. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 1 volume (TDNT), pp. 445-446