“Of what value is it for Jesus to fulfill the Law of Moses, if modern Christians are just going to repeat history by wielding Paul’s epistles like a new Leviticus?”
Paul to the Galatians: ‘Love Your Neighbor’
Over Valentine’s Day weekend, I appeared on Beyond the Walls, an inclusive online Church service from Centre Place. They are the Toronto-based congregation in Community of Christ. This was my second time giving a sermon for them. Each service includes a focus scripture. This week’s came from chapter 5 of Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. For my sermon, I included a portion of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, hence the “doom” reference above.
A lot of us will be familiar with the KJV translation of Galatians 5:22-23, where Paul lists the fruit of the spirit. As I learned in preparing for this sermon, the chapter frames these fruits in the context of Christian freedom, especially freedom from the old Mosaic law. If you’d like a good rundown on the historical background of this epistle, I recommend the BibleProject overview on YouTube.
From Galatia to Michigan
Our service emphasizes Paul’s instruction to love your neighbor. For the second half of my sermon, I tell a story about my late neighbor (and a third party who brought us closer together). I invite you to watch the sermon, which I have cued up below.
The sermon runs about 17 minutes. but I encourage you to watch the entire service, including hymns, scripture reading, greetings, and an exegetical lesson by Pastor John Hamer.
Lent Begins with Ash Wednesday and an Invitation
If having a priest from a different church rub ash on your forehead isn’t your jam, that is okay. Nevertheless, the Lenten season is here for you. It is a time when all of Christianity embarks on a wilderness journey toward Easter. What better way to start a story that ends with resurrection than Ash Wednesday? Today, we offer a humbling and thoughtful nod to the reality of death as part of our journey.
The good news is you need not reinvent yourself. You need not spend the next 40-ish days cosplaying as Catholic/Anglican/Protestant. Your Restoration heritage, presumably as a Mormon/Latter-day Saint, comes with all the trappings, history, and literature you may need. So, here is an invitation: in whatever way speaks best to you, spend a little bit of time every day between now and Easter contemplating your soul and your connections to Christianity’s central story. Peace be with you 🙏
Questions for Discussion
What is your relationship to the Apostle Paul and his teachings?
How can people of Mormon heritage incorporate Paul’s teachings in Galatians 5 into their lives and spiritual practice?
Are you participating in Lent this year? If so, how are you approaching the Lenten season?
Wheat & Tares 
Wow. I hardly hear much talk in the Church about Galatians 5:22-23.
I’ve seen a lot of quoting D&C 121:43 “Rebuke with sharpness” getting twisted into be harsh to someone who does something we feel is bad, but skip the idea of love, meekness (as being restraint, Neal A. Maxwell spoke about that), peace, etc. after that. The second part of that verse is “…when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;” Too often sharpness is thought of being painful, when it has been pointed out by some GA’s as focus on the issue at hand, NOT pointing out every flaw in someone. Living the second part of that verse in D&C 121, along with verse 44, go a long way in living Galatians 5:22-23.
Sadly, there’s some members who almost glory in their bad temper, or, being unable to forgive others, or, “The Lord just has to accept my flaws”. On a side note, D&C 121 was received while Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail, a grim situation to put in mildly. There’s other parts of D&C 121 that fit in nicely with Galatians 5.
I’ve thought about Lent, but I have not done anything else about it.