A Long Paws

I am not finished with Galatians. I will come back to this book after the beginning of a new year. It is hard to to stay with one book through all the interruptions of the church year. In the mean time I will making posts on my other page Joe's Sermon Notes

While I have enjoyed the time writing these blogs, I can see from the hits that few are interested. I must find ways to improve my subjects so that they enhance the worship experience. We shall see.

Sermon text for October 21, 2007

Galatians 4:1-7 (see below for the text -- October 8, 2007 posting)

I am going to stay with the text I used last week, however just the first part. In verse 4 Paul teaches us that God sent his Son in the "fullness of time." In this time, the Divine will altered for all time the nature of the relationship between the Godself and humanity. We are no longer minors/children but heirs.

Galatians 4:1-??? Random thoughts

Not too sure where I am going to land in the verses listed below (see 10/8 entry). You can see the accented verses that are most interesting and provocative.

• elemental spirits -- sounds magical to me!
• fullness of time -- NOT the end of time -- interesting eschatology
• adoption
• Paul claims for himself "the pain of childbirth" -- whoa

Any ideas of what seems most interesting to you? I can see starting with verse 1 through 7, but where to stop?

Back to Galatians -- Gal 4:1-20

On October 14, I will once again continue working my through Paul's letter to the churches in Galatia. It might be helpful to review the material below, for I will be building upon what has already been explored in previous sermons. Don't worry, it will not be necessary to have heard the early sermons to make contact with these week's message.

4My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; 2but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. 3So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. 4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. 9Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again? 10You are observing special days, and months, and seasons, and years. 11I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted.

12Friends, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. 13You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you; 14though my condition put you to the test, you did not scorn or despise me, but welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15What has become of the good will you felt? For I testify that, had it been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17They make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you may make much of them. 18It is good to be made much of for a good purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you. 19My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

New Blog

Since I have enjoyed using the "blog sphere" as a place to set out thought, I have decided (during this hiatus) to start another blog to put stuff up for comment.You can check it our at:
Joe's Sermon Notes

Labor Day Hiatus -- Luke 14:1, 7-14

For nine weeks I have worked through Galatians and now its time to take a short break. I expect to be back to this Galatians series later in the month or October 14th. We have many exciting programs starting up in September and these must be supported and celebrated.

This weekend is Labor Day and I want to explore the relationship between the Christian faith and our work life -- work life as a volunteer, a homemaker, or as one who works a "regular job."
The Presbyterian/Reformed tradition has long held (since the time of John Calvin) that one can find in their work since it is rooted in God's desire for humanity to live in community. Work is a central part of the communal life. No matter what we do: bus tables, teach physics or kindergarten, serve as an elected public official, postal worker, or . . . . . , we are living out a calling from God to be alive in human community. Since work is necessary and desirable, each worker is due his or her wage for a good day's work. The wage must be a livable wage not a minimum wage. Also, the goal of full and fair employment is part of our Christian social ethic.

I will explore this topic using the gospel lectionary reading from Luke 14:7-14. Here is the passage from the NRSV:

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

⁷When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. ⁸“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; ⁹and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. ¹¹For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” ¹²He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

While it is easy to see in Jesus' teachings that people within the Christian faith are called to a life of humility, this is not to be confused with a life which tolerates oppression, of ourselves or others.
Well, join me on Sunday as we thank God for the gift of our labor and to commit ourselves to actions which will bring about justice for sisters and brothers in the workplaces throughout the world.

Some other web sites you might wish to look at:

Interfaith Worker Justice
Presbyterian Resources for Worker Justice (down loadable pdf file)

Galatians 3:19-4:7 (Reading for August 19, 2007)

Here is the next installment. Paul has had some pretty hard things to say about the Law and the readers might rightly think that Paul has no regard for the Law or dismisses it out of hand. In this section, he try to clarify why the Law came about.

The Purpose of the Law

¹⁹ Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspringⁱ would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator. ²⁰ Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.

²¹ Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law. ²² But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ^j might be given to those who believe.

²³ Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, ²⁶ for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. ²⁷ As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ 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. ²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,^k heirs according to the promise.

4 My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; ² but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. ³ So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits^a of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. ⁶ And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our^b hearts, crying, “Abba!^cFather!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.^d

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i Gk seed

j Or through the faith of Jesus Christ

k Gk seed

a Or the rudiments

b Other ancient authorities read your

c Aramaic for Father

d Other ancient authorities read an heir of God through Christ

Galatians 3:1-14 (Reading for August 12, 2007)

One more time I am revisiting a passage I already spoke about.

Go below and reread Galatians 3:1-14. I will be looking more closely at verses 6-9, and in particular, verse 7, "those who believe are the the descendants of Abraham."

Galatians 3:1-14 (Reading for August 5, 2007)

To get through the book of Galatians in a timely manner, we must move on. I still believe there is much to plumb in 2:15-21. I have highlighted the central questions Paul places before the Galatians, I will focus our attention on exploring these questions. I just want to keep in front of us, what I believe is the central theme in Galatians, "we are justified by grace through faith." Here is the NRSV translation of 3:1-14:

Law or Faith

(Cp Rom 4.1—25)

3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! ² The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? ³ Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? ⁴ Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing. ⁵ Well then, does God^a supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

⁶ Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” ⁷ so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. ⁸ And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.” ⁹ For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.

¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”^{b 12} But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law^c will live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— ¹⁴ in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

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a Gk he
b Or The one who is righteous through faith will live
c Gk does them

1. Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?
2. Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?
3. Did you experience so much for nothing?
4. Does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

Galatians 2:15-21 -- A Second Time

After spending time with this passage to be preached on July 22nd, I decided this passage was so "big" that it would take more than one week to cover what is presented by Paul. So, I invite you back to passage, Gal 2:15-21, an live with it for another week. This is my plan. While on the 22nd I focused the sermon on the foolish ways we try to justify ourselves, on the the 29th I will look to explore what it means to have faith.
These theological concepts are "big" in our Reformed/Presbyterian tradition. The Reformation of the 16th century, these thoughts were pivotal in a new message and mission for the church. It is sad that it took a schism within the church -- the split in the church that lasts today with a division between the Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church.
Well, let's see where this passage will take us.

Paul's Rhetorical Style

One of the ways scholars approach Paul’s letters is through the study of his “rhetorical style.” In fact, one of the new forms of biblical analysis is referred to a “rhetorical criticism,” to go side by side with textual criticism, historical criticism, redaction criticism, and literary criticism. Each of these biblical studies methods help us get closer and closer to what the author(s) might have wanted to communicate to their audience. A good Bible dictionary will help you look up these different methods of approaching the biblical narrative.

Now, back to rhetorical style. In popular use, rhetoric is used as a put down term or negative evaluation of speech; “it is all rhetoric” as a critique of politician’s endless words. Behind this is a suspicion that each speaker will try to manipulate the hearer to get him or her to do something the speaker wants for the speaker’s benefit or even a falsehood. However, there is a rhetorical style that Paul uses that was used by educated Greeks of his day. Rhetoric was seen as an art form – an art form of presentation, persuasion and argument. In Paul’s usage, his words were designed to have an effect on the reader/hearer.

John Calvin had a method of Bible study that asked the reader to read “closely” the text. This type of reading was to see the plain sense of the words as they lay out on the page. He was not looking to simplify the content of the passage. He was trying to get the reader to stay with the text, turning it over and over, mining it for meaning. He looked for shades in meaning and nuance that were actually there. These characteristics became more apparent with reading a passage time after time in different historical setting.

Seeing Paul’s rhetorical style close up can make us scratch our heads and wonder why he says the things he says in the way he says them. His arguments are often “dense.” But I would suggest that Paul’s letters are like a dense forest and is a wonderful place to visit. The denser the trees, the foliage, the undergrowth and the animal life, the more there is to see and learn. However, moving through a dense forest requires patience and sometimes hard work just to go a few feet. So with Paul’s letters. It takes time; it takes work. The time and work we put into discovering Paul’s rhetorical style brings us much to appreciate in his teaching about the reality of Christ’s love for you and me.

The sermons connected to this Galatians series do not allow me to go into all the finer details each Sunday (they are already long enough). This might be a path you might journey on through these summer months. I will be glad to answer specific questions.

If you are more interested in rhetorical style, you might go to Aristotle's Rhetoric. I believe he was the first Western philosopher to write on this subject in detail.

Galatians 2:15-21 (Galatians text for July 22, 2007)

Jews and Gentiles Are Saved by Faith

¹⁵ We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; ¹⁶ yet we know that a person is justified^d not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.^e And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ,^f and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. ¹⁷ But 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! ¹⁸ But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; ²⁰ and 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,^g who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification^h comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

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d Or reckoned as righteous; and so elsewhere

e Or the faith of Jesus Christ

f Or the faith of Christ

g Or by the faith of the Son of God

h Or righteousness

Join a Galatians Group

Listed to right under Helpful Links you will see a Galatians group. This is for further information that is coming from sermon preparations. You will also be allowed to sign up for this group which means that any time I make a change to that group, you will receive an email.

A clear chronology of Paul's life is difficult to lay out. It takes an effort to bring together the Paul's autobiographical comments in his authentic letters and Luke's biographical information on Paul's life. The following outline is taken from The Cambridge Companion to St. Paul, edited by James D. G. Dunn.

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Birth in Tarsus	Around the turn of the first century
Education primarily in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3)
Crucifixion of Jesus	30
Conversion of Saul (Acts 9 etc.)	32/33
First Jerusalem visit (Gal 1:18)	35/36
Antioch – teacher and missionary (Jerusalem visit? Acts 11:30) -- ‘the first missionary journey’ (Acts 13-14)	Early and mid 40s
Jerusalem Council (Gal 2:1-10/Acts 15)	48/49
Aegean mission – Corinth (acts 18:11) 1 & 2 Thessalonians Galatians	50/52
Jerusalem visit (Acts 18:22)	52
Aegean mission – Ephesus (Acts 19:10) 1 & 2 Corinthians (Philippians, Colossians & Philemon?)	53-5
Aegean mission – final phase (Acts 20:3) Romans	56
Arrest in Jerusalem (Acts 21:33)	57
Imprisonment in Caesarea (Acts 24:27)	57-59
Journey to Rome (Acts 27:1-28:16)	59-60
Imprisonment in Rome (Acts 28:30) Philippians, Colossians, & Philemon)	60-62
Probable date of execution	62/63
(Possible release and further mission, Ephesians, Pastoral Epistles)	62-4?

Next Sermon Text: Galatians 2:1-10 (July 15, 2007)

2Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. ² I went up in response to a revelation. Then I laid before them (though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain. ³But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. ⁴ But because of false believers^a secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us— ⁵ we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you. ⁶ And from those who were supposed to be acknowledged leaders (what they actually were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those leaders contributed nothing to me. ⁷ On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised ⁸ (for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles), ⁹ and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was^b eager to do.

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a Gk false brothers

b Or had been

Musings on Writing an Autobiography

How would I write an autobiography of myself? Would I be be willing to show my warts to all who would be interested as a form of exhibitionism for voyeurs? Could I get myself out of the way to be honest so that picture I drew would be an image others might recognize? Or, would I reveal here to now mysteries of my inner life to others to make myself more actual to the reader?

These questions show how hard it was was fr Paul to tell about his life to those who would be critical of his words and thoughts. There is an audacity in his self-presentation, with a dash of arrogance -- only a dash -- for being clear about who Christ is for his life. We are never able to get away from Paul's person (not personality).

This blog is to support a series of sermons written on Paul's epistle to the churches in Galatia.

Galatians: A Testament to Freedom
An Introduction

To better enable you to follow this series of sermons on Paul’s letter to the province of Galatia, here is some background information that might help your understanding.

About the book as a whole . . . .

• Galatia was a Roman province in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), thus, Galatians was written to serval congregations.
• This letter was written by the apostle Paul about A.D. 52 which is approximately 20 years after his conversion experience on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). This is one of Paul’s earliest letters.
• There were other early Christians that were preaching “another gospel” that was different from the gospel that Paul had proclaimed. Paul is arguing with them in this letter.
  
• Galatians is a letter; Paul was not sitting down and writing a book that one day might go into something we call “scripture” or the Holy Bible. This was a decision made well after the death of Paul.
  

General comments about Paul . . . .

• Paul persecuted early followers of Jesus.
• Paul’s encounter with Jesus Christ was through revelation.
• Paul did not know Jesus in his earthly life; Paul is like us, he had to depend on others to know about Jesus’ life.
• Paul lived out his faith in a very complex culture where there were more than one religion. He came from the Greek and Hebrew world.
• His writing are very personal and his imperfections and disagreements are not hidden.
• Paul was a deliberative man, well educated and well traveled. He did most of his work away from his home.