It’s All About Us Keith McFarren July 6, 2025 Galatians 6:1-16 There is a song sung at the end of the Broadway musical “Wicked” called “For Good.” The song takes place near the end of the show, during the final meeting of the two main characters. Throughout the show they have been friends and enemies, and partners and rivals. They meet at the end of the show under less than ideal circumstances and together they sing this song, knowing that they will probably never see each other again. The song is both an apology and an affirmation…but more importantly it is an acknowledgment of what a deep and lasting impact one person can make on another person’s life. Listen to the words of a few stanzas of the song “For Good.” “I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them and we help them in return.” “Well, I don’t know if that’s true, but I know I am who I am today…because I knew you” Songwriter: Stephen Lawrence Schwartz For Good lyrics copyright, Universal Music Corp., Greydog Music. The song, “For Good” is meant to help us recognize the influence other people bring into our lives and the impact that they make, sometimes in surprising ways, but most often in permanent ways…meaning that someone who is close to us can be a good influence on our lives by having a permanent and lasting effect on who we are and what we have become not only for today, but for today, tomorrow and out into the future. We can become better people because of the goodness other people bring into our lives. And that goodness stays with us throughout our life time. Or as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West in the show would sing, “You’ll be with me, like a handprint on my heart.” Paul had been around for a while; he knew the problems that arise in any Christian society. He knew that even the best of people can slip up. The word Paul uses, “slip up,” doesn’t mean a deliberate sin that was done on purpose; he means that one can “accidently slip up” just like one accidently slips on the ice in the winter or stubs their toe on a raised sidewalk. It…just kind of accidently happened. He had also been around long enough to know that there is an element of hard heartedness in a lot of good Christian people. He knew that the danger of those people who profess to walk the straight and narrow line and live the Christian lifestyle is that they are likely to judge the sins of other people quite harshly. Good Christian people can be judgmental and very unsympathetic. But Paul says that, if people do slip up, if they do make a mistake, the real Christian response is not to judgmentally focus on what sin they have committed, but instead focus on getting those people straightened out and back on their feet again. In other words, don’t focus on the punishment for what they have done…focus on the cure. Don’t focus on the penalty that should be paid for their mistake but focus on getting them back on track again by making things right. Paul goes on to stress that instead of putting ourselves up on a holier than thou pedestal, when we as Christians see someone make a mistake, instead of judging, we would do well to say to ourselves, “There but for the grace of God go I.” To fully understand the way Paul writes, we need to think in plurals rather than singulars. As individuals, we tend to think of “What can I do to help someone?” How can I grow in my Christian discipleship?” But this new creation that Paul talks about is described in plurals…meaning we (as in community) rather than I (as an individual). We, meaning all of us, after accepting Christ into our lives, have become a new creation. We, as Bethel United Methodist Church, have become a family of faith. My faith is wrapped up in your faith. My growth as a Christian is wrapped up in your growth as a Christian. Paul asks us in the 6th chapter of Galatians to combine our faith as individuals to form a faith community and then measure our faith by the impact we have on the wider community that surrounds us. “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith” (Galatians 6:9-10, NRSV). Did you hear that? “…let us not grow weary in doing what is right…” Never get tired of doing the right thing. Despite all the barriers and roadblocks that lie ahead, hang in there and just keep plugging away at it. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Service to others in the name of Christ is not a sprint…it’s a long drawn out marathon that can, over a period of time, wear us down and cause us to want to give up but know that in the end, those that continue onward are the ones who will receive their reward. But there is another thing that Paul was referring to when he said that we should never grow weary. There were a lot of problems in the church at Galatia and many of them were complicated…problems that were causing a division at the very core of the church. There was some serious theological debate going on, but mostly the division had to do with church practices…how the people were to live out their new faith. And because of the differences in their beliefs and differences in how people thought things should be done, people were angry, they were calling each other names, and because of their frustrations the people were separating into different factions depending upon their beliefs. The church was being torn apart and this grieved Paul, but Paul, who tells us to never grow weary, wasn’t about to give up. Chapter six of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, begins with a conversation on how to deal with conflict. He uses phrases like the “spirit of gentleness” and he talks about “bearing one another’s burdens” as he sets out on a completely different tone for a church that is struggling with differences in beliefs, beliefs that led to a division among its people. Instead of using the old theory of “whoever shouts the loudest wins,” or “whoever is the strongest wins,” Paul wants the church to realize that there are different priorities and methodologies that they need to understand if they truly want to get along with one another and truly function as a community of faith. He gives the people a veiled warning, implying that there are certain responsibilities and certain expectations and certain standards to live up to for those who have been taught and accepted and live their lives according to the word of God. It was during that conversation that verses 9 and 10 come to the forefront. I read it to you earlier; let me read it again. “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith” (Galatians 6:9-10, NRSV). “…let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.” We know that. Paul doesn’t have to tell us that as a people and as a church we need to focus outward toward those around us and not inward toward only ourselves. We know that as Christians, we’re not supposed to be concerned first and foremost with ourselves. We know that as Christians we aren’t supposed to have the “me first” mentality. And Paul knows that. But Paul also knows that as much as we think we can…we can’t do God’s work all by ourselves. We get tired. We get worn out. We sometimes get cranky, even while we’re trying to save souls, because our energy level has dropped down to zero. But what would happen if we set this, “I can do it myself” stuff aside and worked together as a faith community. What would happen if we were to admit we slip up and we make mistakes? What would happen if we were to admit that, because we are human, we are incapable of sustaining the constant desire to do good. What would happen if we were to admit that, because we are human, we sometimes fail at working for the kingdom of God the way we should? What if we were to admit that I can’t do it all on my own and that the only way for me to move forward on a positive note in the kingdom of God is to work in unison with my brothers and sisters within the church because I need their support. What if we were to admit I need the people of my church to keep me going, to pick me up when I fall; I need the people of the church to keep me on the right track. I need the people of the church to help me with spreading the Good News of the Gospel. What would happen if we were to throw up our hands and admit that we need each other. That’s what Paul means in verse 10 when he uses the word especially. “Let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.” As Christians, we are always looking for ways to develop relationships not only outside the church but inside the church as well. We are looking to build relationships that will keep us connected and build us up…as individuals and as a church family. We are always looking for ways to create relationships whereby we are transformed by those who have come into our lives…just as others are transformed by the relationship we have formed with them as we enter into their lives. That’s why we worship together. We have communion together. We have cookie fellowship together. We have Sunday school together. We cardio drumming together. We have Book Club together. The church and its people are an extended family, in which we are to take full responsibility for one another and support one another as we walk through the various aspects of spiritual warfare. We will not grow weary in our lives or in our faith as long as we are sustained by those we love and by those that love us back. We will not grow weary as long as we have our faith community to lift us up and support us. We will not grow weary as long as we are sustained by the body of Christ. We are made better by our Christian friends and through our love and encouragement our Christian friends are made better by what we do for them. Our common welfare depends on the spiritual health of each of us because we each have a stake in helping one another walk faithfully just as we have a stake in helping one another through difficult times. Together, as one, we are encouraged and equipped to be better…to serve with passion, to serve with care, to serve with love. People come into our lives for a reason. And we are in other people’s lives for a reason…to pick them up when they are down, to raise them up when they have gone astray, to offer grace when needed…and these same people do the same for us. Together, we share our faith. Together, we share our love. Together, we are shaped for service, all in the name of Christ. |