Abide – Galatians 6
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.
Well, welcome everyone to Abide. It's our last Abide session of this semester and I'm so glad to be with you. A few minutes to pull away, to close the door and to remember who we are. I've recently been thinking of a song in my head. “Down to the River to Pray.” It's an old African-American spiritual of the 1800s and I just love the phrases. “As I went down to the river to pray, studying about the good old way, and who shall wear the robe and crown. Good Lord. Show me the way. Oh, brothers, let's go down. Let's go down. Let's go down. Oh, brothers, let's go down. Down to the river to pray.”
And you know, as we come into this prayer time. I think about us going down to the river to pray when I think about this river, I think of a space that will nourish us, a space that will purify us, a space where we all come down. You know different forms of the song I hear. Brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers come down, sinners, mourners. What about all who are weary or who are procrastinating in the semester? It, it seems as though in this spiritual that all are welcome, and it really reminds me of Jesus of Galatians, of freedom to all come. So let's all come down. Come down, down low, humbly in ourselves to the river to pray where Jesus will be there. Where Jesus is here. And maybe put in the word that you need for today. Oh, faithful come on down. Oh sister or friend. Oh, I just can't get it together, come on down. Oh I'm so tired, come on down. Come to the river to pray. For all are welcome.
And as we gather at this river. It's communal, you know, we're all here together. And yet I sense it's very private between myself and Jesus, my Saviour, who welcomes me. So it's this beautiful interplay of being intimate with Jesus and yet together as one. Let's take some deep breaths in together to be present in this moment with Jesus. Opening ourselves to studying about that good old way, studying about what that good news, what that pure gospel is about again, refreshing our souls.
So let's take a deep breath in. And out. Let us just release any burdens that are weighing us down today. Breathing in. Breathing out, releasing any burdens. And last one. Breathing in. Breathing out. Settling into this present moment. This is a very good moment.
And as we come down to this river to pray, just as we are. As we see and hear the motion, the activity, of the water. We can start to bubble up within us our gratitude. Our gratitude for God, for life. For another day. For his welcome. And so our gratitude practice today, we're going to look over this semester because we're nearing the end, folks, of this semester, and that's quite an accomplishment. We have a few days and weeks to go, but God is Emmanuel, with us. And he's also disguised in our personal life. He's disguised and it's often hard to see him. And that's why we have this practice where we can spend some time to look a little closer, to slow things down.
And I'm wondering if you can think about these past few months this semester. And I want you to think about a relationship that has really blessed your life. Maybe it's a new friend. Maybe it's an old friend that you've gotten to know even more. And so I want you to think about a friendship. A new one, an old one. And just see how God has attended to you, has loved you and seen you, through the life, the words, the actions of this friend.
I want you to now think about a relationship in this past semester that has been challenging, that has humbled you, that has weakened you or caused you to be more dependent on God, seeking God. And why might this be in a gratitude practice? Well, these are the relationships in which God uses to shape us, to grow grace in us, to wake us up and keep us seeking Him. And so I want you to thank God for this person and this relationship that has caused friction or rubbing or challenge or disappointment, knowing that God is using even this to shape you.
And remember what I said that God comes disguised. We don't always see him. Especially in the hardships, the brokenness. But he's there. So spend time just looking over this fragile relationship, seeing where He might be.
And lastly, for our practice, we're going to recall something we learned this semester that we just loved. Maybe it's a book that you were able to read. Maybe it's a paper that was really hard going, but you learned a lot. Maybe you are preparing lesson plans and you're providing the resources, but you're learning as well. Or maybe it's a particular lecture that was just so inspiring. So I want you to think back over the semester and think about those special teachings. How God is generously giving you these gifts for your mind, and for your heart, and for the broadening of your experience as a student. So take time just to ponder these learnings this semester.
Thank you God, for how you've sustained us through this semester and how you will continue to sustain us in these last few weeks before we get a rest and a break. Thank you that you are disguised all over our lives, our friendships. Our courses, our commutes. And this time of prayer is allowing us to become more sensitized and sensitive to where you are. And thank you for your presence.
And today we're finishing off the Book of Galatians. And today, Paul is in true form, where it's almost as if we’re at the river in prayer and we have a firework show of many different thoughts, commands, ideas, reminders, and they're all just going to fly up into the sky and be ‘Wow’ or ‘Ooh’ or ‘Oh that still, still working on that one’. So just prepare yourself for a little bit of a firework show to conclude this beautiful letter of freedom and inviting us into a deeper freedom.
So we'll be reading. Galatians 6:1-18. “Brothers and sisters. If someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burden, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions, then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else. For each one should carry their own load. Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh from the flesh will reap destruction, and whoever sows to please the spirit from the spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good. For at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand? Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the Cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised, that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. May I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule to the Israel of God. From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit, brothers and sisters.”
Allow these words and phrases to wash over you.
Let us read verses 1-6. “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they're not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions, then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else. For each one should carry their own load. Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.”
These verses are about living in community and family and friendship and complex and beautiful interplay of relationships. You know, some of us, our goal is to be independent and not need help or, not need anyone at all, but to be self-sufficient. And yet, that's quite a lonely life. It says in this passage words like if someone's caught, you know, caught in sin or in a trap. Let us come and restore the person gently. Or when someone is tempted, may you help them. Or what about these words about not comparing yourself to others? Or what about when someone is weak, carrying their burdens?
And then Paul also says for each one should carry their own load. And so, I invite us all to just notice our friendship webs, our communities. Is it easy for us to ignore the burdens of others? You don't have time for that, or maybe some of us are just carrying so many burdens, we've almost, they've become our own. There's not a, a healthy way in that relationship any longer. Maybe we find ourselves comparing ourselves to others around us.
How do we handle gently our friends that are struggling falling into sin or temptation? How do we handle ourselves?
Spend some time now just speaking with Jesus about these words. To carry burdens and yet carry your own load. Do not compare yourself to others. When someone is weak, gently help them, help to restore them. May the Spirit guide you in what posture, in what action, might be needed in your friendship web at present.
Moving to verses 7-10: “Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. And whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction. And whoever sows to please the spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for in the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people. Especially to those who belong in the family of believers.
Paul is giving us an image of a farmer and sowing seeds. And I wonder if we could think about what are we sowing? What kind of seeds are we sowing lately, seeds of loving compassion, faithfulness? The fruits of the spirit we spoke of last time, are these the seeds we're sowing? Or what about seeds of our sinful nature? If you sow weeds, you're going to get weeds.
And so take this time now to sort of look over your, your land. And what seeds are you sowing? What are you planting? What do you hope to grow? Give these dreams and thoughts, but also these apologies and the humility it takes to say ‘God I think I sow some weeds. Help me.’
Verse 14: “May I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule to the Israel of God.” You know this whole letter is this debate of how to live a spiritual life. Follow these rules. Be circumcised, uncircumcised. It's the grace and the law. It's the faith, it's the deeds. It's how this is all intermixed.
And these words of Paul tell us that we are free. We are meant to live in this freedom. It's almost if an animal had fallen into a trap, and the door was opened to be freed. And he ran out to be free, and then he ran back to be trapped again. And we do this. As God's children in his heirs, we forget, we forget his love for us. That's beyond any of our deeds. We move back into managing and comparing and proving and.
God, we need your help. Our desire is to live more freely, as Paul has encouraged us in this letter. Our prayer is that we would remember that all are welcome to come. Our prayer is that we would use this freedom for good and not to harm ourselves and others. We could use this freedom to know you more, to sow seeds that are good, that are pleasing to you, to ourselves and to our communities. This is our prayer.
And so brothers and sisters, as I look to my right and to my left at this river, and see us all coming to seek our Saviour to be purified, to be filled, for our thirst to be quenched. I'm grateful. So let us now as we close this prayer time, and move back into our days of work, of rest, of responsibilities. May we carry this truth deep, deep into our souls that we are free, that we are your heirs, that you love us so deeply. So we'll close this prayer, with verse 18: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.”
