This Sunday we’ll hear an excerpt from a letter that Paul wrote to the followers of Jesus in Galatia, roughly thirty years before the Gospel of Mark was ever written down. And though it’s one of the oldest writings in the canon of Christian scripture, its warning couldn’t be timelier for us followers of Jesus in the United States today.
The saint from whom much of our Christian theology is derived writes:
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
This Pauline understanding of freedom is a thematic thread woven throughout this particular letter and in a few others, as well. So let’s take a closer look at what the apostle seems to be proclaiming, perhaps even commanding, the church to embody.
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Freedom—the opposite of bondage—for all God’s people is the goal and ultimate purpose of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Bondage to what? To the weight of sin and the destructive consequences of choosing something other than God’s dream for our lives. Sin is a misuse of our humanity. The incarnation of God and (especially for Paul) the crucifixion and resurrection of God’s Christ broke those shackles and turned us loose from that bondage. But then he warns his readers not to put those chains back on, implying that, like the Exodus Israelites wandering in the desert, we are likely to be tempted to go back.
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters…
“This new way of life is a vocation into God’s dream for the world,” he says, implying that anything less than this freedom is a form of settling. What does that look like? Another misuse—this time of the freedom God wants so deeply for us that God gave his only Son.
…only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
Indulging myself—my wants, my desires, my rights—above the other is the misuse of our God-given freedom that Paul is warning the Galatians about. The way of love, instead, leads each of us to submit ourselves to the wants, desires, and rights of others. Self-lessness is the good use of our freedom. The fancy theological term is kenosis, which means self-emptying and is, of course, modeled by Christ on the cross. Paul sums up his logical and theological argument by quoting Jesus.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And it turns out that Jesus was quoting the Levitical law: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18, NRSV). This half-summary of the law is an ancient command, and thus, we can infer that human beings have struggled with loving each other in self-less and self-emptying ways since the very beginning.
For Paul, and indeed for Jesus himself, the power of God’s kingdom comes from pouring out yourself for the sake of others and not from wearing the burdensome yoke of insisting on your own way. And so, whether we like it or not, the fruitfulness of our faith, the success of the Church (our beloved community) is based on how well we offer ourselves for the rights and well-being of others.
How does this plumbline change the way you pray this week?
How do you want to live out the freedom God has granted you?
