PROPERS: PROPER 8, YEAR C
TEXT: GALATIANS 5:1, 13-25
PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2022.
ONE SENTENCE: A challenge for us is to listen to “our better angels.”
Many of us, I suspect, have had the idea that Christianity arose ex nihilo – out of nothing – from the nations of Judea and Israel. In terms of bread baking, there was no starter.
But there was. The world of religion and philosophy was a rich gumbo that produced – and birthed – the roots of the faith we practice today. Jesus and his followers were deeply influenced by the world around them.
First and foremost is the Jewish faith. Jesus lived and died a Jew. Christianity, as such, did not exist. That would only come decades later. Jesus’ quarrels were not with Judaism, but with the religious authorities of that era. He saw that the Law, which had been given as a gift to order life, had been bent and shaped to become a burden to common people. Hence, his verbal battles with the Sadducees, Pharisees, and scribes.
Like muscles are built by the resistance of weight, Christianity emerged from Jesus’ resistance to the religious authorities. It sharpened and clarified his message.
But there was more. It came later and influenced early church leaders.
The Western World at that time was formed by the Greeks. More so than the Romans, who dominated the military world at that time, the residual influence of Alexander the Great molded thought and scholarship.
This was known as Hellenistic Thought – as exemplified by the philosophical schools of thought that were more than 300 years old. Their age had allowed them to permeate the thought of the day.
Chief among these were Platonism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. They each had their followers, and they did not agree. But we can see their impact on Christian thought – especially after the worldly ministry of Jesus – in those who followed him.
Paul is an excellent example. He was a Hellenistic Jew. He was well-educated. He was bright and articulate. You may not want him as a guest at your party, but he managed to express his views well.
Paul was greatly influenced by Stoicism. Our understanding of stoicism these days is a thin gruel of what that philosophy was to Paul. Instead of just bucking up and acting like nothing has happened – which is our modern understanding – true stoicism had to do with the rejection of passions and their unhealthy actions. Behaviors such as fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and carousing were frowned upon.
Paul listed those precise behaviors in the first lesson today – as works of the flesh. As an aside, I would note that Paul would likely not be a good guest at Mardi Gras. But I suspect that we could all agree that his list of works of the flesh is pretty accurate.
In contrast, Paul gives voice to stoic philosophy. He counters those acts of passion with those that are not rooted in passion. Hear his words: “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.”
+ + +
What is my point in all this?
I guess I could raise the question about political discourse these days. Are debates today motivated by passion or reason? Which is a more animating force in Facebook?
This is more to the point: Do you listen to the voices of your better angels? Are you motivated by resentment, bigotry, fear, or suspicion? Or by the higher motivations of empathy, care, understanding, compassion, and of course, love?
I think that is the message for us today: Our words and actions should be moved by calm reason rather than by passions from our shadow sides.
If we can do that more frequently, we and others can live in more Christian harmony.
No comments:
Post a Comment