And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Luke 2:10Intro: So here we are again, with the angels and the shepherdsI chose to read only these three verses, because the story is so well known- but when we circle back to it every year at this time,• we run the risk of treating it as if it only exists for this season◦ like the tree, and the lights, and the nativity scene with its little figures◦ the heavenly choir shows up every year for their Christmas cantata• they announce the arrival of Jesus, and with him, joy and peace◦ the theme for the third Sunday of Advent is joy- who am I to talk about returning to this theme only one day a year?• how often do my Sunday morning talks return to joy?◦ we weren’t hearing much joy in Hosea!• if anyone needs to be reminded of joy all year round, I’m that guyFor my own sake, I decided to explore JOY

The Liturgical Calendar is a sequence of seasons, that organizes the year around the life of Jesus.Liturgical seasons Invite us to take our place in the great drama of the Gospel To take the time to experience God’s love and redemption through Spiritual rhythms and traditions shared across generations and cultures and faith communities.Practicing the liturgical calendar allows a lot of room for variety of expression,  and differences between church traditions, but its beauty is to help Christians of diverse backgrounds participate--collectively and individually  in observances, prayers and Scriptures that focus on the life and message of Jesus Christ.Advent is the first of the seasons; it is the beginning of Church Calendar year.It’s interesting to me that the beginning of the liturgical year comes as the end of our calendar year,  and that its traditions and vibe are so different than the Western New Year. The beginning of January looks forward and is filled with resolutions, plans, goals and energy.  It’s new exercise routines and new diets, at least for a few weeks. It screams - Don’t look back, yesterday is done, stay future focused for success.

I think you most likely know that I love the ScripturesThe more I read them, the more I get from them,- and the deeper I go, the richer my experience• however, the journey is not always pleasant, and◦ some parts of the Bible are not as easy to digest as others◦ Hosea is not one of my favorite books• still, there are verses in it that are among my favorites◦ other than those few, working my way through Hosea,is like crawling through a long, dark tunnel◦ but the Bible doesn’t have to please me; I only need to let it speak to me- in chapter 4, Hosea continues to hammer theme of spiritual adultery• it’s like he can’t let go of it–perhaps God won’t allow him to let it go◦ or maybe his own painful experience haunts him• so far, it’s been the central metaphor of his prophecies◦ he will move on to other more pleasant analogies, but not yet

Years ago, I was engaged in a conversation with two friendsIn making a point, one of them quoted a famous evangelist,“People change–but not that much”- okay–so I reacted immediately, but kept my mouth shut• this same person stood in front of large crowds,◦ promising them that Jesus would transform their lives◦ that in Christ, they would become a new creation• that is the essence of the evangelical message◦ it’s what we’ve been singing for the past 250 years“I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind but now I see”◦ could we regard the scope of these changes "not that much"?- what good is my Christian faith if it it isn't thorough? If it doesn’t make me a better person?

Since it has been a couple of weeks, let me remind you . . .The book of Hosea is a love story – but not like a romance novel- it was never meant to entertain• God’s message came to Israel in a graphic illustration,◦ played out in the life of his prophet• first, God told Hosea to marry a prostitute◦ the point was to give Israel a living re-enactment of◦ their history with God – deserting him for another god or other gods- Hosea and his wife had three children who were placed onto the stage with their parents• each of their names revealed an aspect of the unfolding crisis◦ Jezreel – a place where God would render a verdict, to bring closure◦ Lo-Ruhamah – No Mercy – God would leave them to their fate◦ Lo-Ami – Not Mine – God rejected them from being his people• so up till now, the unfolding drama has been harsh

Kelsey Kappauf speaking at Reflexion

 If what I read doesn’t match your Bible, there are two reasonsFirst, I’m reading from Robert Alter’s translation of the Old Testament– so obviously that is different from other standard translations• but another reason is that Alter worked from the Hebrew Bible,◦ and in that version, chapter 1 has only nine verses◦ in our English Bibles there are eleven verses in chapter 1• so those two verses missing in chapter 1 are the beginning of chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible(If you didn’t get all that, just trust me; the texts are basically the same)– reading through this chapter can be confusing• that’s because in the first part God condemns his unfaithful wife• but without warning, in the second part he is romancing her again

Before we began Galatians, I asked for recommendations as to where in scripture to go nextA trusted friend suggested we venture through the minor prophets- “minor” because they are relatively short compared to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel• I hesitated for awhile, then procrastinated, finally hoping to dodge The Dozen prophets at the end of the Hebrew Scriptures• even though the longest of them is only fourteen chapters and shortest is only one chapter,◦ they still require as much study and preparation as the major prophets◦ so it’s basically been a matter of laziness- however, we have reached a point in our nation’s history,• in which we need to hear the voice of these prophets• and Hosea in particular

The Galatians were coming to the end of Paul’s letter,And suddenly the handwriting was different– instead of the well-formed characters of a professional scribe,• the printed letters were large and scribbled◦ this shift was certain to grab their attention◦ like changing the “font” of a sentence in a document to all upper case or bold print• but why did Paul insist on writing this last bit with his “own hand”?◦ perhaps this is how he usually signed off (as many commentaries point out)“I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write” (2 Thes. 3:17)◦ or, he wanted to ensure that they took notice, and that is why he drew attention to it

Years ago, and in another life, I had a feisty personal assistantAlthough she is genuinely compassionate, she had a favorite line: “Get over yourself”- I think that held her together through a hard and complicated season of her life• she said it to herself, to he friends, to people who called the church office for help,◦ and more than once she said it to me–her boss• but she never said it when I didn’t need to hear it◦ Paul’s next lesson in this letter to the Galatians is, “Get over yourself”- the chapter break here is unfortunate• his contrast between the works of flesh and fruit of Spirit ended at chapter 5, verse 25◦ verse 26 fits perfectly with where chapter 6◦ now he begins to stress the importance of caring for each other• “conceit” interferes with that personal care◦ rather than assisting each other, conceit provokes others◦ rather than respecting others, conceit envies others“Get over yourself so you can be here for those who need you”

Paul has chased a serious concern through his entire letterSo it is not surprising that near the end, he would present an the ultimate challenge of the Christian life- in verse 16 Paul begins last segment of his central message• what follows in chapter 6 is his concluding remarks and directions- what we have in verses 16-25 is this chunk of scripture that tracks one theme• Paul makes this clear by marking where it begins and ends•it begins in verse 16, “walk by the Spirit,” and in ends in verse 25, “live by the Spirit”◦ in scripture, framing a passage this way is common, and is referred to as an envelope structure or closing circle◦ anyway, the literary structure reveals the heart of the passage–it’s one key point

 I assume most of us are familiar with The Message BibleOne of the more popular versions, and easiest to understand– Eugene Peterson did not set out to write a new translation• beginning in early 1980’s the U.S. economy went into a slump and mortgage interest rates were rapidly climbing◦ people in his church were feeling the pinch, and reacting in the same way as people in townPeterson, “Paranoia infected the small talk I would overhear on street corners and in barbershops. To my dismay, all of this seeped into my congregation without encountering any resistance.”• to turn them from worldly concerns and find freedom in Jesus, he chose to immerse them in Galatians

If you ever decide to read the Bible all the way through,At some point, you will find yourself struggling to understand it– even if you’ve been a believer for a long time and read it before (or read a kiddie version)• a passage will confuse you, trouble, or just seem wrong◦ I’m fortunate to have many helpful resources• however, when even those study aids leave me with questions◦ then I resort to creative thought experiments; for instance, I ask, “what if”◦ what if this were meant to frustrate? or be a puzzle? or experienced rather than studied?– there have been occasions when these “off trail” ventures,• have led me to surprising and edifying insights

For the last month or two, I’ve noticed a trend– people are using a “Jesus image” in a variety of video posts• like a famous celebrity, he’s immediately recognizable◦ there’s the trademark long hair and beard, the robe, and sandals◦ his image is used to promote an ideal, or to criticize, ridicule, or make fun of something• three observations immediately come to mind:◦ first, the image is used for propaganda purposes◦ second, they’re all impersonators third, not one of these characters is the real Jesus– Galatians is Paul’s attempt to rescue his readers from impersonators

In the first half of this chapter, Paul scolded the GalatiansYou know how sometimes, as a parent,- when you're very worried about your child–maybe they did not arrive home on time• when they finally show up, your worry turns to anger◦ if ever our lectures were rougher than they needed to be,◦ it was because we had agonized over their safety• I think that's a little piece of what is happening here◦ Paul has called the Galatians "foolish" and asked "Who has bewitched you?"◦ that is because they had him worried about the stability of their faith- it is often the people who are most concerned with pleasing God,• that are misled by false preachers and teachers◦ they desire so much to be absolutely right with God that they fall victim to someone who seems knowledgeable• anyway, Paul' agitation rises to the surface in these short, clipped statements that barely say enough- here in verse 15, he presents Abraham as an example of being true to a promise

Do I need to mention that Paul does not try to hide his frustration with the Galatians?To our ears, his language--"foolish" and "Who has bewitched you?" sounds offensive- later on he will say, if they’ve truly taken this wrong path,“You are severed from Christ . . . you have fallen away from grace” (Gal. 5:4)• he doesn’t mince words, because he’s terrified for their sake◦ he wants to make the strongest possible impression on them• and this is just the beginning- we’re going to spend some time in verse 1• first, because the truth in it is so rich and enlightening• second, because here Paul constructs a foundation for everything else

Paul has shared with the Galatians a brief autobiographyHe completed it with a story about his run-in with Peter- when Peter first came to the Gentile church in Antioch,• he allowed the wall between Jews and Gentiles to collapse◦ but when rigid and dogmatic believers arrived from Judea,◦ he broke away from close contact with Gentile believers• how sad, when a person withdraws from generous gestures,◦ ones that represents acceptance and camaraderie,◦ and make the break for fear of being attacked by narrow-minded zealots- somewhere along the way, Paul left off telling his story• it was a backdrop for the point he wanted to make;• namely, Jesus--and not the law--works God’s righteousness into believers

If you remember from last week, Paul is telling his storyNow, at the end of his autobiography he mentions Peter (Cephas)– this is the only record of them ever having a personal encounter• as Paul approaches the primary purpose of his letter• he uses this story to illustrate his central point– the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem recognizedthe difference between his ministry and Peter’s“they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted to the circumcised” (v. 7)• he used those “circumcision” terms to distinguish between Gentiles and Jews, because he wanted to make a point• they all belonged to Jesus, but Jewish believers had an obligation that did not apply to Gentiles◦ circumcision is shorthand for all the laws of Moses

Last week we ventured into Paul’s letter to the GalatiansRight away we learned that he was not pleased with these Christians- he accused them of deserting Jesus for “another gospel”• but he hasn’t defined that other gospel specifically• that's what he does in the next section of the letter that we will cover today- beginning in verse 11, Paul writes a brief autobiography• he does this because his personal history tells a story• as we make our way through this passage I’m going to include details supplied by the Book of Acts◦ that will give us a fuller perspective of the problem in the region of Galatia

I’m going to make this simple, and show you what I see in the introduction to this letterFirst, there’s something different about the way it begins- in Paul's usual typical greetings he identifies himself, his title, and whoever else is with him• then, he greets and blesses his readers with, “grace and peace”• but in this letter, before he mentions his companions, he takes a detour◦ he turns this simple greeting into a strong assertion- humans had nothing to do with Paul becoming an apostleit was “not from man nor through man”- this cuts to the heart of what Paul wants to say in this letter• he’ll spend most of the first two chapters with autobiography◦ how he was inspired and the revelations that came to him• but that is because Paul is very upset, as will become obvious◦ if you’ve ever been “lectured” by a parent, a police officer, or a teacher,◦ you will recognize how Paul is dealing with the Galatians