Possibility and Hope--Ephesians 5

 Ephesians 5:1-20

                            We are following a particular guide for our worship in advent and the scriptures are already decided.  I have to be honest, I read this text for this week and thought, “This is an Advent text?  This scripture about sin and disobedience and God’s wrath is good for Advent?!  And it was chosen for the week we focus on hope, really?!” 

                            So I reread the passage and I thought about the purpose of Advent.  This week, both the youth group and the Wednesday night Advent study examined the meaning and purpose of Advent.  And the thing we learned was that in the original Christmas traditions, Christmas day was not just to celebrate the birth of Christ that happened in the past.  It was also meant to open the door for his return.  Christians were eager for the 2^nd coming of Christ and they anticipated that would happen at Christmas.  That meant that Advent was a time to prepare to meet Jesus face-to-face.  The preparations weren’t for trimming the tree or hanging the lights or wrapping the gifts.  The preparations were of one’s spirit and one’s actions to be ready to meet Christ. 

                            In that light and with that purpose for Advent—Ephesians 5 makes more sense as a choice.  If we are preparing to meet Jesus face to face then it makes sense that we would follow the instructions offered to the Ephesians.

·         We should follow God’s example, mimicking God like a child mimics their parents.  We should do as God does.

·         And we should follow Christ’s example and act with love.  We need to do all in our power to show God’s unconditional agape love. 

                            After encouraging us, reminding us, to become godly in our ways, we are reminded, with the Ephesians, of the things we should not be doing.  It’s not a hard list to compile. Any of us could do it.  Think about it, in becoming like Christ, what behaviors, habits and actions should we avoid?

·          

·          

·          

·          

                            Exactly. The Ephesians were given similar advice:

·         No sexual immorality

·         No behavioral impurity

·         No greed

·         No obscenity

·         No foolish talk or coarse joking

·         Don’t get drunk. 

                            Why?  Because once we engage in a relationship with Christ, we know better.  Once we make Christ Lord of our lives, we become better.  So instead of old bad habits, we are called to do something different. 

                            If we aren’t lying, stealing, drinking, etc, etc, then what’s left?  What should we do?

·          

·          

·          

·          

Exactly, the author points to similar things. 

·         Give thanks

·         Seek Christ

·         Make the most of life

·         Do the will of the Lord

·         Get together with others who seek God

o Sing

o Pray

o Enjoy one another

o Praise God

                            As Christians, we are called to live differently.  We are called to live and love as Christ loved.  We know that, right?  But sometimes, we need a reminder, don’t we?  There are some habits that we have justified for ourselves, and some old practices that we keep holding onto. 

                            In our studies this week, we were asked, “When in your day would you least like to have Jesus walk through the door?” (Repeat for emphasis) Ask yourself.  When? 

·         Would you be caught in a lie?

·         Or caught in anger?

·         Or caught in gossip?

·         Or caught lusting after porn?

·         Or caught in addiction?

·         Or caught in laziness?

·         Or caught in pride?

If Jesus walked in in that moment, what would be see? 

                            These are the areas of our life that need reformation—they need to be changed by grace and made holy. These are our hold outs. These are the spots we’ve been unwilling or unable to work on.  And Ephesians 5 comes in and says, “Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?!  You know better than this!” 

                            It has language of wrath and rejectionand some of us may need that to jump start us to action. Fear may be our best motivator.  If it’s yours, here it is.  However, I don’t think fear is the heart of this message.  I think we’re supposed to hear something more like this:

                            “You’re better than this. You’re not this person anymore.  These bad habits should be left in the past—they are not worthy of your identity as a child of God.  So get rid of them.”   

                            But we fight that affirmation, don’t we?  We argue and say things like,

·         I’m not really that good.

·         I’m not smart enough, kind enough, or strong enough to be that much like Christ.

                            We stay stuck in the past or hold onto old habits because we are held by the LIE that we aren’t worthy—for whatever reason.  But you ARE worthy.  You are worthy of becoming and being all that God created you to be.  There is no reason to hold back.  There is a beautiful poem by Marianne Williamson called “Our Deepest Fear”. She says it this way:

Our Deepest Fear

By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves,

 Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us;

it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine,

we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

                The gift and possibility that we have is to be great as Christ was great.  This poem and the passage from Ephesians remind us that our future doesn’t lie in our weakness or our failings or our sins.  Our future lies in a promise of greatness.  We are called to be awesome and inspiring because of and through Christ.  It’s wholly appropriate that we are reminded of what we are pulled from and called to so that we might embrace all that Christ offers.  Advent reminds us to have hope.  We are to have hope in Christ, that we can find redemption and forgiveness and possibility.  But beyond that, we are called not just to rely on Christ but to become like Christ so that we might rely on one another as the embodiment of Christ.  In our hope, in our drive to be like Christ, we need to avoid the old sinful things that hold us back from greatness and instead cling to the things of God.  We should cling to compassion, cling to generosity, cling to forgiveness, cling to peace, and cling to joy.  We should cling to hope.  And so this Advent season, we hope, with expectancy and anticipation AND preparation for becoming like Christ so that we might encounter him in tangible and concrete ways. 

                Today’s “sense” is that of smell.  We are called to embrace the scents of Christmas and to breathe in hope.  So today you will receive a small satchel of potpourri as your reminder to breathe in and smell hope. In our time of prayer, you are invited to come forward to pray and repent and seek after Christ.  Satchels will be here at the altar rail and others will be passed through the pews.  Let us breathe deeply and smell hope.  Amen. 

Six One Way, Half a dozen the Other

Romans 6:12-23

We have a problem.  We are slaves. You and me, in modern day America. We are slaves.  Ok, so maybe we aren’t currently slaves, but hear me out.  As part of the human condition. We are all slaves.  We don’t wear physical shackles, we haven’t been whipped or beaten. But we are slaves.  We weren’t sold, we sold out.  We sold out to sin.  And we are slaves to sin.  Humans, as disobedient and selfish creatures allow sin to be the master of our lives.  We are overrun by pride, selfishness, lust, greed, hatred, malice, vengeance, anger, and fear.  Maybe not all day every day, but often enough that sin can still claim to have authority over us, because if we aren’t choosing against sin, we have allowed sin to win.  That’s Paul’s understanding anyway. It’s pretty black and white.  Either you choose sin or you choose God. No choice is to default to choosing sin.  We, as part of humanity, are slaves to sin. 

But there is an alternative. God offers us the option of no longer being subject to sin as our master.  God offers to spare us, at no cost to us.  Free and clear with no debt to pay, God will buy us out of slavery to sin.  Hallelujah!  Freedom! 

We hear that God, as a master, offers us freedom and so we clamor for freedom. All too often, our first priority becomes freedom.  We recognize that sin enslaves and we would do anything to gain freedom.  And so we jump into the God boat, not because it’s God’s but because it’s called “freedom”.  Only the freedom God’s got in mind is not the freedom we had in mind. God sees living in obedience to God’s rules as freedom. We see that as slavery to a master with a different name.  The freedom we envisioned allowed us to do what we wanted when we wanted with whom we wanted for as long as we wanted. That’s how we define true freedom and so when we learn that God’s freedom only requires more rules, we hesitate.  Maybe it’s not worth choosing God.  After all, we aren’t actually free.

Paul presents an idea that’s pretty radical. It’s not will we serve a master or won’t we? Are you a slave or are you free?  Paul says that no matter what we serve a master and no matter what we are slaves. Either one rules or the other does. There’s no master-less middle ground.   No matter what, we serve a master and no matter what we are slaves. The choice is which master we will serve, whose slave will you be and what will you gain for it? 

That’s highly counter-cultural.  Not a great selling point for inviting people to Christ.  “Hey, did you know that without God you’re a slave to sin? But there’s good news!  With God you’re free, no not free where you get to do what you want, but free to play by God’s rules instead.”  It’s hard to pit slavery against slavery. Do you want to be a slave or do you want to be a slave?  Tough choice.  Do you want to wear shoes or shoes?  Do you want to eat food or eat food?  It hardly seems like a choice. 

So then why bother?  If you’re a slave regardless, what does it matter whose slave you are?  It matters because the masters are totally different in how they treat the slaves.  As slaves to sin, the master of sin doesn’t care if we get hurt in the process, the master of sin doesn’t care if we are healthy, or happy or whole, the master of sin only cares that sin’s purposes are served.  But God is a completely different type of master. God is the type of master that is generous, the type of master that shares with his slaves as if they were family, the type of master that gives all He has in order for the people to be blessed.  The type of master that invites the lost, the losers, and the liars to be a part of the party of the year.  It’s not a simply a choice between shoes and shoes, it’s a choice between too-small shoes that cause blisters and dig into your feet, and comfortable shoes that feel like you’re getting a massage all day.  Certainly, both are shoes, but there’s a difference. Likewise, it’s not simply a choice between food and food.  It’s a choice between rancid food that’s barely recognizable and gourmet food that melts in your mouth.  It’s the details that matter.  Just like with the masters. It’s not one master or another. It’s a selfish self-serving master or one who is loving, kind and generous. 

We may be slaves regardless, but we have the opportunity to choose our master. We have the opportunity to choose a master who will care for us and our needs over the master’s. 

AND, the pay is different.  Talk about a disparity in wages. The salary sin pays out is death.  The salary God pays is righteousness and justification which lead to eternal life.  You choose.  Different masters with different motives with different salary packages.  We may be extremely uncomfortable with the notion that we are slaves. But our reality is that we offer our obedience to something. We play by somebody’s rules. And if we aren’t choosing God’s rules, we are choosing sin’s.  And the consequence of choosing sin is death.  Not just physical death, but emotional and spiritual death, in this life and in the next. 

To choose God is to choose God’s rules.  Our obedience matters. Our actions matter.  What we do doesn’t save us, God did that when God offered to take us away from sin.  But our works do prove which master we serve. 

1)      To serve God is to put God first in our lives

2)     To serve God is to know that God is bigger than pictures or statues or symbols, the God we worship is bigger than any image we might conjure in our minds.

3)      To serve God is to use God’s name with reverence, using the power of God’s name to bless and not curse.

4)     To serve God is to allow ourselves rest to be restored, to not work tirelessly and ceaselessly under the illusion that our power is sufficient for success.

5)     To serve God is to honor our parents, not without boundaries, not without healthy relationships, but in a way that respects the role they were given in our lives.

6)     To serve God is to honor the sacredness of life, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

7)      To serve God is to be faithful and loyal and honoring of our partner.

8)     To serve God is to find satisfaction in what we have, sharing so that everyone has enough.

9)     To serve God is to be honest and humble in our communications, using our words to build up and not to tear down.

10)  To serve God is to look with gratitude on what we have, rather than allowing lust for more things and more money to consume our hearts and our spending. 

To serve God is to live with an open and generous heart.    To serve the master of righteousness is no easy task.  Easy is not our selling point.  But to serve the master of righteousness will mean reaping the sweetest harvest. 

And so the choice is ours.  Once we get over the fact that we are slaves, that we must be obedient to some set of rules, to some master, we get to choose.  Which master will it be?  Which master will you serve? 

The Priceless Gift

We find this particular passage 3 places in the Gospels.  We have it here in Matthew, in Mark, and in John, always placed right before Judas’ accepts payment for betraying Jesus and Jesus’ imminent death.  That may not seem like a very important piece, but often we find a varied order within the different gospels, but here, we do not. And often there are parallels in the synoptic gospels, Mark, Matthew, and Luke, but not always with John.  But again, we have 2 of the synoptic in line with John.  Those pieces sort of underscore the importance of this story.  Mark and John add a couple of pieces of information that help illuminate this scripture. 

·         The oil used was Nard, a kind of ointment found in the Himalayas that is very hard to get, which in turn makes it very expensive.

·          Mark and John say it was worth 300 denarii, nearly a year’s salary. 

·         John identifies the woman as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, the man Jesus raised from the dead.

·         John tells of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet, not just his head, and using her hair to ekmasso, meaning wipe, them. 

o        Ekmasso is also the word John uses to talk about Jesus wiping the disciples’ feet after he washes them at the last supper, an event that comes after this one. 

Now that we have a few more details, let’s look at this story as a whole.  This woman, whom we now know to be Mary of Mary and Martha, Mary the sister of Lazarus, Mary the one who journeyed with Jesus. Mary the disciples who sat at Jesus’ feet. Mary the one who pled for Jesus to save her brother and saw him brought back to life.  Mary, approaches Jesus with her white opaque jar of expensive nard.  She pours it onto Jesus’ head. She doesn’t dab it, she doesn’t brush it, she doesn’t touch it to his head.  She pours it out onto his head.  There’s something kind of crazy in what she does here.  It’s not subtle. It’s not dainty. It’s not ceremonious, not in a reformed, play-by-the-rules kind of sense.  It’s over the top.  It’s lavish.  It’s kind of wasteful. 

                I mean, think about it.  How does oil work?  A little goes a long way.  If I pour a tablespoon of oil into my hands, what happens?  It starts to run all over!  I can try to rub it in, but it’s going to be going down my arms, and dripping onto the floor.  And that’s just a tablespoon! Imagine Mary pouring a pound of oil on Jesus’ head! It’s not just that it’s expensive oil, but she’s not even using it right!! Mary’s making a mess. It really is no wonder the disciples objected. I mean, who wouldn’t?!

                The disciples start grumbling about how wasteful she is. That’s expensive nard.  It could bring in a lot of money. 300 denarii. A days wage was about 1 denarii. So 300 was nearly a year’s worth. You could do a lot of good with a year’s wage and her Mary is wasting it and letting it run onto the floor! Some might laud the disciples for being so wise and compassionate, but many suggest they were just posturing. That makes good sense to me. 

                Think of it this way.  If you have a fine wine, or an expensive champagne, or pricy perfume, what do you do with it?  You save it.  You hold onto and wait for the perfect time with the best people to share it.  Obviously that’s what Mary had done. This oil is worth a year’s worth of wages. It’s not something she came by easily.  She didn’t save her money, she wouldn’t have been allowed to work as a woman.  So, a man in her family would have had to earn the money for it while  he was paying for the family to get by.  That kind of money would probably have taken years to earn.  Maybe it was her grandfather, or her father, or her brother, or maybe all of them saved for generations to have this money. And then when they had the 300 denarii all collected together, someone went and bought this oil. 

                Nard was a special oil. Something that would have been reserved for sacred events.  It would have been used to anoint a king at his coronation, or consecrate a priest for his work, or to heal a sick relative, or to anoint a loved one who had died.  It would have been used for special times only and could have been stretched to serve a lot of purposes and be a part of many sacred events.   And yet, Mary used it for this one event, for this one person.  In knowing that, we have to ask what might have compelled her to use it now, and use it so lavishly. She didn’t save it for any other times. She just poured it out over Jesus. 

                The fact that Mary lavishes this oil on Jesus indicates that she sees him as someone special.  He has to be someone who might understand the nature of her special gift.  And the way she anoints him so extravagantly, so carelessly, indicates that she wants to convey the enormity of her appreciation for him and she pours out the nard. 

                In looking at Mary, I can’t help but ask myself, on whom would I pour a year’s worth of wages?  On whom would you pour out a year’s worth of wages?  Not dole it out.  Not share it. Not savor it.  Pour it out—wrecklessly and wastefully.  What might possibly possess someone to give so much without a second thought? 

                Would you do it for

·         Healing?

·         Saving you?

·         Sparing a relationship?

·         Buying you a house?

·         Sticking by you at your worst?

·         Loving you no matter what?

·         Saving your brother?

·         Bringing your loved one back to life?

Who’s worth this? Who’s touched your heart and life so powerfully that you would devote a year’s worth of salary in just a few short moments.

Maybe Mary was crazy. That’s what everyone else thought. 

Maybe she saw Jesus as king, but people don’t often have a deep affection or a king—we honor kings because of obligation, not desire. 

Maybe it was something more. 

Jesus had to have given something invaluable.  In those terms, her act wasn’t wasteful. It was appropriate.  Jesus acknowledges that she gets it.  He doesn’t reprimand her or suggest she be a little less excessive.  Instead he says she’s done a good thing.

But I think even Jesus’ comments make it too easy to skim past the true depth of her actions.  There’s potency in their relationship that could only be understood if we know her or her story.  In a way we might be drawn to ask ourselves if we have allowed Jesus to do an invaluable work in our lives.

Have you lt him step in to save you in a way that no one else can?

Have you allowed him to heal you?

To free you?

To forgive you?

In some ways, preaching a whole series on forgiveness feels a little redundant.  But we often struggle to forgive.  Sometimes we aren’t ready.  Sometimes we aren’t willing. Sometimes we can only do a little at a time.  Sometimes we aren’t aware.  Sometimes our hands are so full o the other seemingly good things we’ve been collecting that we don’t have the ability to hold that one thing we’ve always been looking for. 

To preach a series on forgiveness is to highlight how necessary it is in our lives. It’s to highlight that it’s a process.  It’s to highlight that God isn’t done with us yet.  And it’s to highlight that though we may have picked up some pretty things along the way, there is nothing like finding what we’ve always needed and wanted. 

And once we find the most sacred of gifts. Once we experience the greatest blessings of Christ, we want to thank him. And our thanks becomes lavish.  To others, it might seem ridiculous.  The time we spend, the money we give, the devotion we have, cannot be explained in words, but only understood through experience. And the gifts we give, the thanks we lavish on, become our priceless response to Christ’s invaluable work in our lives. 

This morning, for our time of prayer, I would invite you to take some time to pray.  Maybe you’ll pray for healing, or for forgiveness, or for new life, or for hope. Maybe you’ll pray the same prayer you’ve been praying this last month.  As you pray, I would encourage you to ask for the courage to give up the broken things, no matter how pretty they might be, so that you can take hold of the true gift Christ is offering.  If you would like a symbol and reminder, we have shells here at the altar and a basket to pass to anyone who would like to stay in their seat.