Oh, Grow Up!

Ephesians 4:1-16
Our reading from the Letter to the Ephesians for today includes these words: “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16). For the author of Ephesians, a life in Christ begins and ends in love. There is a time and place for righteous anger, sorrow is an appropriate response to many events in our lives, joy and happiness are blessings, but all of our emotions and feelings must be bound up in love if we are to become the people God has called us to be. As John Lennon sang, “Love is the answer, and you know that for sure.”

Consider the inability of many in our world to regard others with even a modicum of respect. TV commentators, editorial writers, politicians, entertainers, heads of organizations and lobbying groups, neighbors, even some who claim to be serving the church seem completely incapable of loving those with whom they disagree. Tom Lehrer, the satirical singer/songwriter, has quipped, “…I know there are people in the world that do not love their fellow human beings and I hate people like that.” Point taken. How are we to respond to the anger and animosity of others? Is it not typical to get angry ourselves? Yes, but it shouldn’t be, and this is where the message of Ephesians might be boiled down to the simple call to “grow up!” For growing up in Christ means doing our very best to love one another as Christ first loved us. As we seek to love one another we will find ourselves less and less capable of causing each other pain. The challenge is to see and affirm what it is that makes a person—even someone with whom we differ greatly––lovable, and in doing so, to set aside our anger, our insults, our hatred and speak in terms that express our convictions but at the same time seek to build a community of dialogue.

Why would a member of the National Rifle Association ever say a kind word to a member of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence? Why would a liberal Democrat ever waste a compliment on a conservative Republican? Why? Because that is what God calls us to do. God challenges us to “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ…”and that means to be “built up in love,” because “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son… Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16a, 17).

Prayer: Lord, help us to love one another just as you have loved and cared for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yes Is the Answer

2 Corinthians 1:12-22

In his song “Mind Games” John Lennon, the former Beatle, sings, “Yes is the answer, and you know that for sure. Yes is surrender, you gotta let it go.” What Lennon was saying was that the way to peace and reconciliation is through positive actions, affirmations, putting the other first. I think he was right, but only to a point.

Here’s how Paul said it: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who we proclaimed among you…was not ‘Yes and No’; but in him it is always ‘Yes.’ For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes’” (2 Corinthians 1:19-20). For Paul it all comes back to the promises of God which are always fulfilled. Indeed, Jesus is God’s way of saying “Yes” to the world in all of its pain and suffering, all of its sin and apathy. It is not an affirmation of the way things are, but a challenge to live to a higher standard, to do it God’s way. Are we forgiven? In Jesus Christ, Yes. Has death been defeated? In Jesus Christ, Yes. Is there reason for hope? In Jesus Christ, Yes. Is God’s will to be done “on earth as it is in heaven”? In Jesus Christ, Yes. In the mean time we are to embrace the “Yes” of God as disciples of Jesus Christ, and live toward peace and reconciliation as best we can. That’s the part John Lennon got right.

In the days ahead, as you engage in conversations at work or school, as you respond to difficult circumstances or are confronted by conflict, give thought to what God’s “Yes” might mean in those situations. And then live that “Yes” as a disciple of Jesus Christ. By God’s grace we will find “Yes” really is the best answer.

Prayer: Lord, help us to live as your people, expressing your divine love to the world and sharing the grace of your gospel. In Jesus’ name. Amen.