Isaiah 66:10-14 | Psalm 66:1-9 | Galatians 6:1-16 | Luke 10:1-1, 16-20
Galatians 6:1-16
1 My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 4 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride. 5 For all must carry their own loads. 6 Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. 7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 8 If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. 11 See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! 16 As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
Introduction
The incredibly talented leader of a successful team, convinced that he is uniquely the cause of the success, decides to go out on his own, only to find comparative failure. It’s a familiar trope in television and movies because, in part, it is grounded in real life. In his frustration over the breakup of the Beatles, Paul McCartney wrote several little insults aimed at John Lennon on his second solo album: 1970’s RAM. Lennon responded with insults of his own directed at McCartney on his 1971 album Imagine. Of course, neither experienced nearly as much success as solo musicians or with subsequent bands as they did with the Beatles.[1] Or perhaps you saw the recent movie: Bohemian Rhapsody. While it’s basis in reality has been questioned by some, a major plot point is the choice that lead singer—Freddie Mercury—made to branch out on his own. While not total failures, his solo work lacked the commercial success that his work with Queen garnered. The film’s turning point is a heartfelt apology from Mercury to his bandmates and a decision to reunite. Countless musicians, athletes, and action movie heroes could all tell the same story. The Greeks call it hubris—an overestimation of an individual’s own competence or capabilities, typically leading to dire consequences for all. And it is not far off from today’s more individually-oriented version of life. We all think we are the stars of our own little lives—just like Freddie Mercury, but with less music maybe dressed a little differently. Nowhere is this truer than in Christianity—in part explaining the rapid growth of a radically individualistic designation called ‘spiritual, but not religious.’
Our reading from Galatians begins to tackle some of these ideas. In these final words of a difficult letter, Paul suggests that those who have been saved by faith according to the gospel—that is, Christians—should live by the Spirit of God. And such living will require a very particular understanding of both the individual and the Church. Let’s dig in.
1. The Individual
Let’s jump a few verses into the passage and first consider the individual. It’s easiest to see it in verse 4: “All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads.”[2] It’s a straightforward idea. It’s a well-known idea that dominates the next few verses. And it strikes at a certain conviction that many hold—a conviction about personal responsibility. A person should be measured before God by their own efforts, in a kind of meritocracy. And those who have lived in the Spirit, who have been loving, peaceful, patient, kind, generous, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled—those who have exhibited the fruit of the Spirit—will have a cause for boasting in their works. Of course, this does not represent a change of direction in Paul’s theology—who argues throughout this letter that good works do not save, only God’s grace through faith in the gospel can do that. Yet, one’s individual obedience, one’s individual maturity in Christ is essential. And so, one should strive for such merit.
The difficulties come when this is done in isolation or a person’s chief concern is the individual assessments of everyone else. Notice, Paul tells his reader only to look inward. “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.”[3] Paul does not tell anyone to be overly concerned for the sowing and reaping of others. In fact, the opposite, we already saw that ‘you are not responsible for the Spiritual maturity of others.’ But rather, we are each to be concerned with whether we are growing in the Spirit or whether we are giving in to the temptations of the flesh. When it comes to the faith, the failure of others should give me no sense of pride, only my own successes. There is no room for competition or gossip. No room for busy-bodies and being intrusive into others’ lives out of selfish or self-serving or self-aggrandizing motivations. It’s not your job to get on Facebook or Twitter or whatever the local church equivalent of scandalmongering platforms is and talk about other people in this way. You are to be concerned for your own faith and your own spiritual growth.
Yet, not only.
2. The Church
Paul bookends this section, verses 1-10, with exhortation on exactly how we are to relate to one another in the Church. While we are to be concerned with our own growth in the faith, we are not be narcissists. “My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.” And later: “So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.”[4]
We are to be concerned with the wellbeing of others. And at first, it begins with compassion. If one transgresses against you, the chief concern is restoration. We are to have a disposition of forgiveness. Likewise, we are to bear one another’s burdens. When one Christian mourns, we are all to mourn. When one suffers, we are to suffer together. When one faces times of trouble, we are to get each other’s backs. And indeed, while the beginning applies to the Church and the end applies primarily to the Church, it has implications beyond the Church. You see, not everyone can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps—which by the way, is physically impossible if you think about it. Rather, we are to work for the good of all.
And we should. This is more than serving in a soup kitchen, though that’s a pretty good start. This is more than sending money through the sharing committee. Paul is talking about a church that works together to take care of its own people and those of the community around it. And while I want to go on for another few minutes about the necessity of and Pauline argument for social justice and welfare, I won’t. You all already get that. But we must also not neglect it internally. Christ Church is easily the warmest, most welcoming and friendly church I’ve ever been a part of. But are we looking out for each other Spiritually? Remember, that’s the context here from chapter 5 and the beginning of this chapter. Or are we just social? Now, don’t misunderstand me, social is important. But, are we also truly bearing one another’s burdens? Are we spurring on another on toward spiritual maturity? Are we really as forgiving as we need to be? Are we really in each other’s lives in a way that produces encouragement in the faith and growth in the gospel? Because, friends, we cannot do this alone. Paul is clear: We need each other. If this church is to be anything more than a social club for expats and those dabbling in the faith—if it is to be something more spiritually significant, a church in the most profound and consequential sense of that word, then it starts with realizing we need each other. It means showing up more than just occasionally. It means establishing life together and bearing one another’s burdens and working for the good of all.
And all of this, by the way, crosses racial and cultural divides. The family of faith are all those justified by grace. Remember, this is the letter that famously includes the line about how, when it comes to justification before God: “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.”[5]
3. Why?
Why do all of this? This is an essential question. I’ve just articulated a great responsibility that should be felt by all those who believe and are saved. But for this to be anything other than a new law, a new burden upon us, we must consider why. And this where we turn to the final 6 verses. This is where Paul takes the pen from his scribe and writes himself—which could be taken as one of the more amusing and adorable lines in the Pauline letters. He’s so excited about how big his handwriting is. I actually take it as a marker of significance. When it comes to handwritten letters, there aren’t a lot of options for bold or italics. So, Paul takes the pen and writes in big letters to show emphasis.
And what does he emphasize? He returns to an earlier theme in the letter to talk about the burdens of the law and how Christians are to deal with them. It all culminates in this line: “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”[6] He wants us to live individual lives of mature faith, caring for one another in deep and meaningful ways because we all remember the means by which we were saved. In the ultimate sense, we all fall short. We cannot take care of ourselves. The burden of sin, that is, the evil rebellion in our hearts against God that is expressed as hateful and self-centred and immature behaviour, is a burden we cannot bear. In fact, this is the language of the General Confession from Prayer Book regarding our misdoings: “The remembrance of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable.”[7] Yet, Jesus Christ, gave his life on the cross and bore our burden of sin. What better reason could we have to bear one another’s burdens? To live lives of individual spiritual maturity that are worthy of boasting, and then remember that our boast is in Christ?
Conclusion
So, brothers and sisters, let us as a church be the body of Christ, crucified to the world, a new creation. Let us grow in our own faith, setting aside hubris, and then work to the good of all, bearing one another’s burdens. In other words, let’s “put the band back together.”[8] Let’s realize that we’re a team and we need to get in the game.
Let me pray. Heavenly Father, we look to your Son, who bore our burdens. Strengthen us to follow him that we may grow in our faith and our care for one another. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
[1] The details are, in part, gathered from the “How Do You Sleep?” article in the online Beatles Bible, found at beatlesbible.com/people/john-lennon/songs/how-do-you-sleep. Some of the material being referenced seems to have been sourced from Barry Miles, Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now (New York: Henry Holt, 1997).
[2] Gal 6:4.
[3] Gal 6:8-9.
[4] Gal 6:1-2, 10.
[5] Gal 3:28.
[6] Gal 6:15.
[7] 1662 Book of Common Prayer (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1969), 309.
[8] Playing off of the musical references earlier in the sermon, this quotation is spoken by Jake Blues in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, the plot of which is two brothers (Jake and Elwood blues) who reunite to play a concert in support of a Roman Catholic orphanage.