A sacrament is an outward sign of an inward happening. Paul writes to the Corinthians, reminding them that they are God’s holy people, saved by grace, called to live in the spirit. That inward happening is to be reflected in our physical body. I think that’s quite a challenge as we look at our physical and mental health? Even if you are the fittest and most attractive person in the world, is that because of inward spiritual happening? And it’s a challenge isn’t it, particularly for me, as I go for my first pint in a pub since lock down, because if Christ is at work in me, and if Christ is at work in you, then our physical bodies are a sign of that work of grace in our lives.
There’s nothing like fresh dough – first fresh dough is just that fresh and it smells lovely, but secondly you can do things with fresh dough – you can make bread, a cheese twist a chousamme de pomme or even a quiche! And that’s how God wants us fresh, mouldable and be ready to be turned into anything that God decides…
But this for me is the best part of this fresh bread analogy. Paul goes onto say that we are to be like Christ, our Passover lamb, sacrificed for us. Bread is meant to be broken – broken in solidary with others, but broken bread reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, his display of love for us. As we say in our communion liturgy “we break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
We have two choices Paul gives us. Old yeast and however that is displayed negatively in our lives and churches, or we can be ourselves like bread – broken and distributed to each other and to our communities in which we live and serve.
Jesus said “I am the bread of life”.., and as we share in the body of Christ, so we too share in the bread of life, and as imitators of Christ we are ourselves to become fresh dough broken and shared with a world in need.
The church in Corinth it might be said was all talk and no power. They had, in the eyes of the world, all manner of resources available to them. They were strong socially, economically and culturally but they had not fully grasped the upside down nature of God’s Kingdom. They had not started to display the fruit of the spirit which we read about in Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia. The fruit of the spirit is an output of God’s grace, and by living in the spirit. Paul’s charge to the Corinthian church was that they were living out of their own grace, their own strength, and their own wisdom, fashioned, perhaps understandably, by all the world had incorrectly taught them.
No, that is a Kingdom of talk. And Paul says that’s God’s Kingdom is founded in the very power of God, where his weakness is stronger than our strength. Service then in God’s Kingdom is not empty words but rather as a result of being drenched, immersed, utterly transformed, renewed and powered by God’s very own essence; and from a knowledge of God’s grace. As we discussed in Galatians we can’t earn God’s grace, we can’t work for it but oh, when we receive God’s power and God’s grace – grace get’s to work. We can’t work for Grace, but grace works…
And Paul outlines in this chapter what this grace in action, in service looks like. Our dedication to Christ as Paul says, our service to him, even our slavery to Jesus will cause us to look like fools, to be ridiculed, to go hungry and thirsty, to experience poverty and persecution. To serve, is to work wearily with our own hands, to bless those who curse us, to be patient with those who abuse us, to appeal gently when evil things are said about us. It is to be prepared to be treated like rubbish…
Saints, following Jesus Christ isn’t about church services, and I know many of us want to get back to all that once lockdown is fully lifted. That’s part of it of course, and I’m not seeking to diminish our Sunday worship together, but our corporate worship is best displayed in service of Jesus Christ to the world on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. It’s service that is worship, it is worship that is costly. If it isn’t costly, it might not stand up to much heat in the refiners fire that we read in chapter 3! Service – that’s where the rubber hits the road.
Paul had the wisdom to get out of God’s way. So often as humans we fall into the pattern of the world to do things ourselves, to come up with good ideas ourselves. Even in our churches as we decide on visions and strategies, or the ongoing running of the church, or an idea for a service, or some initiative to reach a particular section of the community. I should know, I’ve had plenty of Darren idea’s that on a human level might have been a good idea.
Paul being an influential, intellectual, gifted and well resourced Roman Citizen, who spoke a number of languages could have blitzed into Corinth and absolutely smashed it on a human level. I bet his Paul ideas would have been outstanding. But! Paul had the wisdom and the foresight to get out of the way of God.
You see Saints, it is God’s mission to bring about his Kingdom, not ours. Sure he invites us to partner with him, but lets be clear it is his mission not ours. And the King of fools has other ideas about what success looks like. Instead of our good ideas, programmes and grand designs all we are to do is see where God is at work and simply join in – Saints that is mission.
The Kingdom of Heaven, the rule and reign of Christ, the culture of God, though according to Paul is not like any other Kingdom. To those who have not said yes to following Jesus, to those who have not had their lives turned upside down and inside out – then this Kingdom is complete madness, utter foolishness. The way of this Kingdom, the way of this King is to choose the unworthy, the untrustworthy, the unclean and broken in heart, in this Kingdom the first shall be last, and the last shall be first, and a mark of this Kingdom is loosing it all. Losing power to gain service, losing material possessions to find the “pearl of great price”. This Kingdom, in the eyes of the world is a foolish Kingdom, and when we say yes to Jesus, we ourselves become subjects to the King of Fools.
Saints, if you hear nothing else from the Daz Cast today know this:
"There is hope in slavery, and freedom in Christ"
Just as Hagar and Ishmael experienced may you also know that: God is with you and has never left you, do not be afraid, God will meet your immediate need and there is a promise for a better tomorrow"
Saints – I wonder if you would now consider as we read Galatians 6 and over the next 24 hours “is there any part of your life that you’ve not given to Jesus Christ”. Maybe you’ve said yes to following Jesus, like I did many years ago, or maybe you said recently but for us both there will still be elements of your life that you’ve not handed over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ – your job, your family, your fears and anxieties, your health issues or even your ministry… you’ll know. And if there is then simply sit with that for a while and hand it over to Jesus…
Or if you are listening to this podcast and you have never given your life over to Jesus Christ, then could I ask you to respond to the beat in your chest getting stronger as we read from Galatians 6. There are, contrary to popular opinion, no magic words that you need say – just a confession that you’ve got things wrong, tried doing life your own way, sold yourself out to other things or other people but that you recognise Jesus as king, as Lord, as boss of your life and that you want to live for him out of this posture of grace and to receive his life giving spirit.
Let’s pray shall we as we read Galatians 6.
When we say yes to Jesus, we become children of God, adopted into the freedom family and yes saints there will be times when we want to go back, to give into the old ways, and to meteorically go back into slavery (whatever that might be for you) but we are to remind ourselves that we belong to the freedom generation, we are not slaves, we are children of God, and that makes us heirs to all the promises of God. Saints never go back, no matter how tempting, Jesus loves us, gave himself for us, we are one in Christ, we are no longer slaves, but rather we are called children of God. You belong to him…
Grace and peace, Darren
We believe in a God who is fully inclusive in his own identity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit (often a feminine pronoun by the way), but also a God who welcomes and receives all.
And that’s timely reminder in these days as the world wrestles with the implications of George Floyd's death at the hands of white police men. Underlying that disgraceful act, and underneath every act of racism is the same attitude, perhaps, of the Jewish leadership team in the churches of Galatia, that Paul seeks to correct, “be Jewish”… “be white” don’t be black. But I want to unequivocally say that racism is wrong, that black lives do matter, that the system is geared to provide the white middle class, middle aged man with success overall. And it’s wrong… we believe and follow a God who includes all and levels mountains and valleys to ensure a level playing field.
But it isn’t just black lives that matter. LGBTQ lives matter too. They’re part of God’s family, their lives matter too. And we remind ourselves what we read yesterday that Jesus loves us and gave his live for us – not just white folk, but black lives, and those LGBTQ lives too.
Jesus loves us, gave his life for us and in him there is no black or white, no straight nor gay, no able bodied or disabled for we are all one in Christ Jesus.
Grace and Peace, Darren