Making Peace (Eph 4.25-5.2) 8-8-2021

Before his fall from grace, Bill Cosby had a phrase that still resonates today. He was talking about his children and told a story about how one took something from another. There was, of course, words said and a tug of war ensued. Cosby said that he went and broke up the fight by giving the item taken to the one who took the it. When the one who owned the item complained, he said that it was too bad and did not the child know that the taker had things of his? What he then said about parents is that they do not want justice in a fight between children, they want quiet. They want peace to be in the household no matter how that peace comes about.

Peace. It is the dream of the world. To have peace where there is hostility. To have peace in acrimonious relationships. To have peace where there is no peace. That is what we all want, it is not? But where do we find peace? How does peace come about in our lives and in our world?

The writer of Ephesians gave to the churches reading this letter and to us today some good advice on how to find and make peace with ourselves and with others. These ethical guidelines are very good for those in the Church and even for those who are not in the Church. But it is to the Church that the writer of the letter in speaking. So, let us look into several of the guidelines the writer gives.

The first guideline is to tell the truth. Now, this should be a no brainer, but how many of us, if we are honest, always tell the truth? We do not tell the truth to save ourselves embarrassment or to save the feelings of others or because of whatever reason one can think of. But we are to tell the truth and to tell it in love as verse 4.15 tells us to do. What does telling the truth entail? It is being upfront and honest with everyone, not just those in the Church. It is telling the truth to those who are our neighbors who may not be in the Church. But most importantly it is to tell the truth in the Church. And sometimes it is the church that is the worst at telling lies. One commentator has this to say about the truth in the Church: “Whether the falsehoods come in the form of spreading rumors within a local church, posting outrageous whoppers on social media, or engaging in propaganda at the denominational level, the church too often does not protect the truth. The call to truthfulness here invites reflection on why we lie. Too often, especially within the church, we lie in order to win an argument, fight, or dispute. We attack the character of the one with whom we disagree. We distort the position of our opponent. We do these things willfully and consciously, yet consider ourselves the honest ones.”[1] And when we don’t tell the truth in Church who are we hurting? Not only those in the Church who are our sisters and brothers but ourselves. See, we are the body of Christ and if we lie to the body then we are lying to ourselves as well. When we are not honest with ourselves, how can we be honest with others?

A second guideline involves the emotion of anger. This verse has been used often to say that anger is bad and that it should be suppressed for the good of the body of Christ. But this is not what the writer is saying. There are times when anger is a good thing. Anger can be good when there is injustice in the world. When the poor are oppressed, it is right to be angry. When the “others” are downtrodden and marginalized it is right to be angry. When there is gerrymandering of districts to assure that one party remains in power over another and laws are passed that prevent those in line to vote from receiving water, it is right to be angry. If you want to see anger that is in the correct form, just read the book of Amos. There you will find what is called righteous anger at the injustice of the world.

Righteous anger calls for the end of injustice and the reconciliation of humanity. If we are angry at injustice we will fight for justice and see that everyone is treated as we would like to be treated. But there is a danger to anger. It can lead to sin. The sin of revenge (just wait until we are in power!), the sin of holding a grudge against someone who has wronged us, the sin of letting anger fester until it becomes rage, the sin of letting anger become violent. We are told to be angry and not to sin. The best way to do that: do not let the sun go down on your anger. In other words, deal with the situation that the anger is called for and then let it go. There is nothing good that can come from hanging on to anger. All it does is give the devil the opportunity to slip in and make trouble for a person or a church and lead them into sin. Therefore, we must be diligent and not let the anger get away from us and lead us into sin.

The next guideline seems a bit out of place with the first two and with those that follow. It is telling the ones who are stealing to stop doing so. Now one may be thinking “this does not apply to me. I’m no thief.” But think for a moment about this: there are blue- and white-collar workers who take things from their jobs all the time whether it be parts for a “project” back home or pens and office supplies. It could even be doing something on the job that is not related to work (how many school projects have been photocopied at the office rather than going to Office Depot and paying for it?). It could be wasting time at the water cooler or at another cubicle. It could be taking time that could be best spent on lesson plans. The crux of the matter is that we all steal. Sure, it may not be petty theft or more egregious thievery, but it is theft just the same. The eighth commandment says that we are not to steal. The Heidelberg Catechism says this about theft: 110 Q. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment? A. God forbids not only outright theft and robbery, punishable by law. But in God’s sight theft also includes all scheming and swindling in order to get our neighbor’s goods for ourselves, whether by force or means that appear legitimate, such as inaccurate measurements of weight, size, or volume; fraudulent merchandising; counterfeit money; excessive interest; or any other means forbidden by God. In addition God forbids all greed and pointless squandering of his gifts. 4.111 111 Q. What does God require of you in this commandment? A. That I do whatever I can for my neighbor’s good, that I treat others as I would like them to treat me, and that I work faithfully so that I may share with those in need.

The writer says that one should do honest work with one’s hands. In a world that viewed working with one’s hands as below the “civilized”, this would have been hard to hear. But it was honest labor and would provide for livelihood. I heard a story told once that when Jessie James would rob a bank or a train that he would look at a man’s hands and if there were callouses on them, he would leave them their money because they did honest work (oh, the irony). But that is not all that the writer has to say. The paycheck that is earned is not for just the earner of the money. Part of it is to go to those in need. The answer to the catechism says this in just so many words. It is not saying that those who are poor are that way because they don’t work hard or because they don’t save. It does not say that those who are poor deserve their plight. It says that we work so that we might share with those who have need. This is a call to action.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me is one of the greatest lies that we tell ourselves and our children. The writer of Ephesians seems to believe that as well. We are told to use words that build up rather than tear down. We are to not use corrosive speech, words that hurt, sarcasm, vulgar talk, etc. Words that build up are words that bring about joy to the body. But this is not just self esteem building. It is telling the truth and making it so that all can follow Christ and what Christ taught.

To fully make peace with ourselves with others and with God, we are called to be imitators of God. This does not mean that we are to try to be God, but rather follow and imitate the actions of God. We are called to be kind, compassionate (to be feeling from the gut) and forgiving. Not just an ordinary forgiveness that will still hold a grudge, but a forgiveness that God gave when our sins were forgiven through the death of Christ. This may sound easy, but it takes a lot of work to be kind, compassionate and forgiving. It means that we have to give up ourselves and take on a whole new life, the life of Christ. We are no longer ourselves, but God’s.

Ask anyone who has tried to make peace and they will tell you just how hard it is. One has to go against every instinct and every notion of what it is to be human. As humans we lie, we get angry for the wrong reasons and we steal. We do not imitate God. Rather we do what the writer of Ephesians told us not to do: we have “…bitterness, anger, wrath, shouting, and abusive speech, along with all malice.”[2]We do not practice kindness, compassion or forgiveness. To paraphrase G.K. Chesterton: These virtues have not been tried and found wanting. They have been found to be hard and not tried.

So, what do we do? We strive to imitate God knowing that sometimes we will fail and sometimes we will get it right. When we fail, we need to remember that God forgives and gives new hope to what has been done wrong. But we are called to make peace and when we strive to follow and imitate God, then the job will be a lot easier. So, let us go now and imitate God to make peace in both our lives and our communities. Amen.

[1]Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, Luke A. Powery, Cynthia L. Rigby & Carolyn J. Sharp. Connections: Year B, Volume 3 (Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship) (p. 224). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. [2]Fowl, Stephen E. Ephesians: A Commentary. Ed. C. Clifton Black, M. Eugene Boring, and John T. Carroll. First Edition. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. Print. The New Testament Library.