September 23 2007 Lectionary Reading: Galatians 2.19-3.9

Theme: God’s faithfulness and our faith, in changing situations

The three readings we heard this morning are all about faith. To be more exact, in all three readings this morning, from Jeremiah, from the gospel of Luke and from the letter to the Galatians, we have situations which show us something of the character of faith, in God’s promise, in God’s power, in the salvation that God offers. A situation, then, which shows us something, allows us an insight into living faith in the living God.

To begin with the situation in the book of Jeremiah. This is a situation of impending catastrophe, the last hours and days before the storm will strike. You might remember from August 2005 those eerie television pictures of towns along the Florida coast in the days and hours before Hurricance Katrina struck. Boarded up houses, empty streets, the wind beginning to pick up, the dark clouds along the horizon, the first drops of driving rain. People leaving in their cars in droves along the freeways,. Well in one way, this is situation of the city of Jerusalem too, only it’s not a hurricane coming, and the storm is not from the skies, but from the north. The storm clouds were seen on the horizon – now a huge Babylonian army surrounds the city. Just as Jeremiah had proclaimed, here was the city’s nemesis. There was probably no eerie silence in the city, in the preceding days, but uproar, with some in the city trying to get out to flee south, while the people of the southern countryside tried to get into the city for protection. No further movement is now possible. Nebuchadnezzar’s army now surrounds Jerusalem. This is the situation.

What insight do we have in this situation into living faith in the living God ? Well, the prophet Jeremiah was being held by the palace guard at the court of king Zedekiah. And on this morning, Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel arrives. As a near relative, Jeremiah has first refusal on a family field near Anathoth, his home village. The family, most of whom have fled, send Hanamel to Jeremiah to offer the field to him. And now, here is the perfect sign of living faith – perfect trust in the steadfast faithfulness of God. In the face of the impossible situation that the people find themselves in, in face of the fact that there seems to be no future for the people. Jeremiah buys the field. While to men and women, there seems to be no future, the Lord, declares to Jeremiah, “the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says homes, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land”.

Jeremiah’s action in buying the field at Anathoth shows us faith, against impossible odds, even when no future seems possible, faith in the living God. History shows us that the promise of the living God was sure, steadfast, unshakeable. Beyond the destruction, fields did once again produce corn, vineyards their fruit. And for those who would receive it, there was God-given hope, assurance for the future, in trust in the living God, against all appearances whose love does not fail, who redeems and restores His people. When things seem impossible, and the future non-existent, our Father in heaven invites us to put our trust in Him – and we find that what is impossible for men and women, for you and me, is possible for God. In the living word in Jeremiah we find a situation, which shows us something, allows us our first insight into living faith in the living God.

What of the situation in the gospel of Luke ? Well, we recognise immediately here that at the centre of this situation is Jesus Christ. But the broader situation is this: in the district round Capernaum there lived a Roman centurion, a commander in the army. This commander, though he was a foreigner, had a very deep respect for the people of Israel an had provided the funds to build the synagogue in Capernaum. A favourite, trusted servant of his was very seriously ill, in fact, he was dying. Whereas in the book of Jeremiah, we are confronted by a national, military crisis, here we have an acutely personal situation, a crisis .

When the centurion, or commander hears that Jesus is in the town of Capernaum, he sends some elders of the town to ask Jesus to come and heal the servant. On His way to the centurion’s house, to friends meet Jesus on the road with a message from the commander: the commander’s message is this: “I didn’t come to see you in person, because I did not feel I am worthy – and I do not feel worthy to have you under my roof. As a commander I am used to giving orders, so all I ask you to do is simply give the command and my servant will be healed.” The Lord, we are told, was amazed to hear of the centurion’s trust and faith, greater than any among the people of Israel. The servant was healed, restored from the brink of death itself.

What insight do we have in this situation into living faith in the living God ? Well, in one way, here we have the perfect example of what faith in Jesus Christ means. In the crisis of this illness, we can see that the centurion’s faith in Jesus was not – say, a creed, or a long set of words – it was first and foremost a simple trust in Jesus. But through that simple trust in Jesus in that moment of crisis, the centurion receives all that Jesus is.

Yes, of course the first thing that the centurion was looking for was the healing of his servant, but through that simple trust in Jesus in that moment of crisis, the centurion receives all that Jesus is. The servant is healed through the creative power of the living God in Jesus, the servant brought back from the edge of death by the life giving power of Jesus, the centurion’s faith in Jesus infinitely deepened by what Jesus has done for him. The centurion forever indebted to Jesus, in gratefulness and thanksgiving. And beyond all this, in the immediate moment, the centurion has, in fact, put his trust in Jesus, the Son of the living God.

For some, faith in Jesus might be very simple, simply ‘Jesus loves me, this I know’ and beyond that difficult to put into words. For others, faith might be very deep, a deep knowledge of Jesus and all the riches and blessings that are ours through Him. But it is through simple trust in Jesus that we receive all that Jesus is – the riches of His death, and His resurrection, His love, His power. In the living word in Luke’s gospel we find a situation, which shows us something, allows us our second insight into living faith in the living God.

What of the situation in Paul’s letter to the Galatians ? Well, when we come to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, what we find is quite a complicated situation. Whereas in the book of Jeremiah, we are confronted by a national, military crisis, and in Luke’s gospel we have an acutely personal situation, here in the background to the letter to the Galatians, we have a crisis in the Church, in the Christian community.

Paul had, a year or two before, travelled across Galatia preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, and setting up small communities of new Christians. Now, wherever Paul had been in Galatia, a group of extremists had followed in his footsteps to those same churches. This group insisted that it was the bounden duty of the leaders and members of the churches in Galatia to keep the whole law of Moses. In these churches, whose members had recently come from a pagan background, the extremists started a far reaching controversy. They said to the men and women in these churches, Unless you keep the law, as we do, you have no part in the kingdom of God.

And under this intense pressure, some of the churches in Galatia, some of the little communities of followers of Jesus Christ began to waver in their faith. Some began learning the law, and trying to follow some of its commandments. Here we see faith slipping, moving away from its sure ground.

So, from this situation of faith losing its firm foundation what insight do we gain into living faith in the living God ? Well, when we read what Paul writes to those churches in Galatia, we see the importance of the cross of Jesus Christ for our faith. Paul puts the cross at the heart of Christian faith.

He writes: We are also Jews – just like those who are troubling you, upsetting you, trying to undermine your faith. But the difference is that we know that the new relationship that God has opened to us,

does not come from observing the law. No – we know that the new relationship with God comes through Jesus and we have put our trust and faith in Him. Through Jesus and His cross we are brought into a new relationship with God.

As believers, Paul goes on, we share in Jesus’ death on the cross, we died together with Him at the cross. So, in Him, we have died to the law, we have been set free from the law. This is how the new relationship that God has given us in Jesus works ! Time and time again, says Paul - I do not know how you could forget it - we made it clear, very clear to you what Jesus’ death on the cross means. It means that with Him, we have died to the law, and we have been set free for new life in Him.

We died with Him, and have been raised to life with Him.

So, Paul writes, why are you turning away from all the riches that are yours in Jesus Christ and His cross, and turning back to the law, as the extremists insist ? Don’t let yourselves be pushed away from the true source of life, which is Jesus Himself and His cross.

We died with Him, and have been raised to life with Him.

What do we learn about faith here ? Well, we see here the central importance of the cross of Jesus Christ for our faith.

Three situations we have seen: a crisis in a besieged city, a personal crisis in illness, a crisis in the Church.

Can we draw these situations together, hear what they teach us of faith ? Yes - from the crisis in Jerusalem, we see that when things seem impossible, and the future non-existent, our Father in heaven invites us to put our trust in Him – and we find that in those impossible situations, what is for you and me, impossible, is possible for God. From crisis when the centurion’s servant fell ill, we see that it is through simple trust in Jesus that we receive all that Jesus is – all the riches of His healing, creative presence, and His life giving power. And from the situation in Galatia, we see the central importance of the cross of Jesus Christ.

There we died with Him, and we have been raised with Him,

- we have been set free for new life in Him.

AMEN.