The following sermon was preached by Rev. Mark T. Peterson, on June 12, 2016, at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Holliston, MA. It is the third sermon in a 6 week series on Galatians, entitled TO KNOW, and TO GROW. I will be making references to a document I produced, of the same name, and that is pictured within this post.
Galatians 2:15-21
15We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the
law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ
Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the
works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. 17But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves
have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down,
then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. 19For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to
God. I have been crucified with Christ; 20and it is no longer I who
live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes
through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Today, we read again from Paul's letter to the Galatians. This is
our third week reading from this letter, and we will cover most of it in the
six weeks that it serves as our appointed text for the week.
Paul wrote this letter to the churches in Galatia a long time ago,
2000 years ago, and Paul's words are written for us today as well. Paul writes
to us so that we may KNOW and GROW, the same theme as the document that
outlines my pastoral vision. TO KNOW and TO GROW is why Paul writes to
us.
In reading Galatians, we remember that Paul writes to us as one
who has changed tremendously as a result of his encounter with Jesus Christ,
who had been crucified and raised to eternal life. Paul, we remember, was once
named Saul, and he had been going around, persecuting and trying to destroy the
new churches that were serving Jesus. It was in the midst of these persecutions
that Jesus came to Saul in a blinding light, knocked him off of his horse, and
by his grace gave him new, transforming life, and a new name, Paul. This
encounter was so transforming, that Paul soon started to build up the same
church he had tried to destroy. By the power of the Holy Spirit, this
transformed man not only wrote to the Galatians, but he writes to us today, so
that we can KNOW and GROW.
In reviewing chapter 1, we KNOW:
That the Gospel message is given to us
by Jesus Christ, is about Jesus Christ, and it reveals Jesus Christ.
That Jesus Christ came to do something,
to give himself for our sin and free us from this evil age.
That Jesus Christ comes not to the
healthy, but to sinners; sinners like Paul and sinners like us, to transform us
and give us new life, to give us his life.
and we GROW:
By considering the question that Paul
asks about who we serve, and whose approval we are seeking. Is it the approval
of God, or is it humans?
By learning to trust in grace, and not
our own human abilities and ways of doing things. We wrestle with the words of
this quote from H. William Gregory. "Trust, and not rigidity is what
defines the will of one converted by Grace."
Today, Paul writes to us and he writes "We Know"
"We know that we are not justified by works of the law, but by faith in
Jesus Christ." Paul must have been writing with a Lutheran congregation in
mind, because certainly, "We Know" that one is not justified by
works. If you have been a Lutheran for a longtime and don't know this, then I
would like to have a conversation with your confirmation teacher. But we Lutherans,
as well as many other denominations, KNOW that we are not justified by works,
but by faith in Jesus Christ.
Knowing this today, we celebrate and say good-bye to Gerry Hava as
the Blessed Beginnings Preschool director. It's appropriate to think of Gerry
having a Pauline sort of role in starting Blessed Beginnings, though there were
certainly many other hands and of course the Holy Spirit that went into
starting it, but Gerry has been it's faithful director since the very
beginning.
This school, this ministry, that Gerry has played such a role in,
wants young children TO KNOW. Of course, the goal is to have the young children
learn some knowledge about a variety of different things, but, as far as I know
anyway, there isn't standardized testing when the kids turn 5. They somehow are
able to promote the children to kindergarten without it, though I'm sure it
will be coming down the road...But, what Blessed Beginnings really wants the
children TO KNOW, is that they are loved, that they are cared for, and that
they are part of a great, big, amazing world in which God has given to us so
many things.
The great thing about Blessed Beginnings is that it is for
everyone. There is no test, or certain type of child that the school is looking
for, it is for everyone. In fact, Blessed Beginnings even offers Grace
Scholarships, so that not even finances will get in the way of a child being
there. The school is for all children because God's love is for all children.
Today, we give thanks, for Gerry, for all the teachers, the volunteers, and the
Holy Spirit, who have worked with so many children so that the KNOW of this
great love.
Of course, children grow a lot from the ages of 3 to 5. Blessed
Beginnings gives children the chance to GROW in this knowledge that they are
loved and to GROW in their trust of that love. It gives children the chance to
GROW in sharing this love, in sharing themselves with each other and with this
world. It truly is a Blessed Beginning.
This time of learning and growing is what we as the Church do as
well. The last time I checked, we are all children of God, and God has called
us TO KNOW and TO GROW.
God has called us TO KNOW that it is Jesus Christ who justifies,
or makes us right, by his grace and God does this by giving us sure signs of
this grace. We are given the waters of baptism, which splash over us not after
we do something great or meriting them, but simply because of who we are and as
a sign of God's unending love for all of us, and also for all who have not been
baptized. We know that God certainly loves us before we are baptized, and still
gives us this gift as a certain sign of this life, as a promise that we, and
all of creation, are Children of God. God gives us the gift of baptism as a
certain sign so that we may KNOW that we are not justified by doing works of
the law but by grace.
God calls us together by the Holy Spirit so that we KNOW that
God's saving work is not a one-time thing, but continues on and on in us. TO
KNOW that Jesus is freeing us from this evil age, that he's saving us from our
sin, not just once, but continuously. Jesus continues to call and gather us,
and feed us with his Body and Blood, a sure and certain sign of just how far
God's grace is extended to us. We the children of God, need to continue to hear
this from God, and get it etched into our being, we need TO KNOW this, so that
we can trust more and more in the love God gives and the grace God offers. As
this knowledge is imprinted on our hearts and minds, we let go of our own sense
of control and rigidity, our own ways of doing things, and our mind is opened
to the grace of God, and the new life that God gives.
God is at work in us. Jesus Christ is alive in us. And we have
been given these signs to show us that, to help us to KNOW.
God helps us TO GROW as well. One sign of God's work in helping us
to grow, is work that is done through us, us as human beings and us as the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As you know, I was at our synod
assembly the last two days, and we had a woman there speaking to us named Mikka
McCracken. Not only is Mikka from the beautiful state of Minnesota, but more
importantly she serves as the Director of Planning and Engagement for the
ELCA's World Hunger Appeal. Mikka told us about all the wonderful things that
our gifts from across the country are doing to help people both at home and
abroad. One thing that she said that really stood out to me, was that 1-in-9
people across the world today suffer from chronic hunger. This number is much
too high, but in the 1970's this number was 1-in-4. God is at work, the Holy
Spirit is at work and is working through us, not because of how great we are,
but because of God's great love, for all of creation. God is at work through
us, making this world a sort of Blessed Beginnings classroom, where all of
God's children can feel safe and free; free to love each other and share our
lives together. God continues to be at work in us!
May we GROW, grow in the knowledge that it is Christ who justifies
us, and GROW knowing that it is Christ who is alive and well in us today, and
that he will be forever. "It is not I who live," says Paul, "But
it is Christ who lives in me." Truly it is Christ who lives in us, and who
will continue to do so through all time and space.
For this we give thanks in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit,
Amen.
Galatians, we KNOW:
That the Gospel message is given to us
by Jesus Christ, is about Jesus Christ, and it reveals Jesus Christ.
That Jesus Christ came to do something,
to give himself for our sin and free us from this evil age.
That Jesus Christ comes not to the
healthy, but to sinners; sinners like Paul and sinners like us, to transform us
and give us new life, to give us his life.
That we are justified not by works of
the Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.
and we GROW:
By considering the question that Paul
asks about who we serve, and whose approval we are seeking. Is it the approval
of God, or is it humans?
By learning to trust in grace, and not
our own human abilities and ways of doing things. We wrestle with the words of
this quote from H. William Gregory. "Trust, and not rigidity is what
defines the will of one converted by Grace."
By opening ourselves to the presence of our
Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, in our lives, and allowing him to live in, with, and
through us.
Khasiat Walatra G-Sea
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