1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 

3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 

4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 

5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 

8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 

9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 

10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 

11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 

12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 

14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 

17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 

20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 

21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

The 4th of July is our Day of Independence. It is the day where we released from the shackles of control of Britain over the United States, and became free. With this freedom comes rules; rules that shaped the foundation of who we are as a nation and our very nature. The nature of our freedom is based on basic principles like the Freedom of Religion, the Freedom of the Press, the Freedom of Speech, and the Freedom to Bear Arms—for the protection of those communities and freedoms. Those are the rights we celebrate, and as free people, we have the freedom and the holiday to celebrate those rights…along side eating delicious food and beverages of course!

The rights that are enshrined in our Constitution are what we celebrate on the Fourth of July. We also have religious freedoms that we can celebrate. The freedom that comes as you walk as a disciple of Jesus is a very different thing.

See, Jesus gives us the Fruits of the Spirit as a means to follow—similar to our Constitution. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Generosity, and Self-Control are all a part of our creed. 

Paul writes to the Church of the Galatians about the importance of these rules. See, these rules are what allow us to be in relationship with each other as disciples of Christ. Paul speaks on the importance of being faithful beyond all imagination; to be faithful in spite of the law. He says to be kind as that is how we live our lives in freedom. That's what Jesus has done. Jesus has set us free by dying on the cross, raising up again, forgiving our sins, and changing our lives. Jesus has came to give us the freedom to walk in love and peace and joy and gentleness and kindness and faithfulness and self-control.

We live with the gifts and the fruits of the Spirit through the love of Christ. So we have nothing that can hurt us; right? 

Unfortunately, even though we have the love of Christ through the fruits of the spirit, we can still be tricked by sin. The sins of this world enslave us into lives we had before Christ. We fall into patterns that stray away from our morals: drunkenness, bickering; and we forget what it means to be united. Those things put us in bondage to sin that we cannot free ourselves from. Those things even create problems for the people that we love.

We find that if we continue to fall into the shortcomings caused by sin, and we continue to live this way, the kingdom of God is not open for us. These are hard words to hear from Paul. To hear that the kingdom of God can be denied to those who fall short is scary to think about. 

As we celebrate this fourth of July weekend, we celebrate that we are a free people. So, how might we celebrate what it means to be free as Christians?

When is the last time you stood up and said: "Whoa, I've fallen for peace. Whoa, I'm so excited to feel such joy from Christ.” “I am so excited to be patient, to be gentle, to show love and peace.” Those are things that should really get us excited and riled up and that we should celebrate because that's what it means to live as God's free people.

Against these things, there is no law. There's no way to get in trouble when you're showing the love of God. So, this holiday, let us emphasize that true freedom comes from living by the Spirit and embracing qualities such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and self-control. May we feel the love of Christ, hear the message that comes from Paul, and be grateful as we walk in a world that is free for us, both in life and in Spirit. 

Amen 

Yesterday, I was driving in downtown near the Target field, with its statue of Kirby Puckett, when I saw something that caused me to giggle. Not because it was funny, but because it radiated such joy—enough so that a bit of it made its way to me. I smiled all the way home; my mood was lifted and changed.

I’d driven by this same way many times in the past few months, going to and from numerous dentist appointments to build crowns, refill broken cavities, and fit a night-guard to wear at night so I didn’t grind my teeth away from stress that was now causing TMJ related jaw locking. Because of these visits, I was never in a particularly good mood either day, either direction. 

Driving down to the dentist, I was always apprehensive: the worry about the noise, the smell, the vibrations, the pain. The thoughts of keeping my jaw (now with TMJ) open for hours: will I be able to shut my mouth afterwards? Some normal fears, and some irrational ones. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to pray or invite God to hold those fears, because, well, it was just the dentist…right? Then, on my way home, I was numb—my lips drooling and puffy, and my tooth and jaw, sore. Each time, I was just focused on getting out of the city and back home (finagling the latest road detours and one-ways)—trying not to get in the way of oncoming trains. I’d lived downtown before, and took dance and writing classes there, so I knew my way around. But the dentist chair changes everything!

Back to what made me smile after my latest tooth procedure…a man on a bike. 

At a red light that was way too long (with many signs warning everyone to shift lanes quickly before the next on ramp), a man on a bike with bright yellow tennis balls at the ends of his handle bars, pedaled past me. At first I was fixated at the neon balls, thinking they were a clever idea, and why they might be there. Perhaps, it was to hold onto if his hands got slippery, maybe it was to protect things from getting scratched if he biked to closely. Yes, it was a long light and I watched him navigate the orange cones with ease, cross over the curb, and head on his way into the city. And I’m glad I did. Because as he pedaled away, on the safety of the sidewalk, the man suddenly lifted both hands up and straightened his arms forward over the handle bars. 

For a second I was worried he might topple, but instead he started dancing. His head bopped a bit and his arms did something like a cross between “the wave” and “the robot,” pumping the air like a dance move from a 1960’s movie. Maybe it was a bit silly, but remember that’s not why I giggled and smiled all the way home. I am a dancer and have danced in many an unusual public place—my daughter and I grooved the other day in front of the Jamba Juice counter. An impromptu leg-jiggling dance, with no music—and staring costumers who started smiling once they realized we were just having a random moment of joy while awaiting our smoothies.

And this is what I experienced, yesterday (way more catchy than a yawn): the witnessing of a random moment of joy in someone’s life. Joy radiated from the man on the bike who was arm-dancing away, enjoying his ride (and his amazing balance) without a care to who saw him. It was as if the Holy Spirit was moving in him—that type of pure joy. And lucky for me, this joy crossed the street and jumped into my car and tickled my funny bone. It elevated my grumpy mood and I carried it home with me. 

How many moments of random joy can you witness in your day? Joy that is like a gift from God to surprise you out of the monotony and ickiness of life’s stress. Can you find them? Can you be open to receive them when God sends them your way? Will you let them make you giggle, smile, and change your mood? Better yet, will you allow yourself to be a reflection to others of God’s joyful love in an impromptu moment of letting go—maybe a silly dance, in the mall…just because? Ask God to help you get out of your fears and worries, get past yourself, so that you, too, may radiate joy.

Amen

Gethsemane Lutheran Church

4656 Colfax Avenue North

Minneapolis, MN 55412

612-521-3575