The Call to Self-Examination

CEB Ephesians 4:25-5:2 Therefore, after you have gotten rid of lying, Each of you must tell the truth to your neighbor because we are parts of each other in the same body. 26 Be angry without sinning. Don’t let the sun set on your anger. 27 Don’t provide an opportunity for the devil. 28 Thieves should no longer steal. Instead, they should go to work, using their hands to do good so that they will have something to share with whoever is in need. 29 Don’t let any foul words come out of your mouth. Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what you say. 30 Don’t make the Holy Spirit of God unhappy—you were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Put aside all bitterness, losing your temper, anger, shouting, and slander, along with every other evil. 32 Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ.

5 Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children. 2 Live your life with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. He was a sacrificial offering that smelled sweet to God.

INTRO

The letter to the Ephesians begins by recounting and naming God’s plan of salvation and how it has unfolded in the world, but more specifically, how God’s work of salvation is continuing through the work of the Church. The first chapters begin by declaring that God has gathered all things up, all of creation, and offers forgiveness to all. Then, in the 3rd chapter, we begin to see a shift from God’s actions in the world to God’s actions through the Church. Paul writes gracefully in the 4th chapter as he lays out his argument on how the Church has not only been entrusted to proclaim God’s message of forgiveness but to embody that message to all of creation. In the verses right before our lectionary text for this morning, Paul encourages the Ephesians to discard their old identity and to put on the righteousness and holiness of God before he moves into the practicality of how to live righteous lives. In other words, our passage for this morning moves into how the Church is called to respond to God’s gracious acts of salvation.

The Church of Paul’s day faced many theological disagreements, especially regarding the inclusion of Gentiles into the church. Although the church faces many different kinds of disagreements, the places that cause the most contention in the church are found in deciding what is a faithful response to God’s grace. However, Paul lays out clear expectations as to how the Ephesians and we ought to respond to God. We might want to think of this week’s text as the “Family Rules” of the church. These rules are not a to-do list, but rather, they are evidence of a life transformed by God’s grace. Living into the holiness of God and responding to God’s grace requires specific kinds of behaviors that enhance relationships and enrich the Christian community. Thus, this morning, we are called forth to respond to God’s grace in our lives through specific ways of living.

At first, these guidelines for holy living seem to be idealistic and scary, and they seem to have no grounding in reality. It does not take long for us to start glazing over the text, thinking this is an impossible task…the first verse of a text sets the tone for that which seems impossible: “Each of you must tell the truth to your neighbor” Interestingly this can also be translated as “Let everyone speak the truth with their neighbor.”

Why would we do such a thing? We like our surface-level interactions that don’t go too deep. We like to mind our own business…that’s how families stay together…they keep their heads down and their thoughts to themselves when they are around each other. But when we walk away, we call someone and begin to gossip and complain about others. Can you believe that so and so did this? If we are honest, our church family is the same way! We smile and nod and keep the interaction short, and after worship we call our friends and say, “Can you believe what so and so wore today?” “Can you believe that so and so said that in Sunday School?”

In this section of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul’s very first task is to address truth-telling. For Paul, Truth is at the top of the values list in this letter. Some have said that, “if the first casualty of war is truth, the aphorism applies equally to church fights at all levels.” No matter where the lies come from—spreading rumors at church, posting crazy fabrications on Facebook, engaging in propaganda for the denomination—the Church universal, more often than it should, does not protect the truth. In reflecting on our call to truthfulness, we are given the ability to ponder why we lie.

More often than we should, we lie to win an argument, fight, or dispute. We sometimes attack someone’s character simply because we disagree with them. We distort someone else’s point of view or position. We do this willfully, consciously, and intentionally. Despite this, we still consider ourselves the honest ones. But the truth of the matter is, when we fail to tell the truth, we fail to be the Church - for the church is called to proclaim the pure Word of God, a pure Word of truth, love, and hope. Thus, as Christians and as the church, “we tell the truth because we are one body, and to lie to someone is to lie to ourselves.”

In order to fully live as the church, we must hold one another accountable. To hold one another in accountability, to be truthful to one another is not always viewed as polite; it’s an investment of our time, and it can stir up trouble. But failure to be truthful to one another is even more troubling. It means that we are failing to be authentic in our relationships with one another and with the God who calls us together. Without truth, an authentic community fails to exist.

Sometimes, as the church, we believe that anger is a bad thing. Countless times as a pastor, I have had someone come up to me and speak quietly as if they were telling me a state secret. They didn’t want others to hear or maybe even me to hear that they were angry about something. Anger is a natural thing. At some point in the past, we have been, and at some point in the future, we will be angry. Even Jesus was angry. As I often tell people, I don’t think Jesus calmly and politely turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple.

Since the birth of the church, it has been regularly shaken by scandals, schisms, fear of the other, fear of its differences, and change. Pastors are constantly aware of the ever-shifting dynamics of emotions involved in church life. The phone call complaining about the stances that the church has taken, especially this past year in regards to General Conference decisions, the angry person who was outvoted at a council meeting or the person who felt unheard by the other members of the council, the threats of “church closure” if we continue with a decision, and those who have withdrawn their tithes out of anger. Plus, our own emotions that we as clergy try to keep in check as we hold the tensions of church life in balance with gestures of love and a call to unity in Christ. The church and clergy alike often struggle with how to handle anger.

Paul, here, is not condemning anger. Rather, Paul is calling us to examine how we respond when we do get angry. When left unchecked, anger can destroy a marriage, a family, a Sunday school class, a church, and even a life. Anger, just as easily as lying, can be used as a powerful tool. Anger can be used to control others, to get our way, to win an argument, or even to bully someone into silence. However, we must also realize that unhealthy anger often arises from deep hurt within a person.

In examining ourselves, we must work towards healing when necessary and examine how we respond when we become angry. A Christian community is a reconciled community. It is not a community that denies or avoids anger and conflict. Rather, it is a community that deals with anger in healthy and productive ways. One of the ways we do this is by following what has become known as the Matthew way of dealing with conflict. If you have something to address with someone, discuss it with them. If they don’t listen, bring another member of the church. If they still don’t listen, then bring the matter up in front of the church. While we don’t necessarily follow this to the letter, it reminds us that we are to deal with our anger in a productive manner by speaking the truth in love.

Paul has addressed lying and anger; now, he moves to the moralistic behavior of providing for those in need. To steal is more than taking someone’s personal property. All that we have is a gift of God, and when we fail to use our resources in ways that benefit the good of our neighbors, we are stealing from the God who called all things good. If the point is to provide for all of our neighbors, then we must ask ourselves, why should Christians give up thievery? Is it to escape eternal damnation? Is it because theft is unjustifiable? No! Rather, we must stop thievery because it does not allow for contributions to be made to the needy.

Paul’s concern for the community is that rather than take from the rich to give to the poor, Christians are to want to give in order to care for the poor. Rather than see a new employment opportunity as a chance to bring us more and more, we are challenged to see it as an opportunity to contribute more to the community. You see, the root cause of thievery is jealousy over what another person has, and thus, committing the act of stealing is to think not of the other but only about our wants and desires. The fruits of righteous living is not to view ourselves in light of the other, but to recognize that all that we have is a gift from God and all that we have should be used to bless others.

The ways of righteous living are the call to a baptismal way of living. These new believers that Paul is writing too are called to “put off” or “strip away” the old self so that God can give them their new identity. This same verb is used in verse 22 of the chapter when Paul writes, “You were taught to put away from your former way of life, your old self.” Repentance and renewal comes at baptism and becomes a prerequisite to shedding the old self and embracing the new. The behavioral change that Paul writes about is the change that comes in the covenantal living of baptism or conversion when the Spirit of God brings about a change in the believer.

We go from the old self to a new creation in our baptism. When we go under the water, our old self is killed, and we are raised with Christ in his resurrection to new life. This is expressed in the liturgy of various denominations. The Episcopal church, for example, prays, “We thank you, Father, for the water of Baptism. In it, we are buried with Christ in his death. By it, we share in his resurrection. Through it, we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.” The United Methodist Church says it this way “The Holy Spirit work within you that being born by water and spirit you may be a faith disciple of Jesus Christ.” Because we become reborn, the habits of the old self have no dominion over us. The Holy Spirit enables the baptized to “resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” Even if you were baptized as an infant or small child, this process still cleanses us. Each time we remember our baptism, we remember the work of the Holy Spirit and renew our covenants to live in these ways.

In this, the work that Paul is describing, these ways of living become more than just merit badges. Paul isn’t laying our check boxes for us to mark off to show we are Christian. Rather, Paul shows us fruits that should mark us as Christians. Further, it is our incorporation into the body of Christ that enables us to do this work. As part of Christ’s body we encourage and help one another to live our our baptismal promises. That’s why Paul says, “Let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another” (v 25). We are all in this together. We are to be the church, not as individuals, but together. We are to learn from one another, correct one another in love, and struggle together as we live more and more into the image of God.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.