June 20, 2010 — 4th Sunday After Pentecost-C
Galatians 3:23-29
“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.” Dangerous words. Not so much because of what they say, as where they will take us if we take them seriously.
These were dangerous words for Paul. So dangerous he wasn’t always able to hold onto them. A generation or two after Paul, living these words was dangerous for the church in the Roman Empire. Jew, Greek, slave, free, man, woman all in one place every Sunday!
Paul argues here against people who play on human fear of dangerous words and ideas. They have tradition and scripture solidly on their side. They counter Paul’s passion with sweet reason. “Outsiders are welcome. They just need to become like those who are already on the inside before they enter.” Agree to live by a very clear set of rules. And for the men . . . Well, the pain soon passes.
Paul insists Jesus has done away with any distinction between birthright believers and new converts. ‘There is no longer Jew or Greek . . .” More than that, “There is no longer slave nor free . . .” More than that, “There is no longer male and female . . .” More than that?
Everybody knows the difference between Jew and Greek. Jews have clear instruction from their God to separate themselves from
all others. Greeks despise the religion of the Hebrews. All law and prohibition, with no proper distinction between spirit and flesh.
It’s the way the world is supposed to be! Sometimes Paul accepts the way of the world. Now he has courage to say no. A new order is dawning!
Everybody knows the difference between a slave and a free person. Paul’s own people may not own slaves anymore, but they live in an economy that runs on slaves and slavery. Slaves are members of the Greek household. When households are baptized slaves go into the water, too. What slave would dare resist circumcision if it means he can be a Christian, like his owner?
It’s the way the world is supposed to be. Paul doesn’t always want to upset good order. Now he has courage to say no. A new order is dawning!
Everybody knows men and women are different. On this Jew and Greek agree. Paul’s people have purity rules, and centuries of tradition that tell women their place in the world. The world is built on the family, after all. Women are important. Let them tend to the family. Let the men look after the world.
It’s the way things are supposed to be. A lot of the time Paul agrees. Now he has courage to say no. A new order is dawning!
Dangerous words. So dangerous Christians often find them too hot to handle. The balance of membership in the worldwide church has shifted from birthright believers in the north to new converts in the south just as it did from Jews to Gentiles in Paul’s day. In at least one communion, walls are going up to enforce separation over who’s worthy and who’s not.
Slavery continued within Christendom for 18 centuries after Paul declared its end. Churches in North America are as divided racially and economically today as they were when slavery flourished.
Most Christians in the world still prop up walls between men and women in their churches. We have a long way to go. A lot of work to do. That is, if we dare take Paul’s dangerous words seriously.
Do we hear Paul call us into more danger? To stand on the principle “all are one in Christ Jesus.” To go against the way of the world, an order we assumed is God’s order. To flout millennia of tradition. To contradict scripture, made bold by scripture itself.
