Sermon on Ephesians 5:21 - 6:9

We voted!  We made it through the week!  I said to Jeff after we voted a day early on Monday, “I know as a church we are going to all vote in different ways, and that is totally fine and good.  But I hope we all act with grace and kindness AFTER the results come.  That’s what I care about too.”  May we be people of grace, and have grace for one another.

This morning’s passage is one that continues in the same vein as all of the book of Ephesians has been:  how we relate to one another and to God.  It is one of those chapters that can honestly be quoted back at me for being a woman in the pulpit, but I’m fairly certain that this passage is more fully about Christ’s compassion and how much he loves us, male and female.  Let’s read together our passage and then we will digest it together.  Let’s read Ephesians 5:21-6:9.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church - for we are members of his body.  “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”  This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church.  However, each one of you must also love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for it is right.  “Honor your father and mother” - which is the first commandment with a promise - “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.  Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.  Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

And masters, treat your slaves in the same way.  Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

This is the word of the Lord, thanks be to God.

In our women’s bible study, we have been reading through passages, especially in the Old Testament, but some in the New, and working on distinguishing between what are things that are time-bound practices and what are timeless principles.  The second half of our passage this morning was one we looked a couple weeks ago - the relationship between the slave and the master.  Scripture is the Word of God - it is good, it is the way to understand Christ, and, in some places, it can feel a little sticky.  So what do we mean by time-bound practices and timeless principles?  Time-bound practices are things that are in scripture that relate specifically to that time in history, and do not need to be carried forward into our time.  For example, in Deuteronomy 22:8 it says, “when you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall on to it.”  I look around our homes in Fairview, and I really can’t think of a single house that has a roof where people can walk and possibly fall off, and therefore need a parapet (or railing) to go around the roof.  But this is scripture!  Shouldn’t regardless of what our roofs are shaped like, shouldn’t we have parapets to be faithful to scripture?  No.  We can understand that some things that were written in scripture were written for that time.  That is a time-bound practice.  That being said, Deuteronomy 22:8 does not get discarded because it does not pertain to today.  The timeless principle behind the verse is that the houses in that time did used to have flat roofs, and so it was public safety and care for people to have parapets or railings on the roof.  You were not caring for your neighbor if you just let people come up to your roof and did not provide safety measures.  The timeless principle is that in all things, care for your neighbor and those who surround you.  Make sense?

How do we wade through our passage this morning distinguishing between time-bound practices and timeless principles?  Because there are a lot of verses in this section of scripture that have caused a lot of pain.  Slavery was okayed by the church because of these passages for many many years.  Women were pushed down, children were disciplined too harshly.  What can be left to that time, and what do we pull forward for principles to live by until eternity?

Husbands and wives.  Let’s look at those first sections a second.  You cannot have one without the other.  Wives, yes, we listen to our husbands - we don’t go out and make decisions without healthy conversations with our spouses.  This should happen naturally anyway.  We honor, care, respect, love, cherish the one that God has given us.  That is half the coin.  And husbands, love your wife the way Christ loves the church.  Do not put her down, make her feel inferior, less than, or worthless.  Be gracious and compassionate, kind and loving.  Could we not say the same thing either way around?  Husbands - honor, care, respect, love and cherish the one that God has given you.  Wives - love your husband as Christ loves the church.  Do not put him down, make him feel inferior, less than, or worthless.  Both husband and wife, be gracious and compassionate, kind and loving.  If we read these verses and see that the fruit of the Spirit lie RIGHT behind the verse, then we don’t get wrapped up in the submission and odd words. 

If we look at the historical context of the people Paul was talking to, marriage was not lived this way.  Love, respect, cherishing were not embedded into their understanding of what a marriage looked like.  And sometimes today that is also true.  Instead, Paul is asking the body of Christ then and the body of Christ today to strive to love your spouse more than you do your own self.  Listen, hold, and be kind.  If you find yourself in a relationship where you do NOT feel those things from your spouse, or where you are told that you are the only one in the tango to do those things, please know that is not what marriage is supposed to look like, and ask for help.  The body of Christ can walk alongside a couple into a healthy marriage if the body of Christ is healthy herself.

Secondly, Paul speaks to both children and parents.  Sure, he says in 6:4, that “fathers” should not exasperate their children, but moms, we shouldn’t do this either.  Along with children obeying our parents, parents - we aren’t supposed to harp on our children, harming them with our attitudes or actions.  The relationship goes both ways once again.  Children should obey their parents, listening and loving.  And parents should love as we care and teach.  Again, the relationship is not about OBEY and ADMONISH, but the timeless principles are that no matter how old we are, we have more to learn from those who are older than us.  And the older we become, the more we are to care and help those of younger generations.  Love, cherishing, and compassion are once again right below the surface.

Finally, slave and master.  This passage is one that we feel like we can throw to the wayside.  But just like our parapet passage, we can glean Christ’s loving truth from these verses too.  So what are the timeless principles we can find in this section that apply to our very lives today?  When we work for another person - whether it be in a cooperation, a school, or even as members of consistory caring for the rest of congregation, we should serve wholeheartedly, as verse seven says.  Whether you are slave or free - whether you are working to get paid or in a volunteer position, serve as if you are serving the Lord, for he is the one who watches even when no one else is.  And those who are in authority positions at work or in the world somewhere, treat those who look up to you “the same way” - serve them wholeheartedly.  “Since you know that the one who is both [the worker’s boss] and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.”  As my dad says, we all put our pants on the same way in the morning, and we are all in need a Savior no matter how much power or what position in the world we have.  Whether you are the taxi driver or the CEO, you are dead in sin without the love of Christ.  So show that love to every person you encounter, no matter their position in life.

The timeless principles in this passage are rampant.  All over the place we see, just below the surface, the fruit of the Spirit (joy, peace, patience, kindness, love, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control) and the two greatest commandments Christ gave us - Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  God gives these words to Paul as ones to only increase our love for others - if we are using them to put down others or justify neglect and hardship, we are getting it wrong. 

These verses are super applicable to our lives today.  Some of the people listed here today may have gone on to live with Jesus already, but it is very likely that we still have a child, parent, spouse, or co-worker still around.  And we all have those around us in the pews.  How can we lift one another up?  Care for one another and see each of us as the bride of Christ - the one whom he came to save?  Dwell on these things this week, the week after another election.  I loved how after the election, when I was pursuing facebook, I did not see a single snarky comment on there from our congregation members.  We could have, and I’m sure there were some hard words said at some dinner tables.  But in the public, we acted out the way we have been reading scripture - we are striving to continue to live into the calling we have received in our salvation as Ephesians 4 says.  These verses only continue to give us better clues as to how we live that way with those closest to us.  Love your husband.  Love your wife.  Love your children.  Love your friends.  Love your co-workers.  Be imitators of Christ, dearly beloved children.

Sermon on Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-19

            For a good chunk of this Fall season, we’ve been following the story of Moses as he led the people of Israel out of Egypt and into the desert.  We’ve heard of the good decisions that the Israelites made, and we heard of the poor decisions that they made.  We’ve seen God leading them with gentleness and patience, and we’ve seen God become furious at the Israelites for breaking their promises to him.

            As the book of Exodus ends and the book of Leviticus begins, we find ourselves in a section of scripture that is very easy to get bogged down in.  Exodus wraps up with God providing detailed instructions for every aspect of the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting where the priests will guide the people through their acts of worship.  Leviticus goes into greater detail about what that worship looks like: primarily, making sacrificial offerings.  Burnt offerings, grain offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings: they would take their sources of food, their sources of wealth, these animals that they had invested time and money and energy into and give them to the priests to be killed and to be given to God to express their desire to be right with God, or to remember how God has blessed them, or to celebrate friendship with God, or to say “I’m sorry” to God.  Worship for the early Israelite community was focused on sacrifice; worship is sacrifice, sacrifice is worship; put a tack in that thought, because we’ll be returning to it later.

            God continues to provide instructions for how his people are called to relate to the rest of the world and to each other, describing what sort of creatures may and may not be eaten, and when people are “clean” (publicly presentable) and when they are “unclean” (needing private care).  God shares how to treat the lifeblood of other creatures (allow it to flow back into the ground, don’t try to take it into yourself), and how to live sexually (don’t dishonor people by taking their spouse for yourself and don’t twist family relationships by changing them into sexual relationships).  The part we’re going to be focusing on today in Leviticus 19 is God’s command with regard to neighbors.  Join me as we listen to God’s command together, first in verses 1-2, and then in 15-18:

            The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy… Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.  Do not go about spreading slander among your people.  Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.  I am the LORD.  Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.  Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.  Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the LORD.”

            Back in September, we had a decision to make as a Consistory, and it was a very serious decision, too.  We had to decide whether to hold October’s Consistory meeting on the last Tuesday of the month, as usual, or to move it up to this past week, the 24th.  Even though Pastor Chelsea and I tried to argue for it, the Consistory ended up not being in favor of wearing their Halloween costumes to the meeting and so we pushed it up a week.  Seriously though, we didn’t want to have our Consistory on Halloween night because we wanted to be present to our neighbors, we wanted to welcome the kids and parents that would be wandering throughout the neighborhood, we wanted to share smiles and candy and greetings with people when they’re out and about.  Halloween night is actually a time when Fairview comes alive in a way that it doesn’t often throughout the rest of the year; you get to see friends and neighbors not only dressed up in silly or funny ways, but you get to see them out on the streets, period!

            As strange as it might sound, sometimes it’s possible to forget that we have neighbors.  Maybe you’ll want to push me on that, saying that you only wish you could forget your neighbors, or remind me of the old saying that “good fences make good neighbors”.  But beyond all the complaints and points of contention between neighbors, I think that God had a good reason for giving us such a deep and abiding need for community.

            Think about it.  After God created the Man and set him to work in Eden, he said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him.”  Even though Adam found himself in a place of beauty, with all kinds of creatures to live alongside and all kinds of work to do to help the garden grow and flourish, it was not good for him to be alone.  He needed to have others like him to work alongside, to interact with, to grow and to learn with, to help him; he needed to have someone else to learn to love. 

            Often in our culture today, we pride ourselves on our independence, we don’t want to be a burden to anyone, we don’t want to ask for help, we want to do it by ourselves.  And that sort of thinking has led to an epidemic of loneliness that isolates many in our culture.  On average, half of all American adults report feeling lonely.  Those in poverty were even more likely to say so.  Almost 80% of young adults say that they feel lonely.  And loneliness doesn’t merely affect our state of mind, there are profound health effects too: for those afflicted with loneliness, the risk of heart disease and stroke increase by about 30%.  It’s gotten so bad that the Surgeon General of the United States has declared that this epidemic of loneliness is a public health crisis.  But it doesn’t have to be so.

            In our passage today, God shares some ground rules with Moses about how neighbors should relate with one another: treat each other fairly, don’t spread lies about each other, don’t endanger each other, don’t hate each other, if they’re doing something wrong, warn them, but don’t even think about trying to get revenge on each other or even bear a grudge against each other.  But all of these commands are then summed up in the line, “love your neighbor as yourself.”  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus loved that command so dearly that he said it was the second most important command in the Law, right after “Love the Lord your God.”  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If we loved our neighbors as we loved ourselves, do you think we would still have an epidemic of loneliness?  If we loved our neighbors as ourselves, would we feel isolated?  If we loved our neighbors as ourselves, would we fear becoming burdens, or would we come to enjoy the give and take of friendships and relationships with those we’re privileged to live and work alongside?

            At the start of the sermon, I asked you to hold onto the thought that worship was an act of sacrifice.  If sacrifice was the way that the ancient Israelites were to maintain a healthy and fruitful relationship with God, then I think sacrifice might also have a role to play in our role with each other.  And no, I don’t think that Jim and Joann would like it very much if I splashed bull’s blood on their porch, and Trey and Tiffany would probably be quite confused if I plopped a bunch of goat meat on their firepit and started fanning the smoke toward their house.  But living in a healthy relationship with our neighbors requires sacrifice all the same.  Some sacrifices are small - the classic examples of a stick of butter or a couple of eggs.  Others require more time, shoveling a neighbor’s driveway, or raking up a bunch of leaves, or knocking on the door just to say, “Hi!”  But the richest relationships with neighbors require sacrifice of more substantial things: sometimes they require the sacrifice of our habits or the way we usually do things - refraining from burning our leaves like we’ve always done because the new neighbor has emphysema and the smoke would make it hard for them to breathe; learning some words in the language of a neighbor who didn’t grow up speaking English, and saying “hello!” or “goodnight!” or “have a nice day!” even if you’re worried you’ll get the pronunciation wrong or look silly, just because you want that neighbor to know you care; a sacrifice can even be putting your pride to the side to accept the help from a neighbor that you really wish you didn’t need. 

            Love your neighbor as yourself.  How do we do that as people here in Fulton County?  How do we do that as a church?  What does love look like to our neighbors here and how might we show that to them, not just once in a while, but consistently?  That is the mission that God has sent us on as a church, as his Body here in this place: to love our neighbors as we love ourselves in the name of Jesus.  As we do so, our loneliness will begin to evaporate, our worship will become richer, and we will change from what we have been into what God would have us become.  Amen.