The 12th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Text Ephesians 4:25-5:2
My mom was a great cook. More than anything, she showed her love in cooking for others. She cooked for her family, for her friends, for the women’s club, the garden club, for strangers, for members of her church. It was often hard work, she stood on her feet for hours. But, nothing made her happier than everyone being seated around the table thoroughly enjoying a meal she had lovingly made.
My sister is a chef because of my mom’s influence. It’s a passion she inherited from mom. When we were in high school we had a small galley style kitchen, and Mollie and I used to stand at the doorway watching mom fry chicken, make spaghetti sauce, goulash, potato rolls, moussaka, and chicken and dumplings.
When Mom was peeling potatoes or peaches or cucumbers, she would often bite her lower lip. I don’t think she ever realized she did that.
Sometimes it’s interesting how people we love influence us. Years later, when I began to cook like mom, I was standing at the sink peeling potatoes one night and I saw a reflection of myself in the window over the sink, biting my lip just like mom. It’s something I still do without thinking. When I catch myself doing it, I think of the love of my mom for her family and how food can be an expression of that love.
Paul has written a letter to the Ephesians in which he encourages them to lead a life that comes from what they believe about Jesus Christ. It is clear from the details of the letter that Paul is speaking to second generation Christians. This generation would do well to imitate the saints who came before them, that first generation whose lives were dramatically changed by what they believed about Jesus. They lived in a world changed by Jesus.
We learn how to live the faith from the example of those who have come before us, from those who love us, and whom we love. Often it’s in small ways, like praying grace, or speaking well of people, being patient and kind to strangers, or simply going to church every Sunday. It’s often said that the Christian faith is caught more than it is taught. We are attracted to Christ because of the goodness and joy of believers. Then we learn about the content of the faith.
None of us would be here in Church this morning if someone had not shown us the way. We were led here by someone we love. Believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died to save our souls is not just an intellectual exercise. Generations of Christians before us lived their lives based on their faith.
Paul is fleshing out what this means. It means being honest and speaking the truth always. It means when you are angry not letting your anger get the best of you. It means working for what you have, not taking it from others who have worked for what they have. It means speaking in a way that builds up people, not tearing them down. As Christians we have been marked with a seal by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption. Let’s live like it. We do not have to be in competition with one another. We do not need to be envious of one another.
We do have influence over one another, even if we’re not related as in a family. This is a central theme in this letter of Paul to the Ephesians, being united by our belief into one fellowship, the Body of Christ. Christians are called by God to be united in faith, holding one another accountable to what we believe in love. Otherwise, if we cannot overcome our propensity to sin with forgiveness, there is not much hope for others. Without the love of Christ, they are condemned. So, biting our lips, let us gently show them the way. We need to show them that it is okay to be sorry for our sins, because God is quick to forgive us. It is okay to admit we are not perfect. When we look at what is happening all over the world, the lies that are told, the power mongering, the anger and hostility, as Christians we want peace for everyone, for love to rule the hearts of people. Repentance and forgiveness is the way forward for everyone.
The Church must be the Body of Christ, the place where the kingdom of God is coming into the world, the place of hope for goodness to prevail. But sometimes we Christians do get caught up in the cultural decay and disagreements too. We need each other to hold us accountable in love to what we believe, that God will forgive even our confusion and unfaithfulness when we return to him in repentance.
Paul writes “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love…”
The world needs to see the Church as the place of peace, love, and forgiveness. For those outside the Body of Christ to see this, to believe it is possible, we must become better imitators of God, instruments of his grace.
And finally, there is a direct connection between how we behave on the outside, and what is happening to us on the inside. Christian morality and spirituality are two sides of the same coin. For us to live as Paul is urging the Ephesians to live, we must attend to our prayer life, to our personal relationship with God. It is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us that transforms us to be honest, to speak the truth in love, to refrain from slander, to forgive and to seek forgiveness. Please make time every day to spend some quiet time with God. Amen.
