John 7:53-8:11
“Come to me, all you
that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.”
We are making our way through the apostle Paul’s list of Christian character traits. What does it look like when God is at work in our lives? How do we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit? Where is the evidence that we are becoming more like Christ and less like our natural animal instincts? Today, the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. Gentleness.
It’s an open question whether gentleness comes naturally to any of us. Some people seem gentle, at least on the surface. Yet if they feel the least bit intimidated, anxious, or suspicious, something else can bubble up. The most timid of kittens will strike out with claws bared. The most mild-mannered of grandparents might explode with harsh words. Even the quiet, peaceful pastor is capable of blowing the horn in traffic. Other things, too.
Gentleness does not come naturally for many of us. Especially if we are not yet full of love, joy, peace, patience, or generosity. If there is any gentleness in our souls, it must be God working in us.
Consider how we were raised. I was raised under the shadow of a mushroom cloud, with memories of “duck and cover” drills to prove it. 78 years ago today, Mr. Oppenheimer’s device exploded in public for the very first time. Pretty soon, there was a race to ensure Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD for short). Any sane person knows retaliation is a form of madness, especially as a preventative strategy. It’s simply difficult to get anybody to think that way.
Some of us are acquainted with punishment as an incentive to steer away from bad behavior. Maybe we were raised that way: if you get in trouble, you’ll get a licking. There’s some of that in the Bible. “Spare the rod, spare the child,” in the 23rd chapter of Proverbs. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off so you don’t get thrown into hell.” Matthew 5:30. It’s harsh, it’s meant to scare us into good behavior.
Pastorally, can I simply say this? It doesn’t work. Bad behavior persists all around us. The threat of punishment merely provokes some people to promise retaliation. Mutually Assured Destruction. In the words falsely attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, “An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind.”
And so, the alternative is gentleness. It’s a heartwarming alternative. It’s a strange alternative.
Like the story we heard about Jesus, who one day was caught in the middle of a dispute. A crowd caught a woman in the act of adultery (for our kids, we call it adultery because it’s something adults do). The mob literally pulled her out of bed. Doesn’t mention who she was with. Apparently, they let him slip away.
As she cowers in the village square, the mob throws Bible verses at Jesus. “Jesus, Moses commanded us to purge the evil among us by throwing stones at the sinner. Don’t you agree?” They are thinking punishment, capital punishment. That’s how they propose to clean up the town.
And what do we know about Jesus? He is not willing to lightly dismiss the scriptures. He knows what it written there. Yet he has no interest in taking part in a mob’s rampage. So he slows it down. He writes in the dust. He takes his time. He writes a little more. The mob grows impatient. So, he writes some more.
The scholar Ken Bailey reminds us[1] the setting of this story is the day after a festival, which means it’s the Sabbath. It’s a sin to write letters on paper during the Sabbath, but not considered a sin write in the dust. So Jesus indicates silently there is a difference between the harsh letter of the Law – and the practical expression of the Law as a love of God and neighbor. He chooses a third way between rock-hard literalism and letting the matter go.
Then in his deep wisdom, he says, “Let the one without sin cast the first stone.” There’s stone silence. And then the thud-thud-thud as the accusers drop their rocks and shuffle away. “Lady,” he says, “where are your accusers?” Pause. “Neither do I accuse you. Go your way, and don’t fall into sin anymore.”
You know what that is? Gentleness. Perfect gentleness. He’s not soft on sin. He’s not excited about punishment. His gentleness is primary concerned with restoring her soul. This is the testimony about Gospel Gentleness. It’s concerned about the person, and not merely with the rules.
Paul says this is what develops in us as we live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Gentleness grows. He ought to know. One of the popular caricatures of the apostle Paul is that he was ornery and fierce. But if you read his correspondence, a far richer perspective of his character is revealed.
To the Galatian church, with whom he was most upset, he writes, “My friends (he called those arrogant enemies his “friends”), if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.”[2] Gentleness is the word.
To the church in Thessalonica, still immature in the faith, he writes, “We could have made demands on you as apostles of Christ, but we were gentle, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.”[3] Gentle.
To the church in Philippi, whom he loved deeply, he writes, “Let your gentleness be known to everyone.”[4] He knows the church of God must be publicly known for its gentleness. The world needs to see gentleness in us.
To the church in Corinth, tangled up in immorality and conflict, he writes, “What would you prefer? Am I to come to you with a stick, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?”[5] I’m sure they preferred the gentleness.
But then he had to write a second time to the Corinthians to get their attention, so he writes, “I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.”[6] Ah, yes, the great reminder of all – that our behavior must imitate the behavior of Jesus, that all our thinking and doing reflects the mind of Christ. It’s the alternative to the dog-eat-dog world that we live in.
And it’s the invitation to root our souls in the soul of Jesus. For it is Christ says to us, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
I can’t think of a better invitation to his table. Here is where we are welcomed, no matter where we have wandered. Here is where we are encouraged, no matter if the world tries to trample us down. Here is where we are forgiven and restored, renewed to keep living and loving for the next few miles of our journey.
Above all, here is where we are taught by Christ how to treat
one another – with the same gentleness that he wants to show to you and me.
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