As I think about Paul s Letter to the Galatians I am reminded of a story from the Cherokee Nation. It goes like this:

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1 Freed to Bear Fruit (the fourth in our series Choose Freedom: Paul s Letter to the Galatians) Galatians 5:1,13-25; Psalm 16:5-11 June 26, 2016 As I think about Paul s Letter to the Galatians I am reminded of a story from the Cherokee Nation. It goes like this: A Cherokee is instructing his young son. Son, he says, everyone has two wolves inside of them. One wolf is violent, wild, and destructive. The other wolf is disciplined, wise, and good. They are fighting inside of you. Which wolf will win? The boy, looking alarmed, says: I don t know, father. His father answers, The wolf that will win is the wolf that is fed. Words of wisdom The Apostle Paul is writing to followers of Jesus in Galatia. As we ve seen, Paul is angry, and rightly so. There s urgency in the situation in the church, and therefore there is urgency in his message. Live by the Spirit, he writes, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit to prevent you from doing what you want (Galatians 5:16-17). Two wolves fighting inside of you. Paul refers to them as The Flesh, and The Spirit. They are opposed to each other. And as they battle, you are held hostage. The Flesh will keep you from doing things you desperately want to do, and even cause you to do things you don t want to do. I don t know if you have heard about Tricia Ann Kortes. She s big news in the Detroit area. Tricia is 46, from a posh suburb, and she happened to be at her local Michigan Kroger last week to pick up her son s Batman v. Superman birthday cake. Somehow, though, she wasn t satisfied with the decorating job. She tried to go behind the counter to fix it herself, but when she was told that customers were not allowed back there, things escalated. She actually picked up the cake and drop kicked it. She screamed: They ve ruined my 7-year-old son s birthday cake! She then stomped on the cake, kicked over a wet floor sign, and marched

2 P. 2 6/22/16 out of the store without paying. Dear friends, I know it sounds extreme, but think about it for a moment. Have you ever done something you ve later regretted? Have you lost control, and let anger get the best of you? Have you ever lost sight of what is truly important, and let something small have way too much power over you? Tricia Ann Kortes reminds us. This is the power of The Flesh. These are what Paul calls the works of The Flesh. Presbyterian pastor and author Eugene Peterson unpacks Paul s list of the works of The Flesh. Peterson gives a further description of what each of the Biblical Greek words mean. His contemporary translation includes: cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper (Do you see how Tricia fits in here?). Paul s list continues: divided homes and divided lives uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions (Galatians 5:20,21 The Message). Paul is describing things that enslave us, things that hold us back from doing what we want to do, and cause us to do what we don t. But I need you to understand something critically important here. Paul is not saying that flesh is bad. After all, the miracle of Christmas is that Jesus, the Son of the Living God, took on flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth (see John 1:14). Genesis tells us that after God created all that is, God saw that it was very good (Genesis 1:31). You and I know. The softness of a baby s skin (or of a pet s fur), the fragrance of a rose, the sexual intimacy that can bless a marriage, the hand that holds your own and gives you hope these are priceless gifts of God. Creation flesh is a blessed gift. When Paul talks about the desires of the Flesh, or the works of the Flesh, he is talking about that wolf battling inside of you. He is talking about a Power, a Reality that is battling for our allegiance. It may include unhealthy sexuality. You ll notice that first on Paul s list of works of the Flesh is what Peterson translates as loveless, cheap sex not the life-giving intimacy God intends. But most of the list includes things like jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, and envy. That wolf that Power--enslaves us when we put INFINITE value on things that are finite. When we focus on what can be seen, touched, tasted, or bought--to the exclusion of what is unseen and lasting. When

3 P. 3 6/26/16 we do that we are not living by the Spirit. We cannot do what the Spirit wants-- what WE deep down really want. That s the tragedy of Tricia Ann Kortes and her drop kick. The birthday cake frosting seemed more important than people, and respect, and kindness. Now she is facing the consequences: 90 days in jail and /or $500. Paul s message is this: You don t have to live like that anymore. You don t have to be enslaved like that. You are no longer a captive to Sin and Death. God in Jesus Christ has set you FREE! I ve been thinking, though, about freedom. Freedom is complicated. I used to be very excited about the so-called Arab Spring, for example. Were you? Middle Eastern dictators being overthrown! The people being set free! But now as time has gone on it seems like their freedom has led to chaos. Warlords, and lawlessness, and other kinds of slavery. Or take another example. Did you ever read Lord of the Flies? It s a novel (by William Golding) about British children who survive a plane crash on a deserted island. They are free! No school, no adults, no rules. But their freedom leads to terrible things. Some of them become bullies. They form gangs, and steal from each other. Ultimately one of the children is even killed. You see, there s a difference between freedom FROM and freedom FOR. In Jesus Christ we are freed FROM the Power of The Flesh. But that is not all. We are not simply set free into chaos set free to find some other Power to subject us. We are set free FOR bearing fruit. Free FOR the Spirit to fill us and work in us and bring forth in our lives things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit of the Spirit just as our children sang about moments ago. One of my favorite examples of this is Corrie ten Boom. Corrie was a prisoner in a concentration camp during World War II. She and her family Christians protected and hid Jews from the Nazis. Corrie and her family were discovered and caught and imprisoned. She writes about it in her book, The Hiding Place, and she tells about the horrors of the concentration camp. In 1947 Corrie came from her native Holland back to Germany, to preach. She felt called to help the bombed-out, broken German people. When we confess

4 P. 4 6/26/16 our sins, Corrie proclaimed, God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever. Then it happened. A man came forward from the back of the room, and she recognized him. He had been a guard at the concentration camp. He came up to Corrie with his hand extended. Fraulein, he said, wonderful sermon! I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me Will you forgive me for what I did? Corrie froze. She thought about the home she was running for victims of Nazi brutality. She had seen it again and again: those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able to rebuild their lives, no matter their physical scars. But those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible as that. She thought about the Lord s Prayer: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. She silently prayed, Jesus, help me! I can lift my hand. I can do that much. But, Lord, you supply the feeling. Woodenly, mechanically, she thrust her hand into the one stretched out to her. And as she did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in her shoulder, raced down her arm, and sprang into their joined hands. A healing warmth seemed to flood her whole being, bringing tears to her eyes. I forgive you, brother! she cried. With my whole heart! Corrie says she has never known God s love so intensely as she did right then. The power of the Holy Spirit freeing her, empowering her. THAT S the kind of power available to you and to me. Again, that s an extreme example. But I wonder: Has someone or something hurt you deeply? Are there wounds that you are carrying with you today? God in Jesus Christ offers you this power--the Power of the Spirit to do things you simply cannot do in your own strength. The Power of the Spirit to find freedom and new life. The Power of the Spirit for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control when it is simply not possible for you on your own.

5 P. 5 6/26/16 That kind of power is not only available to you, it is available to US as a community of faith. Have you ever wondered why Paul writes about the FRUIT of the Spirit, (singular) not the FRUITS? He is reminding us of our calling together. Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches (John 15:5). Through the Holy Spirit, we bear fruit together. That fruit has many different qualities, because we have so many different gifts. But it is a single fruit growing in many ways and in many places--a fruit that blesses us and blesses the world. I think about a youth group that did a surprising thing. One of the boys was battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. He was getting ready to go back to school, but all of his hair had fallen out. He came to youth group the night before and he looked around. His friends in Christ had done something radical. They had shaved their heads! They were going to go to school with him, supporting him and standing by him all the way. That s the kind of fruit we are freed to show forth. That kind of creativity, and courage. That kind of love, and peace, and goodness. We began this morning with a Cherokee teaching about two wolves. Do you remember? We gather here, called by God to be together, so that we can be fed. Here we choose freedom, here we choose to open ourselves to the Spirit again and again, so that OUT THERE we can bear fruit, fruit that will last. Thanks be to God! Amen!