St.
Paul reminds us of the freedom we have in Christ. And he reminds us we are not to use this
freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.
Now I think we are inclined to understand “giving in to the desire of
the flesh” as primarily something sexual or physical. But the example Paul gives of gratifying the
desire of the flesh is when we bite at and devour one another. Following the desire of the flesh, for Paul,
makes us consume and devour one another with our endless jealousies,
competition and violence. Following the
desire of the flesh makes us desire to outdo, outwit, outshine one
another. Following the desire of the flesh
makes a war out of our lives together.
We come to one another as rivals.
We come as enemies.
We
see in the gospel Jesus’ refusal to follow the desire of the flesh. Traveling through a Samaritan village Jesus
and his disciples encounter opposition.
They find no welcome because the Samaritans recognize them as Jews,
their traditional enemies, on their way to Jerusalem. In reaction the disciples want to call down
fire from heaven upon the Samaritans.
But Jesus clearly rebukes them.
Following him means not following the flesh. Following Jesus means not following the
violent way of getting even and putting oneself on top of the heap.
We
need a clear grasp of what our freedom as Christians looks like – how we should
live it in our world – in our nation – and in our Church. We need concrete examples of people following
Jesus’ way of freedom. So I want to
offer one such example of a disciple of Jesus.
Bahram
[Dehquani-Tafti] was the son of Hassan.
And Hassan was the bishop of the Episcopal Church in Iran. As the Islamic Revolution took hold of that
country, Hassan’s family was forced to flee.
But on May 6, 1980, before they could escape to Lebanon, Bahram, who was
publicly known to be a Christian, was stopped by members of the Revolutionary
Guard, dragged from his car and shot to death.
In
response to his son’s death his father, Hassan, the bishop, the disciple of
Jesus wrote a prayer. Please listen
closely to the words of Hassan’s prayer.
“O
God, we remember not only our son but also his murderers – not because they
killed him in the prime of his youth and made our hearts bleed and our tears
flow – but because through their crime we now follow your footsteps more
closely in the way of sacrifice. The
terrible fire of this calamity burns up all selfishness and possessiveness in
us. Its flame reveals the depth of
depravity, meanness and suspicion – the dimension of hatred and the measure of
sinfulness in human nature. It makes
obvious as never before our need to trust in God’s love as shown in the cross
of Jesus and his resurrection – love that makes us free from hate toward our
persecutors – love that brings patience and greatness of heart – love that more
than ever deepens our trust in God’s final victory and his eternal designs for
the church and for the world – love that teaches us how to prepare ourselves to
face our own day of death. O God, our
son Bahram’s blood has multiplied the fruit of the Spirit in the soil of our
souls. So when his murderers stand
before you on the day of judgment, remember the fruit of the Spirit by which
they have enriched our lives – and forgive.”
Soon
we will celebrate July4th, our national day of independence. We call our country “the land of
freedom.” But the freedom we have in
Christ is of a different kind and order from the political freedom we rightly
celebrate. Hassan acts out – prays out –
the kind of freedom we have in Christ.
If we are to live in this freedom – if we are to live by the Spirit – if
we are to be disciples of Jesus – then our response to the violence we find in
our world must look something like Hassan’s response. For this freedom Christ has set us free. That freedom can change us; it can change
everything.
