God’s Work, Our… Hands?
Arbeit Macht Frei [Work makes {you} free]. These words were found at the entrance gates to Nazi concentration camps in Europe during WWII. They were meant to instill a false sense of hope for the Jewish people brought to the camps – if you worked hard while there, you could earn your freedom. We all know how that turned out…
After Jesus ascension, the early church began to get the idea that by working to live according to the Law of Moses, you could earn your way into God’s favor (righteousness). The Apostle Paul writes his letter to the church in Galatia reminding them righteousness does not come by works, but that freedom comes through faith by what they have heard. That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul reiterates that through the work of the Holy Spirit, freedom is only found when in faith we trust in God’s promises received in baptism and through hearing His Word.
We too struggle with works verses faith today. In recent years, the ELCA has utilized the mantra of “God’s Work. Our Hands.” This slogan encourages the social gospel, faith comes by what we do. In fact, our culture even demands it. As we send graduates out into the world, we tell them their success is measured by what they accomplish – what they do. Running on the hamster wheel of life, seeking freedom through wealth, title, status. What we are really accomplishing is not freedom, but an early death. Freedom is never found in this cycle because it continues to demand more and more from you. This is success and it is never enough. While we are called to serve our neighbor, serving will never be freedom for you. Serving those you love is never freeing for you. It is the demand of the law.
If we lean into this Galatians chapter 3 text and hear what St. Paul is teaching, we too will turn from ourselves and what we do to chase freedom. We will turn to the work of the Holy Spirit, to God’s proper work. “God’s Work. Our Ears!” Freedom is found through the ear, not through a strong back and calloused hands. Freedom only comes most fully in faith, and faith comes by what is heard; God’s Word of promise made in Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
Christ who lives in me
When Jesus tells his followers, including us, that we must lose our lives, deny ourselves, and leave our old life behind to find our life in him, we become truly disciples. This isn't because we now understand everything clearly and know just what Jesus means, but on the contrary we are like disciples who hear Jesus' word but quickly move beyond because we don't know what it means. It seems too spiritual, theoretical, perhaps philosophical. How are we to understand what it means to die in order to live?
At the very center of the Christian Church stands the witness of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. That is that he was crucified and died at the hands of sinners, and three days later he rose from the dead to proclaim peace and forgiveness to those same sinners. We know the facts, but we struggle - as do the disciples in every generation - to grasp what it means for us.
In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul insists that Christian faith stands not in our understanding, but in trusting in Christ, not in theory, philosophy, or generic spirituality. For we live by faith, by which "it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:11).
No small dissension and debate (Acts 15:2a)
It was now a few months after the Pentecost event (i.e. the birthday of the church; see Acts 2). And already, a “council meeting” had to be called at church headquarters in Jerusalem. Why? Because there was, to use the language of our scripture for today … “no small dissension and debate” (Acts 15:2) … that was stirring in one of the newly created congregations in Antioch. Can you believe it?! Only a few months into this new creation called “church,” and there was already trouble in paradise. Go figure. (Not really. Whenever human critters are involved – even in church.) And it was brewing to become a real doozy…
O, Jesus’ commissioning of his disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) … and then the creation of the Church as his Spirited ongoing body in the world (Acts 1:6-9) started off rather beautifully … one might even say, intoxicatingly so (Acts 2:13). Again, as our text bears witnesses: “[People] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). But then, when the proverbial sandal began to hit the road …
So, the apostles and elders have now gathered in Jerusalem to settle what had become a rather serious division … What was the issue? Once more, our text sets the stage: “Then certain individuals (most likely Pharisees) came down from Judea and were teaching the [new Christian] brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’” (Acts 15:1). Do you agree? What does Scripture say? What do you suppose the apostles and elders are going to say? As with Shylock, in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, the Pharisees certainly wanted to exact their “pound of flesh.”
Peter was presiding as the chairman. (He was after all, the Pope now, right?). “Microphone One, please state your case.” The response: “Ah, yes … Mr. Chairman, we’re here from Antioch. And we have good Bible study groups every Wednesday night. We’ve been studying Ezra. And we believe the Bible and Ezra says, ‘Get rid of the foreigners. Even if you’re married to one. Get rid of the foreigners.’ That’s all I have to say. Thank you.”
“OK,” said Peter. “Microphone Two, we’ll now hear from you.” … “Well, we also have a nice Bible study group back home in our little fishing town of Capernaum, and we’re studying Ruth. Such a wonderful lady. She was the ancestress of King David, and of our Lord, Jesus you know. And she was a Moabite. And if our Lord had Moabite blood in his veins, isn’t this OK for us to do this? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
“I see one of our distinguished Pharisee brothers coming to Microphone Three,” said Peter. “Go ahead …” “Yes, we’re here from First Temple Christian here in Jerusalem. And it’s clear to us from the reading of Torah and the Prophets, that ‘It is necessary for [any new converts to Christianity] to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5).
After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and addressed all who were attending that first council meeting … See you on Sunday (if possible, please read Acts 1-15 beforehand for a better understanding), as we hear how the whole case comes to rest upon God’s grace, in Christ.
j.r. christopherson
Senior Pastor
Good Questions
This Sunday’s Scripture reading tells the story of an Ethiopian court official whose encounter with the evangelist Philip led him to faith in Christ (Acts 8:26-39). This Ethiopian Jew (yes, they exist!) of very high ranking and stature had recently traveled in his fancy “company chariot” to worship in Jerusalem and was headed back home on a wilderness road when Philip encountered him there, reading from a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Philip (who was something of a “nobody” in the presence of this powerful official) boldly asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The Ethiopian replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”
I’m struck by the humility with which the Ethiopian responded to Philip’s inquiry. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say that this court official was much more highly educated than the evangelist, and this distinction of status, class and education probably was evident to them both. I wouldn’t blame the Ethiopian for responding defensively to Philip’s line of questioning. “Excuse me? Don’t you know who I am? Are you aware of my qualifications, and the many responsibilities that my queen entrusts to me? And just who are you, anyway?” But no, his response to Philip is nothing like that. His question, “How can I, unless someone guides me,” indicates this foreigner’s openness to learning more, receiving new insight and growing as a person of faith. In fact, everything out of this man’s mouth in the rest of the story is a question – and these questions, good questions, are what the Holy Spirit uses to finally draw him into faith in Jesus Christ.
Questions – we shouldn’t be afraid of having them, we shouldn’t be afraid of asking them. We shouldn’t be afraid of looking stupid or think that the only purpose of questions is to harm faith or keep God at arms’ length. The Ethiopian official used questions as a way to invite another man of faith to help him achieve deeper insight, and in order to draw even closer to the truth found in God’s word. At the end of the story, the Ethiopian was claimed by Christ in the waters of baptism and became filled with newfound joy. Is it any surprise that the church in Ethiopia traces its origins back to this humble and inquisitive fellow, and the church in Ethiopia is strong and vibrant still today?
Between Emmaus and Us … The Word of Hope!
“That very day [Easter Sunday] two of the disciples were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened [Jesus’ crucifixion the precious Friday]. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad. … [And they answered:] “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet might in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one [the Messiah] to redeem Israel.’” (Luke 24:13-17, 19-21a)
Jesus had been crucified in Jerusalem just three days before – right before their eyes. And now … well, there was nothing left for these two disciples in our gospel story to do but get out of town. And where did they go? They went to a little town called Emmaus. And where is Emmaus? And why did they go there? It was no place in particular really – most likely their home (though we can only infer this from Luke 24:28-29), some seven miles from Jerusalem. And the main reason they went “back home” is that their future hopes had been heartbreakingly crushed. Did you hear it? “But we had hoped …” (v.21)
Do you understand what I mean when I say that there is not a one of us who’s not gone to some Emmaus with them? Emmaus can be a night at the movies just for the sake of seeing a movie, or to a bar just for the sake of a bar, or yes, just going for a walk. Emmaus may be buying a new article of clothing or getting some groceries we don’t need, or just “surfing the net” or flicking through the channels on the TV, vegging-out.
In many ways, we too are like these two early disciples, depicted by St. Luke in our Gospel story for this weekend … Carrying this empty hole in our hearts that speaks of loss … Loss of loved ones or friends, or just flat out, love! Loss of health or some great expectations. Or perhaps the deepest loss of all, as already referenced, echoed in v.21 of our Gospel story: “But we had hoped …” Four of the loneliest words in Holy Scripture.
Think on this with me: Do you remember a time as well, when Jesus was so real for you that you had no question about his presence in your life. He was your most intimate friend. A comforter. An inspiration. But now you don’t really think of him very often. You no longer have that special feeling. He’s become unrecognizable, a “stranger” (v.16). Somehow you feel you’ve lost him? Hmm?
So what do we do with this huge sense of loss – “but we had hoped” – that hits our lives? Try to fill it with stuff or distraction? Blame someone else? Try to “strut-and-fret” but really not signifying anything with honesty? I love this line from Graham Greene’s novel, The Heart of the Matter: “The man kept speaking of his gracious heart, but it seemed that a long deep surgical operation would have been required to find it” (Penguin Books, 1977; p.47).
No amount of make-up will cover it all… However, there’s another possibility; and that is this, to grieve our losses. To grieve is to allow our losses to soften and break apart our feelings of security and self-centeredness and lead us to the painful truth of our brokenness. And this is where our journey of faith begins anew – as this gospel word of God in Christ – comes to us on our Emmaus Road, beginning with the Kyrie in our order of worship this coming weekend. These two Greek words are short-hand for Kyrie eleison (“Lord have mercy”). It’s a grieving, contrite heart that recognizes our co-responsibility for the evil that surrounds us and is in us, and that we need a saving hope, a resurrecting power that’s beyond our human strength or worldly power. And so the early disciples confess: “… our chief priests and rulers [and we ourselves] delivered Jesus up to be condemned to death” (v.20)
Again, there is this wonderful “however” … something amazing, life-giving, hope-renewing that’s about to happen in this story for the disciples and for us as well … Come and see. Come and hear. Come and be renewed … that your hearts as well might “burn within you,” (Luke 24:32). Yes, with hope … as God’s Word comes and speaks to you, afresh, anew.
j.r. christopherson
Senior Pastor