March 17, 2002 -- FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 130
With the LORD there is mercy and plenteous redemption. (Ps. 130:6-7)
Romans 8:6-11
John 11:1-45
Color: Purple
Title: “The difference Christ makes between “flesh,” and “spirit.”
Romans 8:6-11
This text is in the middle of chapter eight, which is in the middle of the doctrinal section of this most doctrinal of Pauline letters. Paul is reflecting on the difference Christ makes between “flesh,” and “spirit.” These important words have an earthly meaning and a heavenly meaning, a literal and a metaphorical meaning. “Flesh,” means just that- body, meat, food, even sex. Paul, however, uses the term here in a metaphorical or extended sense. By “flesh” Paul means living life or, more correctly, futilely trying to, on one’s own powers, by one’s own lights, on one’s own terms, without God. The “without God,” part can be either conscious or unconscious. It matters not to Paul, since the results are the same: death. Now, “death,” surely can mean physical death, the cessation of physical life. Paul means it in a metaphorical sense, as the absence of life or deprivation of life or negation of life, life as empty of meaning, purpose, point, and certainly absent God. Thus, life lived according to the principles of “flesh,” not only leads to death, but is “death,” itself. The “principles,” of deadly flesh find expression in all societies. They are the operating ABC’s of a society and the individuals in that society. Jews are no exception. They have their operating principles, their do’s and do nots to live by, basic assumptions and prescriptions about life. However, their “laws,” of and for living are inspired by God, and so have a different character from those of other societies. They do reveal the divine mind. Unfortunately, even those “laws,” do not convey the power to keep them, power Paul calls “grace”. Thus, a Jew is frustrated in that he or she might know how to live but does not have the power, because of “flesh,” to do so, to overcome the hold “flesh,” has over humans. Some other force, power, “spirit,” is needed, a power outside of humans and the human condition. Some new ingredient must be added to the human recipe if humans are to become what they can become. Paul identifies that “ingredient,” as spirit. This is not the human spirit, the earthly meaning of the word, for that has been co-opted by flesh, law, sin, death or whatever other name one might prefer. This is the divine Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Indwell Resident Holy Spirit, who enables Christ to live in the Christian and among Christians in the Church. The Spirit makes all the difference in the world - in a Christian’s life while still in the world, while still in the flesh, though no longer a prisoner of the flesh. This Spirit also impels the Christian into the wider world of God’s presence, right up to the last day, the day of general resurrection, the “end of the world.” The Spirit affects one’s attitude, which changes one’s behavior and connects the two, the internal, attitude, and the external, behavior, in a unity of life, Christ, which makes both attitude and behavior transcend law, principles, customs, presuppositions, prescriptions, death, sin, in a word, all that is included in Paul’s term “flesh.”
In verse six, the mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The verse explains the results of the sinful nature as well as the result of the life controlled by the Spirit.
In verse seven, the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Again this verse explains the result of the sinful nature and the result of no relationship with the Spirit.
In verse eight, those who are in the flesh cannot please God: To be “in the flesh” is to be operating on one’s own and that, by definition, is opposed to God. The two cannot mix, cannot be reconciled, because they are opposites. Living “in the flesh,” has for its purpose and goal pleasing the self. “Flesh” and “obedient to God” are contradictory terms.
In verse nine, you are in the spirit: Christians are people whose lives are directed from a source outside themselves, here characterized as “spirit,” small “s” because Paul wants the contrast to be neat.
If only the Spirit of God dwells in you: Now Paul makes clear that the contrast is not with just any spiritual reality or realm, but with God. There can be no relationship with Christ apart from this Spirit. There can be no such thing as a Christian Pharisee, that is, one who operates on his own unaided moral effort in order to present himself or herself to God as a self-made human, pleasing to him by virtue of deeds.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him: No Spirit, no Christian. Paul uses “Spirit of God,” and “Spirit of Christ,” interchangeably. This anticipates the later, more spelled-out doctrine of the Trinity. For now, Paul is identifying the nuances in a person’s experience of the one God.
In verse ten, but if Christ is in you: “Christ in you,” “Spirit of God,” “Spirit of Christ,” all refer to the same reality, God, experienced in slightly different ways and so expressed differently to capture the nuance. Essentially, these are synonymous for the same spiritual reality, the divine indwelling to put it in Johannine terms, translated when that reality enters the Christian, into a spiritual “frame of mind Greek phronema,” attitude. Since Christ’s whole life and person are the em-bodi-ment of God, likewise his Church, his em-bodi-ment, now that he has returned to the Father and given us his Spirit, enjoys fellowship in that Spirit.
Although the body is dead because of sin: Christians have not yet shed the “body.” Now, there is a sense in which a human never sheds bodi-liness. In eternity we will always be embodied spirits, not pure spirits. Even now, just like Jesus, we express the righteousness of God in our deeds through the body. Because of the long history of the body, the human-embodied-spirit, coming under the power, even control, of the “flesh,” Christians are not entirely out of the woods as far as sin is concerned. “Dead,” here means “mortal,” and then some. “Dead,” refers to the quality of human deeds done outside of God. They are dead, meaningless, contribute nothing to anything really worthwhile, no matter how good they look, seem, are valued, on the outside. If the person, the embodied spirit, called here simply “body,” sins, the person’s deeds are dead, mortal. Deprived of life, as God defines the term, they are devoid of life and thus dead.
The spirit is alive because of righteousness: Paul does not deny that all humans have something which can be described as “spirit.” Spunk, verve, enthusiasm, motivation, all these come under the rubric “spirit.” It is only when that “spirit,” is enlivened by “Spirit,” that it really starts to cook. Behind this thought is Ezekiel 37: 1-14 where the resurrection from the dead took place in two steps. First, the “body,” rose. It looked marvelous, but was still dead. Only when the “spirit,” was breathed into it did it come to life. The spirit of humans comes alive when they do deeds from the righteous side, empowered by God’s Spirit, not their own, and certainly not from merely appearing righteous. This is the righteousness of God, which means, “grace,” as opposed to merely human effort.
In verse eleven, If the Spirit…dwells in you: This is the same reality as Christ’s indwelling, but now is looked at from the nuance of Christ’s resurrection and its application to the resurrection of all Christians. That resurrection is not only at the end of time, or one’s time in the world, but happens when the Spirit enters the Christian, that is, at Baptism.
Will give life to your mortal bodies: Imbued with Christ, his Spirit, God’s Spirit, the formerly meaningless activities done through the human body now have life, life-enhancing quality, enduring quality. One’s earthly deeds, done under the power of the Spirit, take on eternal value and meaning. They contribute now to the final sate of affairs and they communicate life to others, real life, God’s life, not just the appearance of life, counterfeit life.
Sermon
We must take care not to let our present understanding of the term “flesh,” infect Paul’s understanding of it. We tend to think of “flesh,” when used in a religious context to mean only one thing: sex. Thus, “sins of the flesh,” means carnal sins, sexual sins. Paul would include sexual activity under the rubric “flesh,” but his use of the term is much broader. In fact, “flesh,” as Paul uses it, includes all human behavior and their underlying motivating attitudes and feelings that exclude God, God’s will and God’s power. Paul uses the term “flesh,” to point to a person’s entire life lived outside the realm and reality of God. Such a life is pointless, purposeless, empty of real and lasting meaning or worth. An those who do not have a relationship with the Indwelling Holy Spirit intuitively realize something is missing because life has no real meaning.
We do have a term in our present culture that is pretty much synonymous with Paul’s term “flesh.” We use the phrase “playing house,” in much the same way as Paul uses “flesh.” The basis for the expression is found in what children do or used to do, when they pretended to be adults and play-acted adult behavior. They dressed up in mommy’s and daddy’s clothes, sat at a miniature table and ate and drank imaginary cookies and tea from miniature dishes. They pranced, paraded, and play-acted for their own enjoyment and to the amusement and entertainment of adult onlookers. Yet, for all its entertainment value, it was not real life. If children were questioned about whether it was real, the answer would vary depending upon the age. The younger children, at an age when aspects of the brain are not yet fully developed, would not be able to distinguish between fantasy and fact. The comparatively older children would begin to notice the difference and eventually know the difference. At that point, children would stop “playing house.” They do not stop playing. Adults play throughout they lives and should, if they are to be whole and wholesome. However, children grow into preferring to play real games and to know the difference.
The Pauline contrast between flesh and spirit is very similar to the contrast between “playing house” and “playing.” One is real; the other is fake. It is possible for a person to live an entire lifetime playing house and never growing out of it, never knowing the difference between his or her own fantasies about life and the real facts of life itself. It is also possible for a person at some point in his or her life, under the influence of God’s Spirit, to come to the awareness that, up to that point, his or her life has been pointless. Then, conversion happens. It is most often the case that the good example of those living in God’s reality begins to have an increasingly profound influence and “influence,” is a good term to describe the Spirit’s activity, upon those still play-acting at life. Just as parents do not abruptly scold their children for “playing house,” but gently and over time teach them the difference between fact and fantasy, so also the Christian adult does not talk down to, scold or ridicule the person still stuck in a fantasy world of his or her own making. Instead, the Christian remembers his or her own bouts with reality, and uses that memory to develop ways, strategies, that are non-judgmental, but effective, in order to bring the other person to his or her, really to God’s, senses.
To a fellow play-actor “playing house,” looks real. To an adult, “playing house” is mere veneer. The same is true with those who are blessed with the Spirit. His presence within us allows us to see through sham and pretense. We can see through a person who is only play-acting at life, trying to live life on his or her terms only, even though the person and others in the same situation cannot see past the externals of behavior. Indeed, two people can engage in the very same activity, but it means two very different things. For instance, externally two people can engage in the same sexual intercourse, but internally it can mean very different things to them. When a Christian sees through another person’s behavior, it is not to judge that person. No, like a good parent, the Christian must wait for an appropriate opportunity and plan a strategy for helping that person also see through themselves. For Christians there is no justification for looking down upon or having self-righteous disdain towards those less fortunate. After all, we have all come to our senses through grace, not effort. Effort follows grace and depends upon grace for the energy to do what we otherwise would not or could not do. We Christians have no basis or cause to boast except in the Lord, for if we do so, we have slid back into the conceit that we can do something worthwhile on our own power. If we try to help someone out of the fantasy world, but are fantasizing about ourselves, then we are like “the blind leading the blind.
It is not the deed itself, but the “Spirit,” in which and by which the deed is done that matters to God.
To have God’s Spirit dwelling within, one must accept Christ, replacing self- will with his will.
The Spirit who caused Jesus to rise from the dead can certainly cause otherwise “dead,” deeds to come to life.
The indwelling Spirit of Christ gives purpose and point to all our otherwise pointless deeds.
Eastern vs. Western Meditation: When the average pew-sitter hears an excerpt from one of Paul’s letters read at service his or her eyes glaze over and he or she mentally goes to another place to dream or think until the reading is over. Paul seems so distant, so repetitious and so obscure in what he says. This reading would be no exception.
It is true that Paul repeats himself. But he is a good teacher. He knows that “Repetitio est mater studiorum Repetition is the mother of learning,” as the Latin saying puts it. Unfortunately, much of what Paul says in the doctrinal sections of his letter, and especially this one, the longest and most doctrinal of them all, the “mother of all epistles,” if you will, has become fodder for theological disputes and hairsplitting. Nothing could have been further from Paul’s mind or purpose. Paul would turn over in his grave if he knew how his relatively brief and few letters have caused so much ink to be spilt by theologians and wannabe theologians in an attempt to split hairs over doctrinal niceties. Paul was always arguing against such legalistic, razor-sharp distinctions. He thought they were not only pointless, but dangerous. History has proven him right.
What Paul is really doing is meditating. We are treated, in the Pauline letters, to Paul’s own meditations-in-progress. In the East, then and now, the essence of meditation is the mantra, the repetition of the same thought or sound in order to produce concentration, which leads to contemplation. The repetition of the same idea or sound, crowds out of the mind any thought foreign to that idea. It allows the mind to focus in both a mental and emotional way upon the key concept. Then, the concept opens up, blossoms, before the mind’s eye of the meditator. All the nuances, all the connections of this thought with the entire universe appear before the focused mind. The mantra, the repetition, prevents distractions. All the eastern meditator wants to do is to ponder. The Western meditator typically has a different purpose in mediating and takes it a step further. He or she wants to take the contemplative truth and apply it to everyday life, to return to mundane reality, changed by the illumination, to live according to the light of that truth. The Western mind wants to make a difference. The Christian Western mind goes even further. He or she wants to share the vision as well as use it for the betterment of the human condition. That, in a nutshell, is what Paul is doing.
Praying with the Scriptures: His repetition of the same thoughts and repeating them in different keys much like Hebrew poetry is an invitation to the reader to repeat the experience, not merely to understand something. Paul wants his readers to have the same or similar contemplative look at the mystery of God in Christ. He also wants the reader to look at mundane reality flesh, sin, law, death in the light of that eternal reality and change according to its truth. Thus, the repetition should put one in a mantra-like trance. This trance is not for enjoyment only, although it is that as well, but for action in the world. To really appreciate Paul one needs to sit the letter on one’s lap, read, think, read, think, read, think, think, pray, think, pray, read, think, pray and resolve, resolve to live according to the vision, the experience of the divine one has been transported to by the sheer power of the words. Like all the words of Scripture, Paul’s words are not to be read like a novel, but used like a mantra. Then their power is released. Then, the repetition does not annoy, but causes us to enjoy the ever deepening and widening waves of the dimensions an earthly description, of eternity. While we may be tempted to return to fleshly existence, these words as did the words of the Old Testament for Jesus, fortify us to remain in the realm of spiritual life. Amen.
