Freedom

Trinity Sunday, May 26, 2024
Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill
The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling
 

“In September of 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, singer and songwriter Van Morrison released a song entitled Born to be Free, when the entire Western world (and much of the globe as a whole) was locked down with various degrees of quarantine and movement restrictions.” You remember those times, don’t you? 

According to SongFacts, “there were varied reactions to Morrison’s song and his reason for writing the lyrics. Supporters of the lockdown measures said the aim was simply to protect people from spreading the COVID virus. They just wanted to save lives. Detractors said they were affronts to personal liberty and freedom. Morrison’s main focus was on the concept of freedom and the ways in which he believed the government was restricting our human rights.” 

Today, these issues and questions remain, ever more present in the news. Furthermore, freedom is often on our minds on these Memorial Day weekends when we remember those who have died serving our country in the military. Flags of all colors, stripes, and stars have been planted, unfurled, and even burned in the name of freedom or in protest. Flags have become controversial, triggering both positive and negative reactions.

Freedom is a basic human right and a God given gift. And yet, without some form of boundaries and restrictions, it can be harmful. So the idea of freedom raises questions about who and what can control our actions? And under what circumstances should our freedom have some appropriate restrictions?

In a sermon written by Robert Saler, associate professor of religion and culture at Christian Theological  Seminary in Indianapolis (Xian Century, May 2024, p29) he talks about the definition of freedom as being both negative and positive. In other words, are we born to be free FROM certain people, institutions, and policies? Or are we born to be free FOR something?

You remember the book of Genesis, and how God created everything out of nothing.The sun, the moon, and the stars.The heavens and the earth. How human beings like Adam and Eve were created in the image of God and called to care for all creatures great and small. “Well, well the birds in the trees know something we can't see. 'Cos they know, we were born, born to be free,” sang Van Morrison.

According to our creation story, God had placed a restriction on Adam and Eve in that garden. You’re free to enjoy life everywhere; just don’t touch that tree of good and evil. And yet despite God’s warning and restriction for their protection, Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They ate the apple. They touched the tree. But remember, they said to God, you gave us free will. And then, suddenly afraid, knowing that they were naked and vulnerable, they hid from God.

Like Adam and Eve, Nicodemus was hiding from God, which is why he appears to Jesus at night. Apparently, as a leader among the Jews, he was afraid to be seen publicly with Jesus, but he’s interested in what Jesus has to say and what Jesus has been doing. When Jesus talks to him about being born from above, Nicodemus takes Jesus’ words literally. He doesn’t understand that Jesus is talking to him on a very different level, on a higher plane if you will.

We can interpret scripture on many different levels. Called proof-texting, portions of scripture are selected to buttress certain perspectives and arguments. For instance, we can take words literally. How can you be born again from your old mother’s womb? Nicodemus wanted to know. Metaphorically, we can talk about being reborn like when caterpillars become butterflies, or seeds become oak trees. Morally, we may argue that some things are just plain wrong because, remember, scripture says that women should be silent in church. That should go well for our new bishop-elect! And spiritually, we are reborn from above by God’s free Holy Spirit.

“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit,” Jesus told Nicodemus. However, Nicodemus is stuck in a legalistic and a literal way of thinking. He doesn’t understand that God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn it, but so that the world might be saved through him. Through the free Spirit of God, we are reborn, recreated, renewed, reconciled, and resurrected to new life.

God has given us our freedom for a purpose. We are free to be “led by the Spirit of God as children of God. For we did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but we have received a spirit of adoption.” We are encouraged to offer this freedom to others, for the good of ourselves and for the good of all God’s creation.

  Through the Spirit of God our transformation becomes a lifelong process as it was with Nicodemus. At first, Nicodemus was in the dark, hiding and fearful. Later, Nicodemus comes out of the proverbial closet in order to challenge his religious leaders. Publicly, he defends Jesus at his trial and asks that Jesus be given a fair hearing. And then, after the crucifixion of Jesus, Nicodemus joins Joseph of Arimathea to provide Jesus with a proper burial. He used his freedom and his liberation from fear for good purposes.

We are all aware of various voices that have been clamoring around us recently, demanding our attention, and soliciting our support. In the name of free will and human rights, people have engaged in violent and nonviolent protests; we have heard words of hate and seen acts of love. Restrictions and restraints have been necessary for personal and public safety and for our protection. And yet questions arise once again. We have free wills, and yet for what purpose?

Under attack and persecution from hostile countries, the prophet Isaiah told the people in Jerusalem that if they did not stand firm in their faith, they would not stand at all. He knew that he was a “man of unclean lips, who lived among people of unclean lips.” But after having a vision of God and receiving forgiveness from above, he offered to be sent by God to proclaim the good news of their salvation. 

Isaiah wrote about a messiah who would liberate them once again from oppressive foreign countries. Rather than listening to the screeds of his culture, and the voices of condemnation that surrounded him, he offered a message of hope. Isaiah trusted in the providence of God. Peace will come. A Savior will be born. Our sins will be forgiven and our guilt will be no more.

Van Morrison’s lyrics in Born to be Free begin with the image of birds. Often metaphorically described as a Dove, the Holy Spirit of God is not literally a bird with wings and feathers, although images are helpful in our understanding of spiritual matters. I remember an article in the Episcopal Life long ago about a clergyperson who wanted to make his sermon on the Holy Spirit very dramatic and more visual.

“No doves being available, the preacher located a pigeon and then instructed the sexton to stand on a ladder in the choir loft and be ready to release the pigeon over the congregation when he called out, ‘Come, Holy Spirit!’”

“All went well until he came to the cue words. Three times the preacher repeated them: ‘Come, Holy Spirit!’ (pause) ‘Come, Holy Spirit!’ (pause) ‘Come, Holy Spirit!’ (No pigeon appeared) Nothing happened. Then a voice came from the choir loft: ‘The cat ate the Holy Spirit. Do you want me to throw down the cat?”

Like some flags, images can help us with spiritual matters. The pigeon was supposed to fly freely over the congregation. Van Morrison sings about birds, using nature as a metaphor for the innate longing for freedom that exists within all of us. Isaiah gives us a visual image of Heaven. And Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit being free like the wind, to blow where God chooses. Through God’s Spirit we are freed from fear. We are freed for love.

Do not worry, Jesus told his followers. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 

We are born to be free and reborn from above through the love of God, the sacrifice of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.” Come, Holy Spirit and kindle in us the fire of your love and then set us free for a good purpose.

Isaiah 6:1-8 Romans 8:12-17 John 3:1-17

God or Basketball?

 Easter, May 5, 2024        The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling        Church of the Redeemer

“God or basketball? Which has a greater hold on my heart?” This was the title of an article written by Jonathan Tran, who teaches theological ethics at Baylor University, and it caught my eye. I was intrigued. Here was someone who might understand my love of basketball in general and the Celtics team in particular. Besides, your rector had commented recently to someone in line, as we were processing into the sanctuary, that he thought I loved basketball more than church. I beg to differ. I love God more than basketball. But church? That’s a jump ball!

            Paul and I are season ticket holders for the Celtics basketball team, and along with a gazillion other fans, we’re hoping that they will hang banner 18 in TD Garden this year. It’s the playoff season right now and the intensity of the competition has increased immeasurably. So too has my anxiety. Understandably one might honestly question my spiritual allegiance at this time. Do I love basketball more than church? Which has a greater hold on my heart? 

Mr. Tran asks some more questions. “Which has cost him more, following Jesus or playing basketball?” and “Which one has produced more friendships?” Now given the cost of our season tickets and the amount of money we’ve given to churches over our lifetime, the church wins that point. If you follow the money trail, the church has deeper pockets. Like Mr. Tran, I can say that “following Jesus has cost me a few things, but while I talk a big game about the cost of discipleship, I live a pretty cushy life.” 

And given the number of friendships we’ve had in these various churches over the decades, once again the church wins the game hands down. But basketball is just a game, right? And following Jesus is not! So let’s get real. Jesus was not a hooper; he was a rabbi who taught people about the love of God. In fact basketball had not even been invented when Jesus was alive. And Jesus was talking about laying down one’s life for one’s friends. It’s not quite the same thing as when basketball players talk about sacrificing their bodies for the team. 

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you,” Jesus told his disciples. Love is not easy. It’s complicated. And we toss around that word as if it’s a simple thing to understand and do. Furthermore, “the ambiguity of the word “love” is corroborated by the well-known fact that it translates several different Greek words: storge, philia, eros, and agape.” (Feasting in the Word, David C. Cunningham, p498) 

Simply translated, we understand storge to be the love of family and philia as love that is shared between friends, or people who share common interests. Eros love is akin to sexual desire and agape love is known as God’s love for us. While the word eros does not appear in the New Testament, the other three Greek words do, and agape love is the most common, appearing more than 100 times in the New Testament. 

Agape love or God’s love is different from the other kinds of love; for it is perfect and pure. It is unmerited, undeserved, and often unexpected. Agape love is love without an angle. It’s love that doesn’t ask for a reward. It doesn’t want to hang banner 18 in Heaven, claim a trophy for its success, or flex its muscles after a miracle. It seeks nothing for itself and expects nothing in return. It is constructive and creative. Agape love is Godly love. It loves like Jesus.

     Agape love is part of the character of God and it is given to us through God’s grace. “Such love is primarily interested in the good of the other person, rather than one’s own. It does not attempt to possess or dominate the other,” wrote David S. Cunningham. (Feasting in the Word, David C. Cunningham, p498)  God’s love, unlike ours, is limitless; it is extended to everyone without prejudice. It is ours to receive or reject. It is ours to share.

     Presumably God didn’t need to create us; and yet because God is love and love is active, generative, and generous, that’s what God did.  As God’s beloved children, we are all members of a family, and siblings in Christ. That love wasn’t just a distant act of creation; however, it was also an intimate act of redemption. “God so loved the world that God gave God’s only-begotten Son so that in the end, all who believe in Him shall have eternal life.” (John 3:14)  God loves us so much that God became like one of us, and lived and died as one of us, even laying down his own life for his friends.

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love,” Jesus said to his disciples at his last supper. And now I am giving you a new commandment, “that you love one another as I have loved you.” Imitate me. Listen to me. Act like me, Jesus said. 

“For Christians, the true archetype of love is found within the inner life of God, and this inner life of God gives us a sense of the proper pattern for Christian love. It is a disciplined habit of care and concern that, like all the virtues, can be perfected only over a lifetime” wrote David Cunningham.So Jesus encouraged his disciples to love others as He had loved them, showing them the pattern to follow. 

Then he added, I will no longer call you servants but friends. And remember the context. Jesus had just fallen to his knees, having grabbed the towel around his waist, and washed his disciples feet. This is what slaves or servants of a household were expected to do. How is it, then, that their rabbi was doing such a menial task, demanded Peter of Jesus? 

According to Thomas Troeger, the word servant is often translated as the word “slave” and yet it wasn’t always a denigrating word at that time. During these early first centuries, it wasn’t necessarily a bad position to have within a household, especially if the master was kind and good. “In ancient times, to be called a slave could even be a title of respect.” Even so, a “slave” was not on the same level as a friend because the slave’s status obligated him to support a master through difficult times, but a friend would do it freely.” (Feasting, p499) 

True friendship is only possible among equals. So Jesus is in effect leveling the playing field with his disciples before his death. You are free, but not obligated, to love me or others through good times and bad. You are free to love and serve God in simple and sacrificial ways. And yet, beware, for sharing your love may also cause you to suffer, and it may even cost you your life. First responders, military personnel, the police, and health care providers are cases in point. 

“I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father,” Jesus told them. Friends share not only their love but also their knowledge and experiences. According to Aristotle, we have different kinds of friends for various reasons.  “Some people are our friends because they are useful to us; they allow us to make a business connection or get into a particular social group. Other friendships are pleasurable; we cultivate these because we enjoy them. But the third kind of friendship - the best kind - is for the sake of the friendship itself.” (Feasting, p500)

 The Rev. Katharine Willis Pershey, co pastor of First Congregational Church in Appleton, Wisconsin, asked Artificial Intelligence to write a pastoral letter about friendship. “The creepy quotient was off the charts; the friendless bot waxed prosaically about the significance of spiritual friendship. The bot can’t abide in the love of Jesus, who, according to 1st John, came by water and blood. The bot can’t lay down its life - it doesn’t have one. The bot is not human; no water, no blood.” 

“Yet the bot is, according to some enthusiasts, our future…..Gross. There is nothing more dissimilar to artificial intelligence than a congregation. A company of providential friends, abiding in the love of Jesus together.” (Xian Century, May 2024)

                 So back to those two initial questions. “God or basketball? Which has a greater hold on my heart?” Now it’s a jump ball with all three: God, church, and basketball because “most attempts to offer stark, mutually exclusive definitions of love have failed. (Feasting, p498)  Evidence of God’s love therefore might be found in everything and in everyone. Even in basketball.

 We love because God loves us first, and Jesus shows us how.  Abide in that love! And be active in yours! Game over.

1 John 5:1-6                                     John 15:9-17