Ephesians 4:25- 5:2 "Three Documents"

You are welcome to use parts of this sermon, but if you do, please attribute them properly!

       Once there was a cantankerous old man. He was so crabby that all his neighbors avoided him.  In addition, his four sons moved away from home as soon as they could. You get the picture.  But his wife?  His poor wife was longsuffering in her presence – you know, ‘til death do us part.

       One night the old man went to bed and just slipped away. His wife called all the sons, and they dutifully returned home.  The question for the four of them was this:  What should they do?

       After much discussion and debate, they finally came to this conclusion:  "He was hard to live around, and no one could get along with him, but he was our pa. We owe him a decent burial, out in the meadow beyond the field."

       So they went out to the barn and found some boards and made a casket. They laid their pa out inside it, put the box on their shoulders, and carried it out past the barn.  However, as they passed through the gate into the field, something very unfortunate occurred.  One of the boys bumped into the gatepost, causing them to drop the box.

       The casket broke open and the cantankerous, crabby old man sat straight up. He wasn’t dead after all.

He had only been in a very deep... sleep!

       Much excitement that day, but finally life got back to normal!  The old man lived for two more long and hard years, just as ornery and mean, cantankerous and crabby as ever. The boys, of course, went back to their homes, thankful for the great blessing of not having to put up with the old man on a daily basis.  However, his poor wife continued to stay with him and became even more longsuffering with each day that went by – you know, ‘til death do us part.

       Then one night the old man went to bed and just slipped away. Once again, his four sons came back to the old homestead.  Once again, they engaged in much discussion and debate:  What should they do?

       "Well,” they concluded for the second time.  “He was hard to live around, and no one could get along with him, but he was our pa. We owe him a decent burial, out in the meadow beyond the field."

         So, just like last time, they went out to the barn and found some boards and made a casket and put the old man in it. They put the box on their shoulders and started out of the house.

         As they left the yard and started for the field, their mother, the old man's wife, called out to them, "Boys, when you get out by the barn...you be real careful going through that gate this time."

         Surely we have all run into someone like the old man or – dare I say it – even been like him ourselves on occasion. – ornery, mean, cantankerous, crabby.  You could probably add to that some of the language of the author of this letter to the Ephesians used:  angry, unkind, dispassionate, and unforgiving. 

         My mother used to refer to folks like that as people who got out on the wrong side of the bed in the morning.  My father used to say that they behaved that way because their shoes were too tight and pinched their feet. 

         Call it what you will. The author of this letter clearly stipulates that these are not characteristics of anyone who proclaims himself or herself to be part of the body of Christ, followers of Jesus, imitators of God.  In the three previous chapters of this letter, the author has gone to great lengths to tell his listeners just what God has been up to in Jesus and just what the sweeping plan for salvation is that the Holy One has in mind. 

         In a writing style typical of Paul, the author has offered not parables and stories but well-articulated (though difficult to grasp at first reading) arguments and explanations.  In fact, sometimes we feel like we are soaring through outer space, our heads spinning with grace and faith, “the manifold wisdom of God (That’s from Chapter 3), Jew and Gentle,  “creating one race out of two peoples in union with himself” (Chapter 2).

         However, here, in the verses we just read, the author reels himself in.  As Reformed Church pastor, Stan Mast writes, “At last the rubber hits the road….Now it’s time to come down to earth and tell us exactly what God’s cosmic plan means for us as we walk the mean streets of our cities and towns….How are we to live in the world?”

         And so we come to this apparent laundry list of moral instructions.  Don’t do this.  Don’t do that.  No more of this.  Get rid of that.  As Stan Mast continues, “How can we keep from preaching a check list morality that can drive us either to despair because we cannot live by the list or to self-righteousness because we think we have checked off each item on the list? “

        

         Well, I am not going to preach to you this morning by warning you not to lie, not to be angry, not to hold a grudge, not to use harmful words.  That perspective could too easily morph into a fire and brimstone sort of sermon, and I am not that sort of preacher.  More importantly though, such a checklist is so narrow, and the Gospel message is anything but narrow.  It is expansive and inclusive and abundant.  So rather than look at what we cannot do, let’s look at what we can do.

         Lutheran pastor Brian Woken puts it this way:  “We have all seen countless "No Parking" signs. I have never seen one that said "Feel free to park here and have a great stay." It is almost always easier to define limits than it is to promote opportunities.

         Consider the limits (the author of this letter) lists: stealing, evil talk, bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, slander, malice. It probably isn't difficult to list the times we have seen others cross these limits, or the times we ourselves have done so.

         On the other hand, the opportunities that are alternatives to these are less specific and more expansive: labor and work honestly, share with the needy, use words that build up and give grace, be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving. These are limitless in opportunity! Our life in Christ is not seen chiefly in the things we avoid. It is seen instead in the ways we live beyond ourselves, for the sake of others and of the gospel.”

         So what does it mean to get rid of your anger and bitterness?  What does it mean to have no more shouting and insults?  What does it mean to be kind and tender-hearted?  What has the church really done to distinguish itself along these lines?  And what about us?

         As I said, I am not going to preach a fire breather sermon here.  And I am also not going to fill this time with cute anecdotes and funny sermon illustrations either.  We are going to approach these verses in a different way this morning.

         I am going to read you excerpts from three documents that illustrate the efforts that church people have undertaken to more fully live as the author of this letter to the Ephesians calls us to live if we are indeed followers of Jesus. After each reading, we will respond as a congregation with a song (What Does the Lord Require of You?).

         The first document emerges from a faith community in the Loire Valley in France. Between 1940 and the end of World War II, residents of Le Chambon sur Lignon and the surrounding villages helped thousands of Jews and others survive.

The community’s pastor urged the congregation to give shelter to any person who asked for it. Despite obvious danger, they rescued Jews, dissidents, and refugees, believing it was their Christian obligation and duty to help their “neighbors” in need. Some 5,000 people passed through Le Chambon and the surrounding villages from 1940 until the war’s end.

       At that time, the pastors of this community wrote the following declaration to their congregation. In many ways it is like the letter to the Ephesians.  Here are some extracts:

       “...let us abandon all divisions among Christians, and all squabbles among the French people. Let us stop labeling ourselves and others, because that is the language of scorn: let us abandon right and left, peasants, workers, intellectuals, proletarians and plutocrats, all the terms we use to accuse each other of some wrongdoing or other. Let us learn to trust each other again, to receive each other, to welcome each other, reminding ourselves that every time we come together, like the early Christians, we are brothers and sisters.

       Loving, forgiving, doing good to our adversaries is our duty. Yet we must do this without giving up, and without being cowardly.

We shall resist whenever our adversaries demand of us obedience contrary to the orders of the gospel. We shall do so without fear, but also without pride and without hate...”

CONGREGATIONAL SUNG RESPONSE

         Now, if WWII seems like a long time ago, let’s fast forward to 2009 and the second document, the Charter of Compassion. Karen Armstrong, a former Roman Catholic nun, initiated it, challenging us, as the author Ephesians had millennia before, to be kind and tender hearted, calling us all to lives of compassion. 

         “The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect. 

         It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain.

To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.



         We therefore call upon all men and women to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.



         We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries.

Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.”

CONGREGATIONAL SUNG RESPONSE

         The final document is one that originated last year right here in Maine.  It is the Maine Council of Churches’ Covenant of Civil Discourse.  The Maine Council of Churches is an ecumenical non-profit organization whose mission is to seek common ground and work for the common good, believing that the fate of our democracy depends upon truthful and respectful interactions among us all, especially when we hold differing views.  The Council developed this document to present to our state and federal elected representatives.

“I hereby commit:

1. To act respectfully toward others, including those who oppose me in public debate, and to attempt to understand others' point(s) of view. I extend this attitude of respect to all those engaged in civil discourse in the United States.

2. To refrain from personal attacks, while maintaining the right to vigorously disagree.

3. To refrain from making statements which characterize my opponents as evil.

4. To refuse to make untrue statements in defense of my position.

5. To value honesty, truth, and civility while striving to find workable solutions.

6. To expect any person, party, campaign or organization working on my behalf to meet these same standards for civil discourse, and to disavow statements that violate these standards.

CONGREGATIONAL SUNG RESPONSE

         All three of these documents give us much to think about both as individuals and as a Christian community.  Let’s take a moment to reflect on what each one said.

         First, we may never have to choose whether or not to do what the villagers in the Loire Valley did.  However, as individuals and as the church today, we are called to answer  important questions that arise out of this document:  Who are the ones needing shelter in our world today?  Who are the refugees?  Is it the homeless man with the sign on the street corner in Portland?  Are they the immigrants who do not qualify for health care?  Who are our “neighbors” in need?  How, as a church and as individuals, are we called to respond?

         Likewise, we may never memorize the Charter of Compassion, and we may forget some of its finer points.  However, as individuals and as the church today, we are called to answer  important questions that arise out of the Charter:  How might we as individuals and as a church be more compassionate? Is it enough to spend a week at Maine Seacoast Mission rehabbing mobile homes? Can we be compassionate neighbors without understanding the possibly different perspectives and life choices of those we serve?

         And finally, we may never be elected to the Maine legislature or to Congress.  We may never run for any public office, but the need for civil discourse in our lives remains – as we communicate with our congregation, our children, our spouse, our parents, our boss.  And so, as individuals and as the church today, we are called to answer important questions that arise out of this covenant:  What do we as individuals do about our quickness to judge:  I am right, and you are wrong because you disagree with me?  In situations when tempers are about to flare, how do we stop ourselves from speaking and instead listen?  How do we seek first to understand and then to be understood?

         How are we who say we are Christians supposed to live in the world? How are we supposed to treat one another? Perhaps the prophet Micah spoke the answer best eons ago:  What does the Lord require of you?  To do justice and love kindness and walk humbly with your God.

By Rev. Nancy Foran, Raymond Village Community Church U.C.C., Raymond, Maine