(Sermon text: Galatians 1: 11 – 24)
Given at St. Mark’s Church, West Frankfort, IL; and at St James’ Memorial Church (Parish Picnic), Marion, IL,
“The Christian faith is a matter of God’s revelation, not human invention.”
Ever hold up a fine piece of glassware – crystal – to the light, and watch the rays dance through the many facets of the glass? It’s fascinating to see the various angles of the cuts in the glass as the light plays with them, delighting the eye.
Revelation - or particularly God’s revealing of Himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ - is sort of like looking at the light that is refracted through fine glass…..The brilliance of God’s handiwork in Jesus Christ draws our attention, and the more we look at His revelation, the more we realize there is to study and learn.
Now what if we were to look at a fine piece of crystal, study it for awhile, and then turn away to allow our imaginations to be the source of what we know about that piece of crystal? I think two things might very easily happen: 1. we would miss something of the depth and the complexity of the crystal; and 2. we might well begin to believe that our mental image of the crystal was the actual reality of the piece of crystal, or, - put another way - that our perception was reality.
Clearly, we can see that, if we are not to miss anything, we have to keep looking at the piece of glassware, for we cannot allow our imaginations to capture something that isn’t there, nor can we allow what we have gleaned from our observations to become the continuing source of our knowledge….we need to keep referring back to the source.
What is true about looking at a piece of fine crystal is also true of the Christian faith:
- It takes constant observation of the source to be sure we are getting a clear and complete picture,
- We must constantly “check out” that source to avoid substituting our own version of reality for the basic reality itself.
With this premise in mind, let’s look at St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, our Epistle reading for today:
Two things ought to be noted about Paul’s exposition of his faith and its source:
- God’s revelation to him is the source of Paul’s faith. Clearly, God is the actor, the prime mover. Notice verses 11 and 12: “I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.” (NIV) A little later on, Paul will go on to say (verse 15): “But when God…..was pleased to reveal his Son in me….” (NIV)
- The source of Paul’s gospel declaration is independent of the other Apostles: Notice that Paul takes care to say that his revelation is unique. Verse 16: “I did not consult with any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was….” Only later on, did Paul go to meet with Peter and with James, the Lord’s brother (see verses 18 & 19).
A footnote is in order here: Though Paul’s source of divine revelation is independent of the other Apostles, his faith – and therefore, his gospel[1] - is basically the same as the other Apostles, differing in no major respect where beliefs and morals are concerned.[2]
Why is it important for us human beings to remember who or what is the source of divine revelation?
The answer is: the human heart and mind are infinitely capable of “making it all up ourselves”, substituting the objective revelation of God for our own perceptions, which may – or may not – be based on the revelation we have received from God in Christ.
Put another way, and using the illustration we began with: since we are able to see the piece of crystal and the light passing through it, we might begin to believe that our ability to see and to comprehend is the revelation.
To substitute our perception for God’s revelation is to set the stage for a descent into the introspective world of individual thought and conviction. We then might become cut off from God, for we might not be able to see and comprehend Him in His Son, Jesus Christ. We may become isolated from one another, as a cacophony of individual points-of-view supplant the unity that God’s revelation is intended to bring.
In the end, “going our own way” by following our own perceptions, divorced from the reality of Jesus Christ’s revelation of God the Father, is idolatry, for we can become fascinated with our own individual perceptions to the point that they themselves become the source of revelation and the origin of authority.
Though the mystery of God’s revelation of Himself in the person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ, is a complex and wonderful thing (not unlike looking again and again at a piece of fine crystal), and though we might come away from our study of God’s purposes, worked out in Jesus Christ, with differing understandings of God’s working, yet we cannot come away from our study of God’s revelation in Christ with a wholesale denial of the basic nature of God-come-in-the-flesh, Jesus Christ, any more than we might come away from a careful study of a piece of glassware with the conviction that it is really a clay pot.
So, I have said the basic premise of this sermon in quite a few ways to this point: God’s revelation vs. our perceptions.
Is this such a problem in the Church today?
The answer is “yes”.
As I look at it, the clearest example might be the trend toward individual “spirituality”, a spiritual awareness which is nearly – or totally – devoid of a vibrant and continuing connection to Jesus Christ….In such a state, where the individual’s needs, wants, and preferences take over, whatever will serve the individual, no matter its source, becomes the reference point for all things spiritual.
Soon, two things can happen:
- All sources of spiritual inspiration take on equal importance.
- All sources of spiritual enlightenment are of benign origin.
The result is:
- Chaos as competing truth claims seek to assert themselves
- God’s revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ takes second – or last – place among our sources of revelation.
In the final analysis:
“The Christian faith is a matter of God’s revelation, not human invention.”
AMEN.
[1] Paul seems to equate faith with gospel, as this passage implies. Here, I am in complete agreement with the commentator Richard B. Hays, writing in the New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XI, p. 217.
[2] How do we know that Paul’s teaching and beliefs do not waver from the other Apostolic witness? I think one way we can know that is by Paul’s presence at the Council of Jerusalem (held about 48/9 AD), at which the question of the basis upon which Gentiles would be welcomed into the Church as full members was discussed. Essentially, the issues before the Council of Jerusalem were those that confronted Paul in Galatia: whether or not Gentile convert had to undergo circumcision and had to observe the Law of Moses in order to become Christian. The Council’s decision was – briefly stated – that ritual observances of the Law were not binding on Gentiles, but the moral provisions were. (See Acts 14: 27 – 15: 29.)
