Freedom in Christ: A sermon for Proper 8
As we are approaching the 4th of July holiday, freedom and independence are on our minds. After all, the official name of the forthcoming holiday is Independence Day. As a nation, we are celebrating the moment in history 247 years ago when we officially declared our independence from England.
Of course, history – as well as the present - tells us that there is always a healthy tension between the joy of freedom and the responsibility that comes with it. In the case of the United States, freedom is something that the founders of this country fought for and earned at great cost. Indeed, it is a history of which we can be proud and thankful.
In his letter to the Church in Rome, the Apostle Paul talks a good bit about freedom, but it is a different sort of freedom from that which we celebrate on Independence Day. The freedom of which Paul speaks – freedom in Christ – isn’t something that we fought for or earned at great cost or sacrifice. But rather, our “eternal life in Jesus Christ” was and is a “free gift of God.” We didn’t deserve it, earn it, or fight for it. The sacrifice was made by Christ on our behalf. As such, through our baptisms, we have been set free from the Powers of sin, death, and evil. Later in this same letter, Paul will go on to say that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Indeed, in Christ, we have been set free.
If that is the case – if humankind has been set free from the Power of Sin through Christ, then then why does Paul exhort the Roman Christians to not let “sin exercise dominion in [their] mortal bodies” and to “no longer present [their] members to sin as instruments of wickedness?” What happened to their freedom in Christ? Why were they still slaves to sin and not to righteousness?
Paul is reminding the Christians in Rome – and us – of what Jesus said about allegiance to God- “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” In this particular case in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was talking about God and money. But the same can be said for sin and righteousness. Paul says “that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness.” But he then offers a reminder of the promise that in the great Pascal Mystery of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, we “have been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”
So, what this boils down to is that as Christians we have been set free from our oppressor. We have been emancipated from the Power of Sin and granted our independence. But in order to enjoy the fruits of our freedom in Christ, we cannot still serve our old king or master. History tells us that newfound freedom can be a difficult adjustment to make. Statistics tell us that when people who have been incarcerated for a long time are released from prison, they a struggle to adjust to their new lives of freedom. That is why most end up back in prison. Soldiers who have been in combat – and especially those who were prisoners of war – struggle to readjust to life as a civilian. It is an incredibly difficult transition to make – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
On a more personal level, when I went from the rigid structure of a no-nonsense, all-boys boarding school to college, where I was on my own to decide if and when I’d go to class or study, I struggled mightily with that newfound freedom. And I oftentimes made a poor choice. Freedom is difficult. That is why we so easily fall back into giving up our independence and choosing to serve our old master.
But Paul, knowing good and well the reality of human nature, offers a powerful reminder to the Christians in Rome of their newfound freedom. He wants to remind them of to Whom their allegiance has been pledged through their baptisms in Christ: “For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.”
So, Paul is telling them (and us) that as baptized Christians, we indeed are still slaves. We still serve a crown and a master. For most people, that might not sound like good news. We love our freedom. We love being our own master. No of us want to be considered “slaves” to anything or anyone – even “slaves to righteousness.”
But we must remember that this Master Whom we serve is a different sort of Master. This Master invites us to share in the abundance of his very own life. Everything he has, he gives to us. And through our baptisms, we were regenerated and made new beings in this Master, who is Christ Jesus. Our old enslaved selves have died, and our new selves have risen with Christ out of the waters of baptism. We have been grafted into Christ our Master’s very own body, over which he is the head. We aren’t just made members of a local church. We have been made members of Christ. As such, we have been made righteous.
So, Paul’s appeal for us to become slaves to righteousness is really an appeal to become what we already are; an appeal to embrace and embody our own true identity. The master we serve isn’t an external, outside force imposing his will upon us. The Master we serve – Christ - is the head of our very own body. And this Master isn’t a power-hungry tyrant. This Master is redefined power, and is one
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Paul is telling us that to serve this Master is to be set free from the outside forces that try to lay claim on our lives. But we don’t have to search for this Master. This Master is the one in whom “we live, and move, and have our being.” Our call as Christians is to become who we already are. And that is true freedom. Thanks be to God.