5th Sunday After Pentecost – Proper 8A – Mark S. Winward
“…thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” – Romans 6:17, NRSV
The Meaning of the Clergy Collar
People often wonder what the clergy collar I wear means. I once had a waitress ask me if my collar was a new style! (I told her, “Actually, it is a very old style!”) But seriously, there are several ways to answer that question—and, for me, it comes down to being a visible reminder that I am a servant of Christ—more specifically, a bond servant of Christ. In antiquity, a bond servant, sometimes called a bond-slave, was someone who voluntarily bound themselves to serve another person, often for life.
In the Bible, the term carries two important meanings. Under the Old Testament law, a Hebrew servant who loved his master could choose not to go free. Instead, he voluntarily stayed in his master’s service, and that lifelong commitment was symbolized by having his ear pierced (Exodus 21:5–6). In the New Testament, Paul, James, and Peter all describe themselves as bond servants—the Greek word is doulos—of Jesus Christ. While slavery in the ancient world was overwhelmingly brutal, the apostles turned it around to express complete devotion, loyalty, and submission to Christ. A bond servant is more than simply an employee. A hired worker works for their wages and then goes home. A bond servant willingly commits his whole life to his master.
Beyond Working Hours
That’s what my collar reminds me of every time I look in the mirror. My contracted hours are roughly nine to five during the week, plus Sundays. During those hours – and after them – you might rightly expect me to behave in a manner faithful to Christ and, in some measure, reflect the faith I proclaim. Now, I will be the last person to stand here and claim that I always do that perfectly—and my family would quickly testify otherwise. But I deeply believe that the general character of my life—whether I am wearing this collar or not—must reflect the convictions I preach.
Imagine if the only time I reflected Christ was when I was “on duty.” Sadly, we’ve seen examples of that. Too many high-profile clergy have lived one life in public and an entirely different one in private. What if I simply lived however I wanted when no one was watching? What if I pursued only what pleased me instead of what pleased God? Who would I really be serving?
The truth is that every one of us serves someone or something. Some serve money. Some serve ambition. Some serve success. Some serve comfort. Most often, we simply serve ourselves. In today’s reading from Romans, Paul paints a stark contrast. We are either slaves to sin or servants of God. One path leads to life. The other leads to death.
The Bad News
To understand Paul’s contrast, we first need to understand what he means by sin. We often think of sin simply as breaking God’s commandments, but Scripture goes deeper than that. Sin is the attempt to place ourselves where only God belongs. It is choosing our own will instead of God’s will. Have you ever noticed how naturally we want to run our own lives? We are often too happy to have God bless our plans, but not always eager for Him to direct them. That’s the heart of sin.
The tragedy is that self-rule can’t ever give us life. Simply put, we can’t save ourselves any more than we can raise the dead. That’s why Paul says, “The wages of sin is death.” A life curved in upon itself eventually dies in upon itself. The reward of a life lived entirely “my way” is, ultimately, nothing. But Paul does not stop there. “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Good News
That gift comes only because of what Christ has done. Jesus took our sin upon himself on the Cross, experienced even death itself, and rose again so that sin and death would no longer be our masters. The truth is this: only the One who conquered death can give life. We proclaim that reality every Sunday when we gather around this altar and pray, “In him, you have brought us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life.”
This becomes much clearer when we see it in the context of the verses immediately preceding today’s reading. Just a few verses earlier, Paul reminds us that when we were baptized, we were buried with Christ. And just as Christ was raised, we get to walk in a brand-new life. Paul’s point is that baptism breaks sin’s power over us. It frees us from our old master. Of course, every baptized person still struggles with sin. None of us lives our lives perfectly. Yet our failures don’t change what God has already done for us.
The Elephant Syndrome
Something called “Elephant Syndrome” might help us understand this better. The story goes that circus trainers make a practice of chaining a baby elephant to a heavy stake so that it is unable to move. After trying again and again to escape, the young elephant eventually gives up. Years later, when it is a full-grown elephant capable of uprooting trees, it only needs to be tied by a thin rope to a small wooden peg. It could walk away at any moment, but it never tries because it still believes it is captive.
Whether or not the story is literally true, it illustrates something profoundly true about the Christian life. Through baptism, the heavy chains of sin have been broken. Yet many Christians continue living as though they are still enslaved—bound by old habits, old fears, and old ways of thinking. When Paul says, “Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies,” he is saying something wonderfully simple: Look down. The chains are gone. Walk free.
The Freedom of Serving Christ
That is what my collar means to me. Every morning I put it on as a reminder of whose servant I am. But long before I ever wore this collar, God marked me with another sign in baptism. In a sense, baptism is God’s “collar” for every Christian—not a mark of status, but a sign of belonging.
The irony of the Gospel is that Christ has not set us free so that we can simply serve ourselves. He has set us free as bond servants—to freely return to him. We are no longer slaves driven by fear but servants who willingly remain because we have come to love our Master. And when we do, we discover that the only true freedom is found in belonging to the One who created us, redeemed us, and calls us by name.
Conclusion – Remembering our Baptism
So the question is not whether we will serve. We all serve someone. The only question is whom. Will we live as willing bond servants of Jesus Christ, living a life worthy of the sacrifice he has made for us?
Every morning I put on this collar as a reminder of to Whom I belong. But every one of us has received something even greater. In baptism, Christ has claimed us, united us to his death and resurrection, and broken the chains that once held us captive. So remember your baptism. Look down. The chains are gone. Walk free. Walk in the freedom of the children of God—not because you have earned it, but because Christ has already given you a gift paid for by an immeasurable price. And, having been set free, willingly offer your whole life out of gratitude to the One who first gave his life for you.