FREEDOM FROM FEAR OF THE 'OTHER'
Galatians
5:1, 12-15
John
8:31-36
"For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore and do not submit
again to the yoke of slavery."
"If you continue in my word...you will know
the truth, and the truth will make you free."
Paul's letter to the Galatians
is often called his "epistle of Christian freedom." There were undoubtedly some freed slaves in
the Galatian churches, but Paul had chiefly in mind those Jewish converts to
Christ who had been liberated from slavery to religious legalism and
intolerance. Paul himself knew all about
this slavery because as a strict Pharisee he had persecuted Jewish Christians
and even put some to death because they no longer kept all the ritual and
dietary requirements of the law. But
now, as a follower of Jesus, he had learnt to embrace those who were different
from himself and regard them as brothers and sisters, For had not Jesus embraced publicans and
sinners, prostitutes and Samaritans, and even had meals with them? So, too, as followers of Jesus, the Galatian
Christians had been liberated from slavery to those laws that kept them
separate from Gentile believers, laws of social exclusion and ritual purity
which also made women inferior. But now,
having been set free in Christ, some
were squandering their freedom in an attempt to keep themselves pure and
righteous in the sight of God. Women,
Gentiles and slaves were all being shunned as inferior, unclean and at best, second
class citizens in God's kingdom. So Paul
writes to remind them that as followers of Jesus they been set free from
slavery to such legalism in order to love others and should not "submit
again to the yoke of slavery."
As a former Pharisee of the
strictest kind, Paul knew how precious this freedom was. But he also knew that such freedom did not
mean doing what he liked irrespective of others, as though the law did not matter. Legalism as well as the irresponsible use of
freedom had the same outcome. The
freedom Jesus gave him was the freedom to embrace others as brothers and
sisters, rather than exclude them as unclean sinners and enemies. Like Jesus
and the prophets before him, Paul knew that whole law was summed up in love for
others as well as God.. In Christ, he
told the Galatians, "there is neither
Jew nor Gentile, male or female, slave nor free person, for we are all
one." It was therefore the
responsibility of every Christian to protect and nourish their freedom
responsibly in love and not abuse it for selfish interests and gain. Freedom from legalism was not licence to do
as you please but freedom to love and allow by fear or hatred of the other to
determine our relationships.
The attack on the gay night
club in Orlando, Florida, and the murder of Jo Cox, the British Labour MP were two
awful consequences of hate speech and homophobia in countries where civil
liberties are traditionally cherished, but in which uncivil vices are becoming
far too prevalent. When the
self-proclaimed "land of the free," becomes the land of the greedy,
religious intolerance and hate speech, it is no longer free, no longer the "leader of the free
world," but a land in the grip of fear.
When people like Jo Cox's who live to serve others, speak up for those
who are despised and oppressed, oppose
unjust policies, are murdered for doing so, something seriously wrong in the state
of England. But, of course, such deeds
of fear and hatred are happening across the globe with frightening regularity,
and we in South Africa are by no means
immune to the hate speech and greed that fosters violence as current events
painfully demonstrate.
In the midst of this bad news
we have been celebrating snippets of good
news which gives us hope. When our
national cricket team, the Proteas, beat the West Indies decisively last week, the
stars of the game were two South African Muslims, Hashim Amla and Imram Tahir. This was something unthinkable not so long ago
in apartheid and so-called Christian South Africa. In a world where the fear of Islam has become
a political tool in the hands of trumpeting politicians, and where religious
intolerance and jingoistic nationalism are on the upturn, this is significant even if only on a small scale.
On a larger scale has been the outpouring
of support for the LGBT community across the world for those affected by the
Orlando massacre and Jo Cox's murder. People
have come to see that homophobia breeds
hatred, hatred breeds fear, and fear breeds violence, though too many
politicians, preachers and their followers have yet to get the message,
And here on Volmoed last
Thursday, June 16, we celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the Soweto
Uprising of 1976, an event which, back then, stoked white fears even as it
awoke black hopes. Respect and embrace
not hatred and exclusion were the order of the day as we celebrated in the
chapel and formally launched the VYLTP programme. It was a wonderful time of song, conversation
and challenge, of making friends and having fun, of rejecting fear and
expressing hope. It was also an expression
of confidence in the next generation, the "born frees," who are
learning the true meaning of following Jesus and the importance of the ongoing
struggle to ensure that the freedom we have to embrace the other is never
surrendered. We still have a very long
way to go as a nation as the Tswane riots demonstrated, but we have also come a
long way.
As Christians and citizens we have been set free from the bondage that
kept us separate on the basis of race and religion, and we should not allow ourselves to be dragged
back into the slavery of that fear that feeds hatred. That is why we have to
resist and reject racism and xenophobia at every turn whether in the church or
the state. So let us take to heart what Jesus said. "If
you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the
truth, and the truth will make you free."
Fear is nurtured by lies; freedom thrives on truth, and for us that
truth is embodied in Jesus. That is why
we have to continually listen to Jesus' words.
And that is precisely what Paul was telling the Galatians. For only when
we truly follow Jesus will we know what is true, and only then will we be free
-- free from fear, free to seek justice, free to be compassionate, free to love one another.
"For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore and do not submit
again to the yoke of slavery."
John de Gruchy
Volmoed 23 June 2016
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