5^th July 2010

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley

Lessons -- Psalm 30; Galatians 5:25-6:6; Luke 17:1-4

'Bear one another's burdens and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.
(Galatians 6:2 NRSV)

Friends of ours have a son with schizophrenia. It is tough on all of them. We have marvelled at their resilience and love in the midst of suffering. More remarkable still is to hear them say, without a hint of forced piety, that they have learned something about what it means that we are created to 'bear one another's burdens'.

This is the opposite of what many of us have come to expect. Surely, we think, happiness is the absence of suffering? As members of the church, though, who have shared each other's tragedies, afflictions, disappointments and deaths, we do know something of what it means to bear one another's burdens in the company of the Man of Sorrows who has borne our grief.

However, as important as empathy for the suffering of others is in the life of a Christian congregation, it is not what Paul specifically has in mind here. He urges the Galatians to stand with, and stand by, a brother or sister 'in Christ' who has done the wrong thing and is weighed down by guilt. They are to help a stumbling fellow-Christian who is burdened by something which they should not have done! Christians must 'feel' the other person's sin as if it were their own and 'restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness' (v1).

This wise and kindly advice comes after a section of Paul's letter which contrasts the 'works of the flesh' (5:16-21) and the 'fruit of the Spirit' (5: 22-26). Christians are beset by many temptations: idolatry, immorality, drunkenness, envy, conceit, conflict, hatred, anger 'and things like these' (v21). If they 'do such things' which are against God's good purposes, they 'will not inherit the Kingdom of God' (v21). It is no light matter to ignore God's claim on our lives!

So Paul encourages 'those who belong to Christ Jesus in having crucified the flesh with its passions and desires' (5:24) to show in their lives the 'fruit of the Spirit' (v22). 'Spiritual people' are to obey God's law by showing 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control' (v22).

This seems clear enough! Resist the 'works of the flesh' (forbidden by the law) and do the 'works of the Spirit' (against which there is no law).

But things are not so simple in practice. Paul counsels Christians to resist the many and varied temptations which beset them. But he also detects among the 'spiritually minded' a harsh attitude towards fellow- Christians who have 'fallen from grace'. That is why, to those tempted by spiritual pride and moral superiority, he counsels mercy.

Paul shows us that the purpose of discipline in the Church is the restoration to fellowship of the fallen brother or sister. Forgiveness, as Jesus says in Luke 17:1-4, is to be the mark of a Christian's attitude to a brother or sister who stumbles on the path of discipleship. It is a serious matter to encourage a fellow-Christian to do 'works of the flesh'. When wrong is treated as good, it must be opposed. But it is just as serious to withhold mercy or refuse to seek reconciliation with those who have done what is wrong!

Paul is very mindful of the subtleties of temptation. Before speaking about 'bearing one another's burdens', he tells those who 'have received the Spirit' to 'take care that you yourselves are not tempted' (6:1). Beware! Failing to show mercy is also a sign of having 'fallen from grace'.

The test of a spiritual person's faith is whether, like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, they are prepared to bear the burdens of brothers and sisters who have seriously tarnished their God-given 'image'. Here is the test for all decent Christians and reformers. Do we, in rightly criticising their actions, feel their sin as if it were our own? Do we want them to be restored to the community of grace?

Martin Luther is well-known for his blistering attacks on those who falsified Christian faith. But he once said to pastors:

'. . . above all, clothe yourself with great gentleness towards sinners, for it is necessary to the priest that he despise none; but rather deem their own sins and miseries as your own, as you see Christ has done towards us.' (The Minister's Prayer Book, ed John W Doberstein p 278.)

Alas, this advice is more honoured in the breach -- by ministers and congregations. That is why in pastoral care that involves discipline we should heed Paul and first 'look to ourselves'.

That is in fact what we do in worship. Confession of sin takes place in the company of those who know themselves to be deeply flawed -- and forgiven. In confession we 'look to ourselves' in the knowledge that, with all humanity, we have been restored to communion with God and one another by the One who bore the burden of sin on the Cross.

* This is a timely word for a church and a society which is sharply divided over fundamental issues about what it means to uphold human dignity. It is vital that the church should resist pressure to conform to 'works of the flesh' which bedevil our life-together in the Spirit. If appeals to what is good are rebuffed, harsh words and strong action may be needed.

However, in holding people accountable for actions which dishonour God and harm others, we must live in hope that those who have 'fallen from grace' shall be reconciled to God.

* This is also a timely word for us, as members of the Church who know something of what it means to bear one another's burdens in suffering caused by tragedy, sickness, disability, disappointment and death.

Sharing these 'burdens' can be very hard. Both carers and those who are cared for can become resentful, angry or despondent, particularly when the flaws or foibles of the other person(s) are exposed, as they often are under stress.

When friendships, marriages, family harmony and church unity are so easily threatened in such circumstances, it is of the greatest help to remember that Christ, at great cost, has graciously borne our sins. We are not to 'burden' ourselves with the shortcomings of others or ourselves.

That doesn't solve every tension -- issues must still be faced. But it will encourage us not to look to the other person's failings but to look to the One in whom God's mercy has been displayed for us, the other person and all people. Then we can freely bear one another's sufferings.

This unparalleled act of divine love for our common flawed humanity is affirmed and enacted in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. In this sacrament of grace we acknowledge before God that (with all our brothers and sisters) we are sinners who neither love God nor our neighbours as we are loved and forgiven by God in Christ.

It is our privilege to gather around the Lord's Table: to praise God for his mercy towards us; to acknowledge that 'we do not come because of any goodness of our own' and to pledge ourselves to 'bear one another's burdens and in this way to fulfil the law of Christ'.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.