Sermon Tone Analysis

!  Immitators of God

 

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood

and speak truthfully to his neighbor,

for we are all members of one body.



26 “In your anger do not sin” a:

Do not let the sun go down

while you are still angry, 

27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

28 He who has been stealing

must steal no longer,

but must work,

doing something useful

with his own hands,

that he may have something to share

with those in need.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk

come out of your mouths,

but only what is helpful

for building others up

according to their needs,

that it may benefit those who listen.

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,

with whom you were sealed

for the day of redemption.



31 Get rid of all bitterness,

rage and anger,

brawling and slander,

along with every form of malice.

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,

forgiving each other,

just as in Christ God forgave you.

Be imitators of God, therefore,

as dearly loved children

2 and live a life of love,

just as Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us

as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Its good to be back from Holidays and to see all of you here today.

We have enjoyed our time with Hedi’s parents, and then we spent some time with friends at their cottage.

It was a really good time to relax from the daily routine, play games with the kids go fishing and find God also in nature.

!

But life, and especially the Christian life of discipleship, isn’t always an easy walk in the park.

Sometimes it’s a real struggle.

And you can just feel how the devil is having a hay day with us.

Today’s text deals with the problem of anger and bitterness, and Paul tells the Ephesians that true love is the antidote for that.

The last few months we have looked at various teachings of Paul to the Christians in the Early Church.

And as we look at the teachings of Paul to the early followers of Christ in first century Christianity, we recognize how true those teachings are also for us today.

In the letter to the Ephesians Paul wants his readers to make a connections between the new relationship they have with Christ and with each other as Jews & Gentiles in the church on the one hand, and specific behavior in real life, on the other hand.

Today’s text is far more than just a set of rules for living as a Christian.

Paul’s teaching takes place in a very mixed context.

There were people from many different cultural and religious backgrounds in the Ephesian church and it must have been a real challenge to keep the church focussed on its mission in the world.

As we revisit the letter to the Ephesians it becomes clear that the effectiveness of the witness of the church depends on the unity of the body.

Ephesians is the “Body Book”.

We are one body – Christ is the head.

There is a rich diversity of gifts in the body, to build up the community of faith.

But there is also trouble!

The early followers of Christ came into the faith community from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds.

Many had been Gentiles and Pagans who came into the community of faith with a good deal of baggage.

Some were undoubtedly business people who made their financial gain by misrepresenting themselves and the products they were selling.

Some came from broken and shattered family situations where abuse and violence was the order of the day.

Some were poor people who stole from others in order to eat or ware clothes.

Some were rough tough kinds of people who dominated over others with their coarse language and swearing.

Some were angry people who were unable to control their rage, and got themselves into all kinds of fights.

Some had become bitter through years and years of bottled up anger, frustration, and resentment.

And some had lived their lives slandering other people and spreading bad rumors about other people.

As the Good News of Jesus Christ spread through the land, these people were convicted of their evil ways and came into the church.

Breaking with their old habits and traditions meant that they would seek to live their life in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle warns them not to grieve the Holy Spirit by ignoring the true Christian virtues and continuing in their pagan vices.

The immitation of Christ is an antidote to the sinful life.

! Now,  lets get into the text a bit more.

Have you seen the cartoon where the wife comes home from her work and says to her husband: "Honey, I had a lousy day at work, so I'll just yell at you for a while."

Anger is a very strong emotion that we are all familiar with.

Most people have some sort of escape valves built into their systems for a time when these emotions show up.

We use terms like "letting off steam", "hitting the roof", "blowing up", and... I'm sure you have your own way of describing what happens when your body tells you "red alert, red alert, evacuate immediately."

But, people are very different in how they deal with their anger.

Some people *resent* those who they perceive to be the cause of their anger.

They stop communicating and start blaming.

Sometimes the little evil voice inside their heads gets loose, and starts to plot a plan for revenge.

"I have been wronged, and I'll make it right.

I still don't know how, but it's coming.

Just wait."

Perhaps you fit into this category.

There are others who deny their anger.

We may call them the sleeping lions.

He looks very innocent when he's asleep, but watch out when he wakes up and gets hungry.

You dare not even smile at him out of fear what might happen to you.

Then there are those people who let the pressure rise inside themselves, until suddenly you hear this whistling sound coming from them.

You look at the person... and sure enough... you can actually see the smoke coming out of their ears.

They're walking time bombs.

You want to be a world apart if the ticker isn't stopped in time.

Did I just hear an "Amen"?

Can you relate to some of the things I've been describing?

When we get angry, there seems to be a trap door that closes in our minds.

And in our thinking (which is hardly rational when we are angry), there is no doubt as to who is right and what is the right thing to do.

"Make 'em pay."

I found a story from Marilyn Anderes of Fresno, California that illustrates this point:

 

*"The arrangements had been made and I was excited.

My husband and I had not had a date for at least two months.

Our mutual birthday time had arrived and I had planned a surprise birthday party for him -- a small group of friends was to meet us at a familiar oriental restaurant.

With the babysitter armed with instructions and snacks, we headed for the car.

Behind the wheel, my husband suggested, "Let's go for Mexican food!"