Proper 8 C + Freedom + 6.26.22

 

Behold the Joy of Jesus, Lindena Robb

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(2 Kings 2:1–2, 6–14; Psalm 77:1–2, 11–20; Galatians 5:1, 13–25; St. Luke 9:51–62)

 

“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal 5:1)

Did you know that the word “subjugation” comes from the Latin sub iugum and it literally described how in ancient Italy, defeated enemies walked under a yoke made out of spears to show their humiliation?[1] This is fascinating because the yoke language shows up in a couple of scriptures today- as yokes are also related to plows- but we must remember that we as Christians are not subject to the yokes of the world. We are free. But living into that freedom can take a lot of work. And while we are free in the world, we are also bound to Christ, being under Christ’s yoke.

This is good news because the yoke of this world is economic oppression. I found it fascinating, watching a movie called “American Creed,” that the area that Tea Party and MoveOn activists found in common was the oppressive nature of our financial system.[2] They agreed that the banks should not be able to get off without penalty while the people who have invested in the banks pay the consequence, as largely happened during our Great Recession. It made me think about how we can try as Christians to resist the oppression of our financial system. Now, many folks would say, yes, we must live to a certain extent within the yoke of our society. We need money to pay for basic living expenses, expenses that are getting higher by the day. And that is true. I am not trying to be unrealistic.

But as we look at these scriptures, let us notice how connected the ancient world was to the earth. Elijah is carried up in a whirlwind. Elisha strikes the water, having received Elijah’s mantle, and moves on. Psalm 77 is full of references to nature: “The waters saw you, O God; the waters saw you and trembled; * the very depths were shaken. 17 The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; * your arrows flashed to and fro.” The Galatians passage brings in animal imagery, lifting up yokes. And Jesus mentions foxes and their holes and birds. Of course, it all makes sense. Such was the nature of the ancient world – life was connected to one’s natural surroundings. It is the world we still live in, but sometimes we can live a little more apart from it now.

Theologian-Farmer Wendell Berry points out that we live in God’s Economy. That everything matters to God. Even the sparrow that falls matters to God. I don’t know about you, but I think about that often when we drive past a small animal that is dead on the side of the road. How much more do we matter? This brings to mind the pair of homeless people shot on a bench at our transit center early last Sunday morning- they mattered. I pray for our world, that it would see importance in all living beings here on earth. That no one would be deemed disposable. No matter how far they may have fallen into self-destructive behavior.

But Wendell Berry says that humans are weird. We alone can act like we are somehow in the world but not at the same time. He says: “fowls of the air and the lilies of the field live within the Great Economy entirely by nature . . . humans, though entirely dependent upon it, must live in it partly by artifice. The birds can live in the Great Economy only as birds, the flowers only as flowers, the humans only as humans. The humans, unlike the wild creatures, may choose not to live in it—or, rather, since no creature can escape it, they may choose to act as if they do not, or they may choose to try to live in it on their own terms. If humans choose to live in the Great Economy on its terms, then they must live in harmony with it.”[3]

And this, oddly enough, may be the way that we can be free. We can release our yokes by focusing single-mindedly on a connection with nature and a rejection of our culture’s focus on stuff. Jesus is not telling us to literally ignore our duties to the dead. But he may be telling us to look at the death-dealing ways of our society and find new ways of being. We might further read this in light of our current climate crisis as a call to live more in harmony with creation as opposed to subjugating it only for our needs. How can we do this? We all know about water conservation and recycling and minimizing our gasoline usage with cars and planes and trying to use renewable energy sources and not buy too many clothes and all of those things. But all of those things won’t get us there. Because they are head things, not heart things.
We have to get out into nature. In whatever way we can. A walk on the beach, or a drive to a scenic point. Time under a tree. Listening to and truly observing the birds and all the other creatures. Why? It reminds our hearts of something important. We are not isolated here on planet earth. We are part of an amazing web of creation. A web that has been intricately woven by God since way before we were born. Our long-term health and survival depend on access to clean water, healthy air quality and other environmental factors. If we take care of the earth, she takes care of us. God has created the amazing, resilient ecosystem in which we live. We will never fathom all of it. We gain something when we regain our awe.

If we are to remain focused on Jesus, determined in just the way he is to get to Jerusalem, we must not get distracted by the many ways this world tries to sell us extra stuff. That way only leads to subjugation- being under the yoke of credit card bills or the need to maintain our possessions at the expense of our quality of life. I must note there are necessary debts- at least within the current economy- some student loans, home loans and reasonable car loans are examples. We do need clothing, food and shelter, and access to learning. But let us be wise as foxes when the world tries to convince us we need something extra. Because chances are, we don’t. What we need is to breathe freely, to wander and explore this earth. To enjoy each other’s company and eat and drink and be merry. We need to connect as we mourn. We need to see each other as infinitely valuable and our stuff as secondary. Am I good at this? No, not really. I buy into status symbols at times and do a lot to maintain stuff in my life. But I am working on it. Trying to find a better balance. And that is what I think God is calling us all to do.

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

Amen.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Palm/Passion 2023

Proper 28 A + This little light + 11.19.23

Proper 10A + Fertile ground + 7.16.23