On Monday I typically post my sermon manuscript, hoping to perpetuate the illusion that first thing Monday morning I am able to quickly produce what for me is a week’s worth of thought and prayer. In order to keep this up, I need to type a sermon manuscript each and every week. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a manuscript for Sunday, and so goes the grand illusion.
. . . But for fun . . .
There’s nothing more American than . . . apple pie? baseball? freedom? I would say that there’s nothing more American than Weight Watchers. Think about it. It incorporates so much of what makes this nation great: Free Enterprise, Freedom, Community, and Apple Pie (albeit made with Splenda and fat free ice cream). The thing I love about weight watchers is that in lieu of providing a list of do’s and don’ts, they teach value. A list of what not to eat would not work for me; however providing me with food’s value gives me freedom to eat they way my body needs me to eat.
That’s the thing. Value offers freedom, or at least as Paul suggests in Galatians 5, Christian freedom reveals value, our value as a child of God. When we live in love, patience, kindness, generosity, there is no need for a Law. Law is great at giving boundaries, but the Law can’t figure out how to teach value. As Paul says, “There is no Law against such things.” This is one of the most profound sayings from Paul’s pen.
Sometimes we have a strange notion of freedom in my country ’tis of thee. I’ve heard it said that freedom is about doing what I want, where I want, when I want, with the stuff I want. As Paul says, “Don’t let your freedom be an opportunity for self indulgence.” To quote my friend, Dr. James Howell, “If freedom is simply a means of self indulgence, then our service men and women giving their lives for this country are paying much too high a price.”
Christ came so that we might be free, free from the self, free from solitary confinement. Christ frees us from the self, but for each other. We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to each other to live in love. May you be free in the name of Christ.
I hope to see you Sunday, if not before.