EPHESIANS 4:25-5:2
So then, putting away falsehood,
let all of us speak the truth to our
neighbors,
for we are members of one another.
Be angry but do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and do not make room for the devil.
Thieves must give up stealing;
rather let them labor and work honestly with their own
hands,
so as to have something to share with the needy.
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is useful for building up,
as there is need,
so that your words may give grace to those who hear.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were marked with a seal
for the day of redemption.
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger
and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,
and be kind to one another,
tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Therefore be imitators of God,
as beloved children,
and live in love,
as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
***
This Ephesians text is essentially another version of
the commandments, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t sin, don’t talk evil, don’t
make room for the devil, don’t let the sun go down on your anger, don’t
slander, don’t be bitter and wrathful and wrangle with anger, don’t act with
malice, don’t grieve the Holy Spirit. Honor your God, speak grace with your
words, speak that which builds up the community, labor for the needy with the
honest work of your hands, be kind to one another, be tenderhearted, forgiving
one another as God has forgiven you, be imitators of God, be children, live in
love, live in love as Christ loved us, live in love - your life as fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God.
It is quite of the list of commandments, and quite
different from the Old Testament list. The Old Testament list is easier, and
therefore easier to ignore. We know not to steal; we know not to lie. Yet, this
New Testament list takes the commandments further. It takes them from Old
Testament prescriptions to New Testament imaginations of grace in community.
Can you imagine? Not only don’t lie but more so, don’t slander. Not only don’t
speak evil, but more so, speak only that which builds up the community. Be
angry, but do not let the sun go down on your anger. Can you imagine?
Imagine a community, this community where if for one
week, maybe even for a month, we only said kind things to each other. Imagine a
community where for one month all the letters to the editor were those sweet
ones praising our citizens for helping one another. You know the ones speaking
of the care of a car mechanic, or praising the community for supporting a
family with very sick children. Can you imagine if for one-month kind,
tenderhearted things were all we said? Imagine if our city parades were a time
to celebrate our history and our community, rather than a time to divide over
politics and protests under guise of candy. What if for one month there was no
talk of wolves and ranchers, of roads and forests, of the school board vs.
school board? What understanding might come, what community might bridge, what
peace might be, what healing might be possible after that month?
You may ask,
‘How can we speak truth and seek justice without naming lies and oppression?’
The passage does not say, "don’t be angry." It says, “Be angry, but
do not sin.” Speak truth, but don’t slander. It is fine line yet we usually
know when we cross it. We can go as far as the Letter from the Birmingham Jail,
but not so far as many of our community’s Letters to the Editor. How would we
view Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. if that letter insulted his opponents with
slander, instead of explaining his deep heart and deep imagination over the
issue? Can you imagine if our national politics followed this admonition of,
“speak truth, but don’t slander?” Instead of our election year politics listing
the evils of another, it would focus on the achievements and hopes of
themselves. Words and phrases would not be turned and twisted but sought to be
understood. We would have an example of how to live our lives, rather than
exhausting examples of how to tear down one another.
Can you imagine what speaking truth and kindness would
be like in our personal lives? How often is it our loved ones that get brunt of
our untamed lips? How often do our loved ones see the worst side ourselves? How
often do we cross that line with the ones we love? How often do we forgive as
Christ forgave? How often do we let them know what we love about them? How
often do we speak grace to them? For one month could our relationship be a
fragrant offering to our Lord? How much more could we live in love? Imagine,
imagine, imagine what it would be like.
Can you imagine a world where we live imitating God?
Can you imagine a world where we speak grace and kindness for the building up
of community? Can you imagine a world where we live in love? Can you imagine a
world where we live as children? Can you imagine this world in our community?
Begin by imagining a park, filled with song and praise, and put luck, and
playground, and people, gathered together in community. Let us begin by
imagining.
