Sermon 3rd November 2013

Today, our Vicar, Cameron Barker, continues our study of Paul's letter to Ephesus.  The reading is from Ephesians 5 verses 1-20.

~ The Lord gave us two ends: one to sit on; and the other to think with. Success depends on which one we use most.

~ If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.

~ The truth of the matter is that we almost always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.

~ You can give without loving; but you can’t love without giving.

~ We occasionally stumble over the truth; but most of us pick ourselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.

~ You do have a choice: you can throw in the towel; or you can use it to wipe the sweat off your face.

~ The thing about the future is that it arrives one day at time.

And perhaps my favourite ~ You don’t need a parachute to skydive; you only need a parachute to skydive twice!

Take your pick: maybe it’s been some while since we last had a list of punchy one-liners like those; or else I’m trying to show that my recent study-leave was well used! Either way, I reckon that Paul would approve of this selection, if he were here today. I say so because at the start of Ephesians chapter 5, that’s pretty much what he came up with himself, in the language of his own day! As Simon Brindley said in his excellent sermon here a fortnight ago, Paul’s is all good, sound, and very practical advice; and it’s so very relevant for us as well.

So is the above list of one-liners: read them again now, and the listen for how they apply in what follows. Now to resume quoting Simon, we could summarise Paul’s letter to the Ephesians like this. He began by setting out how God’s plan for His people has been gloriously revealed in Jesus Christ, raised from the dead and now completely glorified in heaven. In this big context, each one of us was dead in our wrong-doing, following the ways of the world – i.e. following our sinful nature. But now through faith we have been made alive in Christ. But we are not saved by any good deeds. In fact, we are saved for good deeds. So, from chapter 4 onward Paul begins to hit home the implications for our lives – our new lives in Christ – of this message. In this section, Paul is now saying that if this is your glorious calling, then I urge you to live a life that’s worthy of it – in all these ways.

Now if you have perhaps missed those specific ways that Paul has already covered, they are, as usual, on our website. They really are worth reading because even though this letter was written so long ago, most of its advice is just as relevant, as practical, and as helpful today as it was in the first Century. At least no-one’s told me that lying, cheating, stealing, the venting of anger, fighting, or being mean, or hurtful have stopped being issues for humanity in the past month! And so I’m guessing that the same is also true of our endless obsession with sex, in any and every form – which is the next area of life that Paul now goes on to address.

Now it is easy to come at this topic too with a mindset that God is anti it; and/or, even if He’s not, then Paul certainly is, and that’s typical of the church! To be honest, there have been times in history, including recently, when the latter has sadly been an accurate observation. But again, Simon expressed it well two weeks ago. Like him, I am convinced that God simply wants what really is best for us, in every area of our lives! Paul wrote in such positive terms on all these topics because God wants us not to settle for second best, much less for some mere imitation: He has made us for so much more than that. That idea, of God wanting our lives to sing, as a wineglass can, because He knows what He has made us for, works with today’s passage, both positively and negatively. But our best starting point in this area is the positive one: we can go into it knowing that God is on our side, and wants the very best for us.

As Paul is quick to point out, it’s not just that God has made us, but also that He has paid for us, as we might say on the basis of today’s first verse. It’s a common thread in Ephesians, this constant coming back to the person, and the example of Christ – who is always to be our example. Here it is again, then, as Paul writes deeper into this transformed, positive new life that God is wanting us now to live. As ever, that all has to be based on the sacrifice that Jesus made: on the giving up of his own life; for us. So, since you are now God’s children – solely because of Christ’s sacrificial death – you must try to be like Him, Paul wrote in verse 1. Specifically, and especially, we must literally “imitate God” in our loving – of Him; of one another; and of ourselves: God’s kind of love must control our lives. So remember that you can give without loving; but you can’t love without giving.

That is the general overriding principle by which Christians are to live: God’s self-giving, self-sacrificing love; not some second-rate imitation of it, of which there are so many examples all around us. In Christ we have the very best, and most positive, example of what love looks like and does. This is the key positive that rules all the negatives that follow in the rest of today’s passage. There are a lot of ‘don’ts’ in here, as there need to be – not least so that we don’t be fooled! There are, as I’m sure you know too well, plenty of people that will say none of this stuff matters. But it really does matter for people who want to love God, love one another, and love themselves, in God’s giving way, following Christ’s example of God’s love.

So don’t settle for some second-rate imitation of that, Paul wrote. Don’t let love slide into mere lust, in your heads, or in your mouths. As usual, Tom Wright has lots of sharp insights on this whole subject, if anyone wants to follow up on the specific detail. Just to stick with the general principle for now, it’s a matter of knowing what’s right, and what’s wrong – as we generally do, remember; and then doing it – or not doing it, as is appropriate. Nobody is saying that it’s easy; it’s especially not, because we are literally surrounded by what we are. But here is where we have to choose: do we throw in the towel; or use it to wipe the sweat off, and just get on with it even when it’s hard? Tom Wright very helpfully suggests that we think of our mind as a strong and wilful horse that needs firm training!

Note that Paul drops in another key positive amongst all these negatives. A Christian’s life is to be marked with thanksgiving, in verse 4. As we’ve seen before, and as we know, focusing only on the don’ts is a sure recipe for disaster. We need to keep the positives in mind, and to aim for them. Well, ‘if we aim at nothing, that is what we’ll always hit’ remember! And, in any case, there is always plenty enough to give thanks for in the Christian life. Again, it’s easy to forget this; but we so shouldn’t; and Paul isn’t minded to let us either. “Once you were” – the NIV is right, on both counts here: it’s not “once you were in ...”; but “once you were – darkness; but now you are light in the Lord”. Give thanks, and “live as children of light” is Paul’s logical conclusion, then.

The rest of this passage sets out how we are to obey and to live out that calling: to be who, and what, we are in Christ. Again this is detail that we will each need to work out, and then do, for ourselves. It’s vital that we give it the time and attention that it needs, using the clear guidelines that Paul has given. Don’t forget that ‘The Lord gave us two ends: one to sit on; and other to think with. Success depends on which one we use most’. And, ‘The thing about the future is that it arrives one day at time’. So today is the day to start shaping, and living, that future, then: in God’s best loving ways. There are practical things to do – sing; praise; thank; encourage one another; and there are many others to avoid – like getting drunk!

Today may have been an occasion when we have stumbled over God’s truth. If so, we’d be very wise not to hurry off as if nothing had happened. Rather, we need to “be very careful how we live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity”, as Paul wrote. And so “don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is”. Wake up; live in the light; follow God’s example of love in Christ; and live a life of that kind of love, in all these practical ways.

This is, I think, another of those occasions where the best way to end is with the passage itself. As it so often does, the modern Message version puts it simply, and starkly. It challenges us not just to hear, but to obey the simple word of God. Here is what gives, and brings, a life of love, if we will but hear, and obey, it. So, then: “Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behaviour from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

Don’t allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them – the usual variations on idolatry – will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.

Don’t let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don’t even hang around people like that.

You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true, these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.

Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

Wake up from your sleep,

Climb out of your coffins;

Christ will show you the light!

So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!

Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.

Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ. Amen: let it be so ...