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“Faith Working Through Love”
Psalm 30; 2 Kings 5:1-14;
Galatians 6:1-6, 7-18;
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Rev. Sandy Nuernberg
Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 6th
Sunday after Pentecost
July 8, 2007
Prayer: O Lord, pour out your Spirit upon us as we try to understand your Holy
Word, that we might catch a new vision of human wholeness is for us, and that we
might glimpse a new awareness of Christ Jesus who brings it to pass. We pray in
your name, AMEN.
This week, this American world we
live in is celebrating a freedom that many others can not enjoy–perhaps
may never enjoy. Our freedom is provided to us by our constitution; that we,
through our history, are free to be, we are free to become whomever we please/or
wish to be. I liked author Bryan Golden who wrote in the Cambridge News
this last week, “The Fourth of July is a time to renew your gratitude for your
good fortune to be living in the greatest country in the world.” And he ended
his quest for not taking our country for granted in his words, “Be proud to be
an American” (Cambridge News, Thursday,
July 5, 2007).
We are guaranteed through our
founding fathers the freedom of religion; as we know, as Presbyterians, and
stated in our Book of Order (G-1.0301), “God alone is Lord of the
conscience.” We are free to bring ourselves, our thoughts and our ideas as
commissioners at General Assembly and Presbytery meetings, as Elders at monthly
Session meetings, and as a Deacon at meetings monthly; we are free to
participate and receive what each of us has to offer. It’s personal! This, our
offering God’s sovereignty, is all part of our religious liberties in the
Reformed tradition (American Presbyterianism in 1789), along with our creeds and
confessions that reflect a particular stance within the history of God’s people.
And in our freedom, as Presbyterians, in our worship services we faithfully
respond to God’s sovereignty and God’s love for us by stating publicly what we
believe; the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed and our confessions.
Our themes in both texts today are
of freedom of God’s people. In this mid-first century
(50-56 CE) when the apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, he was
emphatic that they know of the hope and the gentleness of the Good News of the
Gospel. He was personal. He emphasized in his own handwriting; his own seal on
the living Word of God. It was the free grace and love of God the Father
through Jesus Christ whereby we don’t give up
(grow weary) (v. 9), we are sown
to the Spirit and reap from the Spirit
(v. 8-9), and are made a new creation; it is everything
(v. 15)! Paul’s celebration of freedom
then is not the ‘old age’ tradition and practice of laws and rituals
(circumcision, food, Sabbath) as the truth
of the gospel, but freedom is that of those who live under the Cross of Christ
who are a ‘new creation’, members of the ‘Israel of God
(v.14-16).’ Paul is more direct with them, more Christ-like in
his personal response and emphasis; it
will reap eternal life (v. 8) from the
Spirit.
The whole point, it seems here,
is Paul arguing for the beginning of God’s new creation through the death and
crucifixion of Christ Jesus. Most importantly, he wanted them to know of their
identity and of their mission, and in doing so, Paul also helps us understand
the depth and the breadth of our identity, our freedom today. He says, “For in
Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor un-circumcision counts for anything; the
only thing that counts is faith working through love
(5:6-7).” Paul probably had a right to enter into these early
churches welfare–he founded them, and as a founding father, a parent, he was
interested in their future–the freedom of their future.
As I pondered these texts, my
readings and study kept bringing me to a kind of a ‘balancing act’ where good
things might happen. In sowing and reaping what we sow, I believe we can, and
do, make choices in our lives that help us to obtain what we cherish. It might
be at work, in marriage, parenthood, or education for an anticipated job
position, relationships with loved ones, or any intended future endeavor. But in
preparing for these accomplishments, just like the seventy, or the Galatian
faithful and questioning community, there are times of impending doubt, fear,
concern, and questioning as to the accomplishment of these attained goals. There
is our own personal touch. We are, it seems, a ‘work in progress’, and on a
journey in accomplishing our tasks; we reap what we sow.!
Jesus was asking his disciples to
‘follow me’; he gave them the words to say as they went, ‘seventy of them’ (some
scholars say 72) out to the surrounding nations who were the ‘world’ at this
time. (Refer to Gen. Ch. 10 and the world after
the flood-Noah’s sons) “Go on your way,” Jesus said, and whatever house,
first say, “ Peace to this house!”, and then, “The Kingdom of God has come near
to you.” Most importantly, Jesus wanted his represented seventy to be
hospitable, and to ‘take in’ the hospitality of others. It was all about
community, too!
A few weeks ago at the end of
June, our membership/growth committee members participated in a bit of what many
Presbyterians don’t like, called the “e” word–evangelism. We got personal. We
went on a walking tour of a newer development of homes over by the elementary
school, taking our church pamphlets, along with advertising our strawberry
luncheon at the church that Saturday. We thought ‘timing’ was everything! But,
literally, we were trembling and talked about how many go together, what to say,
what to do if we get negative feed-back, all of those doubts in our ‘church
evangelism.’ But I’m here to tell you, after participating in it myself with
Doris on our walk that day, we told each other we felt good at what we had done.
We wanted families to know about the good news of our church and what we
accomplish in the Name of Christ Jesus. We saw some at the luncheon, and can
report no negative feed-back, but exclamations and questions in good taste! We
are going into another neighborhood nearby with young families in late August
before school begins again, with advertising in our church pamphlet of our
children’s Sunday and church school programs for the year.
In our faithfulness, you and I, we
are working through Christ’s love in us, the Spirit in us to love others and to
become God’s disciples enabling us to proclaim the good news of the gospel to
others. We must accept that these ideas of proclaiming our faith working through
love are radical, for Jesus’ disciples, as well as for the early Christian
church, and even for us. It is the Good News that is hard to understand for us
before it can ever feel to be good news!–it’s the personal touch AND also the
community touch--this all-freeing, universal viewing of God’s immense grace and
love for us and the faithful community in which we live. In fact, it is, this
faith working in love and these questions of faith and not works
that brought about the Reformation in the 16th century, isn’t it? The
balancing act is: our faith working through love is the personal touch; Jesus,
Paul, and us! It’s the community of faith working and sticking together,
carrying one another’s burdens.
The good news for us is that we
are all new creations and given the freedom through Christ to be who we want to
be. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom
(I Cor. 3:17).” Then, as today, we are
lead by Christ Jesus, freed by the Spirit, and are free to be instruments of
God’s peace, that passes all understanding, and to be servants in God’s world;
working for the good of all; (v. 10) the
only thing that counts is faith working through love.
Thanks be to God.
AMEN.
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