You may have heard of the record breaking tennis match at Wimbledon. Played last week, the match was the longest in history. It lasted eleven hours and was played over three days. It involved 183 games and 215 aces were served. The final set was won 70 games to 68. Such was the match’s duration even the electronic scoring board struggled to keep up. When the match finally ended, the gathered crowd gave  the two players a standing ovation as they each collapsed into their seats on the courtside.
I mention this not only because it is a great story, but because it reminded me of the debates to have engulfed the church over the years. Though not as enjoyable a spectacle as Wimbledon, they too have included backhand winners and big points scored and left fans wondering if the games would ever end. A regrettable difference is the umpire last week commended the players for their behaviour; but this has not always been true of the church!
One of the earliest of these debates was to do with Gentile converts. The Jesus movement began as a Jewish movement. Jesus was a Jew. The disciples were Jews and the key players of the early church were all Jews. But as time went on, and the church reflected further on Jesus’ teaching, the boundaries began to break down, and Gentiles were welcomed as well into the Christian community. But their inclusion did cause some problems.
On one side of the court, to use the tennis analogy, were leaders of the Jerusalem church. They argued Gentile converts had to first become Jews before they became Christians. On the other side was Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. He was good with line shots and challenged the narrow mind set of others. He argued the Law, the Torah, the set of regulations and rules governing almost every aspect of Jewish life now no longer applied. It had served its purpose, but since Christ had come, it had been surpassed.
As he writes, “It is for freedom Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5.1)
When we look at the subsequent history of the church we see how this particular debate was won by the man from Tarsus, Paul. Few Christians today would claim they need to become Jews to follow the way of Jesus.
But the debate has manifested itself in other ways. Take for example the question, “what does it means to be free?” Are we morally responsible for our actions, or are there factors beyond our control – genetic make-up, social and political realities – that cause us to behave the way we do? We see this played out in our courts of law. Those who commit criminal acts will sometimes defend themselves by pointing to genetic predispositions or dysfunctional family backgrounds as an explanation for their behaviour.
While acknowledging the complexity of this issue, however, the bible does teach us we are responsible for our behaviour. We do have free-will. Adam and Eve chose to eat the apple from the tree; they could have done other. Similarly when faced with a moral dilemma, we too have a choice. We can choose to either bring forth life or to diminish it within ourselves and others.
But more than this the bible shows us we have the freedom to determine the kind of people we become. No matter what has happened in our lives, no matter what we have done or not done, there is always forgiveness and hope, the possibility of a fresh start and the freedom to shape our futures. We do not need to be defined by the events that have moulded our lives.
I want to suggest this is a point Paul is getting at in what he writes to the churches of Galatia. He speaks of Christ setting us free and of being called to be free, to become everything we are capable of becoming. And he also writes of the dangers of this new found freedom. In particular, he mentions three, based on his knowledge of the Christians there. He warns of taking the easy option; of neglecting others; and of now assuming anything goes.
[1]
Some of you may have seen the movie The Shawshank Redemption. Set in a tough American prison, it tells of one man’s quest for freedom for a crime he did not commit and the hope he offered others inside. One of the people he befriends is an elderly man who has been in prison for such a long time he fears being set free. He prefers the rigid routines of life inside to the prospect of a life outside the prison walls. So when finally released on parole, unable to cope with his freedom, he tragically takes his own life.
Now, we may not be “under the Law”, nor may we know what it is like to be confined to a prison cell, but I wonder how free we regard ourselves to be. We may live in a safe and supportive community, we may have the money and resources to do all we want to do, but still we may not be free. Some, in fact, would argue until we are free of the baggage we carry, including our fears and inability to forgive, and preoccupation with material success, until we are able to let these go, we will not be free. This is the point made in our gospel reading. Jesus invites people to follow him. He calls them on a journey towards freedom. But most of us prefer to take the easier option.
The path to freedom is demanding. We must work at it every day!
[2]
There is a nursery rhyme I quite like. It goes like this.
There were once two cats of Kilkenny; each thought there was one cat too many; so they fought and they fit, they scratched and they bit; til, excepting their nails and the tips of their tails; instead of two cats, there weren’t any!
Freedom: is it to be given permission to do what we want, to act as we will, to live with little or no concern for others, or does it mean something more? If we follow Paul’s argument the answer is clear. Freedom is not about a fixation with ourselves, behaving as if only we matter; it is about serving one another in love. Quoting Jesus, Paul reminds his listeners the whole of the Law is summed up in these words, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
What a difference it would make if we took these words seriously. Think of the nit picking behaviour of some which have caused churches to implode and divide, and think of all the atrocities committed by those who have sought to score points by coercion and fear, and ignored what Jesus said.
We have been set free to serve, and not just on a tennis court!
[3]
Finally, Paul acknowledges the struggle within us all to act morally. Plato speaks of two winged horses, a white and a black horse, representative of our honourable and passionate natures, pulling a chariot along and the challenge for the charioteer, the rational part of our soul, being to steer the horses in the right direction. Paul speaks of the Spirit and the flesh. Guided by our lower nature, he tells us we act in selfish and indecent ways, but guided by the Spirit we bring forth a harvest of love and joy and goodness.
The language we use to describe this inner conflict may differ to Plato or to Paul, but I think the message is obvious. The Christian life is a disciplined life. Though we are called to be free, this does not grant us permission to act in ways immoral or unethical. In fact, the opposite is true. The gospel demands the best from us. Jesus came to fulfil the Law, we are told. In his Sermon on the Mount, he lifts the ethical bar even higher; and in his death on the cross, he demonstrates what it means to be completely free. It is to know nothing can separate us from God’s love and it is to live in such a way that the people we become are no less than what we determine to be.
So may we live each day in the freedom of Christ; may we bring forth life in the people we meet; and may the harvest of the Spirit abound in us. Amen.

A sermon preached in St Alban’s Anglican Church, Eastbourne by the Ven Damon Plimmer, on Sunday, 27 June 2010