https://youtu.be/3ilUn3vXQNs



Galatians 5:1, 13-25

For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

These words sound like quotes from the founders of the American Revolution and democracy. "Give me liberty or give me death," as Patrick Henry said. This reading from Galatians coincides with the July 4 weekend, celebrating the Declaration of Independence. I compared two defenders of religious liberty: The Apostle Paul and James Madison. Though separated by centuries, both men dealt with the dangers of factionalism and the challenges of living free. Polarization zaps us every day. Ezra Klein recently coined the phrase “middle finger politics,” when political speech is mostly about diminishing your opponent rather than accomplishing something or the common good. It is an excellent time to remember what freedom and especially religious liberty mean. I will outline the situation each faced and then look at their solutions to the problems of strife and factionalism. 

Both men experienced the adverse effects of religious strife. Paul told the Galatians in v. 15, "If you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another." What an apt metaphor. Think of the last major argument you had with someone. When they said something, and you strongly disagreed, it felt like they took a bite from you. You want to snap back at them to get a bite back. That is how you know you aren't in a respectful discussion of differences anymore. We feel diminished because it feels like someone is tearing something precious from us, and we enter fight or flight mode. Ultimately, everyone loses because everyone is diminished, consumed by each other's outrage.

Paul understood factionalism because he had lived it. He held the cloaks as others stoned the disciple Steven to death. After this religious execution, Acts 9:1 says, "Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples." It sounds like the description of a mad bull: "Breathing out murderous threats." As Saul, he could not tolerate any dissent or alternative understandings of the law and scriptures. Rather than discussion and debate, which his great teacher Gamaliel would have counseled, Saul chose violent repression. It took a dramatic encounter with the Risen Christ in a vision to see this error. As Paul, the apostle of Christ, he spent his life on love and inclusion.

The issue in Galatians sounds strange to our ears. Some Jewish followers of Jesus believed that Gentiles needed to follow all the codes of Leviticus. Gentiles might give up shellfish and pork, but circumcision was a bridge too far. Both sides often want to drive the other out of the church. As Richard Rohr says, the history of Christianity is too frequently about who is in and who is out. Nearly every letter Paul wrote is an attempt to bridge the gap of a great cultural divide between Hebrew and Greek thought. He was deeply immersed in both and believed that this new movement of Jesus would be stronger by incorporating each rather than one winning over the other.

James Madison was also profoundly concerned about factionalism, especially over religious dogma. Many colonists had come to America, fleeing religious persecution. Many revolutionary leaders were Scotch-Irish, like the settlers here in Maine. The Scotch Irish suffered religious persecution and were driven out of Scotland. Europe had endured two centuries of brutal warfare, which was about power and domination, but infused with religious strife made it particularly brutal.

Madison was disturbed by the persecution of religious dissenters by the established Anglican Church in Virginia. The state issued licenses to preach only to Anglicans. Baptists preaching in the colony were beaten, imprisoned, and even drowned. Madison wrote a letter to a friend in 1774, where he lamented that the "diabolical Hell" of persecution was raging in the colony. "There are at this [time] . . . not less than 5 or 6 well-meaning men in [jail] for publishing their religious sentiments. . . . Pray for liberty of conscience to revive among us." 

Let's see what the Apostle Paul and James Madison did to quell factionalism in their own time. Paul's response to the Galatians has three essential principles.

First, he asserts that everyone has a God-given freedom. Paul believed the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as Christ frees humanity from every force that diminishes and destroys the human Spirit. We are freed internally from the power of sin, which is a destructive way of living that keeps us from our true selves. Paul departed from religious legalism because he believed it created an impossible burden on the soul. Becoming free creates opportunities for new relationships in a new society. Earlier in Galatians, Paul says in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one. Freedom isn't just internal; it creates opportunities for our life together.

Second, with freedom comes responsibility. Freedom only thrives if we create community. In verse 14, he sets the standard, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We know this is the great commandment we read in the Gospels, but it comes from the laws of Leviticus. Paul is reminding the legalistic faction in Galatia that the whole purpose of any law must be love. If law leads to something besides love, we are doing it wrong. 

Third, true freedom comes from cultivating the virtues or the fruits of the Spirit. Our Vacation Bible School just finished a week on the fruits of the Spirit. They wrote the virtues big chalk letters in our parking lot: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, self-control. These are not just virtues for children, they are virtues for grown-ups to live by. Review this list and find your favorite. Each one enhances communal life and calms the spirit of factionalism and strife. Find the one that is especially hard for you. (God knows I need more patience!). Challenge yourself to work this fruit of the Spirit

These virtues come from our daily work of aligning ourselves with God's intentions. When we get overwhelmed by the world and feel powerless, we can always turn to this inward work. Sometimes all we can control is how we show up. I’m not giving up on the idea that character matters. I vote based on character. Ben Franklin agreed, saying,

Only virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.

James Madison was more skeptical of human possibilities than Paul. Appeals to our better nature, to live by the fruits of the Spirit, would not be enough to secure liberty. In The Federalist Papers Number 10, he wrote,

So strong is this propensity of humankind to fall into mutual animosities that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts.

Madison believed there needed to be guard rails in the Constitution to prevent our worst instincts of faction, which lead us to eliminate people with whom we disagree. One necessary feature was the separation of powers of the branches of government. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Madison was also influential in supporting the Bill of Rights, which codified the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Madison's foundation for these rights was the freedom of conscience. He believed that every person has the God-given ability and right to practice their beliefs if they do not impinge on the rights of others. He believed religious freedom, to think without coercion, was central to a healthy republic. So, the first amendment central to the Bill of Rights was the Freedom of Speech, which includes not only individual speech but also the freedom of religion, the press, the right to assemble, and to petition the government. A healthy Republic must protect dissenting voices.   Madison believed that if you try to repress differing opinions, they will become louder and more radical. 

 Madison was deeply concerned that factionalism would destroy a republic governed by the people's consent. Likewise, Paul knew that a church that proclaimed the love of Christ for humanity fails if we constantly fight each other. Neither man saw being free as inevitable. You don’t just inherit freedom; it must be a habit. 

We are fortunate to be a relatively strong and harmonious church. This condition is not luck. I saw the best of this church conducting two funerals this week. The fruits of kindness and generosity toward each other were on display. I want to leave you with a challenge because living in a state of freedom and harmony can’t be taken for granted. 

Several years ago, I led a workshop titled “How to Have Brave and Bold Conversations in Church.” In the beginning, I asked people, “What things can’t you talk about in church?” People answered, “Race, gun control, substance abuse, suicide, climate change, money, sex, abortion.” As the list grew longer, someone said, “It appears we can’t talk about anything meaningful. No wonder we are in trouble. We have chosen bland safety.” 

I don’t want us constantly agitated by tackling controversial issues. But bland safety can be as harmful as strife. Avoidance will not protect us from the storms because then the loudest and most destructive voices will win. In a world where people are building walls of hostility against each other, Paul and James Madison challenge us to build bridges. Anyone can build a wall. You pile up rocks and bricks till you can’t see the humanity of someone. Bridges require skillful engineering to withstand the strongest currents that seek to knock them down. Since I live on Barter’s Island, I cross two bridges every day to get anywhere. Our challenge is this. We must measure ourselves not by how many bricks we put on the wall but by how many bridges we are willing to cross.