"Understanding and Doing!"

A sermon preached on The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, July 22, 2007 at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ) , by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on Colossians 1:9-10, 15-28.

C. William Nichols shares in his book; Day by Day – Through the New Testament, the story of a pastor who woke up one Sunday morning to discover that a case of laryngitis had left him without a voice. What would he do? He thought to himself. Who would lead the service and preach the sermon in his place? After a moment of prayerful thought he phoned one of the elders in his church, who also happened to be a good friend of his. He struggled, in a hoarse whisper, to explain his dilemma and to plead for the elder’s help. Without hesitation the elder agreed to fill in for him.
In a simple and straightforward approach the elder presented to the congregation the simplistic, yet practical method he used when he read and studied the Bible. He said; "I always ask myself three questions when I read anything in the Bible: first, do I know what is says? Second, do I understand what it means? And third, am I willing to do what it demands?" It would be difficult to conceive a more effective way to get inside a scripture passage and apply it to one’s life. The leap between "knowing" and "understanding" is surpassed in importance only by the gulf between "understanding" and "doing."
The Apostle Paul attempts to help the Christians in Colosse bridge that important gulf in his epistle to them. He prays "that [they] may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that [they] may lead lives worthy of the Lord" (verses 9-10a). Knowing the will of God is not enough; nor is understanding the will of God enough. Certainly, these are essential in our walk of faith, but they are not enough. It is only when we complete the circle, so to speak, by applying the truth of God’s word and God’s will to our lives that God’s power becomes available to us.
Keep in mind, Paul wrote this letter while imprisoned in Rome. In fact, Paul had never had the opportunity to go to the church in Colosse. Epaphras, whom Paul met during his three-year stay in Ephesus, had founded the church. But over time, we see that within this church a form of heresy had evolved, commonly called "Colossian Heresy." Some scholars identify this heresy with an early form of gnosticism, which was a belief system that emphasized the importance of "secret knowledge" in attaining salvation. It had become a popular teaching later in the first and second century church. But the central tenet of this secret knowledge was that all matter, including the body, was evil and that only the spirit had any real value. Thus, they denied the idea that God – who is holy, became flesh. They denied the whole idea of the incarnation – one of the central teachings and doctrines of the church! However, Paul totally denounces such a teaching with his words here in the first chapter of Colossians and instead, stressed the divinity of Christ, as well as the humanity of Christ. This dual nature of Christ – fully God and fully man is known as Kenosis. And certainly, the teaching of Kenosis is found and supported throughout Scripture, and one such place is in our Scripture Lesson this morning. Here, Paul reminds us that Jesus is the one who teaches us the truth about God. It is in the person of Jesus Christ that God becomes known to us; that God becomes real and personal to us; that God becomes intimate with us. In fact, Paul writes; "[Christ] is the image of the invisible God." You know, this word "image" is the Greek word eikon, meaning "an exact likeness" or "an exact representation" and yet, this word is still so limiting when it comes to the nature of Christ.
In fact, Paul felt obligated to further define the nature and character of Christ. And so, not only does he define Jesus as the "image of the invisible God," but also "the firstborn of all creation..." Paul uses the Greek word prototokos here to stress the preeminence of Christ. In fact, his words mirror those of John who wrote; "In the beginning was the Word," which is to say, Jesus – and the word that John uses here is, Logos, which is the say the very "idea" or "understanding of God." John goes on to write; "…and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." But John doesn’t stop there and neither does Paul. Paul would write; "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell [in bodily form]." And John would say; "And the Word became flesh and lived among us..." Both John and Paul remind us, the origin of Jesus didn’t begin in Bethlehem. On the contrary! Jesus is co-equal, co-eternal with God. What a profound thought! He is God in the flesh! God became one of us – in the person of Jesus Christ and reconciled us unto himself. In fact, Paul reminds us, that it is "through Jesus, [that] God can reconcile all things unto himself." The word "reconcile," means to bring together two things or two people who have been separated. This is what Jesus does for us! God brings us back into communion and fellowship with God’s self through Christ. It is Christ who bridges the gap that once separated us from the Holy. Christ tears down the very veil that once concealed the Holy of Holies. He brings us back into the family of God – the household of God. And not only does God do this, but as Paul reminds us in verse 25 God also gives us a responsibility!
In fact, Paul writes in verse 25; "I became a servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known…" The Greek word here for "commission" comes from the word oikonomia, meaning "an administrator" or "a trustee." You see, friends, Paul is saying; I am a steward, I am an administrator, I am a trustee in God’s household. God’s purpose was Paul’s purpose. God’s Word was Paul’s message. And Paul’s mission and responsibility, as is ours is to share the mystery of God’s love and grace to all people – that mystery which became known and revealed through Christ.
But sometimes we forget about that responsibility – that task! I heard a story of a parishioner who told his pastor one Sunday; "You know, pastor, I may not be making the progress as you hoped for, but I sure am well-established." Sadly, there are a many well-established Christians today. They’re not making any progress, they’re not fruitful and faithful in their calling as God’s trustees and stewards – they’re just established. Well it wasn’t too long after that parishioner told his pastor that, that the pastor happened to be driving down a rural road and he noticed the parishioner stuck in some mud off the side of the road. He had swerved to miss a deer and had gotten stuck. No matter what the man did, mud flew, and the car stayed put. The pastor slowed down just enough to roll down his window and yelled at the parishioner; "You may not be making the progress as you hoped but you sure are well-established."
Paul prays for these Christians that they "may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that [they] may lead lives worthy of the Lord" (verses 9-10a). As I said, knowing the will of God is not enough; nor is understanding the will of God enough. It’s only when we complete the circle by applying the word and will of God to our lives that we become the people who God is calling us to be.
I want to close with the story of the old simple farmer who was called upon one day by a sophisticated and crafty salesman who attempted to lure the farmer into the purchase of certain agricultural equipment. The salesman asked the farmer; "Don’t you want to know how to be a better farmer?" To which the farmer replied; "Heck, I already know how to be a better farmer. I just need the gumption to do what I know."
There are a lot of Christians who are like that farmer. They know what they are to do, but what they lack is the gumption to do it! We have come this morning not just to dedicate Elijah and Karter, but also our own lives to the God who has reconciled us and called us to be his faithful and fruitful people. May we have the gumption to live out this calling, Amen.

"Love With Dirt on It"

A sermon preached on The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 15, 2007 at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ) , by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on Luke 10:25-37.

As cleaver and as trendy as the title of my sermon is this morning, I must confess that it is borrowed. I was having lunch with a colleague of mine the other day and we were discussing the Gospel Lectionary Reading for today and he came up with this creative title: "Love with Dirt On It!" And, automatically, I thought, what a fitting title - "Love with dirt on it." As William Barclay reminds us; "Love always involves sacrifice," it involves "getting down and dirty." And certainly, we find an example of such a love in our Gospel Lesson this morning. The Good Samaritan, in Jesus’ parable wasn’t afraid of getting down and dirty. He wasn’t afraid of the sacrifice that was involved.
Perhaps some of your have read Richard Carlson’s book; Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. It’s a book that is geared to help keep the little things that we tend to make a big deal about, from taking over our lives. In fact, his book became a best seller and certainly we can understand why that is. Because we have a tendency, myself included, to make a big deal out of the little stuff. But Carlson offers another way. In fact, in his book he introduces one hundred ways to replace the old habits in your life and when reading these it becomes quiet clear that Carlson has incorporated the essential elements of what Jesus taught. For an example, Carlson teaches: "Fill your life with love." Jesus teaches: "This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Carlson teaches: "Resist the urge to criticize." Jesus teaches: "Why do you see the speck in your brother or sister’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (Luke 1:3). Carlson teaches: "Try to understand one another." Jesus’ whole life, ministry and teachings were about understanding others and relating to them. Carlson teaches: "Quiet the mind." Jesus often quieted the mind with prayer. And Carlson teaches: "Develop your compassion." And certainly, Jesus lived a life full of compassion.
In our Gospel Lesson this morning we are told that Jesus was teaching a crowd of people when a lawyer approached him with a question, that ultimately was a test. Now, keep in mind, this man was a Jewish religious lawyer - he was steep in the Mosaic Law, as well as the laws of the Pharisees. He knew Jesus’ reputation as a teacher and so he asked him what he had to do to receive eternal life. Instead, of answering the question, Jesus, as he so commonly does, turned the question around and asked him what the Old Testament law said about the subject. And, of course, the man answered by quoting from the Torah: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength, and all your might" and "love your neighbor as yourself" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
Jesus told the man that he was right on target, but the man had another agenda that day. He wanted to justify his own actions toward others, especially those whom he considered to be his "enemies," and so he asked Jesus just who is my neighbor. And, of course, Jesus answers his question with a parable!
Matthew Henry once said: "God’s mission for humanity is that we return God’s love and love those whom God has created."
We use the term "Good Samaritan" today to denote someone who does anything good for another others, and, in particular, to strangers. Yet, this understanding doesn’t go quite far enough in defining what Jesus meant by the term "Good Samaritan."
As Peter Gomes points out in his book; Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living, "It is not a relationship of equality, in fact the social rules are reversed, for although Jesus is vividly vague on the details of the robbed man, we may assume that he was a Jew, otherwise the role of the Samaritan in relationship to his sworn enemy is less compelling." Gomes goes on to write; "If we people this story with Arabs and Jews and called it ‘The Good Arab,’ or with Republicans and Democrats and called it ‘The Good Republican,’ we would have a sense of what was going on. In simple language, it is the power of the oppressed to show mercy - not justice, to their oppressors."
Now to fully understand the significance of Jesus’ parable you’ve got to know something about the Jewish-Samaritan relationship. According to the Samaritans they were and are Israelites, deriving primarily from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. They also believed that they, not the Jews, maintained the authentic site of worship - the temple on Mount Gerizim. Now according to Jewish tradition, the Samaritans were not descendants of the Israelites. Rather, they were either foreigners transplanted into Israel by the Assyrians, or, worse, they were the product of mixed marriages between Israelites and foreigners - or, in other words, they were pagans - Gentiles, whose lifestyles, practices and worship rituals and customs were pagan and unkosher, as well. This led to hatred among the Jews and Samaritans that was often expressed in real violence. As a result many Jews avoided Samaritan territories altogether, even if it meant going a great deal out of the way to avoid Samaritan contact. And so, when Jesus said that a Samaritan helped a distressed and dying Jew when his fellow Jews - religious leaders at that, passed him by, it was outrageous and preposterous. But this was the parable Jesus told!
You know, friends, Jesus tells us that the Samaritan had "mercy" on this dying man... The Hebrew word for "mercy" is hesed. Hesed, is a mercy or love that looks beyond a person’s age, race, sex, worth or what-have-you, to the fact that he or she is child of God, a reflection and creation of the Creator. Hesed - mercy entails looking through God’s lenses at another. The Samaritan in Jesus’ parable exemplified such mercy, hesed!
Oh, now the Religious Leaders of Jesus's time could have argued that the Priest and the Levite did no wrong! They could have justified their reasons for not stopping to help this dying man from a religious standpoint. The torah - the law prohibited them from having any contact with the dead or with blood - to do so meant that they would be unclean. And being unclean meant you had to go through the ritual cleansing and, not to mention, they wouldn’t have been able to carry on their priestly responsibilities. So, by ignoring and bypassing this dying, bloody man meant they would be able to do God’s work. Oh, how self-righteous and selfless they were! But you know, God isn’t interested in legality, or religious rituals and traditions; rather, God’s interested in hesed. God’s interested in heartfelt responses! God reminds us of this through the prophet Hosea who wrote; "For I desire mercy and not sacrifices; the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." God desires our true expressions of love and these expresses are to be lived out in our relationship with God and with others.
I want to close with a story that really summarizes Jesus’ teaching of the "Good Samaritan," as well as puts in perspective what it means to be a "Good Samaritan." Charles Swindoll in his book; The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart tells the true story that Tony Campolo originally told, of a Jewish boy who suffered under the Nazis in World War II. He was living in a small Polish village when he and all the other Jews of the vicinity were rounded up by Nazi S.S. troops and sentenced to death. This boy joined with his parents, the rest of his family and the neighbors in digging a shallow ditch for their graves, and then faced the firing squad. Sprayed with machine-gun fire, bodies fell into the ditch and the Nazis covered the crumpled bodies with dirt. But, ironically enough, none of the bullets hit this young boy. He was splattered with the blood of his parents and when they fell into the ditch, he pretended to be dead and fell on top of them. The grave was so shallow that the thin covering of dirt did not prevent air from getting through to him so that he could breathe. For several hours the boy laid paralyzed by fear and grief. Finally, when darkness fell, he knew that his only hope for survival was to find help. And so, he clawed his way out of the shallow grave. With blood and dirt caked to his little body, he made his way to the nearest house and begged for help. Recognizing him as one of the Jewish boys marked for death, he was turned away. This continued as he made his way to each house. House after house, he was rejected for fear of getting into trouble with the S.S. troops. Then, as he approached one house, he felt compelled to say something that was very strange for a Jewish boy to say. When the next family responded to his timid knocking in the still of the night, they heard him cry, "Don't you recognize me? I am the Jesus who you say you love." After a poignant pause, the woman who stood in the doorway swept him into her arms and kissed him. And from that day on, the members of that family loved and cared for that young boy as though he was one of their own.
Jesus once asked; "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothed you..." Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did unto me" (Matthew 25:37-40).
Perhaps the author of Hebrews said it best; "Let" philia, that is to say, "brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have unknowingly entertained angels" (Hebrews 13:1-2). What an awesome and profound thought! Who have you entertained lately? Perhaps it was an angel? Or better yet, maybe it was God? "When you did it unto the least of these, you did it unto me." Amen.

"Campaigning for Christ"

A sermon preached on The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, July 8, 2007 at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ) , by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on Luke 10:1-11 and 17-21.

Perhaps there is no role or position in society that is more criticized or scrutinized than the role of a politician. And, it is in that light that we have difficulty accepting the fact that Jesus and politicians have a lot in common. As I said, that may come as a surprise to those who regard politics as dirty business and politicians as a bunch of selfish liars. In fact, Robin Williams once said; "The word ‘politics’ comes from the Latin word poli meaning ‘many’ and the word ‘tics’ meaning ‘bloodsucking creatures.’" But, nonetheless, Jesus and politicians have a lot in common. If you think about it, politicians get elected by promising us something better! In fact, some of you may recall that President Reagan was elected and then re-elected by asking the public; "Are you better off now than four years ago?" The first time, the people answered, "no," and re-elected Reagan for the promise of something better. Four years later they responded; "yes" to the question and elected Reagan for another term in hopes for an even better four years.
Now, I know, it is hard to picture Jesus as a politician - especially with the tainted image that politicians and the government have, as well as the long list of scandals in the White House and on Capitol Hill. And certainly, Jesus shares no similarities with that type of behavior. A little girl once asked her mother whether all fairy tales began with; "Once upon a time..." "No," replied the mother. "Today most of them begin with ‘If I’m elected.’"
Probably one of my favorite campaign speeches of Jesus’ is the one he delivered at the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, where he was called upon to offer the reading and he stood up and read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and proclaimed;

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To let the oppressed go free,
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."

What a message! What a campaign speech! And, if that wasn’t good enough, after Jesus read that prophecy from Isaiah, he said; "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Now, if I was in the crowd that day, Jesus would have won me over with that speech. He would have gotten my vote! But, keep in mind, Jesus was in his hometown and the people had a little trouble accepting, what they believed, was a little too-good-to-be-true message from one of their own.
But, no doubt, Jesus had come to proclaim a kingdom of peace. He came to usher in a covenant and an age of grace. For 900 years, the Jewish people had been hoping and waiting anxiously for a restoration of the glorious kingdom of their fathers David and Solomon. For 500 years they had been longing for an end to foreign occupation and a return to prosperity and freedom in their land and among their people.
And in Jesus’ time the longings and expectations were at an all time high. For Jewish people, the hopes of a better life were centered and focused on the promise of a coming Messiah - a new King David, if you will. This messianic age was often spoken of by the prophets as a time when God would reign supreme over his people, and freedom and prosperity and the good life would be enjoyed. It would also be a time when righteousness and justice and peace would prevail. And then Jesus appears on the scene, announcing that the kingdom of God is at hand and that he is God’s agent to usher in this kingdom. Not only is Jesus like politicians in promising a new and better way, but he is also like them in his struggle to get the word out to all the people. No doubt, politicians have a difficult task with trying to get people on the bandwagon with their agenda and message. Keep in mind, Jesus lived in a time when there was no media - no newspaper, radio or television. And so, his campaigning would have been difficult. And so, you have to do some recruiting. I mean, one person can’t do it all alone; you need people to campaign for you. And so, we see that, that is what Jesus is did in our Gospel Lesson this morning - he campaigned and part of his campaign was to send out delegates. In fact, Jesus sent out seventy delegates. What is the significance of the number seventy? Some scholars claim it is because at that time there were only 70 known nations of the world; and so the seventy symbolized sending out the message to the entire world. We read earlier in the 9th chapter of the gospel of Luke that Jesus sent out twelve delegates. Now, we can only assume Jesus had a reason for sending out a particular number. And so, most scholars agree that the twelve that Jesus sent out first would have symbolized sending out the message to the twelve tribes - to Israel. But in our Gospel Lesson this morning, Jesus sent out seventy, symbolizing the message going to the entire world - to all people - both Jew and Gentile – to the New Israel – what would be the Church.
The instructions that Jesus gave these men were very much the same as he gave to those twelve earlier in the 9th chapter of Luke. First, he sent them out in pairs. He sent them out two-by-two. Bruce Larson writes; "It seems to me there is a synergy, [that is to say, a spiritual energy] released when two are involved in the same ministry" – you see, two symbolizes a witness. The seventy we are told were to take no luggage and to go without delay. Jesus says their mission will be a dangerous one. They will be lambs among wolves. He says again, as he said to the twelve, that they are not to bless the unwilling. In other words, Jesus was saying; "Don’t waste your time on people who yawn or get angry or want to argue with you." Jesus advises us to tell the exciting news to those who are eager to hear it. They were to live simply; they were to heal the sick, which is to say, bring reconciliation and peace, restoration and wholeness; and they were to proclaim the kingdom of God - a kingdom of love and grace. And such is our calling and responsibility today as Christ's disciples!
I love the parallelisms that occur and can be seen in both the Old and New Testaments. And, I especially love the typologies of Christ that our found in the Old Testament. One such typology is that of Moses. Jesus is a kind of New Moses. Jesus, in a sense, is to the New Covenant what Moses was to the Old Covenant. We could spend many hours doing a parallelism of Moses and Jesus. For instance, Moses leading the people through the waters of the Red Sea to the Promised Land, is symbolic of Christ leading us through the waters of baptism to the Promised Land of eternity. Moses, some 13 centuries before Christ, complained to God, "I am not able to carry all these people alone, the burden is too heavy for me" (Numbers 11:14). And so God asked Moses to gather seventy men whom he knew to be good leaders and to bring them to the tent of meeting, where God manifested his presence. And we read in chapter 11 of the Book of Numbers, that God said; "I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone" (Numbers 11:17). So God’s Spirit did come upon the seventy and Moses had people to whom he could delegate responsibility and leadership. Thirteen centuries later, Jesus used the same number – seventy. And these seventy men were his delegates who helped spread the news about the kingdom of God - a kingdom of peace and grace. Do you see the parallelism? Do you see the typology? Moses and the seventy elders were developing the Old Israel; Jesus and the seventy were developing the New Israel, what would become the church – the Body and Bride of Christ, to which Paul would affirm; "there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free; but all are one in Christ Jesus."
And God gives the same commission to us today. As he sent the seventy, so he sends us with the same authority and the same commission. When the seventy return, they are filled with joy. They couldn’t believe what happened to them. They said; "Even the demons are subjects to us through your name." They were delighted at the visible results of their mission and not only were they, but so was Jesus. In fact, in verse 21 we are told that Jesus "rejoiced" upon hearing the news. This is the only place where this particular word is used to describe Jesus’ emotion. He is beside himself with joy when he hears their report. Isn’t it mind-boggling to think that we have the power to make God rejoice by our faithful and fruitful ministry? But, the question is, are we making God rejoice? Is our ministry as individuals making God rejoice? Is our ministry as a whole here at Edgemont making God rejoice? I certainly hope so!
I want to close with a story that I came across this past week of an executive hirer, a "head-hunter," if you will, who goes out and hires corporation executives for other firms. He once said; "When I find an executive that I’m trying to hire for someone else, I like to disarm that person. I usually offer them a drink, take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, or whatever, until he or she is relaxed. And then, when I think I've got them relaxed, I lean over, look them square in the eye and say; "What's your purpose in life?" He went on to say, "You know, it’s amazing how top executives fall apart at that question." And then he said; "Once, I was interviewing this man, and I had him disarmed – he was relaxed, we were talking about football. And I leaned up and said, ‘Bob, what's your purpose in life?’ And he said, without blinking an eye, ‘To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.’" He said, "For the first time in my career I was speechless." What a purpose! Is that your purpose? Is that your goal in life? Well, you know friends, as followers of Jesus Christ – as his delegates, as his representatives that should be our purpose! Let’s make that our purpose! Let’s campaign for Christ and, more importantly, as Jesus reminds us, "[let us] rejoice that [our] names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20), and may our purpose be, "to take as many people with [us] as we can!"

"It Takes a Church!"

An article in the Advocate quotes Sharon Watkins, our General Minister and President, as saying; “How can we be a people of faith and not take care of our [children]?” That’s a good question. “Children need people to advocate for them. They do not choose their parents. They do not choose how or where to live. They are totally vulnerable and we must do all we can to protect them.”

Sometime back, Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote a book titled; It Takes A Village. She borrowed her titled from the African proverb which states; “It takes a village to raise a child...” Her book acknowledges the many challenges and struggles of raising children in America, and stresses the importance the community plays in the upbringing of healthy and secure children. The former First Lady draws on her own experiences as a child, mother, and lawyer, as well as those of concerned parents, teachers and advocates for children and she also listens to the important lessons that children can teach adults.

One of my earliest memories from Sunday school is a picture of Jesus blessing the little children. I am sure you all have seen a similar picture, in which Jesus is holding a child on his lap and other children are either seated or standing around him. Looking at this picture, as a young child, visually taught me that Jesus loves all children. I began to realize then, and especially as I grew into a youth, that Christianity wasn’t something solely for adults, but that I had a place and a voice in the Church.

Wayne Oates once said; “We need to give our children two things. The first is roots, and the second is wings. We need to give them a sense of belonging...” Let us be a faithful church that nurtures, nourished and strengthens our children. Let us be a church that allows our children and youth to express themselves and live out their faith openly and freely.

A wonderful sense of joy and excitement comes from the birth of a new baby! In fact, as a father, I would have to say nothing is more awe-inspiring than the miracle of birth. However, we witness this miracle every day - both in nature and in people. Some of these births are quiet and serene, such as the births that takes place in the natural setting; others are more dramatic and noticeable, such as the birth of a child. The metaphor of birth is also a popular one, especially when it comes to baptism or conversion. We have heard of people talk about being “born again.” Certainly, baptism is a fitting example of “being born again” or “born anew.”

As I prepared for the birth of my second child, I couldn’t help but ponder the miracle of birth and the gift of children to families and to the church. Edgemont has been blessed with many children. It is amazing to see, on some Sundays during our Children’s Sermon, nearly two pews are filled with children who come forward. It is even more exciting to see and listen to their activity and involvement in worship.

In the beautiful poem written by Daniel B. Merrick titled; Filled with the Joy and Gladness, we find both an expression of joy and the realization of the responsibilities of parenthood. This poem was written for the dedication of his grandchild, Emily Williams. It is a prayer that through all the “fears and trembling” of the unknown future the child will grow up proclaiming God’s love and faith. It reads:

“Filled with the joy and gladness of life’s wonder,

We stand before you, new life in our hands,

Trembling with fear before the unknown future,

Earnest but awed before life’s stern demands.

Filled with wonder, standing in your presence,

This newborn child before your life we lay.

You wait upon the small and bear the tender,

You who command the planets on their way.

By all your work and love’s divine intention

We have been born to new life in your name.

Your living work surrounds this celebration.

Lord, let this child your love and faith proclaim.”

We have the wonderful privilege and tradition of dedicating our children to God and the Church. A tradition that began with Hannah’s dedication of her son, Eli; to Mary and Joseph’s dedication of Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem. Amber and I plan to have our son, Elijah Eros Yopp dedicated on Sunday, July the 22nd. But let us not forget the importance of dedicating ourselves to the children and youth of Edgemont. May we help to give them strong roots and wings.

In the Book of Common Prayer is found the beautiful prayer, which reads; “Watch over thy children, O Lord, as their days increase; bless and guide them. Strengthen them when they stand; comfort them when they are discouraged or sorrowful; raise them up if they fall; and in their hearts may thy peace which surpasses all understanding abide all the days of their lives.” Indeed it does, “takes a [church] to raise [our] children.”

"The Purpose of Freedom"

A sermon preached on The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, July 1, 2007 at our Patriotic Worship Celebration at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ) , by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on Galatians 5:1, 13-16.

In just a few day we will be celebrating the Fourth of July, and this year our country will be turning 231 years old. That’s a long time for a nation to remain free, but when we consider our history in regards to the history of the world - America is still very young, especially in comparison to countries such as China and Japan, Rome and Greece, Egypt and the counties of the Middle East.
In fact, I came across an illustration this past week which puts our brief history into perspective. When Thomas Jefferson died, Abraham Lincoln was a young man of 17 years old. When Lincoln was assassinated, Woodrow Wilson was already 8 years old. And by the time Wilson died Ronald Reagan was 12 years old. With the lives of these four men you can go all the way back to the beginning of our country - 231 years ago. Indeed, we are young; and yet, we stand tall among the nations of the world because of the principles on which we were established. And, certainly, these principles - our freedom is something we need to celebrate!
We cannot argue that with freedom comes great responsibility. You see, freedom doesn’t mean "we are free to do what we want when we want." We are not free to live excessive lives, nor are we set at liberty to pursue selfish ends. As Paul so well puts it in our Scripture Lesson this morning: "You, my sisters and brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature." And so, as we prepare to celebrate our national freedom and independence, let us celebrate what freedom truly means and focus on what freedom demands from us.
What is freedom? You know, we often take freedom for granted. But each year around this time we find ourselves focusing a great deal on freedom, and what it means to us as Americans. Now, we all know how our nation defines freedom. In fact, all we have to do is look at several historical documents which define and affirm our national freedom. For an example, the Declaration of Independence affirms:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

The Constitution of the United States of America, defines freedom in this way:

"We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves..."

And, of course, we can’t forget about the words to the Pledge of Allegiance, which reads:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

These are all calls to freedom. These words represent the ideals that we believe in and want our nation and government to be built upon. But in our Scripture Lesson this morning, we see that the Apostle Paul gives us a greater call to freedom.
Keep in mind, Paul was addressing Christians who wanted to enslave the new Gentile Christians to Jewish laws. In fact, many Jews claimed that in order for a Gentile to become a Christian, they must first, convert to Judaism and then convert to Christianity. But here, Paul declares independence from the law - from the Old Covenant! Now, Paul is not saying that Christians are no longer called to keep God’s law; rather, he is saying that we have been set free from the tyranny of trying to make ourselves righteous through the law. Paul is not saying that we are not to keep the law - the law is vital, the law is essential, the law is God’s standard for peace and happiness. But the law will not make us righteous - nor will the law save us! For Paul very plainly reminds us; "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Now, obviously, the problem Paul faced is that some deliberately misinterpreted his words - they misinterpreted his idea of freedom from the law as being a license to sin. In fact, Paul addressed this problem in several of his epistles and he makes it very clear here in our Scripture Lesson that it is not a freedom to sin but freedom from sin. Through Christ we are made righteous and are free to act righteously. So we should not use our freedom as an opportunity to act unrighteously - that’s not freedom.
One commentator has written; "Christians can be tempted to view freedom in Christ as a selfish opportunity for the flesh," in other words, sometimes we are tempted to view this freedom that we have in Christ as an opportunity to do whatever we want. But that’s not freedom! If we view freedom in Christ in that way then we are only becoming slaves to ourselves - slaves to the flesh, as Paul reminds us. And so Paul reminds us that, true Christian freedom is the freedom to serve God wholeheartedly and faithfully and to serve one another in love and grace.
Look at verse 1 again, Paul writes; "Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of slavery." I find it interesting that our freedom as Christians, according to Paul, makes us slaves to Christ. And he sums up freedom by using such terms as "servant," and "slave." Now typically, when we think about freedom, nowhere does the word servant or slave come to play. They are the last words on our minds when we think about freedom. Here, Paul is saying that the Christian has abandoned their old allegiance to serve self and now pledges their allegiance to serve Christ and his kingdom. As Christians we can declare our independence from sin and now declare our dependence upon Christ. We have cast off the chains of selfishness and are now free to serve Christ and others as Christ served us.
Throughout America’s history most of our conflicts have been about freedom. The wars we have fought have always been, at least in the popular mind, about setting people free. And it is no different when it comes to our spiritual freedom, God through Christ fought the greatest battle - the battle we have over sin, by nailing it on the cross and the battle we have over death, by destroying it through rising from the dead. While all the "just" wars in history have ultimately sought to bring freedom and to liberate humanity, the greatest liberation of all is the war fought on Calvary some 2,000 years ago. But the question remains, what are we going to do with this freedom? The only way to use this freedom, Paul tells us, is by self-investing in the lives of others for Christ’s sake, and by ongoingly dying to those things to which Christ died for, and by allowing the Spirit to continually produce fruit in us, and thus share that fruit with others and with God’s kingdom.
I find it ironic that for many years the license plates of New Hampshire bore the slogan, made famous by the Revolutionary War general, John Stark; "live free or die." Now the irony is, those great words were printed onto the license plates by inmates in the New Hampshire state prison. They could not leave their prison - they were in now way free. But many of us stay in our prisons of doubts and fears, sin and idleness - many of us imprison ourselves and we have the power to leave. We want to live free, but we do not want to do what the gospel says we need to do in order to truly be free.
In verse 13 Paul tells us what not to do with freedom, he says; "Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh." Freedom requires discipline. This word "opportunity," which Paul uses here in verse 13 is the Greek word aphormi, which can also be translated as "opening." It literally means "a place for jumping off." Paul must have loved this word because he used it all through his epistles. Originally, the word, aphormi, was used to designate the point from which one would launch an attach. It was often used in military language to mean a base of operation. Paul knew that if freedom was interpreted merely as the removal of restraint, then sin would seize the opportunity and use the weakness of human nature to launch an attach against the spirit. That’s why earlier, Paul said; "STAND FIRM!" In other places Paul would say, "Arm yourself, protect yourself, with the full armor of God!" We must stand firm, we must arm ourselves, we must protect ourselves from the attacks of the Enemy, and instead perform a counterattack. You see, Paul knew that we are in a spiritual warfare and that we must always be on the guard and ready to protect ourselves!
In the hymn, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee, written by Samuel Smith in 1832, we find that the first stanza ends with the words: "From every mountainside, Let Freedom Ring!" "Let freedom ring." Thank God, freedom rings in this country! But, more importantly, thank God that freedom rings in spiritual lives. We can affirm; "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God, I’m free at last!" - that’s our affirmation. Now, the only question remains, what are we going to do with our freedom?