“Just Like Jesus”
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
August 13, 2006
St. Paul United
Reverend John A.
Fleming, Pastor
Let me start with this, this morning. I would like for us to all try this on for size to see how it fits. What if this were to happen? What if, for twenty-four hours, Jesus were to wake up in your life? What if he were to wake up in your bed? What would it be like if he walked in your shoes, lived in your house, took over your life, took on your schedule? What if your boss became his boss? What would it be like if your mother became his mother? What would it be like if your pains became his pains? You might like the idea, but then, maybe again, there is something about it that makes you a little uncomfortable.
What if that were to happen but with this one exception, nothing about your life would change. Your health would be the same. A bone in your foot would still be broken. Your blood pressure would still have to be checked. The circumstances of your life would not change. The problems that you have faced forever would still be there. The only real difference would be that for twenty-four hours Jesus would live your life with his heart. Your heart would get the day off. I looked up how many times a heart beats in a given day. It does that a hundred thousand times. So your heart gets the day off and you received one hundred thousand free beats. While your heart is relaxing, Jesus’ heart is working overtime, leading your life.
Since people believe that the heart is the center of the soul, the priorities of Jesus would have to govern your actions. The things that Jesus is passionate about will drive your decisions. Jesus’ love will direct your behavior. Now are you with me? Have you given your heart over to Jesus for this one day? No don’t you want to know what your life would be like for this one day? Would other people notice a change in you? Would those that you live with and those that you love see something different in you? Would those that you work with wonder what had gotten into you? Would even your best of friends wonder what the joy in your heart is all about. Would they ask, “What is going on with you? What has gotten into you?”
How would you feel? With Christ inside, would your stress level go down? And what about that temper of your’s? Would it be under better control? Do you think you would sleep better? Would you look at sunrises and sunsets a little differently? With Christ in your heart would you still dread the things you dread? Would you still feel as bad as you feel? Would you still say the things you say, hold on to the things you hold on to, and do the thing you do? With Jesus in charge for twenty-four hours, would you follow through with your plans, or would you change them?
If you are still with me, if you are still imagining what the twenty-four hours would be like, then I would like for you to take one more step. It is a step back. Imagine yourself with a camera in your hand, taking a picture of yourself and what your life would be like if Jesus were leading it. Are you in focus? Good. Now frame the image and look at what your life would be like.
Well, in essence, that is what our
scripture lesson is about this morning.
Near the end of the words we read together, Paul pens these words,
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as
Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”
For the better part of three and a half chapters, Paul has given sound
theological advice about how the
And how is it that we are supposed to live? How are we supposed to act? Paul provides a list of behaviors that are acceptable and ones that are not. This is not Paul’s only list, of course. In other letters, Paul gives other lists. To the Ephesian Christians, Paul says that we are to speak the truth to our neighbors and not to lie. How early do we learn to lie? As the father of a now five year old daughter, I know that my daughter learned it at an early age. She lied to me not long ago. The problem is that she doesn’t lie well. Actually I am grateful for that. I used her lie to teach a lesson. If we do not tell the truth at all times, people will never believe us. Paul says we are to speak the truth to our neighbors.
Paul also says that we can be angry, but not to sin. I will admit that Paul’s counsel here is confusing. First, he gives us permission to be angry. It is all right to be mad. What we do with our anger is the problem. When it becomes bitterness and revenge, then there is a problem. Paul also counsels that we are to deal with our anger quickly, if possible. He writes, “...do not let the sun go down on your anger.”
One of my favorite stories to tell at wedding ceremonies is the one about the young groom who went to see his grandfather the night before his wedding. They were at the rehearsal dinner when the younger came up to the older. With humility he asked his grandfather the secret to his long marriage. His grandparents had been married for sixty years. The older man looked up at the groom to be and said, “Be quick to forgive. Your grandmother and I never went to bed while we were still angry at one another.” The grandson was amazed at that. Then the grandfather finished the thought, “But one night we were up for five years.” Deal with your anger quickly says Paul. That is good advice.
He continues, “Do not make room for the devil.” I love listening to the television preacher and teacher, Joyce Meyers. I once heard her teach, “Don’t give the devil a foothold, because if you do, he will take a stronghold.” I often think about those words. Give the devil a little wiggle room and there will be trouble.
Paul’s advice is not finished. He counsels the thieves not to steal. He talks about the words that come out of our mouths. His advice is that we should say only what is helpful, only what is useful for building someone else up. Paul says to do this so that our words may give grace to those who hear.” Then Paul ends the lesson with a flurry of advice about everything from grieving God’s Holy Spirit to what we should do with things like bitterness, wrath, malice, and slander.
With the list of things we should not do nearly complete, Paul then turns to the things we should do. He writes, “Be kind to one another, tender hearted to one another, forgiving one another.” With an exclamation point he writes, “...as god in Christ has forgiven you.” So be imitators of God. Live in Love. Wow!
Is it just me, or does this seem like a really tall order? Is it just me or does it seem like this is a list of do this and don’t do that that almost seems so unattainable? So unattainable, in fact, I wonder why we should even try. Is it just me or does it seem like I am up here, pointing my fingers out at you and saying, “Don’t do these things starting right now!” If that isn’t the basis for the best sermon ever, I don’t know what is! I’m lucky if you are still listening!
My guess is that Paul’s list, at
least as it is found here in Ephesians hits you somewhere. The question is where it hits you the
most. Do you need more work with truth
telling or your temper? Is stealing an
issue for you or do you need a little help with the words you say, the ones
that don’t give grace, the ones that don’t build up? Most of us have to watch our words. Each word is a gift. The first person who ever said, “Sticks and
stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was really
hurting. We all know that broken bones
are easier to get over than broken souls.
Paul writes, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouth, but only what is
useful for building up, as there is need.”
There is a need. There is a great
need.
The great theologian, Frederick Buechner says that the Hebrew word dabar means both word and deed. So to say, “I love you” is to put the words into action. To say, “I hate you” means the same. To say, “I forgive you” means more than words. And if someone was to say, “I’m afraid of you” you should be able to see it in the way they behave.
Words said can never be taken
back. Maybe mother’s advice was good,
“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Not saying anything rarely
has gotten me in trouble. But then
again, there is the sin of not saying anything at all when something should be
said.
My question for us today is what we should do with this list? Should we just not try? That’s not an option. Once a month, on Wednesdays, I meet with four of my preacher friends. We drink a cup of coffee or two and spend the better part of the morning talking about how our ministries are going and how we can help one another. At our last meeting, someone came up with the idea of setting weekly spiritual goals. So now, on Mondays, we email one another these goals. The first week we all participated. The second week no one remembered to send the goals to the others. I know it sounds lofty, but it’s not. The first week, I listed three goals. One was to write in a journal. A second was to read more. A third was to pray more. That first week I failed miserably. I was 0-3. I didn’t do any of those things. Does that mean I won’t try setting goals again? Of course not. I might just set one instead of three, but I will still set goals.
It is only by the grace of God that we are able to do (or not to do) the things that Paul suggests. Why not try this. There is an insert in your bulletin this morning. It has information about the Back to School worship service here in one week. The list is important. Keep it somewhere safe. Turn to the back of the insert. It is blank. There is plenty of room to write. In the blank spaces write down a spiritual goal that you have. Take your cue from Paul if need be. If you need to work on truth telling, then write it down. If you need help with anger or malice or slander, write that down. If you are like me and your mouth gets you in trouble, then write down a goal that has to do with your mouth. I know. I know. This is a strange thing to do in church, but do it anyway. Show it to no one and look back at it at the end of the week. Or show it to someone, someone you trust, someone who will hold you to your goal, and ask their help with it. I will give you a couple of minutes to jot something down.
It is easy to not even try the
things that Paul mentions. Whoever said
that following Jesus is easy. “Be imitators of God” says Paul, “and live in
love.” Let us pray.
(Special thanks to Max Lucado for the idea for the sermon’s opening. You can read about the twenty-four hour experiment in his book Just Like Jesus. Special thanks to Helen Stegall for the idea and the encouragement to write down a spiritual goal as a part of our worship service).