New Creation is Everyything
I speak to you in the name of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit - and may the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you - our strength, our Lord and our Redeemer - Amen
Last week we celebrated the Harvest and this week we are celebrating Thanksgiving
It would be reasonable for you to question “are they the same thing?”
to which I say - No - Thanksgiving is so much more
In the harvest we thank the Lord for the bountiful crops and we recognize the physical yield of the earth
In Thanksgiving, we Christians look much broader
we look to all the blessings from God in which we are thankful
There is a movie with Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfieffer called the “Story of Us”
I rented the movie to watch a light entertaining story of marriage for a Friday night - the end of one long work week and time for Kelly and I to relax
what I got was a story of a married couple who go through hard times over fifteen years of marriage
Not the light Friday night entertainment I had hoped for and needed
But there was a real gem in the movie which has blessed our family life to this day
in the movie - at dinner time, the family goes around the table sharing their Highs and Lows of the day - it is simply called - HI / LO
We have adopted this practice often at our dinner table
and what it does for me and I think the rest of my family, even the kids
- is causes us to be reflective of our day
in the sharing of our good points of the day and our disappointments we are learning valuable lessons about each other and about ourselves
In sharing and learning with each other and because we are rooted in faith - in that we see God as the author of all things
The process becomes a reflective time of Thanksgiving to God - At least it does for me
And actually it becomes the material for my prayers and the nighttime prayers with the kids
There are times in the year where self reflection naturally comes to mind
New Years - as we consider the year gone by and the hopes for the year ahead
Christmas as we consider whether we have been naughty or nice
Lent (the period leading up to good Friday and Easter) for many is a reflective time
sometimes holidays or birthdays
But the time of year that is especially reflective is - Thanksgiving - where we consider all the many blessings that God has provide of which we are thankful for
The scriptures are, in some way, a reflection piece of the author
In much of scripture, especially the Apostle Paul’s - it is writing that goes deeper and looks at the cause of things or the connection of all things to God
Scripture is uniquely special - as it is inspired by God and is about God’s relationship between Him and that which was created in His image - us
In Today’s reading from Galatians we have a wonderfully powerful message
Luther once commented that “the Letter to the Galatians is my epistle, to which I am betrothed”
And the part that we have for today is the closing comments - the final thoughts
Paul now concludes his letter to the Galatian churches by writing a final exhortation in his own hand.
I can imagine the Apostle getting so excited that he takes the pen from the scribe - wanting to drives home the main point of his letter
- which contains the greatest of all messages
The “payout” if you like of the good news of Jesus
And from the opening sentence from one of Paul Tillich’s famous sermons
“If I were asked to sum up the Christian message for our time in two words, I would say with Paul: It is the message of a "New Creation."
Paul had just a few verses before been conveying the idea that
“for you reap whatever you sow”
teaching the Galatians that if they sow or plant or invest in things of this world - they will reap or yield or be paid a dividend back things of this world
Then Paul responds to the teaching of others that are affecting the Galatian churches with a different message then his
People known as Judaizers which are instructing the people that they need to first become Jews - to be circumcised
They appear to be boasting in their Jewishness
With all the ideas floating out there - the great religions and there subsets: Christianity - Catholic and protestant, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism. Or philosophical ideas - How shall Christianity face them?
Shall Christianity tell them: Come to us, we are a better religion, our kind of conformity or unconformity - circumcision or uncircumcision is higher than yours?
Everybody knows how our life can be governed as much by re- action as by action, and hence by un-circumcision as by circumcision.
And Imagine you had to advise a new Christian on how to live for Jesus. What would you say? Would you give them a list of do's and don'ts?
- No - - you would share a message of how Christ’s love changed you transformed you
and that transformation is rooted in a love so great that he died upon the cross to release us from our sins
release us when we confess our sins to our Lord
and in confessing them - turn away (to repent) and to turn towards
walking in freedom away from the things that once entrapped us
Second, look at life the way it really is, its beauty and its rough edges. Enjoy life, while accepting its imperfections. And be thankful for the God who created it all
The good to teach us certain lessons and the bad to teach us others
- the Highs and Lows of our life
Seeing the world as God saw it and it was recorded in Genesis “as good” and to be appreciated
And finally to praise God - to pray without ceasing, in thought, word and deed - to share in community in service to others as Jesus modeled for us - and in worship to thank God
This is how you would advise a new Christian on how to live for Jesus
"May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Strange, these words. Why boast of a cross?
After all, the cross was a symbol of death and defeat.
The One who was nailed to that cross had Himself been greeted with derision and ridicule.
The One who was boasted to be the Son of God, the King of Kings, became the brunt of cruel jokes.
"Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews," they wrote in mockery on a placard and nailed it to the cross.
After all, it didn't make much sense.
Kings sit on thrones, they're not nailed to crosses.
Kings drink precious wines from silver goblets lined with gold, not vinegar from a sponge.
No wonder they taunted him,
And yet …Francis of Assisi, who we remember and celebrate today,
went from a wealthy playboy, soldier and merchant, to became a pious monk and reformer of the church
when he met the Christ of the Cross.
The same was true for Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley; and for the contemporary heroes of the faith, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. All were transformed by the power of the cross.
You see…
Without the cross of Christ we would be just nice people looking for wisdom and nice things to do from the words of ancient person
Without the cross of Christ we would be rooted in the kind words from a kind prophet who approached things with a new light - a new message
Without the Cross of Christ we would be without a foundation
Without the cross of Christ we lack everything
Everything that it means to truly be a follower of Jesus the Messiah
- Jesus the Christ
Simply put - We lack salvation from our sins
Without the cross of Christ - we remain in things of the flesh
We remain moored to the things and ways of this world
But with the Cross of Christ we become transformed
Transformed into a new creation
As St. Paul puts it in Gal 6:15 - new creation is everything
it is the purpose and climax of Christ’s earthly existence
the one - and only necessary
the perfect (meaning complete)
sacrifice for the salvation of all
The cross brought about a change of cosmic scope
When we say our the prayer that is present in nearly every service
- The Lord’s prayer -
and we say those words - Your kingdom come - on earth as it is in heaven - we are speaking about that new creation
So I, like the Apostle Paul, I will boast and be thankful
boast proudly - in the Cross of Christ
It is the Cross of Christ - which is the greatest gift
- to which we are truly thankful
So if Thanksgiving is a time to be reflective and to think about what you are thankful for remember the Cross of Christ which has made you into a new creation
Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for making me a new creation
- Thank you Lord
- Thank you - Amen