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This sermon was delivered Sunday November 11, 2001
Joshua was not popular with the other kids. No, wait, that’s putting it gently. The other kids hated Josh, and after he ruined a great game they descended on him like a pack of wild, rabid, hyenas. “You are so stupid”. “Go home Loser”. They tore Joshua to shreds. This would have been a sad scene on any local playground. But it did not occur on the playground. This scene unfolded at a Church Youth Retreat. The adults jumped in to save Joshua, but the damage had been done. He crawled into a corner to cry, and the adults chastised the youth. “That was NOT Christian behavior”, they said. “What Would Jesus have done?” others asked. Properly chastised, the teens went on with their game, someone comforted Joshua, and the adults were left to wonder if any of their words sunk in. It’s kind of like what might have been going on over at good ol’ First Christian Church, Ephesus. While the folks there claimed to be Christians, we can assume from the tone of this letter, that their behavior just wasn’t quite up to par.
- There are guidelines for Christian behavior. We have a picture of Christian living. We have instructions! You may say that the bible is filled with rules, so what makes this sermon any different? Well, the bible does give us rules, but these instructions are really guidelines for understanding everything else. They don’t negate the 10 commandments or Jesus’ commands. Instead, they form a framework for understanding all of the rules we are given. Imagine for a minute the night before a child’s birthday. You are spread out on the living room floor surrounded by the pieces to Barbie’s dream house. You have a few tools, a set of instructions in Japanese, and the picture on the box. Somehow with limited instructions and the picture you manage to build Barbie’s dreamhouse—much to the squealing delight of your 7 year old. So while the instructions were hard to understand, the picture on the box made clear what you were creating. In the letter to the Ephesians, the scripture sets forth a similar example. These four guidelines: humility, gentleness, patience, and love are the picture on the box! Sure we have a lot of instructions, but this letter gives us a clear picture of how to follow those rules. We have the instructions; we have the tools we need. We have a perfect picture of Chrisitan living. We have the picture on the box!
- One of the tools we are given is Humility. So, Paul tells us to be humble. GREAT, you think, I’ve always wanted to be a doormat. Wait! Humility is NOT wimpy. Humility teaches us to be dependent on God. We can be strong and humble at the same time. We all know or know of someone who has been through a 12 step program. This is a great example of humility. The steps involve admitting you are powerless, believing that a power higher than yourself can restore you, turning your life over to God, and humbly asking God for help. This last step is the key, I think. Humbly asking God for help. Admitting that you need someone else’s help is an act of humility. Depending on someone else is an act of humility. More importantly, depending on God is an act of humility. If we humble ourselves before God, then God can lift us up. No, we are not doormats, but we can be humble in the sight of our God. Humility is a tool of necessity. We need to be strong and humble at the same time. We need to depend on God. We Need God!
- Let’s pull out our measuring tape. In the Gentleness category, how do we measure up? Are we kind? Do we forgive? Or are we angry all of the time? Are we green with envy? Gentleness helps us keep our lives in control. Gentleness lets us show compassion to our friends and warmth to our enemies. Gentleness is controlled power. We can look through history and find examples of people who were powerful and yet gentle. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr, Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Theresa. We see the powerful influence these people have, yet they were opposed to violence, wrath, and jealousy. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Junior fought for civil rights, yet they fought carefully. They helped people realize their own potential and showed others how to enact change. They were gentle people. Mahatma Ghandi advocated non-violence. He helped children learn and helped adults understand. Ghandi was a gentle man. Mother Theresa showed compassion toward everyone she met. She was strong enough to withstand sickness, and gentle enough to hold a dying child. Once, a reporter asked her why her nuns did the futile act of bathing dying beggars. She replied “So that those who live like dogs can die like angels” She was a gentle woman. These were gentle people. We can be gentle people too. We can buy lunch for a homeless person. We can visit sick children. We can help an older person retain their dignity. We CAN be gentle. If we are kind, compassionate, and tender we can measure up.
- Patience is the glue. Patience helps us hold our stuff together. Patience is a tool for dealing with others. Imagine for a minute being stuck in traffic on the Watterson Expressway. You can see your exit in the distance. You are tempted to pull into the emergency lane and speed to your exit. What stops you? Patience. Your child pours her milk all over the kitchen floor, and then walks through it! What keeps you from losing your mind? Patience. A friend calls and rants and raves for 40 minutes on the evils of silly putty. What keeps you from hanging up? Patience. You see, God gives us patience so we can deal with other people. No, patience is not always easy. It is a decision that we act our way into. But we can learn to be patience. Patience helps us “keep it together”. It helps us keep ourselves sane. Patience is the glue that holds our sanity together.
- We can do all things in love. Love is the picture on the box. It gives us a way to look at everything we do. Love is the ultimate guideline. Love is patient, gentle and humble. But love also cares, whether we like it or not. Mary was dying. The cancer was winning. As she lay in her hospital bed, her eyes often gazed at the portrait of Jesus on the wall. As people filtered in and out of the house, Mary would ask, “Have you met my friend?” and point to the picture. The response was usually, “I’m not here for that, I’m here to help you.” Mary would inevitably say, “I’m dying here, so shut up and let me show you how much I care”. She proceeded to use her cancer as a way of witnessing to others. She knew when to say, “Shut up and let me show you how much I care.” Love is knowing when to be assertive: gently, patiently and humbly assertive. God used Mary’s death to show a few precious people how much they are loved. God used Christ’s death to show ALL of us just how much we are loved. Christ died on the cross for our salvation, putting our well being above his own. Christ was the ultimate example of “Shut up and let me show you how I care”. Christ is the ultimate example of love. Yes, love is gentle, humble and patient, but love also gives us a reason for everything we do, including being assertive in showing how we care. Love is saying “Shut up and let me show you how much I care”. Love IS the picture on the box!
So, God has given us the instructions—the bible is full of ‘em. God has given us the tools we need: Humility, Gentleness, and patience. God has even given us the picture on the box. Let’s build our own dream house!