Reflection on James 1:17-27

Love looks like something.  Love is not just an uplifting notion captured by an artist on a card, though it can be.  Love is not just a concept that we try to understand in some philosophical way, dividing it into familial love, friendship, romantic love, or unconditional love, though we can talk about love in such an intellectual way.  Love looks like something.  More than that; love looks like someone.

The scriptures teach us that “God is love” (NRSV, 1 John 4:8).  So, if God is love, then whenever we look at God, who came down to us in the flesh, to walk and talk with us…whenever we look at Jesus Christ, we are looking at love.  Love looks like someone: Jesus Christ.  And, love also looks like something, like all the things that Jesus did.  Whether it be healing blindness, or listening to the unclean, unwanted women, or teaching the unreachable, or calming seas, or feeding the hungry, or welcoming the little children when others pushed them away; love looks like something.

When she looked in the mirror, she did not see anything that resembled God.  She was told by her pastor to look into the mirror in order to see a gift from God.  But, all she saw when she looked in the mirror were hips that were too narrow, arms that were too boney, hair that was too frizzled, a jaw that was too angled, and a face that was too tired.  The pastor reassured her that God would not have created trash.  She should look into the mirror again.  Maybe she should look at what everyone else looks at when they look at her.

She tried it again, uncomfortably looking at herself once again.  She was not a person who was often stared at.  What did others look at when they looked at her?  Well, they looked at her eyes.  In fact, people did stare at her, not at her lips or curves, she had none, but they did stare at her eyes.

She had those big eyes accented by a bright blue that stuck out in a crowd.  She realized that she held people’s attention with her eyes.  They would gaze into her attentive eyes and she would see them immediately relax their shoulders and open up their arms and open up their lives.  She thought hard and realized that when she was younger she would use her eyes to her advantage, to get candy, and to get away with behaviors, to get the dance with the guy over the other girls, to steal the kiss.

But, Jesus was not about using his gifts to manipulate.  Rather, Jesus was about using his gifts to love. The pastor was certain that she was a gift.  How has God been using her gift of attentive eyes to love?

The suggestion to look in the mirror and see the gift that God had given changed her daily life.  Formerly, she would get up in the morning, look briefly at how her hair and makeup was fairing, and move on.  But, she never saw anything.  She never saw who she was.  As James says, she was one of those who come to a mirror, “look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.”  She did not see who she was.  She did not see that she was the handwork of God, shaped and molded out of love.  She did not see the love that had been put into her.  She did not know who she was.

But, when she looked in the mirror and saw the power that God had given her through those eyes, through those captivating, beautifully attentive, blue eyes, she finally saw for herself God’s gift of love in her. 

It all starts with gifts after-all.  God created us, as a gift.  God gave us companionship, as a gift.  God gave us laws to order our lives together, so that we could live in peace, as a gift.  God gave us forgiveness, and new life, all as a gift from Jesus Christ, through the power of the cross and resurrection.  It all starts with gifts.

That is where James starts with us today.  “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  So, every act that is generous and loving toward us, and coming from us, all comes from the same source of love and light: God the Father.  It all starts with gift, and that is what the pastor wanted the woman to see.  She has been given gifts from God.  She is a gift from God.  It all starts with gifts.

But, the pastor also saw that the gift was being stopped.  God’s gift of light and love is no good if it cannot shine.  And, what can keep it from shining?

Well, James has some ideas.  Anger is at the top of James’ list.  “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;” James encourages, “for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.”  God’s goodness, God’s just ways, God’s loving character cannot be seen through a face of anger. 

We know this to be true.  This is nothing new.  How many times have you changed another person’s mind about anything after screaming at each other, either metaphorically on the keyboard, or literally in their faces for hours on end?  This is not how anything productive gets done.  Am I right?  

There is something about slowing down the anger, slowing down the rate of words spewing out, and simply listening to one another that can result in righteousness…that can result in things being right and good in the end.  “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;” James says.  “Rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness.” 

God has given us gifts.  God has made us a gift.  Clear away anything that obscures that truth.

Do you want to know what also obscures that truth?  Forgetting.

I know, I know, between those of us who are getting up there in age, those of us who are run ragged by children, or jobs, or both, and those like me who were never able to remember anything from the time we popped out of the womb, we have enough forgetfulness to fill the room, if only we remember to do it.  But, what James is talking about here is a certain type of forgetfulness. 

It is the forgetfulness that outsiders of the church see each all the time and rightly criticize.  It is the forgetfulness that causes us to come to church, sing about the forgiving love of Jesus, and then promptly leave spewing hateful and harmful words about others and to others throughout the week.  Sometimes we sing about love that saves the sinner and the needy, and then we leave to promptly ignore the sinner and ignore the needy.

You see, love looks like something.  And, when the love that we profess does not show in what we do, there must be a major problem.  James says, “they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.” 

This was the young woman’s struggle; she looked in the mirror, but did not see herself.  She did not know who she was.  She did not see that she was a child of God.  She only saw the flaws, but did not see the love.  She did not see the perfect law of love from Christ, the law that brings liberty in life.  She just did not know who she was.

But, once she realized the gift that she had in those eyes, and she saw that gift every morning for what it was, she knew what kind of person God was leading her to be. 

She was the nurse, with the eyes that could calm anyone with growing fear, despite the mask and gown.  She was the nurse, with the eyes of acceptance.  She was the nurse who was ready to listen carefully to anything…to their fears…to their hopes…to their wants.  She was the nurse who knew what it was to love; and that love actually looked like something.  It was a reflection of Jesus who stopped and listened to the cries for help.  It was a reflection of Jesus who healed with love and acceptance just as much as he healed with his hands.  Her eyes were a gift that could shine God’s love.

She finally understood that love looks like something.  James puts it this way: “doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.”

It is not that anyone is loved any more or any less because of their doing.  This phrase from the reformation still rings true today: “God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.”  You are not saved by the love that you show, but because you are saved and loved, you will show love to others.  And, that love that you show is a gift from God to your neighbor.  Love looks like something.

Look in the mirror and see the gift that the Lord has given.

Reflection on Ephesians 6:10-20

 

A few years back I heard a general from the Pentagon speak about the importance of getting ready in the morning.  As you may know, the regimen for getting ready in the morning is different in the army than it is for us civilians.  I tend to wake up, check the email on my phone, read the news, eventually get out of bed, and then continue to lounge around the house in my PJs for a bit.  During the height of the pandemic, I have to admit, I was lucky if I ever got out of my PJs before it was night again. 

So, to lazy, morning slouches like me and maybe also you, the general suggested that as soon as we wake, we make our beds, get our showers, and dress as nice as possible for the day.  This is what the army has taught him to do and it actually means something to him.  He does this immediate ritual every morning, not because he was once ordered to in boot camp, but rather, because he views this morning routine as a gift from the army to him. 

“You see,” he explained, “when you make your bed first thing in the morning; you start the day with a fulfilling sense of accomplishment.  And, after you shower, and dress as nice as possible, with all the wrinkles literally ironed out, you are wearing a sense of pride.  It directs who you are and who you will be throughout the day.  You will be moving throughout the day, literally wearing honor.” 

It is the army’s way to start the day right.

I was never in the army, but I think that I understand this.  As an actor, I understand what it is like to put on a particular character’s costume for the first time.  In all the weeks preceding putting on the costume, you pretend to be the character you wish to portray on stage.  But, once those unique shoes are on and those foreign fitting clothes are wrapped around your body, you do not just pretend that you are that character, you actually become that character.  There is just something about wearing clothes that shapes who we are and who we become. 

Put a tutu on a young girl and she will immediately twirl and do a plie.  She becomes a dancer.  Put a toy gun a young boy’s hand and he will start shooting, becoming a hunter or a soldier. 

What if I told you that the writer of Ephesians desires this sort of experience for you?  

What if you could get up in the morning, make your bed, take your shower, and put on the clothes of faith?  What if you could step into the character that God has told you that you are, but you have always felt that you have not quite lived up to being?  What if you could have a costume that would transport you from the realm of thinking about the faith, and pretending to live the faith, to being a person of faith?   What if you could step into your day as a warrior of God’s peace and grace?

Take a moment to consider those Roman soldiers who took Jesus’ clothes, cast lots to see who would get the value of the garment, and nailed the savior of the world to a tall, wooden cross.  Those Roman soldiers, who would struggle against fellow brothers and sisters of the world, against flesh and blood, were the most feared fighting force in the world at the time.  If they ever were defeated, their retaliation would be quick, and overwhelming, and brutal.  The writer of Ephesians wants you to take that image of the Roman soldier, and reshape it; reshape its brutality, reshape its demeanor, and reshape its purpose to something good and holy.

The soldiers had a belt that would hold together the whole outfit and would house their sword, and the writer of Ephesians wants you to have a belt too; a belt of truth.

Truth.  Do we even know what truth is anymore?  In these days of information overload mixing with misinformation overload, the truth seems to be hard to find.  I personally know people who actually do not care if what they say is “the truth” or not.  “As long as it gets us a win, it’s good for us,” they try to convince me. 

No, it is not good.  Anything less than the truth is a lie, and lying is decidedly not good.  “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor” the commandment says clearly. 

Christians care about the truth.  Christians follow the truth: Jesus Christ, “the way the truth and the life.”  The truth is essential to settling disputes and finding the way forward through difficult situations.  If there is a waterfall at the end of the river, the truth of that may be a good thing to know.

So, each morning the Christian puts on the belt of truth, its buckle pressing against the belly, serving as a reminder throughout the day that everything depends of sharing the truth and following only the truth.

After-all, evil would love you to share lies and turn people against one another.  Evil would love you to help in tearing the world apart.

The soldier also had a breastplate of righteousness.  This is a plate that protects the goodness of the heart that God has given you.  It protects the urge to help the helpless from the threat of hatred.  It protects the urge to forgive the sinner from the threat of eternal rage against someone who has made terrible mistakes.  It protects the heart, and we put it on each morning so that our hearts do not grow hard and uncaring.

Evil would love to overwhelm the breastplate and make your forget to care and forgive.  Evil would love you to forget to be righteous, but the breastplate keeps the heart pure.

As for your shoes, you get to choose those.  And all the women in the room rejoiced…and a couple of men too…you know who you are. 

Just as Paul says in Romans 10:15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news,” the writer of Ephesians says, “Go ahead and choose a shoe that is your style.”  If sandals and ankle length white socks with stripes at the top help you to share the good news of peace in a way that only you can, then go for it!  But, if sandals and striped socks are not your thing, by all means, feel free to wear something else!   Wear something that will take you to places and people who need peace.  Wear something comforting and full of patience. 

Be ready to go about your day in the correct pair of shoes.  They will walk you in the ways of peace and grace.

Take the shield of faith along with also.  Faith, after-all, is able to block the arrows of the evil one, who will try to strike you and keep you from being the child of God that you have been created to be.  The evil one hopes that your faith falters and that you start to trust something…anything but God. 

But, for to those of us who have the shield of faith, when evil and hardship threaten to overtake life, we trust that Jesus will see us through, just as Jesus has many times before.  We may not know how Jesus will do this, but we know that Jesus will.

Then, there is the helmet of salvation.  Salvation, simply put, is God grace and forgiveness with which you have been saved through Jesus Christ.  What if you started your day by putting on the helmet of salvation and directing all your thoughts through the helmet of grace and forgiveness?  How would your day be different if you looked at all situations through the grace and forgiveness of God?  In the same way that getting dressed well is a gift from the army to the general, the writer of Ephesians thinks that putting on the helmet of salvation is a great gift from God.  It is what needs to be on your head to really start off your day right.

Then, there is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  After-all, it is God’s word, God’s love, God’s forgiveness, God’s direction, and God’s plan that will slice our way forward in life.  Now, I just want to point out that the sword is in no way intended to be a weapon of destruction.  Nothing on your body is intended to be a means of destruction and mayhem.  You are a vessel of God’s peace, directed in your head by God’s grace and forgiveness, with a sword of God’s word, inspired by God’s Spirit as your tool to accomplish the will of God.

When you dress like this in the morning, how can your day be anything other than, full of love and peace?  How can your day be anything except, holy? 

Go ahead, get up, make your bed, take a shower, and dress in the clothes of Christ.  These fine clothes of grace and peace are a gift to you, and to your neighbors who will see you dressed so fine.

Reflection on Ephesians 5:15-20

 

Sister Suzanne Toolan of the Sisters of Mercy wrote the beloved hymn, “I Am the Bread of Life,” while she was teaching high school during a free period in her day.  When the bell rang for the next class she decided she did not like the music, so she tore it up and threw it in the wastepaper basket.

Her classroom was next to the nurse’s office, and a girl came out of the nurse’s office and said, “What was that?  It was beautiful!”  The girl was moved by the song and encouraged sister Toolan to go back into the classroom, take the manuscript out of the basket and tape it back together. Ever since, it has become one of the most popular communion hymns around the world.

That song that the nun tore up, threw away, and then taped back together only because it had touched the hearts of one of her students, has gone on to touch many more people throughout the world.  Its strong promise, echoing the words of John 6:54, “And I will raise you up,” repeating three times in a powerful, ascending musical crescendo, spoke powerfully to a young man sitting toward the back of a funeral.  The man was moved to tears, accompanied by weeping that would have been audible if it weren’t for the echoes of voices repeating, again and again Jesus’ promise, “And I will raise you up.” 

Not only was it a promise that spoke deeply to his soul as he sat, despairing the loss of a good friend to an automobile accident, it also spoke directly to him.  It was as if Jesus had walked in the doors of that church, sat down right next to him, looked at him in his, lowly, unshaven, fatigued and hungry state, and said, “I will raise you up.”

The story of how he became broke, and lost many of his friends is complicated, like most such stories, but if you assumed that depression and alcohol was involved, you would be right. 

He put himself together the best that he could, to be presentable at the funeral, but hidden behind the nice exterior was a man who longed for the fresh drink of water and the good food of the funeral reception to follow.  How he longed to finally be given a cup of water from the faithful.  How he longed to finally be given a scrap of food from those who follow Christ.  How he longed to find healing from his long lists of personal tragedies and losses.  How he longed to be “raised up.”

That song…that message of Jesus, spoken right to his soul that day, kept returning again and again in his head.  It was an ear worm.

You know: “ear worms.”  They are snippets of songs that get caught in your head and play over and over and over again.  You may not even like the song.  It does not matter.  It will play over and over again none the less, and you will not be able to stop it.  You know, song lyrics like: “We will, we will rock you,” and “Don’t stop, believing,” and “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.”  How many of us are tormented with that yearly…and this year, twice a year!  “Thank you, Pastor Jira.”

But, that crescendo of a chorus, “And I will raise you up” was an ear worm in this man’s head, in a good, and glorious way.  He heard it again the day he saw another guy, who looked about as well off as he.  “And I will raise you up” went through his head, as he dug into his wallet, took out his remaining cash, and paid for the man’s modest meal of a bagel and coffee. 

“And, I will raise you up” went through his head as he stared at the bottles of liquor in the cabinet, and decided for the first time in a long time to close the cabinet door. 

The words of Jesus lived in this man through this tune, and in turn, this man lived the life of Jesus because of the tune.  That is the power of song.

The writer of Ephesians understands the power of faithful songs.  He understands the power that these songs have when sung together.  He understands that sometimes the way to wise, Christian living, is not necessarily through the head…through instruction…through words of admonition.  He understands that sometimes you need something that can penetrate the soul: song.

Before he explains that though, the writer of Ephesians reminds us that we are God’s people. 

And, we are God’s people, not because we tried to be someone or were able to do anything to earn it, but because God decided that we should be a part of God’s people, despite all we have done or who we have tried to be.  We are God’s people because of God’s grace.

This is important to keep in mind.  Our lives of faith are a gift from God, given to us through the promise of new life in Jesus Christ, and Christ’s redeeming love shown on the cross.  That gift of love does something.  It looks like something.  And, conversely, it does not do or look like something else. 

To remind you, he says, “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit…”

If you are a people loved by God who is faithful to you, then one would assume that your life would look a lot like that faithful God.  “Be careful then how you live…”  Wise people of God are not going to waste their time focusing on things that are just plain foolish, and maybe dangerous, and maybe, hurtful in the long run.  “Do not get drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit…”

Now, it is easy to say something like that (“Don’t drink too much, it can’t bring anything good in the long run”), and it is even easy to agree with it in your head (“Sure, I won’t use alcohol as a crutch”), But, like many other things which are driven not by your head but by your emotional state, it is a lot harder in reality. 

As you may know, in my family we have four wonderful, independent, creative thinkers in our house.  Now, have you ever had four independent, creative thinkers all creatively thinking independently at the same time?  You might sometimes stare at the wine rack too.

I do not mean to make too light something which is not light.  We all know what happens when we are forced to rely on treatments for our problems which hurt more than they help.  Be it food, or drink, or gambling, or an unhealthy solitude, or the distraction of work, or the invigoration of fighting, or any number of things, you can fill in the blank.  Here is the thing: all of it is filling a hole in our very being that could instead be filled by the God’s Holy Spirit.

And, this is where the wisdom of Ephesians starts to become clear.  Rather than fill that hole in your being, that hole in your soul, with time spent doing what dulls and harms, how about you try singing some faithful songs?

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now, this is not instructions on how to be a good Christian.  You do not need to know how to sing good in order to be a Christian.  This is not what you need to do in order to become a faithful person.  That poor, depressed man did not show up at that funeral thinking, “Well, today is the day I’m going to get my act together after 20 years of failure.  I’m going to church.” 

No!  He showed up to church because he was drawn there under terrible circumstances.  But, because he was there, Jesus showed up, and Jesus sat down next to him during that song, and Jesus spoke, not to his head, but to his heart, as the faithful people of God together sang, “And, he will raise you up.”

“Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts…”

These songs of faith are unappreciated keys that are somehow able to penetrate the locks of our souls.  They are the word of God set to the rhythm and heartbeat of our spirits.  They are gifts of God that the Holy Spirit uses to move us in ways that no other means can even hope to achieve.

To this day, the formerly poor and depressed man hears the echo of “And, I will raise you up” in his head.  It is the song that Mary hears which prepares her to be the mother of Jesus.  It is the song that Peter hears after he has ruined everything by denying Jesus, but is called to follow Jesus again anyway.  It is the song of resurrection promise given by Jesus himself. 

It is the song that gives hope whenever the man falls on hard times.  “And I will raise you up.”  And, it is the song that allows the man to see what Christ just might be leading him to do as he sees a young woman…an acquaintance…crying in a booth at a café.  “And I will raise you up.”

“Hi, I know you don’t know me all that well, but it looks like you need some help getting up from here.  How can I help?” 

Reflection on Ephesians 4:25-5:2 and Psalm 34:1-8

 

“Taste and see that the Lord is good!” the Psalmist in Psalm 34 declares. 

It is the sort of thing that an ancient person would say as they were inviting the community to a feast in honor of God who has rescued them.  Maybe the Lord saved them from the crushing load of a heavy cart?  Maybe the Lord healed their little girl from the devastation of a potentially debilitating disease?  Maybe the Lord brought together two young adults in marriage who no one in their right minds would ever have thought would settle down and start a family?  Maybe the Lord brought victory against an enemy?  Maybe the Lord brought a big, beautiful harvest of Brussels sprouts?  Hey, there is no reason to throw shade at Brussels sprouts.  Actually, they like to grow in partial shade.  It does not matter.  No matter the occasion, the whole community, rich and poor, would be invited to celebrate the goodness of the Lord. 

People would dance at these events with food and drink in hand.  The host would mingle and relay the story, again and again, of how God had saved, just as God has done so many times before. 

“I will bless the Lord at all times; the praise of God shall ever be in my mouth,” the host of the feast declares to one groups. 

“I will glory in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice,” the host declares to those who were poor, but invited anyway. 

“I called in my affliction, and the Lord heard me and saved me from all my troubles,” the host regales loudly to all around as he recalls over and over how the Lord saved him from the snatches of disease and death. 

You see, remembering again and again what the Lord has done is a good thing.  Maybe remembering again and again is an essential thing, because we are so apt to forget. 

Maybe, being invited to these celebratory parties helps us to have hope during the times that we are struggling ourselves.  They are a reminder that our hope is in the Lord, because the Lord is good.  

“Taste and see that the Lord is good!”

Rolph Jacobson, an Old Testament scholar who was saved from a deadly cancer, celebrates every year on the anniversary of his cancer surgery that he is still alive.  The saving surgery cost him both of his legs, but he still rejoices in the goodness of the Lord with a feast and recalls each year how God spared his life. 

This is no small thing.  People’s hope is renewed in these gatherings.  They are reminded that God is good and can rescue them too.  It is right, well, and good to remember the goodness of the Lord.  It is good to hear the stories again and again so that we, as a community of God, do not forget.

Because, it is so easy to forget.

So many things can derail us from blessing the Lord at all times, and so many things throw up a wall and cause us to forget to remember the goodness of the Lord. 

I think of the uncomfortable wedding reception that I saw on YouTube a couple of years back.  It was the part of the celebration of God joining of these two people in marriage where the best man in invited to toast the couple and give his best regards.  This is normally a time of some friendly roasting and fond remembrances of friendship.  It is usually fun.  But, in this case, it was not fun.  It was as if the best man arrived completely naked.  The guy had clothes on, do not get me wrong, but in his drunken stupor the guy recalled how particular people in the family had always loved the groom more and, in so doing, had ruined his own life and brought him to such a state. 

The hatred in his eyes was palpable as he pointed fingers around the room, calling out by name all those whom he blamed for his problems.  The man’s soul was naked, and his speech was just as hard to watch as if his suspenders had suddenly given way and dropped his drawers.

It was embarrassingly obvious that the man did not care to remember and celebrate goodness.  Rather, the tale he wanted to tell again and again was the tale of anger and betrayal. 

When resentment and revenge is constantly being pumped through your blood, it is hard to see God’s goodness at all.  It is as if a great wall of stone has been built down the center of your heart, so that it cannot pump correctly.

This type of spiritual derailment is so prevalent in our culture that we even have a common name for this type of person: the Debbie Downer. 

You have heard that, right?  The Debbie Downer is the person who, after you shake the candy machine to get your Reese’s, and you celebrate with high fives after two packages of the sweet delights fall down for you to claim, says out loud, “I bet I won’t get two…or even get one…like usual.”

Either they are a Debbie Downer, or they are a “hothead.” 

You know the “hothead.”  He is the guy who is certain that the world is out to get him and only him.  He is the guy across the aisle of the plane to whom you throw a smile with a nod, the way that most men greet one another with a show of respect, and, in return, the guy’s face immediately turns red while he shouts, “Who you looking at church boy?” 

Not that this ever happened, while wearing a clerical collar, on a flight out of Detroit approximately five years ago.  It is completely hypothetical, but you know the hothead.

Or maybe this spiritual derailment looks a lot like me when I secretly fume in my head, recalling my anger over and over again, just to keep it fresh, because I most certainly want to keep it fresh. 

The anger blinds me to forgiveness.  The anger blinds me to love.  And the anger blinds me to the goodness of the Lord.  After-all, if I were to let my anger subside, maybe I would do something terrible, like forgive the unforgiveable.  So, like Jonah after the evil city turns from its evil ways, I sit on the edge of the city in the hot sun, and complain, and continually stir the embers of my anger.

This type of stewing has nothing to do with blessing the Lord at all times.  It has nothing to do with giving a vision of goodness and salvation to the lowly.  It has nothing to do with proclaiming the goodness of the Lord who saves.  It has nothing to do with the Lord at all actually.  It is the antithesis of the Lord.  It is making room for the devil and offering him a nice couch, TV, and mini-fridge so that he might be able to take up residence in our hearts for a little while.

A community cannot hold together with this type of daily, renewed anger. 

A nation cannot hold together with this rehashing of anger over and over again. 

A soul cannot keep from breaking when the only thing that is remembered again and again is the story of how bad it all is.

Because, this type of evil story-telling pushes apart rather than gathering together, the writer of Ephesians has this to say to us:

“Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.  Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.” 

Do you know what I instruct all young couples in marriage preparation?  When in the heat of anger, it is OK with to walk away from each other for 20 minutes, and then come back and talk.  This is a good thing, because when you are angry, the brain filters all functions through that anger.  When angry, none of us can be considered anything close to rational. 

Now, just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with getting angry.  There are a great many things about which we should be angry.  Children left to fend for themselves should make us angry.  Spouses demeaning the one they promised to love should make us angry.  Leaders who are convinced that destroying others is the way to make the world better should make us angry. 

So, “be angry” the writer of Ephesians tells us.  But, do not forget what Jesus reminds us in Matthew 5:22, “anyone who is continually angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” 

You can be angry, but feeding that anger over and over again makes room for the devil.  It allows you to do horrible things and say horrible things…like inappropriate and anger filled speeches at wedding receptions. 

“Do not let the sun go down on your anger.”  We are reminded.  Do not let the anger fester.

Instead, the writer of Ephesians encourages us to, “Let no evil talk come out of [our] mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that [our] words may give grace to those who hear.”

Maybe, if we allowed our anger to subside, we might remember the goodness of God.  And, when we remember the goodness of God, those who need to hear a word of grace will hear a word of God’s grace and goodness from our lips rather than anger and complaints.

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,” the writer continues.  Do not let your own negativity put God’s Holy Spirit in the grave.  Do not weep for it and let it go as you would a beloved family member who is no more.  God’s Spirit does not die!

If you are going to grieve something, grieve the things that rot the soul.  Ephesians says, “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice.” 

Let that go to the grave.  When it does, when you allow Jesus to take it all with him to the cross to die with him, and to the grave to be buried with him forever, all that can possibly remain for your life is “being kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you.”

“Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…” the writer encourages us.

You know what would be helpful in this endeavor to let Jesus take away the hate?  How about, rather than complaining about the world at all times, we follow the Psalmist lead and “bless the Lord at all times.” 

Maybe, it would be good if the praises of God were ever in our mouths.  Maybe, we should party more and remember when God has been so good.  Maybe, we should have more feasts to celebrate and “taste and see that the Lord is good.” 

Maybe, we could do what my faithful elderly neighbor did years ago with her old receipts.  Ever a woman of the great depression, she not only would keep and use old receipts to list those for whom she wanted to pray, as I have told you in past sermons, but she would also keep a receipt that had things listed for which she was thankful to God. “A boy opened a door for her.” “The neighbor brought groceries.” She wrote these acts of God’s goodness down during the day, and then shared them with us when we were greeted across the yard after coming home from work. 

The conversations were her small celebrations of how good God was.  The conversations were feasts of God’s goodness.  They were conversations that encouraged us to be happy and take refuge in God.  After-all, God is good.

We could start right now, today, to continually remember God’s goodness.  How about we take time in a moment to taste and see the goodness of the Lord, as we remember the gift of grace given to us in the feast of all feasts: the Lord’s Supper.

Reflection on Ephesians 4:1-16

 

The world is out of balance.  I feel it, and I know that you feel it too. 

Not only is our world still divided over this COVID thing…this virus and the divisive reactions that it causes, which just will not go away no matter how much we wish it would; and not only is the world divided over issues of race and what we should or should not do about it; and not only is the world divided over climate change…if it even exists…and what to do about it; and not only is the world divided over whether or not the most recent Star Wars trilogy is a fitting end to the series…(What?  The world does not care about Star Wars; just geeks?)…but the world is so imbalanced that you do not even need to turn on cable news, and witness the world stage, in order to see the divisions. 

Local leaders are caught doing the immoral, and then are seen gathering supporters and justifying their immorality.  The divisions are right here; just open the paper and you will see it.  But, I can bring the imbalance of the world even closer.

When I was 12, my brothers did something so horrible…so horrendous…so immoral that I quite frankly cannot remember at all what it was, but it was so bad that I decided that I was never going to engage with them ever again…ever.  They probably wouldn’t share gum or something terrible like that.  In any case, if I could have, I would have built a wall to push them into an entirely separate section of the house. 

But, the reality was that I was 12, and had no access to wood and sheet rock, or hammers, or money, so I did the next best thing.  Everyone in the house heard the noise of moving furniture across the cracking linoleum floors upstairs as I moved all of the dressers in our shared bedroom to the center, creating a wall of separation. 

The thing is that my older brother still cooked lunch for me, and I could not go without lunch, so I decided that I would go down and eat, but still refuse to talk.  “That will show them.”

I do not know if you have ever tried this tactic…prolonging the hatred and building the walls as high as possible…but I have to tell you, the imbalance that it creates in your soul starts to eat at you.  They say that good walls make good neighbors, and though that may be true to some degree, good walls also make for very lonely people and a very imbalanced world. 

Our world is terribly imbalanced, and so are we. 

Feeling depressed yet? 

The world may be imbalanced and our lives may be imbalanced, but I did not mention it in order to depress you.  Rather, I mentioned it because we have this glimmering gift in the Holy Scriptures that is written just for imbalanced people in imbalanced worlds such as our own.  The second half of Ephesians, which we will be delving deeply into the next few weeks, is going to be our guide and our hope as we seek a balanced world.

We are going to jump right into Ephesians 4:1.  Paul says, “I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called…” and we are going to stop right there because there is a lot to unpack there.  First, I want to point out that this verse is precisely about that balance that we so desperately seek for the world and for our lives.  Let me translate it better for you.  “I beg you to lead a life that is at balance with the calling to which you have been called.”  “Axios” is in there in the Greek.  Think: axis.  Think: a balancing point.  Think: a two sided scale that weighs and measures and balances. 

We are urged to lead lives together, which balances the life God makes real.

Let me make this really simple.  On one side of the scale we have the grace of God given to us through Jesus Christ, and this grace pushes the scale down with the words of Ephesians 2:8-10.  In those words we are told, “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

So, on one side of the scale we have God’s goodness through Jesus Christ which loves us and gathers “up all things in him,” not because we deserve it but because God desires it.  On one side of the scale we have this image of Jesus stretching out his arms and gathering up wayward children together in a parental sort of love, not because the children were good kids, but because he loves them.  And, somehow that love is going to make a difference.

Now this love is so full and so heavy that it pushes down one side of the scales.  It is an eternal, everlasting love that will always push down that side of the scale, no matter what.  But, would it not be nice if we had a similar sort of love…a similar sort of disposition…that would push the scale down on our side also.  What if we were the people of good works that God create us to be?  If that were to happen, then all creation would be at balance; the love of the world balancing beautifully with the love of God.

What Ephesians is trying to preach to us is that our world is out of balance because we are not matching up to the love of God seen in Jesus the Christ.  The imbalance is because we build walls of division in order to keep away differing people, and we push dressers into the center of the bedroom rather than forgive. 

In Paul’s time, walls separated the children of Israel and everyone else: walls of laws, walls of cultural differences, and in some cases actual walls.  But, maintaining walls of separation, picking up the stones and restacking them again and again after every storm, can in no way give us balance.  Refusal to love and refusal to forgive cannot save.

And, it will give you a terrible headache.  After just three hours of totally ignoring my brothers, who were outside having the time of their lives…without me, I was physically feeling rotten.  God said, “It is not good for man to be alone,” and God is right.

But, starting at Ephesians 13, we are enthusiastically told, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is the hostility between us.”

In other words, the love of God through Jesus, the undeserved grace…the forgiveness…the hope found in trusting in Christ draws us together.  And, God does all of that, as a gift.  That gift weighs down God’s side of the scale.

So, on our side of the scale, Ephesians urges us to make “every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  Rather than pushing others away, how about we try to be the forgiven people that God has told us we are?  How about we try to be one, since God has declared that we are one?  After-all, as Ephesians enthusiastically declared, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all...” 

I wonder if God wants us to be “one?”

In a world of walls that divide, what if we decided to take up Ephesians’ challenge to be one?  Would the scales start to even up?  Would the world start to be at balance?  What if we loved each other with all “humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”?

What if, rather than assuming that everyone is somehow evil and against us, we trusted that Christ “descended to the lower parts of the earth” so that being both low and high, he fills up all things?  What if we assumed that there is a spark of the divine in others rather than just a stain of evil?

What if, rather than putting others down when they have fallen short we “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”?  What if, rather than going the other direction when there is resistance, we walked with people until they too might “find unity of the faith” and find “maturity” in the body of Christ?

I guess what Ephesians is trying to say is, what if we viewed everyone as Jesus views us, children who need to be gathered close?

Do not get me wrong, it is fun to pull the chains of those who disagree with us regarding the best Star Wars movie, or the wiser political party, or the better economic plan, but when you start to lose very real friends over this stuff, something is out of balance.  And, I’m willing to bet that it is out of balance because you are not focusing on what is truly important.  Being out of balance is forgetting God’s side of the scale.  It is forgetting God’s pure, undeserved grace which gathers us wandering children together. 

Maybe, just maybe we will find balance in the world when we discover that we are all a part of one body, different functions, but one body in Jesus Christ our Lord.