2021-08-03
Brooke Strong
Sermon Text
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16
Unity in the Body of Christ
4 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.”
9 (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 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.
Worthy of our Calling
If you know the lectionary, you know that there are a number of verses that the preacher may select for the backbone of the sermon and the theme of the service. So, for example, I could have selected John and we could have talked about Jesus being the Bread of Life. Or, we could have looked at high drama in Exodus when the Children of Israel complained to Moses of being hungry and God sent them Manna from Heaven. The Psalm was also beautiful, tracing the many ways God is merciful to us.
But I picked the verse that reflected my longing. It is categorized as Seeking Unity in the Body of Christ and, as you just heard, Paul sets down some instruction that is not optional to believers. He breaks down our faith as being centered in focusing upon unity. He looks at the many things all believers share as one body in Christ – we share one Spirit. The Holy Spirit is available to all of us. One Lord God and Parent to us all. One love, one faith and one baptism. And key to this, as Paul lays out in the first line of this section, is that we lead a life worthy of our calling.
With Paul reminding us of our need for unity, my mind drifted these past couple of weeks to the continued disunity in our nation.
This week we heard testimony of the four Capitol Police officers as they shared their stories about January 6th. Immediately we heard other voices claiming it was a tourist day like any other day in which people visited our Nation’s Capital. One called it a Love Fest.
In recent news, a journalist spotlighted a mother who was told by her son that he would never speak to her again because of the presidential candidate for whom she voted. It seems wrong that any ideology would ruin our important relationships. And I am learning that this story is not uncommon. I’ve seen lifelong friends with whom I attended high school simply hating each other on Facebook for their political views and stances. Friendships of nearly 50 years are being abandoned.
At a breakfast appointment this week with an old friend I heard the sad story of the son of this friend telling say to her, “Mom, I am really embarrassed to be part of your family for what your ancestors did.” He was referring to the fact that his great, great grandparents owned slaves.” And while we see this as an enormous immorality in our time, it was daily life then. I wondered what revisionist, single point history his ancestors would cringe at in 100 years that he participated in today. That is the truth of looking back. You see the bad thing and not the innumerable good things. Yet, he wants no attachment to his family history any longer.
Due to my health conditions involving auto-immune diseases, blood cancer and being a transplant recipient, I have decided to take the CDC advice and I still wear a mask when I am out shopping. If I am eating, I take it off after ordering, but at Kohl’s or Chagrin Hardware, I still go in masked.
A few weeks ago, I was eating at a Chinese buffet and when I returned to the line, I put my mask on. As I went to the line, I passed a table a number of times in which a woman in her 40s openly laughed at me and pointed me out to the others at her table. I quickly checked my zipper and then determined she found my mask wearing funny. They did not speak to me, only giggles and locked eyes with me as if to say, “You big, stupid sissy.” I wanted to explain about my health, and retaliate, and curse, but I just looked away. She has no idea what I deal with every day.
Some in my larger family have expressed shock that I was vaccinated. They believe that the lifesaving vaccine is perhaps even linked to my health challenges, and they wonder what I will new illness I may fall into as a result of being vaccinated. I have had too many friends in South Africa die of Covid because they could not get a shot in time to humor them and their speculations. I honor their choices but they find my choice troubling.
On Facebook one of our state officials who is running now for a higher office bemoaned the name change of the Cleveland Indians. Opinions are fine – we don’t have to agree. Simply put, the management made a decision that worked for their organization. Yet, this politician called out the Indians management for ruining our country and for their Cancel Culture action. He said we have to take back our country, as if a baseball team making a name change was a threat to democracy. I decided to join the fray, which I rarely do, and pointed out that the Indians name change had been in the works way before there was even this notion of cancel culture and I was pretty sure that the name, Guardians, was going to work out just fine.
Will I miss the Indians and do I miss Chief Wahoo? Yes. The logo and the name are a huge part of my childhood. Will I be ok? Yes I will. If I can survive the breakup of the Beatles, I can say goodbye to Yahoo. I also let our state official know that I would be using every one of my tickets for the rest of the season.
Some of you may have experienced this directly and can testify of the pain that comes when the ties that bind us together are severed. This is not the most divisive period America has faced, although to some it could feel that way. It could feel like the political, racial, socioeconomic, and other divisions are so deep that they cannot be healed. Unfortunately, this condition is not only an American problem. It seems that many countries are struggling to heal divisions across various lines. Are we falling apart? Are the divisions in our society insurmountable? Where is God in the midst of our divided world? What is our role?
To be sure, Paul is addressing a divided church in Ephesus that is facing many challenges. Jewish and non-Jewish (Gentile) Christians were having a hard time figuring out how to live and worship together. One of Paul’s goals for writing the book was to exhort the church to be united. In his view, nothing had the potential to heal as much as seeking unity.
Paul is quick to begin with the term that he, and also implying we, are prisoners for the Lord. In the Greek, this word for prisoner is rooted in the primitive verb, deo’. It is the word which means to be tied up or bound together. We would use deo’ if we were tying together a bundle of sticks for carrying. Or we bind our tomato plants to the supportive stake so they can grow tall. It is a lashing of one thing to another.
It is also the same root from which the word prisoner is formed. We are bound, once again, to one who is our superior and in charge of us. So Paul, in his cry and hope for unity, is binding himself to Jesus as an example of his unity with Christ.
Now, I can go on and on and keep talking about what we need for unity. Or how to live in unity. Or why unity is essential, but you can all plainly read Paul’s words and understand them completely. And I suspect that you feel these same needs for unity in your bones – deeply within.
Paul’s points in Ephesians:
• Unity requires responsibility.
• Unity does not just happen. It is practiced and nurtured and shared.
• Unity comes with a calling. Paul is suggesting that the Oneness in Christ is for the presentation of the love of God in our lives. Paul is arguing that every believer has a calling. Every one of us has a place of responsibility to Christ, as Prisoners of God’s love.
• God equips us in our calling by giving us presence and gifts. God’s presence and Holy Spirit inspired gifts.
I would like to show you one nation’s response to becoming unified in the wake of terrible rioting and ruin.
A couple of weeks ago it was announced that former South African president, Joseph Zuma, was going to serve 15 months in prison for the years of corruption he engaged in. He systematically stole hundreds and hundreds of millions of their dollars and turned a blind eye as his governmental colleagues did the same thing. He was finally brought up on charges and sentenced after being found guilty. His 15 months was not even close to the amount of corruption he accomplished. He was not required to repay what was stolen.
Upon announcing Zuma’s long overdue sentence, his followers broke out in violent destruction and looting all over South Africa. My dear friends, Rev. Andre’ and Anre’ Kloppers, shared with me a video.
Anre’ had called me that she and Andre’ could hear the rioting from their home in Johannesburg and they were fearful for their people, as well as for their baby. She was so worried.
Two days later she sent me this video and I believe that it embodies what Paul is saying to the community of the faithful. I believe it is an example to us of what unity can look like. It is a moving video and I do hope you will overlook the use of what we might call profanity as a soldier shares his story. His word usage, while seemingly inappropriate in our county, is a word I have frequently heard used in sermons and churches in South Africa. Please hear his message and excuse his colorful language.
(Video plays here)
Now, as we end this time of considering Unity in the Body of Christ and in the world around us, we turn to one symbolic and real way that we live our unity, and that is in the Sacrament of Communion. With Union. A meal that nourishes us to be unified with God in Christ and glues us together as followers of Jesus.