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"The Old Ball And Chain"
August 28, 2005
Good Morning!
Most of you have probably noticed the 'Ball and Chain' advertising display out on the Narthex wall, which, by the way, will be removed following next week's Worship. If anyone is in need of ideas for Christmas presents, you are welcome to take it with you then!
My original intension was to do Internet research on the history of the term, 'Old Ball and Chain,' but I soon discovered that the visual effect was much more profound. Also, I had not remembered that the 'Ball and Chain' was not only a passive device, but in two different forms, were also weapons of war, as the display shows.
I never did find out when or how the phrase, 'Old Ball and Chain' came to be used romantically. It probably originated with a friend or relative at a wedding reception who was just beginning to feel his wine, while out of range of his spouse.
The romantic 'Old Ball and Chain' is not a literal 'Ball and Chain,' but rather an uplifting reminder of a profound commitment to be faithful, caring, and loving with one's spouse. I guess one could say that the romantic 'Old Ball and Chain' of our day is the wedding band which announces to the world that these two persons are willingly and fully committed to each other.
Now back to the other 'Old Ball and Chain,' which by the way, has not gone out of use in our day and age, but rather, it has just taken on a new form. Just ask Martha Stewart about 'Ball and Chain.' Ankle bracelets are much less restrictive and probably do not accomplish the same thing for which the 'Old Ball and Chain' was intended. But, like many other things, it is being driven by a need to keep the costs of prisons down by confining lightweight or white-collar criminals to their homes.
There are at least two other types of 'Ball and Chain' to which I wish to call your attention. The first one - let's call it 'Lifestyle' - are the unhealthy circum-stances that we allow ourselves to get into, and then become weighted down and unable to live happy and fulfilled lives. We will be hearing about the 'Ball and Chain' of Lifestyle next week.
The second one - let's call it 'Faith-style' - are our religious beliefs which have either been drilled into us during childhood or youth, or are those we have willingly taken on as youth or adults which now are cramping the free exercise of our faith and the fulfillment of abundant living.
Today we are going to look briefly at the 'Ball and Chain' we sometimes encounter in Faith-style living.
We read from Leviticus today in order to gain an inkling of understanding about the power of the 'Ball and Chain' known in Scripture as 'The Law,' which was always weighting down the Hebrew people. The 'Ten Commandments' were like falling off a log compared to the endless rules, regulations, and daily demands that controlled every aspect of Hebrew life.
As a Hebrew, one was taught that the only way to be faithful to God was to obey each and every law given to the Hebrews by Moses. I challenge you to read the Hebrew Pentateuch ("Penta" meaning "five," and "teuch" meaning books, which, more specifically are the first five books in our Bibles-Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy). You will find stories of great intrigue and interest, you will find answers to some long held questions, but you will also be overwhelmed by the lengthy, detailed, and outrageous laws that were expected to be followed day in and day out throughout their lives.
The Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul struggled vehemently with these laws because they seemed to be in direct defiance of a significant amount of that which Jesus had taught them. It needed to be reconciled and quickly for the sake of the early church.
Paul was first to understand that the gospel of Christ was not only for the Hebrew people, but also for everyone else. Paul understood rather quickly that Jesus had come to set us free from the burden, the shackles, and the 'Ball and Chain' of the Hebrew law.
The Apostle Peter, on the other hand, was … so … very … indoctrinated by his childhood faith which he had carried staunchly into adulthood, that he found it near impossible to have converts to Christianity without also requiring them to become Jews and law-abiders first. Peter, Paul, and the early church argued about what came to be known as "Law verses Grace" (which refers to the law of the Jewish Hebrews verses God's Grace which had come in the form of Jesus Christ). The argument was about priority-which were new converts to spend their time emulating since both were not always compatible.
One day, God came to Peter in a clear vision in order to clarify for all time that the Grace of God in Jesus Christ held priority over the Law of the Hebrews. This vision also made clear to Peter that he was not to make new Christians into Jews first.
But probably the most profound part of this vision that God gave to Peter, was to demonstrate that the issue is not what we were taught as children or as adults, nor what we believed as children or adults. The issue is this - have these teachings and beliefs shackled our ability to live free and fully in Christ, and to live also by the urgings of the Holy Spirit?
As you can see by our reading today, there were some very clear laws that Peter was following as he had always done. These laws actually named the land animals, fish-type animals, birds and reptiles that were not to be touched, let alone eaten.
God's vision to Peter actually showed in a sheet, the very things named in the law. God said, "take and eat." Peter's reaction was anticipated. Peter said, "never." He remembered his old lessons and teachers from Hebrew School-he was never to touch or eat these things-for that would displease God. Yet NOW, God is saying to Peter-take and eat! Has God gone mad? Has the world turned upside down? For all of our lives we have known these things to be wrong and now God says, "Don't you dare call them wrong when I say they are right."
I can really empathize with Peter. He reminds me of my grandmother. She had always been taught as a child, and carried with her into adulthood, that Black people, in actions and planning, couldn't help themselves. They were deficient and morally bankrupt. Her teachers had good reason to teach and believe this because the United States Constitution even said that each Negro man counted for only two-thirds of a Caucasian man.
My grandmother was dismayed and outraged at the upset of the 1950s and 60s when Black folks were defying the government authorities looking for rights that were not theirs to have, or so she thought. Many religious people resisted and were vocal, convinced that if this evil of equal rights came about, then surely the evil of inter-racial marriage would be soon to follow, and of course you don't mix races. I loved my grandmother more than I can describe in words. But the fact is that my beloved grandmother was shackled by that which she had been taught and understood in life. A 'Ball and Chain' held her down in her faith and her thinking, causing her not to be able to spiritually mature, and not to be able to hear what the Spirit of God was saying because the words of God appeared too radical to her.
My grandmother did not have the luxury that the Apostle Peter had. She did not have a vision from God showing her that the things of her training and beliefs were no longer the things of God. Were she alive today, I am convinced that she would have overcome the weight of the 'Ball and Chain' that held her down, because I watched her overcome so much else in her life.
What is it today that we have been taught or accepted for ourselves that is no longer relevant or even of God? It is true that God himself never changes, but in each generation, God seems to reveal the broader expanses of his truth which humankind was not able to comprehend in earlier generations.
God surely was speaking to the earlier generations, but traditions, laws, and ways of doing things, die-hard. If God came to us today with a powerfully new and challenging request, dare I say that we, too, like Peter, would initially resist him? The question is, "How long would it take us to see the light?" Would we, like Peter, come to our senses within the time period of one vision or dream?
You know what's really scary? God is always calling to his people. God is always urging us on, challenging us, pushing us toward people and things that we might have thought to be bad or unacceptable, as did Peter.
The question which helps us to figure out God's higher understanding of right and wrong is to ask ourselves how it affects the lives of the people that God places on our pathway of life. Will withholding the rights of a child of God be beneficial to them or even us? Will saying to a child of God that they must first change their actions or thinking before God will accept them, cause them to experience abundant living? I think not. Just as the two old gospel hymns say, "come as you are," and "just as I am."
We are in the business of salvation and abundant living. In United Methodism, this is often expressed as Open Minds, Open Hearts, and Open Doors. Those who are unable to get past "open minds," will always be at a disadvantage when attempting to hear the voice of God. For God always proclaims that God is doing a 'new thing' in our midst. God's truth is found throughout God's creation. We should be about the business of encouraging people to hear and experience God's truth. There are, however, even Christians, who like the law-monger-ers, hinder God's work and God's will by making demands of our own. The very definition of salvation is "to be saved" and delivered from the presence of harm, in order that life might occur in a way that Jesus referred to as 'abundant,' rich, full, and free. If we slap the 'Ball and Chain' of our requirements, teachings, and beliefs on those who seek abundant, rich, full, and free life in Christ, we are not saving them, we are enslaving them.
When our District Superintendent first came to me about accepting an appoint-ment at Perry, she paused, looked me straight in the eye, and said was, "Perry fully believes in the acceptance of all persons and turns no one away. Can you be comfortable in that open of a setting?" When I first spoke to Doug Wilson about Perry, he also looked me straight in the eye and spoke of the openness of the Perry congregation, saying that he felt they truly wanted to be a congregation of "open minds, open hearts, and open doors." I can honestly say that I agreed 100% with both their cautions. I only regret that they felt it necessary to inquire of an ordained United Methodist pastor. But I also agree that they had to. Yes, there are actually United Methodist congregations that more resemble fundamentalist cults than they resemble God's comprehensive love and saving grace.
As human beings (what the Scripture calls 'our old nature'), we are very inclined to speak without thinking; we are very inclined to cast judgments and even to discriminate. It is at these points that we must reach for the power of the Holy Spirit to save us from unkind or judgmental comments. Remember, the entire area of judgment is the job of God. Our job is welcoming, warmth, healing, and acceptance.
I thank God that he trusted us enough to give us the tougher responsibility. Help me to help you, in living this out, both inside the church, and throughout our community-that all might see the love and acceptance of God flowing through us!
Amen.
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