You Can’t Do Anything

A sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 9
July 6, 2025, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Readings: Galatians 6:(1-6)7-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Why does St. Paul spend so much time talking about circumcision? It is at the very least odd; and honestly, it is a little impolite. But here he is, yet again in Galatians, talking about circumcision. He wants the Galatians to know they do not need to be circumcised–he would even prefer that they were not. And here we are, centuries later, blushing, or at least trying to read quickly through the passage so as not to call attention. There are children present, and maybe even visitors who surely did not come to hear this. “Preacher,” you may be thinking, “move on and talk about the love of God, or forgiveness, or grace. For the sake of politeness, just ignore Paul.” But I can’t, because what St. Paul is talking about has everything to do with the love of God and forgiveness and grace. 

To understand this passage, we have to understand the backstory. This is a fight that has some deep roots in the New Testament. Since the conversion of the first Gentile, Cornelius, in the book of Acts, the Church has been wrestling with what to do about Gentile converts. Previously the followers of Jesus were Jews, and they kept on being Jews. They kept the Jewish calendar with its feasts and fasts; they went to the synagogue and the Temple; and yes, the men were circumcised. Initially, being a follower of Jesus was a Jewish thing; after all, Jesus himself was Jewish. But now we have a bunch of Gentiles in the Church, and the question becomes, Do they have to become Jews? 

For some, the answer was yes. In fact, that may have been the majority position of the Church for a time. After all, there was already a process for Gentiles to become Jewish converts. They were schooled on Jewish beliefs and practices; they followed the dietary codes and the calendar; there was often a ritual immersion in water; the men were circumcised. There was already a process, and for many, it made sense that if you wanted to follow Jesus you had to become a Jew. There are preachers who have gone to Galatia after Paul teaching this very thing. Paul calls them super apostles. 

St. Paul takes a different view. He says as much today: “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!” Paul does not want the Gentile converts to become Jews–that misses the point. They are Gentiles who follow Jesus, and they have been claimed by Jesus already. That’s enough. And, as St. Paul says elsewhere, if we want to talk about circumcision, we need to talk about baptism, which is the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit of God. 

But what makes St. Paul so angry–and angry is the right word here–what makes him angry is that the grace of God is being made into something you can earn by ticking off requirements on a checklist. He is angry that some preach that our place in the church is dependent on what we do and not what God has done. Salvation, St. Paul says, is not something we accomplish, not by works, not by deeds, not by checklists. It is something God accomplishes in us by grace through faith, or trust, in Jesus Christ. 

And yet, over and over again, like the foolish Galatians, we fall into the old trap, the scheme of the super apostles. We’re not alone. Someone once asked Jesus: what must I do to inherit eternal life. You can’t do anything. On the day of Pentecost, the crowd asks the apostles: what must we do to be saved? You can’t do anything. This salvation thing isn’t up to us; it’s the work of God. All we can do is believe–or trust–or have confidence in what Jesus is up to. We call that faith.

We believe that God has claimed us as his children, and nothing can separate us from God’s love. We believe that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are enough to forgive our sins and pull us into the new life of grace. We believe that the Holy Spirit is sanctifying us, even today, and making us into the people God desires us to be, new creations who are reflections of the character of God. All of this is possible, not because of us or anything we can do, but because there is a cross on a hill far away and the universe cracked open when the Son of God muttered the words: It is finished. 

It is not up to us to accomplish this great gift of salvation–that’s already been done by Christ. But it is up to us to respond with rejoicing, for our names have been written in heaven. It is up to us to stop trying to save ourselves, and instead to boast in the cross to Christ. It is up to us to give into the grace that has been poured out into our hearts, and to allow that grace to have its way with us, changing us from one degree of glory to another. It is up to us to lay down our weapons–all of those things that separate us from God and others–in other words, to repent, and to allow the Holy Spirit to fashion in us that new creation of faith, hope, and love. 

My friends: the Kingdom of God has come near. The love of God for you is abundant; forgiveness is for you; God’s grace is really enough to save you. Believe the Good News.