The Second Sunday of Pentecost
Fences Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. God’s Apostle Paul says in today’s Epistle, “*Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we* [earlier] *preached to you, let him be accursed*.” (By the way, “accursed” means something like “openly rejected as ungodly” or “set apart for destruction.” People on death row could be thought of as accursed.) Paul feels so emphatic about this point that he repeats himself: “*As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed*.” Dear Christian friends: I have never had a conversation with a cow. Therefore, I cannot say for certain why she or her calf would be so interested in busting through the fence and walking away. Yet they do, and we could brainstorm a few theories as to why: · You have heard the popular saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” These words essentially mean that the thing you have seems less appealing than the thing you do not have. There could be some truth to this saying. The promise of greener grass might indeed motivate a greedy cow to lean up against the wire, but the grass on the other side of the fence could just be grass—and there are unknown dangers in unexplored places. · That might be the second reason why the cow or calf would want break through. They cannot see the danger of the highway that runs along the other side of the fence. If the cow could perceive the danger of the passing trucks, she might not test the fence. But the danger does not yet register in her brain as danger, even though it could kill her in an instant. · Or maybe the cow is just bored. She does not realize how her farmer has placed inside the fence everything she needs for a peaceful life of chewing her cud and raising her babies. She takes for it all granted. None of it means anything to her. As a culture, we Americans tend to hate our fences. Limitations may be fine if they are imposed upon other people, but Roy Rogers sang it well: “Don’t fence me in.” We each want to be an individual, perhaps not realizing that we are all the same that way. Those Americans who volunteer to stay inside their fences appear spineless and weak in our eyes, if we notice them at all. None of us wants to be looked upon as fearful or cowardly or even content. Our greatest heroes are those who smash fences and lead us into places we have never gone before. Our illusions of personal independence and individual autonomy spur us toward joining the herd and running headlong toward every fence we can find. Rebellion is glamorous. The exceptions are the rule. Fringe behavior is always at the center of our attention. Christians now stand in an unprecedented place in American history. It is not necessary for us to wonder whether our culture was ever a Christian culture—we could argue both sides of that point until the cows come home. It would be enough for us simply to observe that our culture is not right now Christian. We Christians should therefore wonder whether it is a good idea to participate in our culture’s unending desire to break through its fences. When it comes to fence-busting, we Christians might now want to ask ourselves, · Is the grass truly greener on the other side? King Solomon did not think so. No one in history has ever been wiser than Solomon, and Solomon learned from experience that fence-busting lacks wisdom. He’s been there; he’s done that; it all proved to be a stupid and destructive waste of time. “*Whatever my eyes desired I did*,” said the king. “*Behold, it was all vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun*” (Ecclesiastes 2:10, 11). · What dangers might be involved once I cross the wire? If you desire to do so, you could think of God’s Ten Commandments as an oppressive fence that limits your freedom and your fun. Or you could be a Christian and see God’s Ten Commandments for what they are: a fence that has been established for your safety, your preservation, and your peace. Just because a cow cannot see the deadly danger of the highway that runs along the other side of the fence, that does not mean she is safe. In the same way, if you devote yourself to staying within the fence of the Ten Commandments, then the truck will not wrap its bumper around you. This will mean good for you and good for your closest loved ones. After all, God has promised, “*I show steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments*” (Exodus 20:6). · whether our interest in crossing the fence might stem purely from boredom with God’s abundant grace and eternal promises here in the pasture He has given us. o This is something that drove Luther up the wall. When the Good News of God’s forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus was preached in Germany, the people rejoiced exceedingly for a while—but only for a while. It did not take them long to become bored with the Gospel and soon they snored their way through it. Boredom with the Gospel led people into the false belief that God’s commandments could now be ignored—and through the fence they went! Here is just one example of what Luther had to say about such things. This is from the Large Catechism; it has to do with the Lord’s Supper: Those who claim to be Christians should prepare themselves to receive this blessed sacrament frequently. For we see that men are becoming listless and lazy about its observance. A lot of people who heard the Gospel, now that the pope’s nonsense has been abolished and we are freed from his oppression and authority, let a year, or two, three, or more years go by without receiving the sacrament, as if they were such strong Christians that they have no need of it. … Some pretend that it is a matter of liberty, not of necessity, and that it is enough if they simply believe. Thus the majority go so far that they have become quite barbarous, and ultimately despise both the sacrament and the Word of God (LC V.40). o Boredom with the Gospel is also what fueled Paul’s complaint in today’s Epistle. The free grace of God in Christ Jesus our Lord does not always seem very exciting. The enticements of the false teachers sounded far more appealing to the Christians in Galatia, and their quick departure from the Word of Life led Paul to distraction. “*I am astonished*—I am completely flabbergasted—*that you Galatians are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel… which is no gospel at all*” (compare NIV). o How about you and me? To what extent do we simply take for granted that God has shed the blood of His own Son for our forgiveness and life? The old news can become the boring news if we allow it! Have you grown cold and blind to all the mercy and forgiveness and grace that your heavenly Father has placed inside the fence for you? If so, then today would be a good day you to change your mind and head back toward the safe confines of the pasture that God has given. If the Ten Commandments truly do form a fence for us, then the fence is meant hold us in and keep us focused upon the green pastures and still waters of the one, true, undistorted Gospel, which was given for your forgiveness and for your life. God sent His apostle Paul into the world in order to preach to people just like you and me, so that we and all people could hear and believe that all our sins are now forgiven for the sake of Christ Jesus. The good news of forgiveness is now for you, just as much as it was for the Galatians in today’s Epistle, to whom Paul had preached. Paul was so totally committed to preserving our faith and life in the Gospel of Christ that he called for dire treatment upon those who would give us anything except for the purest preaching of Christ and His mercy. This is what you heard: “*Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we* [earlier] *preached to you, let him be accursed*.” Again he says, for top-of-his-voice emphasis, “*If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed*.” I said it before and I now say it again: Christians now stand in an unprecedented place in American history. As soon as our fellow Americans topple one fence, they immediately start looking around for another one to stampede. This might not be the best time for us to join the herd. Rather, it might be good for us—and good for our fellow Americans—to sing the praise of God’s fence, which is His Ten Commandments. Yet you do not even need to declare that you like the fence. Simple recognition and respect for the fence will suffice, because the fence shows you where the best grazing—the God-given grazing—can be found. There is life in this pasture! There is eternal cleansing in its streams! If you remain close, you will—at the very least—chew your cud in God’s peace. But who knows? Perhaps others will see your contented grazing. Perhaps they will even want to draw near and get their own mouthful.
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