| A Message from the Interim Pastor…
By now, most of you know that I really like to read. The books that I enjoy the most are books that address what it means to be a human being – books that tell a story about the joys and struggles that we face in our lives. However, the one form of writing that I have never been able to warm up to is poetry. For whatever reason, I really do not like poetry. Never have.
Now, what’s ironic about that, is I have always been able to find great wisdom and powerful meaning in the lyrics of songs, and when you think about it, what are song lyrics if not a form of poetry. So, I thought it might be fun, for the next several weeks, to explore some of those lyrics – lyrics that I think have something profound to tell us about the human condition and sometimes even about theology.
The first one comes from Me and Bobby McGee, a song written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster and made famous in 1971 by Janis Joplin. “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” On the surface, this line seems like just another mantra from the hippy generation – a mantra about freedom as the antithesis of responsibility. But, if we see it through a theology lens, it speaks so much more. I think that there are at least two ways to look at it.
First, when we become less and less tied to our wants and our possessions, we become more and more free. The person who is extremely generous believes that their need to give is much greater than their need to have. This is the essence of financial stewardship. It is also freedom in a nutshell – not that we are free to do whatever we want, but that we are no longer tied to ourselves. In other words, the more we give, the freer we become and the less we have to lose.
And secondly, in the Gospel of John we read, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). This verse is a part of the Gospel text that we read on every single Reformation Sunday. Luther even wrote a book titled The Freedom of the Christian. Because the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus frees us from the power of sin and death – because our sins have been and will continue to be forgiven – because there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God – because Jesus has given us freedom as a gift – therefore, we “have nothing left to lose.”
Peace and blessing,
Pastor Michael
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