Brave hearts: an essay on eternal freedom

Sometime just before the Memorial Day (née “Decoration Day”) holiday, I had opportunity to watch a good deal of the movie Braveheart for the second time.  There were, as you may know, some foul moments, and quite a few gruesome ones, in this movie about the 13C Scottish play for freedom from England.  But there was some inspiration in it, too.  I was inspired, so I wrote this post in early June and scheduled it for posting just before Independence Day in the U.S.

In watching Braveheart, I was caused to remember that — all political opinions and affiliations aside – freedom is rarely, if ever, free. 

Pause for directorial shouting of “cut!” to a different scene.  We now zoom in on a rather large man I would often see across the church hall during a period of my life.  In my experience, this man was known for precisely two things — 1) wearing a very obvious XXXL t-shirt to honor his favorite team on big days in the football season, and 2) ramrodding biannual recognitions (on Memorial Day and Veterans Day) of those who had served in branches of the military.  (I’ll leave alone the inappropriateness of using congregational time for something humanly nationalistic.  [OK, just like in TV courtroom scenes, you can now instruct the jury to disregard that self-serving statement that clearly had an agenda beyond the obvious!])  I imagine this man had some personal connection with military service, and I can certainly acknowledge one’s personal feeling of loss over human sacrifice.

It was difficult, though, for me to hear this man’s mini-sermons about being grateful for those who had given their lives for our country’s freedom.  Why?  Because I never heard a single other thing come out of his mouth.  I never experienced a more spiritual, faith- or Bible-founded thought from this man.  As far as I knew, his depth plumbed no further than being grateful he could live “free,” in this life, because of blood-sacrifices of those in the military.

While I would never intentionally, overtly disrespect a grave or the memory of a soldier who gave his life for political freedom, I don’t think I’ll ever quite understand why someone would die for politics or national borders.

The freedom afforded by the Christ is eternal.  And I would like to focus attention on this lasting freedom.

Brave hearts not only recognize freedom … and they don’t only thank others for it … they pursue it.  William Wallace of Braveheart certainly exemplified an unyielding pursuit of a type of freedom — and his pursuit was a cause that transcended the self.  Yet, in its most exalted iteration, the “pursuit of freedom” does not lead to shooting or bombing or running someone through with a sword.  If the historical-fiction movie is to be believed, Wallace was an icon of courage and leadership.  But he died for something quite finite.

A more lasting set of values leads to a soulful gaze beyond the present  – and to the God Who ultimately can draw us from all tyrannies and captivities, and Who can liberate us for all eternity.

~ ~ ~

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us—because it is written, Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed.  He redeemed us so that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, and that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.  . . .

You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus.  All of you who were immersed into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  Now if you belong to Christ, then indeed you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.  . . .

 I’m saying that as long as the heirs are minors, they are no different from slaves, though they really are the owners of everything.  However, they are placed under trustees and guardians until the date set by the parents.  In the same way, when we were minors, we were also enslaved by this world’s system.  But when the fulfillment of the time came, God sent his Son, born through a woman, and born under the Law.  This was so he could redeem those under the Law so that we could be adopted.  Because you are sons and daughters, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”  Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son or daughter, and if you are his child, then you are also an heir through God.  . . .

Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again.  . . .

You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love.  All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself .  But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you don’t get eaten up by each other!  . . .

But as for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through him, and I have been crucified to the world.  Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn’t mean anything. What matters is a new creation.  May peace and mercy be on whoever follows this rule and on God’s Israel.

(Galatians 3:13-14, 26-29;  4:1-7; 5:1,13-15; 6:14-16 Common English Bible)

 ~ ~ ~

All praise be to God for eternal freedom.  Amen.

Lists and fruits

In the NC scriptures, we sometimes find lists. Lists of qualifications of elders and deacons, lists of sins, lists of the fruit(s) of the Spirit, and more. (We don’t find a list of acts of worship, but that doesn’t deter some groups from making supposedly authoritative pronouncements about the made-up list.)

But what do the lists communicate, viewed circumspectly? I don’t think, for instance, that every elder must exhibit every qualification in Paul’s list written to Timothy — because, after all, that list is a little different than the one in the letter to Titus.

Do we think that all the sins in the human experience are accounted for in Galatians 5′s “works of the flesh”? What about the ones in Revelation 22?

I’m thinking that the lists aren’t usually intended to be viewed as all-inclusive.

Another, perhaps more significant angle on biblical lists: they often seem to present an overall picture, over an above than a checklist of individual items. When we consider, for instance, the character of an elder of God’s church, could it be more important that we look at the big picture than at an individual trait? I’ve known elders who really aren’t “apt to teach,” for instance, but if they are true shepherd-types who have most of the other traits, may they be elders, or are the lists to be viewed as exhaustive and exclusive?

In the case of the “fruit of the Spirit” listing in Galatians 5, it’s been pointed out that the word is singular: fruit, not fruits. I’m not completely sure that that fact relates to my brief discussion of lists, but perhaps if the word were plural, it might indicate more emphasis on the individual items in the list. As it is, the singular “fruit” might give emphasis to the overall picture of the Christian in whose spirit the Essence of God dwells.