he sees angels in the architecture / spinning in infinity

he says, "amen & alleluia"

A sermon on the ending to Galatian's that's full of new beginnings

Here, as Saint Paul concludes his epistle, he finally, and explicitly, names the crux of the issue. In the end, it’s not a matter of this tradition or that. Why it’s not even a matter of flouting this convention or that! Ultimately, ALL that’s beside the point! And altogether, too! 

All this talk of having to do this or that OR even not having to do that or this, it’s ALL a bunch of nothing NOW! The only thing that matters anymore, states Saint Paul, is new creation! New creation.

At the end of this deeply passionate and thoroughly considered letter on the true nature of the real Gospel, Saint Paul concludes with his eyes straining past the horizon, his finger reaching beyond this thin veil, and two simple words dripping from his lips, “new creation.”

Two simple words. New creation. “Kai-ne ktis-is,” in Greek. Rendered emphatically by Saint Paul. His Greek reads, “For, in Christ, NEITHER circumcision has any pull nor uncircumcision for that matter; BUT new creation!” 

But new creation. That’s all! New creation. Nothing else matters anymore. New creation. That’s it.

…Now, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suspect these words would find welcome harbor amongst us. After all, marketers have found that these two little words SELL every time. 

Strictly speaking, though, I’m not referring to “new creation.” No, the phrase that has purchase these days is a subtle variation on Paul’s phrase. But you know it. It goes, “new and ________.” That’s right! New and improved! 

But, like all sales pitches, this line isn’t true. Because, of course, BOTH these words can’t be true. Can they? I remember being blown away in middle school when someone pointed out that if something is improved, it, by definition, can’t be new. 

It’s so obvious! Isn’t it? Either it’s new, or it’s improved. But it can’t be both. 

In the push and pull of life, though, we almost always fail to notice this. Don’t we? “New and improved.” What could be better, we think. And we hand over all our hard-earned money. In the end, though, we only get one, EITHER new OR improved.

…Alright, let’s have a little participation. How about we get your input on the matter? By raising your hand, state your preference, either new or improved. And remember, I’m your pastor, so don’t lie!!

Got it? Okay. Who here prefers new? Alright. And who prefers improved? 

That’s about what I suspected. And you know what? I have some bad news for that minority of you who said you prefer the new. The truth is, you don’t! You REALLY prefer the improved! 

After all, I’m your pastor! I should know! In fact, I can predict with 100% accuracy what will make you complain after worship. And without exception, it’s never the improved! 

No, what always gets complaints is the new! A NEW hymn, the so-called NEW version of the Lord’s Prayer, a NEW translation. Introduce any of that, and after worship, just as sure as God’s grace, one of you little stinkers will let me know how much better the old version is. 

No, it’s not the new we prefer. It’s the improved. 

And things like sales figures back this up, too, by the way. For instance, the sales for the original iPhone were a paltry $6 million. But the improved iPhone 6 sold a staggering $224 million units! 

Make no mistake about it, it’s not the new we want, it’s the improved. 

Why do you think that is? Anyone have a theory???

I have a couple. First, as Amanda and I discussed this, she pointed out how the new is unknown. And that’s scary. For us, the new tends to be as unwelcome as it is uncertain. 

Sounds about right. Doesn’t it? 

But I don’t think that’s the only reason we prefer the improved. I also think improvement is the closest approximation we have to the new. I mean, isn’t that how we tend to imagine approaching something like the new; through a gradual process of improvement?

After all, the iPhone was actually just an improvement upon the iPod. And the iPod was an improvement upon the Discman! And so on. And so on!

No, the truly new is a really rare thing! And for creatures of habit like us, it’s also an ambiguous one. And that’s the problem, shouts Saint Paul! 

The folks at First Lutheran in Galatia thought they were just trying to enhance their faith-life with some of the most historic practices of the people of God. What they were really doing, though, insisted Saint Paul, was flirting with LOSING everything that stood to actually GIVE them ANY faith! 

In the end, it all boils down to this, if Christianity is just another bit of good advice, it’s nothing new at all! And that’s really just a bunch of MORE bad news! Because, and here’s the deal, that constant drumbeat of improvement SOUNDS good. But only UNTIL it doesn’t.

There comes a time in all our lives when that refrain to “improve” begins to sound like the wolves at the door—like when we get tired, or when we hit our limit, or when we reach our peak, or when we just don’t have it in us. These are moments all of us experience. And in times like those, the suggestion to get better is nothing more than the first handful of dirt to bury you!

…But, while we all might have MORE experience with that than we wish we did, it doesn’t mean that’s how Christ has come to deal with you and me! 

Christ hasn’t come to throw the problem of sin BACK on our lap! On the contrary, he’s come to set US free from that dilemma! Christ hasn’t come to improve you. He’s come to save YOU! 

Christianity is not an improvement program! If it were, the Ten Commandments would have been enough. But Christ is not a new Moses! No, Christ is God’s scandalous work that interrupts the current state of affairs with something truly new! We call it salvation! 

Christianity is NOT a gradual PROGRESSION. No, it’s that ALWAYS sudden and surprising IN-BREAKING of Christ’s COMPLETED work of the cross! Christ IS the salvation of those of us who can’t find it in ourselves to save ourselves! Which is to say, all of us. 

Grace knows nothing of improvement! It’s too categorically new for any of that business as usual. And that’s what makes it truly Gospel, NEWS that is actually good! 

…This means, by the way, we’ve come to the point in the sermon where words begin to break down. I mean, isn’t that what we spent the beginning of the sermon reflecting on, how the new is unfamiliar on this side of eternity? But I can try and sketch out some impressions of what this new thing God, in Christ, is doing.

For instance, it won’t look like hanging all your self-worth on something as flimsy as an accomplishment. And it won’t look like deciding you’re worthless based on something as harsh as past malfeasance, either! No, this new creation will look altogether DIFFERENT from any of that! 

This new creation will look like something as shocking as finding all the WORLD’S standards CRUCIFIED to you! And you to them, too! Why it might even look like truly singing words as strange as, “Bane AND blessing, pain AND pleasure, by the cross are sanctified; PEACE is THERE that knows no measure, JOYS that through ALL time abide!” 

Of course, experiencing something like this is like catching lightning in a bottle. But believe me, it will happen! Christ is not stingy with this rare and precious work of his! 

No, he plays fast and loose with it! Superfluously so! Most certainly, he’s prodigal with his grace so as to be offensive! 

What’s more, you ALREADY have all of it, too! 

You’ve ALREADY been wrenched OUT of this OLD world and fixed firmly INTO the new one of Christ’s resurrection! This was all set out for you from the beginning of time. And in the fullness thereof, Christ accomplished it once and for all at the foot of his cross. 

It was in YOUR baptism, though, that it actually happened to YOU! And in these words, it’s happening all over again! And in the Holy Meal we will soon share, you will even be fed and nourished with this new creation! But the Last Day, it’ll happen once more—only then, unto all eternity!

For now, though, it’s enough just to know this work of new creation has borne in your breast! It’s as close as the breath you just took. And no further than your first steps out that doors! 

…I know, this doesn’t answer any of the questions you thought you wanted answered when you walked through those doors this morning. But it does answer all the really important ones, like the paradox of existence and concern of your soul. 

This new creation Christ has lodged in your corpse lends purpose and promise to all those strange twists and turns of life. It’s what opens the great adventure of faith to you! And it’s why any of us can dare to say something like, “In the cross of Christ I glory!” 

So let’s do it! Let’s sing, In the Cross of Christ I Glory! (ELW 324)