Freedom
A Sermon by Kent Winters-Hazelton
July 1, 2001 -- 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Claremont Presbyterian Church, Claremont, California
Galatians 5:1, 13-16 Luke 9:51-62
|
You may want to look at a
new hymn on the theme of freedom, based on the Galatians
text. |
The Letter of Paul to the churches in Galatia is Paul at his best. In it
he offers one of the most important and fundamental documents in the
Christian Church. Here Paul makes the argument for Christian freedom.
Paul says that because of Christ's actions on our behalf, we are not
subject to the requirements of religious laws. Our salvation is secured
by means other than our ability to do what is right, or believe the
right doctrines, or act in the right manner. In Jesus Christ, Paul
argues, we are set free.
Helping Christians understand and experience this
freedom, however, has not been without its trials and tribulations. It
has been a point of tension throughout the history of the Church. It is
the old argument of Law (following the law of Moses) versus Grace.
Paul was the leader in a movement to help the church move beyond the
boundaries of the Jewish faith and tradition, and to bring the Gospel to
Gentiles. After a long debate, the Apostles in Jerusalem agreed that
this was a good idea. But when Paul began to convert actual Gentiles to
the faith, some of the church leaders said, "Wait a minute. This
doesn't seem right. Here we are following the Jewish law and keeping all
the commandments. We are being faithful to our traditions and everything
we have been taught. But Paul is saying, ''All you need to do is believe
in Jesus.' It cannot be that easy. We have to stop this."
So they appointed a task force and sent them to the
places where Paul had been preaching. Their sermons were simple: If you
really want to follow Jesus you need to know about the rituals and rules
of the Jewish faith. In other words, they were suggesting that Gentiles
would have to become Jews in order to become Christians.
Well, Paul did not like this idea at all. He sent a
blistering e-mail back to his friends in Galatia, saying, "For
freedom, Christ has set you free!"
What Paul meant was that, as Christians, we are not
subject to the law - that is our salvation does not hinge on doing the
right thing, to having the right answers - but are subject to grace,
which puts us right in God's eyes, no matter who we are, what we have
done, or what we might believe. Paul understood that having a religion
of right answers could become a way to control God. But God's grace is
not bound and can never be controlled. This does not suggest that the
law is not important, but that we are not defined by the law. As
Christians, we are defined by grace. "If you are led by the
Spirit," Paul writes, "you are not subject to the law."
(5:18) How revolutionary!
How disturbing! How impractical! How in the world
could you run a religion without a few rules?
Two weeks ago, the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) proposed a change to our Book of Order that
speaks to this issue of freedom in a meaningful way. The Assembly has
asked the Presbyteries to vote on lifting the restrictions baring
lesbian and gay people for ordained office in our denomination. This
issue has been around for more than 20 years, and has been hotly debated
and deeply dividing within the church. Not all Presbyterians see
eye-to-eye on this issue. Trying to find a way that will restore the
"peace, unity and purity" of the church will not be easy.
One reason this is difficult lies in the tension
within our faith tradition between the need to affirm standards for all
people and freedom of conscience for the individual. It is the same
argument of law versus grace that Paul faced in this letter. The
question is, is there a set of standards or beliefs or behaviors that
one must hold in order to be qualified to serve as an officer? There are
some within the church who would say "Yes! We have a gate-keeping
function to perform, to preserve the purity of the faith."
On the other hand, there are those who uphold the
principle of freedom of conscience for officers of the church,
candidates for the ministry and pastors. Citing the Westminster
Confession of Faith, they believe that "God alone is the Lord of
the conscience." Furthermore, they point out, our Book of Order
guides us, suggesting, "So far as may be possible . . . freedom of
conscience with respect to the interpretation of Scripture is to be
maintained."
Throughout its history, the Presbyterian Church has
regularly sided with the principle of freedom of conscience. I don't
know if anyone here this morning was on the Session back in 1729 but
there was a big debate going on in the church at that time. The issue
was whether ministers had to agree with all the doctrines of the
Westminster Confession of Faith in order to be ordained. Some ministers
felt that there were statements in the Confession that were not
essential to belief, such as whether the world was created in six days.
Some felt, as Henry van Dyke later said, "We should not make
essential to belief what Jesus did not declare to be essential." So
the General Assembly voted what was called "The Adopting act of
1729," where they accepted the Westminster Confession of Faith as
the rule of faith for the whole church. [See reference
below.] But they also allowed one to have a
"scruple" on a particular belief and still be ordained. They
left it up to the local Presbytery to determine if the scruple dealt
with an essential tenet of belief.
The proposed amendment from the General Assembly is a
reflection of this Presbyterian belief of freedom of conscience. It
would neither require nor restrict the ordination of lesbian and gay
candidates for deacon, elder or minister of the Word and sacrament. It
would return to the Presbyteries the responsibility for ordination of
ministers, and to the Session the responsibility for deacons and elders.
In each case, the standards for ordination which have long been accepted
in the church would be the guide. These standards state that persons set
aside for ministry should be "of strong faith, dedicated
discipleship and love of Jesus Christ."
How do we make honest judgments about a person's
fitness for office? I think Paul gives us some vital clues in this
reading from his letter. First, Paul tells us, the whole law is summed
up in one phrase: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
It is the law of love that is at the very core of our dealings with one
another. We should be making our judgments of others by asking, do my
actions or words reflect my love for him or her? Do these actions and
words reflect how Jesus would love and act toward them?
It is interesting to see that in our Gospel text, when
the Samaritans refused to accept Jesus in their village he did not
rebuke or judge them. Instead, he rebuked his own disciples for their
harsh comments. It is not the response of the other to Jesus that is the
issue, it is our understanding and manifestation of Jesus' love that is
the test case of faith.
Secondly, Paul states that the faithful life will
reflect the fruit of the Spirit rather than the works of the flesh. Look
at the list of unhealthy, uncharitable, unloving acts listed beginning
in vs.19: Idolatry, quarrels, envy, carousing. Now contrast them with
the fruit of the Spirit, which Paul identifies as love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control. Paul argues that the Spirit produces these Christian
virtues in the believer's life. If these fruits are present, he
suggests, there is no law that can be placed against them.
In closing, let me share with you three brief comments
I heard at the Assembly that impressed me. The first came from Doug
Nave, an Trustee from the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York
City. Doug designed the PowerPoint
presentation that was so helpful to many commissioners who were
wrestling with this issue of freedom of conscience. He said his father,
a long time Presbyterian pastor, once told him, "When we walk over
someone else's convictions, beliefs, we tread on holy ground."
Not everyone here this morning will agree on whether
we should move toward ordaining homosexual persons. People can and will
disagree on this issue. Both sides can and will be faithful to their
understanding of the Gospel. As we talk together about this issue we
must remember, we are walking on sacred ground together.
The second comment came from Amy
Bell, a Youth Advisory Delegate from Hudson River Presbytery. Her
words made a tremendous impact on many of us when she stood before the
Assembly and told the story of her brother. Her brother has many great
gifts for ministry, she told us, but he is also gay. In a very heartfelt
plea, Amy asked the church to allow those who meet the same standards
for ministry that the rest of us meet, be allowed serve in ordained
office. Amy said, I urge us to go back to that time, and allow the
possibility, that my brother's gifts, like mine, might be affirmed and
used in the service of our church. This [proposal] seems to offer our
church the third way that we're looking for, and it offers to my brother
and countless others the respect that they deserve, as God's
children."
Finally, one last comment. It came during the prayers
of the people in the opening service of worship. The leader was praying
for those ministers who had passed away during this past year and was
saying, "Grant them rest from their labors." Only that is not
what I heard her pray. I may have been the only one among the 3,000 in
worship who heard this, or perhaps she did make a slight slip of the
tongue, but what I heard in her pray in her prayer was, "Grant them
rest from their labels."
I thought, "Ah-ha! If only God could grant us
rest from our labels, gay or married, straight or single;
pro-ordination, anti-ordination; conservative, liberal or
neo-middle-of-the-roader. If only we could lay our labels down and do
what God has called us to do."
For freedom, Christ has set us free.
(((((((()))))))
NOTE: "Historic
Principles, Conscience and Church Government," Adopted by the 195th
General Assembly Presbyterian Church USA). Published by the Office of
the General Assembly. p.2
