Clothed in Christ

The Rev. Tommy Thompson

Galatians 3:23-29

Proper 7C

19 June 2016

In the name of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m honored to be here today to proclaim the word of the Lord on this wonderful occasion.  My name is Remus; I am from the first century, from the region of Galatia, and when I heard you were to be baptizing today it brought back so many memories of gatherings just like this where we welcomed new sisters and brothers into the fold of our Lord Jesus.  I’m glad you also receive letters from our beloved Paul.  You know he was the first one to bring us Galatians the good news of Jesus?

We Galatians are a diverse bunch; I know it sounds like we are just Gentiles, Jews, or Greeks, but really we call everyone who isn’t Jewish a Gentile.  I’m sure you can understand what good news it was for us to discover that even though we weren’t Jews, that we could belong to God too…  You see that’s the good news that Paul came and proclaimed to us. He came preaching peace to those who were “far off” – those Gentiles like me and to those who are “near” – my Jewish sisters and brothers.

Paul preached to us that it is no longer because of ethnic heritage that people become beloved children of God. I was so grateful to hear that to be a child of God is simply to trust that God has been faithful and has triumphed over evil and death on our behalf through Jesus Christ. One of the things Paul likes to say often is that it is not by the works of the law, or circumcision or anything else that you are saved. It is only by the free gift of God which is Jesus Christ.  By His faithfulness you are saved and made children of God – all of you, Jew and Gentile alike.

We Galatians received this good news with great joy.  But after Paul left, things took a turn for the worse.  While Paul was away furthering his missionary journeys, these so called apostles came to us. They acted like they were some super apostle or something.  They manipulated some of our folks into believing that we Gentiles were second rate citizens unless we first embraced the torah and were circumcised.  They claimed that unless we were circumcised and relied on the works of the Law for our salvation, that we could not be a part of God’s precious people.   This was the opposite of what Paul had proclaimed to us.  But I’m sad to say that many of our people were swayed.  These so called super apostles were good salesmen. 

Anyhow, this is why Paul wrote the letter / sermon of which you heard a small portion proclaimed this morning.  Paul was not happy when he heard about how we, his beloved community were being bullied and betrayed by these who came claiming to be the “real apostles.”    So Paul called us back to the faith first delivered to us – of freedom in Jesus Christ, the good news of salvation through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who will simply believe / trust in what God has done through him. 

That part of the letter we heard this morning (Galatians 3:26-29)… that was the best part of Paul’s sermon.  Does it speak to you like it did to us?  Listen to these words…

As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

You may not realize the impact of these words.  You see, these are not Paul’s words.  These words are some of the most precious of all words to us in Galatia.  This is straight from our baptismal liturgy…  Now, I don’t know how you do it here, but when we welcome sisters and brothers into the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection through baptism, we receive new clothing. 

Oh, I remember the day when it happened to me! First, I took off the clothes that I wore to church that day.  I then walked to the edge of the baptismal font which by the way, is in the ground, large enough for an adult to be submerged completely under the water…imagine that being in the floor here…  I walked to the edge of the font, naked…disrobed of the ‘clothing of the age that is passing away…”  I was then submerged into the baptismal waters, the old life being buried with him in his death.  Then I come up out of the waters, rising to new life in Jesus Christ…

Immediately after my baptism I was smeared with that precious oil, and then, my favorite part.  I received my new clothes.  A fresh clean white robe…my baptismal garment.  And when it was put on me, oh, I remember those words like it was yesterday. The celebrant exclaimed:  “You are clothed with Christ.  There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” 

Oh the power of those words.  Living in a world where ethnic, social, and gender distinction is very real, and not with positive implications for all mind you, baptism is liberating!  In baptism, the woman is no longer subservient to the man; the gentile to the Jew, the slave to the free.  No, in Christ, we all are God’s children – sisters and brothers on level playing field.  That’s what the grace of God does.  It breaks down all these binary oppositions.  In this new world in Christs these oppositions that characterized all human existence in the old age have been dissolved!” 

The good news that we celebrate in our baptism and the good news that we celebrate today with the baptisms of Daniel, Cooper, Henry, Ethan, and Hudson is that distinctions have lost their power to divide and oppress – social, ethnic, gender distinctions, distinctions of sexual orientation, or whatever other kind of distinction!  We have been clothed in Christ and this means that we begin to take on the qualities of him in whom we are clothed.  And what I see Jesus doing as much as anything else in the gospels is seeing people for who they really are – removing the oppressive labels and stereotypes forced on God’s precious children and inviting all on a journey of becoming more fully themselves than ever before! 

This is what you signed up for and are signing up for in and through Holy Baptism.  Distinctions that oppress are abolished, but distinctions themselves are not abolished.  This is not some cheap uniformity that is not really unity.  No, we are being called to be in the world the way God is at God’s very core as Trinity – diversity unified through the power of self-giving and other embracing love.  No longer are distinctions used to abuse, but now distinctions are seen through the loving eyes of the Creator and difference is embraced and celebrated and cherished.  Male and Female, Black and White, Gay and Straight, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile.  We are a mutli-colored, diverse, beautiful mosaic that is God’s great masterpiece that God is crafting in this world – a masterpiece that continues to woo the world back to it’s source – the God who is making all things new.

Today, Daniel, Cooper, Henry, Ethan, and Hudson will be clothed in Christ.  Clothed to continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. Clothed to persevere in resisting evil; clothed to join us in proclaiming by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.  Clothed to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself. Clothed to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. 

And, my sisters and brothers, our work is to help these new Christians grow into their new clothes, into this new identity, into this new life in Jesus, that they, with us, may become a living sacrament in and for the world….

Thanks be to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who makes all things new.  Amen.

The Compassionate God

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Tommy Thompson 

The Compassionate God of Love

Proper 5c 2016

5 June 2016

Who is God?  Where is God?  Is God present?  Is God concerned with the day to day affairs of people like you and me?  Where is God in relation to human suffering?  Joy?  The mundane? 

 While most will not dare call themselves theologians, all of us, from time to time, have asked ourselves these important questions.

 I like to ask these questions.  I particularly like to ask these questions to my friends who identify as atheist or at best agnostic.  Sometimes rather than the questions I just asked, I ask, “Why not God?”  The answers, I find, are usually about the same.  Either they are upset with the way God has been portrayed by religious people, or they have a view of God that is so problematic, I couldn’t imagine anyone wasting belief on such a god either.

Such a view of God, in the words of theologian Clark Pinnock, goes something like this: God is understood an aloof monarch, removed from the contingencies of this world, unchangeable in every aspect, an all-determining and irresistible power, aware of everything that will ever happen and never taking risks (Pinnock, Oppenness of God, 103). 

So my friend says, why would I waste belief in a so called God who is so perfect…I am imperfect.  Why waste belief in such a God who is unmoved by the happenings of this world…by human suffering, by human joy…while I am on an emotional roller coaster.  Why believe in a God who doesn’t know change when my life is in constant flux?  Such a god, if god existed, is so far removed … why waste my time? 

I’ve heard many responses to the Why God or Why not God question, but this sums up the vast majority of the responses that I hear from people who struggle with belief in God. The problem is that we have breathed the air of Greek philosophy for so long, We’ve come to accept that God is some unmoved mover…unable to be moved by the happenings of the world.  God is fully realized with no potential for becoming.  Thus, God must be unmoved by the happenings of the world.  God is unchangeable.  God is all powerful, all knowing…you’ve head these descriptions of God. 

But is this really what Scripture says about God?  Is this really what the Christian tradition affirms about God? 

Consider Hosea chapter 11.  Here God names the relationship God has with his people.  God is revealed as faithful, keeping his part of the covenant.  His people, on the other hand, are revealed as unfaithful, sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols rather than the true God.  God laments the infidelity.  “Yet it was I who taught you to walk, I took you up in my arms; but you did not know that I healed you…I was like a mother who lifts infants to her cheeks…I bent down to you and fed you.” 

God then names the punishment that his people deserve.  “They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me…the sword rages in their cities, it consumes their oracles-priests and devours because of their schemes….My people are bent on turning away from me…to the Most High they call, but He does not raise them up at all!”

But then, something beautiful takes place in the text.  Just as God did in the story of Jonah, when the people of Nineveh repented, God changes God’s mind.  His mercy overrules his righteous indignation at his people’s infidelity to the covenant. “How can I give you up, Ephraim?  How can I hand you over, O Israel?  … My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender…I will not execute my fierce anger, I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.”  Did you hear it?  What’s key here is “I am God and no mortal.”  What distinguishes God from human beings is that God, at God’s very core, is merciful. God knows we are not perfect and God, in God’s love, offers mercy rather than wrath.

So much for the unmoved mover…the unchangeable God…the aloof monarch!  Here God reveals himself as the one who is merciful.  He does not come in wrath, but in compassion, which is key for understanding the true answer to the questions we started with today.   God is compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.  Both the Hebrew and the Greek word for compassion means to be moved in your innermost place…down in the depths of the gut.  But not simply moved inwardly…you’re moved to the point of outward action on the behalf of the ones that stirred up such compassion within you.  IN this case, God is moved by his deep love for his children, even though they have been rebellious.  And his action that results is undeserved mercy. 

Stories like this abound throughout scripture.  God is not some metaphysical principle to be understood through the categories of philosophy.  No, God, at God’s core, is relational.  God from the beginning, has sought to be in relationship with God’s creation, making covenant with a people to bring the whole world to right relationship with God and with one another.  This is how God is revealed.  Not aloof or distant, but present with God’s people in the ebbs and flow of life, present in the midst of suffering to bring healing and comfort, present in the midst of joy and festivity and yes, present, even in the mundane of everyday life. 

The Gospel for today is a prime example of such an involved, compassionate and present God.  It’s likely not on anyone’s favorite list of stories about Jesus from the gospels, but it is truly an important story that reveals something very important concerning the deepest questions we ask.  Who is God?  Where is God?  Is God present? Is God concerned with the day to day affairs of people like you and me?  Where is God in relation to human suffering?  Joy?  The mundane? 

There are two crowds walking in opposing directions.  One crowd is following Jesus, exuberant, excited, full of wonder and awe as they witness Jesus’ signs and wonders performed in their midst.  This crowd is following Jesus down from Capernaum, through his home town of Nazareth and arrive just south of Nazareth in the hill country, to a small village called Nain.  As they approach the city gates, another large crowd is exiting the city gates.  This crowd is characterized by a profound sadness.  Grief is present in this crowd, mourning, crying.  It is a funeral procession.   A man had died.  As with any person that dies, there is a story.  He is a widow’s only son.  The text doesn’t tell us how old the man was when he died.  He could have been young; he could have been old.  What the text does tell us, and any first century reader would have understood, is that this woman’s life has all but ended.  If you have read very much of the bible, you see that there is something to this child bearing thing.  Hannah was made fun of because she could not bear children…and finally she gave birth to one of the greatest heroes of the entire bible and offered a song that we’ve been singing ever since as a response.  Sarai was barren until God’s promise came to fruition and she and Abram became the mother and father of many nations.  IN the first century Jewish world, ones life continued after death through their children.  Children are not suppose to die before their parents.  This woman is experiencing some of the worst suffering that a human being can possibly experience … suffering that only a mother who has lost a child understands.  To make things worse, who will take care of her now?  She is a widow.  Her son was her only remaining hope.  He is now gone.  She may be feeling not only a profound since of loss, but also anxiety about her future. What happens when she’s sick? When the resources run out?  This was a true dilemma for women in the first century world.

An aloof god would walk in the other direction.   An unmoved god wouldn’t even notice her. But Jesus, who is the perfect revelation of God, does not run away from such intense suffering.  No, instead he runs toward it.  Here’s that word again:

“When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her.” 

Compassion.  God is moved to action by human suffering.  God does not take the long way around so to avoid us…but God is aware and God enters into our pain.  He dares to touch the bier.  He dares to speak words that only God can speak, “Do not weep.  Young man, I say to you, rise!” 

The dead man then sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 

Who is God?  Is God present?  Is Is God concerned with the day to day affairs of people like you and me?  Where is God in relation to human suffering?  Joy?  The mundane? 

When we read the gospels with such questions in mind, we cannot help but to answer:  compassionate, concerned, loving, caring, engaged, present in our lives in times of suffering, joy, and even the mundane.  He’s no aloof monarch.  He is not the unmoved mover, but as Clark Pinnock says, God is the most moved mover. 

Earlier I mentioned that I usually hear one of two main responses from people when I ask “Why not God?”  One of those responses I mentioned was that they have been turned off by the way God is portrayed by religious people.  And this forces me to ask myself, “What picture of God am I presenting to the world through the way I live my life in their midst?  

I think this is what our current presiding bishop, Michael Curry means by the Jesus movement that he keeps preaching every opportunity he gets.  If we are the body of Christ, the people of God, and our mission is nothing more than the continuation of God’s mission in Jesus Christ, then the same kind of things Jesus does in the gospels should be the kind of stuff we are doing in the world!  This is the best way to show people who God really is…

Something I’ve found profound is that when I speak to people who identify as atheist or agnostic, they usually do not have much problem with Jesus.  They actually kind of like him…they just don’t think that the church has Jesus to offer as much as their own agendas. 

So today, let us be challenged by the Gospels.  Let us be challenged in the same way so many here at St. Thomas have been challenged and have accepted the challenge to live in the deep compassion of God for the world.   I think of one parishioner, whose identity I will leave anonymous, who came with us to the St. James School to help tutor middle schoolers.  She met a young lady, and now she has become that young lady’s mentor.  That young girl and this St. Thomas parishioner’s lives are both richer because of it.  I think of one of our youth who every time I mention situations of need where people need help, he enthusiastically says, “I’m in!”  Or the way this congregation becomes a beacon of hope when a sister or brother in Christ here finds themselves in a time of loss and great sadness.  There are so many wonderful examples of how this parish is participating in the Jesus movement.  And I think it truly is that simple.  God is not impressed with how much we think we know about God.  God calls us to the simple task of following Jesus who is on the move in the world, running towards human suffering, sharing in human joy, walking with his beloved people in the midst of the mundane existence of our everyday lives.  If you have not gotten onboard with this movement of God’s compassionate love, it’s never too late.  And your compassion which gives rise to action will reveal the God that the world so desperately longs to know.  Thanks be to God.