Love-your-neighbour

Galatians 5:13-15

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not. Use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

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The letter to the church in Galatia was not sent to those in the midst of a near universal lock-down. So far as we know, Paul writes to those caught in a garden variety religious disagreement; how do you identify real believers? New followers of Jesus were being held to “old” covenant standards - circumcision being the operative question for Paul’s audience. Paul’s arguments are full of subtlety and story-telling; he calls upon his vast knowledge and his personal experience. But mainly, he reminds the Galatians that Christ has set them free. Freedom, for Paul, springs from the love of God in Christ, and it shows no partiality - has no favourites - follows only the rule of love.

What we might learn from that.

Every day for the last three weeks, leaders in federal and provincial governments have urged us to “do the right thing” or memorably in Nova Scotia “Stay the blazes home!” (you can order T-shirts.) Premiers, the Prime Minister, Doctors and cabinet ministers have urged us - a people, born and raised in freedom - to accept hard boundaries and limited ways to exercise that freedom. Stores and churches and rec-centres are shut down. Travel is curtailed. Schools and parks are empty and nearly every conceivable public event is “postponed indefinitely.”

The present circumstances are grim, the projections are terrifying, and there are those who would act according to the old rules - damn the consequences, I’m going to do what I please.

Yet even the most secular of our leadership have appealed (whether they know it or not) to the same argument Paul made. ‘Do it for the good of your neighbour.’

Yes, we are free. Free to influence the world for good - in positive, creative, productive ways. And if that freedom means staying in and staying put - if it means no Palm Sunday parades or Easter communion; no opening day baseball, or Stanley Cup playoffs - if freedom means learning new card games and cleaning out the spare room and re-reading ten of your favourite book and starting a new knitting project, the let us exercise that freedom in the name of love.

Our civic freedom these last 150 or so years is a function of our political choices - a consequence of living in a stable democracy. But our real freedom is courtesy of the love of God, made known in the risen Christ. It is the freedom to choose compassion over self-concern - to choose love in all things. It is that freedom - and those choices - that will make the difference in these challenging times.

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A Prayer as Holy Week begins

God of love and life.

Our Holy Week activities will be unfamiliar to us.

We mourn the ways this disease has altered our habits and disrupted our lives.

Remind us that you are no less present now than in any other time.

The story we share about Jesus last week in Jerusalem is a story of turmoil and terror.

And you were present. comforting, confounding

and finally revealing your glory in an empty tomb.

Speak peace and life and hope to us - even here; even now -

That we may raise our voices in gratitude and praise

for the freedom you offer us in Jesus.