Loving God, there are so many different things that can hold us captive, including sin and death.  Lead us into the freedom to love that is only found in you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

            Today we hear two related stories that involve being held captive.  Today also happens to be Earth Day, and I am mindful of a passage in Romans that talks about how the whole creation has been in bondage.  While we hear plenty about environmental concerns from day to day, I wonder how many of us think of the care of creation as part of our faith in Jesus Christ.

         We’ll come back to the reading from Acts in a moment, but it is also worth taking a look at these verses from Romans 8:

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:19-21).

Have you ever thought of the creation waiting eagerly for the salvation of Jesus Christ?... In fact, the gospel of Mark talks about proclaiming “the good news to the whole creation” (Mk. 16:15).  So, not only have human beings been in bondage to sin and death, but all of creation.  However, as Paul writes in Romans, because of Jesus, there is hope even for creation.

         You might recall that, all the way back in Genesis, even the ground was cursed because of human sinfulness. In fact, you could probably also point to human sinfulness as the cause of many of the environmental catastrophes that we see today.  However, those who are set free from captivity to sin and death through faith in Jesus Christ also change the way that they relate to the earth and all its creatures.  For, God’s intention has always been for us to live in harmony with others and with all of creation. For when we are in Christ, “there is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), and in order for that new creation to happen, there is a movement from bondage to freedom.

         Today’s reading from Acts included some obvious examples of captivity, or bondage.  We hear about a slave girl, who is basically a commodity being used by her owners to make money.  We also hear about people who are in prison, including Paul and Silas, who had the misfortune of interrupting the slave-owners’ cash flow.  And, we hear about the jailer, who is so tied to his job that the first hint of escape is enough for him to want to fall on his sword.

         Paul and Silas, however, give us a pretty good picture of the freedom that is there for those who have come to believe in Jesus.  First of all, even though they have been flogged and thrown into prison, they do not cease worshiping and praising God.  Even when they are locked up, they are praying and singing hymns.  And then, even the earth gets involved in setting them free.

         The earthquake happens, and the foundations are shaken, and the doors open, with the chains falling to the ground.  Most prisoners, one would think, would immediately get out of there and escape. However, Paul and Silas remain. There is more ministry to be done there. They not only prevent the jailer from taking his life, but also proclaim the good news about Jesus to him and his household.  They have used their freedom in Christ for the sake of another.

         However, it is also worthwhile to point out that their faith in Jesus did not make them into perfect people. In the whole incident with the slave girl, Paul doesn’t seem to have any particular concern for her well-being or for her freedom.  He simply gets annoyed and orders the spirit that is in her to leave.  As far as we know, she is the one in the story who remains in captivity and continues to be the property of her owners.

         Even today, of course, there are those who are quite literally in captivity.  There is still slave labour around the world, and there continue to be victims of human trafficking.  There are also those who are thrown into prisons or detention centres – some perhaps rightly so, but others through no fault of their own.  An example would be the private prisons in the U.S. where people are detained simply because they are refugees or do not have the proper immigration status.  And all around the world, there are people who believe in Jesus and who work to set the captives free.

         Even here, though, people continue to be held captive.  Some are under the power of their addictions.  Some are quite literally drowning in “stuff”.  Some are captive to their obsessions or to their anxiety and fear. Some are even ruled by their phones. And some of these same things are directly tied to the harm that continues to the earth.

         The good news, though, is that Jesus has power over all of these things.  When Paul and Silas talk to the jailer and to others, telling them to “believe on the Lord Jesus,” part of that faith is to place Jesus above all other things.  Put Jesus in charge rather than our many false gods.  Follow Jesus’ way of life rather than indulging our every whim and fantasy.  Trust in Jesus rather than in ourselves.

         To some people, this maybe sounds like bondage, for faith in Jesus does not mean doing whatever you want. Yet, strangely enough, putting our trust in Jesus leads to a whole different level of freedom.  Sin and death do not need to have the last word.  Our destructive tendencies do not need to be allowed to run rampant.  And we really don’t need to spend all of our time focused on ourselves.  Instead, Jesus sets us free to live in love – love for God and for one another and for all of creation – for we, too, have been loved and redeemed by God.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Easter 4 (NL 4)                                                         Acts 16:16-34

April 22, 2018

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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