Recreation or Re-creation
Zephyr United Methodist Church
Early First United Methodist Church
July 1, 2007
Rev. Eddie Smart
Galatians 5:16-25 (NRSV)
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Diana and I have been making vacation plans. Some of you have taken time for vacation. There have been trips to the beach and mountains. There has been time spent with lots of family members and times as couples.
We enjoy getting away from the Texas heat. The Rocky Mountains of New Mexico and Colorado have been favorites, but this year we are going to a place we have come to love. We are going to Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains for a week. We will enjoy the peace and quiet of the evenings, play games at night and play in this mountain playground during the day. During the second week we will go to Lake Junaluska, North Carolina to the South Eastern Jurisdiction Retreat Center. We will participate in a spiritual week organized by The Upper Room.
Our hope is that it will be cool, refreshing, renewing. We look forward to recreation, but more than that to re-creation.
Paul writes to the Galatians about life– life that can be the works of the flesh or life that can be the fruit of the spirit. Paul contrasts “flesh” and “spirit” in comparing human beings subject to earthly tendencies with human beings under the influence of God’s spirit.
Paul uses flesh to speak of the natural, material, visible human existence, weak and earth bound, the human creature left to itself– a person who cannot please God (Rom 8:8).
Paul says, “live by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the
flesh.” (5:16) Elsewhere, Paul assures us that we are new creatures in
Christ Jesus.
As new creatures in Christ, we can walk by the Spirit. John
wrote of being born from above.
Paul echoed this idea as he writes of
being new creations.
We are born by the spirit. We are new creations – re-created. As new creatures we live by the Spirit. And when we live by the Spirit, we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.
Scripture uses the term fruit fairly often. Jesus told us that we are to bear fruit.(John 15:16) Jesus warned about false prophets. He said, “You will know them. You can tell them by their fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-16)
Paul writes to the Romans that Jesus has come to us so that we no longer depend on the law for our salvation, but we have Jesus and with Jesus we can bear fruit for God. (Romans 7:4)
Most often when we see that word fruit, it applies to what we do in response to what God has done for us. Fruit usually refers to the products of OUR labors.
But you notice here, Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit. He is speaking of the product of the Spirits labors in our lives. He is writing about the work of the spirit in our lives– the character of our being as a result of the Spirt’s work in us.
So beware! Paul is not saying, to be a Christian you ought to love -- to be a Christian you ought to: exhibit joy – know peace – practice patience -- be kind – be good – be faithful – be gentle -- have self-control. These are not our achievements, but God’s gift through the Holy Spirit -- another example of God’s grace.
These fruit of the spirit reflect God’s sanctifying grace acting in our lives through the Holy Spirit. We are being sanctified as we grow in our knowledge and love of God. And as we grow in that knowledge and love, we exhibit behavior that is not all that common.
As a matter of fact, the behavior is so uncommon, we have to be transformed from our old selves. The Spirit must perform re-creating work in us before we can display such a demeanor as described by Paul.
The re-creating work of the Holy Spirit is an ongoing process. It’s a little like that need for a vacation. We work and work until we are stressed out and need to be rejuvenated. We slip into old habits, or maybe even new habits, that call for the Spirits re-creating work in our lives.
Some years ago while serving in Arlington, I spent at least one full day each week visiting people in the hospital. In one of my visits, [Tom] told me about the tumor the surgeons were about to remove. They expected it to be malignant along with tumors located on two other organs of his body. News that would be devastating to many, and [Tom] had a great sense of peace about him.
He went on to share the reason for his marvelous perspective. Many years before, he had been with a customer one evening. He had a couple of drinks & was on his way home when he ran off the road and over a cliff. Far below the level of the road, he lay badly injured and ready to die. But his Lord was there by his side, even as he climbed the vertical cliff. He made it to the road were he laid until he was discovered the next morning.
[Tom] survived. He became a faithful servant of his Lord & Savior. He had the self-control to stop drinking. If you were to meet him, there is a gentleness & kindness about him that is instantly noticed. Out of his goodness & love, he has spent years working with alcoholics. Even in his critical circumstances there was joy in him. He would say a joy that comes from knowing that his life no longer belonged to him but to God. [Tom] had been in the hospital over a week before they got around to surgery, and his patience was incredible.
They're all there–the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the labors of the Holy Spirit in the life of [Tom]. He experienced the re-creating work of God through the Holy Spirit. He has grown in the knowledge & love of Christ Jesus.
One of the tools used by the Holy Spirit in re-creating our lives is Holy Communion. In Holy Communion we experience the presence of the living Christ. In Holy Communion we experience the unconditional love of our Creator for us. In Holy Communion the Holy Spirit labors to produce fruit in our lives.
Vacation is recreation, but vacation at it’s best is re-creation. And so it is with Holy Communion. As a matter of fact Holy Communion at its best is re-creation.