Scriptural Basis: Galatians
6:7-16, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
234 years ago today, on a hot, steamy day in Philadelphia
the Founding Fathers of our nation put their signatures on the Declaration of
Independence, closing their bold rejection of King George the Third of England
with these words: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm
reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other
our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”Our nation was established, at least on paper and after 8 years of
fighting we finally won our freedom from England.Some sixteen years later, the French
Revolution against the tyranny of King Louis the Sixteenth went forward with
the goals of “Liberté, égalité, fraternité.”Liberty,
equality, fraternity (or brotherhood), which remains the national motto of France.Two great nations founded on the principles
of individual freedom, equal treatment under the law, and common goals.And when necessary, shared sacrifice.In the United States, the form of government
of the Presbyterian Church had great influence on the form of government
adopted under the Constitution – federalism, wherein each local body (a church
or a county) has its own elected governing body, in our case the Session, which
is subordinate in some aspects to
the Presbytery, which is in turn subordinate in some aspects to the Synod of the Covenant, which is further
subordinate in some aspects to the
General Assembly, which is meeting this week in Minneapolis.The parallels are of course State governments
being subordinate in some aspects to the Federal government.Each level of governance is supposed to work
locally and when necessary with the higher levels of governance for the good of
the people they represent, who in fact put them in their positions of
leadership.Central to the smooth
operation of a country, or of a church, is the idea of common goals and shared
sacrifice for without an underlying foundation of togetherness, communities,
countries and churches are in danger of failing.As Benjamin Franklin famously said “If we
don’t all hang together, then surely, we shall all hang separately.”Franklin was referring to the need for all of
the Colonies to stand together as one or the Revolution would inevitably fail,
because in spite of our sometimes romanticized view of the Founding Fathers
standing shoulder-to-shoulder in bold defiance of the English crown, the fact
of the matter is that it took a lot of back-door dealing and jawboning to get
all of the colonies to sign the Declaration and even after it was signed and
sent on, there wasn’t complete unanimity in the colonies for breaking with
England and taking on the most powerful professional military forces in the
world.Obviously when all was said and
done, the Revolutionary War was won and the rest is history.
Paul is dealing with a somewhat similar problem within
the church at Galatia.The church has been established, against the
deepest wishes of the Roman rulers but at least with their grudging
tolerance.Members of the church are
dividing up into two camps over a number of issues; the one in today’s reading
being the question of circumcision for male members of the church. On the one side there are some converted Jews
who insist that the Gentile members live by all the dictates of Jewish law,
including circumcision, on the other side there is Paul, the former Pharisee
who is declaring that the only thing necessary for membership in the church is acceptance
of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.As
he writes: “For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new
creation is everything!”A new creation
in Christ is all that matters, the rest is window dressing.If the church at Galatia can’t overcome this
internal squabble and stand together, it is at risk of falling apart just as
the Colonies were.
In the gospel Jesus sends out seventy disciples to spread
the Good News in the countryside, with very clear instructions to travel light,
travel fast and accept whatever hospitality is offered by the townsfolk.If they welcome you, greet them with the
peace of the Lord, heal the sick and tell them that the kingdom of God
has come near to them.If they reject
you, wipe the dust of the town from your feet in protest and say to them that
the kingdom of God has come near.The message is clear; welcome the disciples
and welcome God, or reject the disciples and reject God – and prepare
yourselves for the consequences.Happily,
the seventy return to Jesus with the news that they were universally accepted
everywhere they went, and Jesus rejoices in their success but then cautions
them to not let it go to their heads but to be joyful that their names are
written in heaven.In other words,
earthly successes are wonderful things but the real rewards await in heaven.These seventy people, in expanding the work
of the original Twelve disciples had to work together to carry a common message
to a disparate audience not knowing what kind of reception they would receive,
relying on the protection of Divine Providence to achieve their goal – sharing
the gospel with all who would listen.We
know nothing about these folks, the Scriptures are silent but I think it’s safe
to assume that they didn’t all look alike, wear the same clothing or think
alike on all subjects.They were just
people tasked with doing hard work for the common good, the common good in this
case being the sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ.Jesus didn’t administer some kind of
pre-evangelizing litmus test for theological purity or look to see if all was
in order physically.
Can we make the same claim?Do we welcome, truly welcome all who are willing to work for the good of all to
join with us?Or do we place limitations
on who can go with us to do the work of the kingdom?Do we require that others have exactly the
same political philosophy as ours?That
they read the same books or watch the same news broadcasts?Is there an unwritten rule that says they must
have the same favorite Scripture passage and interpret it exactly as we do?That they drive the same brand of car and
that it’s made in the”right” country?Would we prefer that their skin is the same color as ours and that they
speak the same language at home?Are we
able to set aside our preconceived notions and yes, our biases and prejudices
and work together for the good of all?That is the message of both of these passages of Scripture, and indeed
the message of the Declaration of Independence that we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred
honor to advance the causes of Christianity and of freedom regardless of
which political party we belong to, which sports teams we root for and what our
ethnic background might be.
Today we come to the table of our Lord to share a simple
meal.There is no litmus test to take,
no inspection to make sure you’re wearing the right clothes, no document check
to prove that you were a perfect Christian this week.Everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ as their
Lord and Savior is invited.Everyone who
works for the good of all in the church and in the wider community around us
has a place at this table.Everyone who
tries their best every day to follow our Risen Lord has a place at this table.Even those of us who stumble and fall and
don’t always understand what the common good looks like has a place at this
table.You see, the good of all is right
there in the bread and in the wine, and in your heart.God bless America, and every one of us.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit.Amen.
