Ephesians 4:1-6, 11-16
John 15:1-8
“As
servants of Christ we are sent into the world to engage in the struggle
for justice and reconciliation. We seek
to reveal the love of God for men, women, and children of all ethnic,
racial, cultural, and national backgrounds and to demonstrate the
healing power of the Gospel with those who suffer.” UM Book of Discipline 2012, ¶124, pg
93
To “demonstrate”
the Gospel’s power – not just talk about it.
So when Paul encouraged the people of the Ephesian Church to “speak
the Truth in love”, he was not telling them to “straighten out” those
who were engaged in immoral conduct.
There is that, of course, which requires the people of the Church to
stand in the integrity of the Gospel and the Moral Law. There is another side of “speaking the Truth in love”, however,
and it requires not only a working knowledge of the doctrines of the Church but
also a deeper understanding of what is actually
written in the Scripture so we may faithfully “demonstrate” the Gospel’s real power.
“Speaking the Truth in love” is entirely about
the Good News, the Gospel of The Lord. That is, we are not charged with making
people afraid of hell; rather we have the privilege of helping people to yearn
for Heaven by “demonstrating”
Heaven’s mercy.
So in that charge we must not be strictly of
a mind to criticize the thinking or behavior of those with whom we disagree;
there must be a positive alternative to negative behavior. Rather than to criticize others, we have to
make the case for The Word of The Lord.
And we do this by “demonstrating”
the positive rather than criticizing the negative.
“We
affirm our unity in Christ, and take faithful steps to live more fully into
what it means to be a worldwide church in mission for the transformation of the
world” (¶125),
“in covenant with our God and with
each other”.
Now I will grant you that the
“transformation of the world” is a lofty goal – not unworthy of our
consideration, of course, but not worthy of our sole focus to the point that we
are overwhelmed with a seemingly impossible task. Before we can mean anything to the whole
world, we must first have meaning for the communities we are called to serve. The churches are not strictly ‘meeting
places’ for like-minded people who “fit the mold”; we have a charge and a calling
to those who don’t. But before we can
have real meaning to the community at large, our faith in action must have
meaning within the congregation of which we become a part by baptism. No one is so “personally” saved as to be excused
from one’s active role in that Covenant.
Sometimes, however, we become distracted
especially by tragedy. Like many of you,
I have been thinking a lot about the recent tragedy in Oregon. A young man went off his hinges, armed
himself, and invaded a college campus with evil intentions. Innocent persons were wounded or killed, and
we’re left in the wake of this tragedy to deal with the aftermath.
Politicians on both “sides” have shamelessly
invoked this most recent tragedy to further their own political interests. Some have been made afraid because of the
sensationalism of the shooter allegedly having designs only on killing Christians. There is confusion and anger and a profound
sense of helplessness among those who survived.
And of course there is the clarion call to arm ourselves to prevent
similar tragedies in the future – while others insist further efforts to
control the flow of weapons in this country is our only reasonable recourse.
I cannot help but to wonder, however,
where has been the call for our collective need
to mourn? Where has been the call for us
to go to the Gospel of The Lord for answers?
For comfort? For safety? For guidance?
Our Lord Jesus lamented that His desire to
gather His people and protect them was rejected by their unwillingness to trust
Him (Matthew 23:37). I submit this passage is as meaningful for us
today as it still is for our Lord.
You may recall that immediately after 9/11
people were flocking to the churches.
Out of fear, out of uncertainty, looking for … answers? I don’t think many were earnestly seeking The
Lord Himself because in a matter of only a couple of weeks, the pews were left
empty again. Because these mass
shootings now seem to have become so commonplace, we are skipping the church
thing and the necessary mourning
and the tears and are going straight to anger so much so that retribution and
vengeance have become our national doctrine.
And while these are perfectly natural and understandable human
responses, these do not “demonstrate”
our Christian faith nor the power of the Gospel.
Jesus says HE is the Vine, and we of our
respective churches are a branch of that Vine (John 15:5). It is that Vine
alone from which goodness and mercy and justice and righteousness flow. And even though we may claim “righteous anger” (again, perfectly
normal and understandable), how many of us have actually turned to The Lord for
answers? For guidance? For instruction on what we must do next? How many among us who call ourselves
Christians have actually asked The Lord to show us our individual roles in
the collective Church
to assuage the grief and calm the fear so many feel? How have we come to understand the need
to “speak
the Truth in love” especially
in the face of tragedy and evil?
The truth probably is that we have not
done so. And because we have not done
so, because we have chosen to arm ourselves and stock up on ammo, because we
bravely thump our chests and declare we will kill anyone who threatens our
families, we are bearing no fruit whatsoever.
And because we are deliberately
choosing not to bear fruit for the Kingdom, we as a “branch” of the Eternal
Vine are slowing withering into nothingness and are in danger of being cut off
completely (vs 6).
As far as we may have slipped, however,
there is still hope because there is still the Gospel and there is still the
Church charged with “demonstrating” the
power of that Gospel. We who have
slipped so far away and have only begun to wither can be “pruned” to
fruit-bearing fullness! And this may be
exactly what is happening now! This is
the real power of the Gospel of our Lord; and it is that power we are called and
equipped to “demonstrate” to a world still
searching for answers they may never find without us.
Being a Christian does not prevent tragedy
nor does the Gospel make suffering go away.
Being a Christian devoted to the Gospel, however, gives us the only reason we have to rise above the ashes of human despair and
“demonstrate” to an unbelieving world
what the fullness of Life is about. It
is the fullness of what it means to “speak the Truth in love”, and it is
the difference between trembling in fear and walking in faith. For as long as we are afraid, we will never
be truly free of evil.
It is past time to stop giving the devil
his due, and to begin “demonstrating”
the power of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior as we faithfully “speak
the Truth in love”. The
doctrine of the Church is not only about knowing that Truth; it is entirely about
“demonstrating” the Truth. For that is the Life we are called to. Nothing less will do.
In the Eternal Word to the Glory of our God and King,
let us say – amen.
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