Sermon "Wonderbread: Slicing theLoaf"
Sunday August 10, 1997
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
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Wonderbread: Slicing the Loaf
"Feed on the Bread of Life and you will become more likeJesus . . . " This is an abstraction that is tough toswallow! Today I suggest we slice apart the loaf into somesmaller, more practical, more manageable pieces. We can get somehelp by reading a section of Paul's letter to the church atEphesus, which begins to spell out in clear terms what thechanged life looks like.
Now before we dive into this letter, let me remind you about afew things. It was written by Paul from prison in Rome --hisfirst imprisonment--to the people in Ephesus, or more likely, tothe groups meeting around Ephesus. He is writing approximately 60years after the death of Christ.
Remember Paul had spent nearly three years preaching in thiscity which is along the western coast of Turkey, there on theAegean Sea. He was familiar with these people. He knew them. Heknew, for example, that Ephesus was a hot bed of Gentile culture,a trade center along the route from Rome and Athens to Antioch tothe cities of the east. He knew that these Christians were aminority in need of encouragement. So he wrote to remind themspecifically what it means to live the changed life. (If youwill, what life looks like after eating the bread of Christ,after accepting the truth of Jesus.)
Paul writes,
"Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you mustno longer live as the ungodly, (or Gentiles,) do, in the futilityof their minds; they are darkened in their understanding,alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that isin them, due to their hardness of heart; they have become callousand have given themselves up to licentiousness, (or immoralways,) greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness.
"You did not so learn Christ! -- assuming that you haveheard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner oflife and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed inthe spirit of your minds and put on the new nature, created afterthe likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."Notice how Paul introduces this. He says we are to imitate God.Then he gives us instructions on how to do this.
"Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speakthe truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another,(or we belong to one another). Be angry but do not sin; do notlet the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to thedevil, (or slanderer). Let the thief no longer steal, but ratherlet him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he maybe able to give to those in need. Let no evil talk come out ofyour mouths, (or do not use foul or abusive language,) but onlysuch as is good for edifying, (or building up) as fits theoccasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.
And do not grieve, (or bring sorrow to,) the Holy Spirit ofGod, by the way you live. Remember he is the one who identifiedyou as his own, (in whom you were sealed for the day ofredemption. ) Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamorand slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind toone another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God inChrist forgave you.
Now, Paul summarizes his idea . . .
"Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children. Andwalk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, afragrant offering and sacrifice to God, (or Follow God's examplein everything you do, Live a life filled with love for others,following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himselfas a sacrifice to take away your sins).
Whether we use the metaphor of bread or the metaphor Carolynused of the two balloons or the metaphor Paul uses in thisletter--putting off the old nature and putting on the newnature--they all drive at the same point: old versus new, the oldlife compared to the new, changed life.
The changed life is reflected in changed conduct. In verses 22and 24 Paul uses the metaphor of clothing. He writes we shouldput off the old nature and put on the new nature in order for ourlives to reflect our God.
Why is this such a surprise? I admired Bobby Brady as a youngboy. I had my parents buy me a blue and white striped shirt justso I could look like Bobby Brady. I wanted to imitate Bobby. Wellhere, Paul is telling us what we need to do in order to imitatethe character of God.
We are to imitate God:
1. By putting off lying and putting on truth telling. v. 25
2. By putting off resentment and putting on righteous anger. v.26
3. By putting off stealing and putting on generosity. v. 28
4. By putting off dirty talk and putting on up buildingconversation v. 29
5. By putting off violence and putting on kindness v. 31
1. By putting off lying and putting on truth telling v. 25
There are usually two reasons why we lie, either because wefeel trapped or because we want attention. Most common, Isuppose, is that sensation that the walls are closing in on us.You have heard the phrases: "You have that report ready,Bob?" "Sarah, is your home work done?" "Wereyou suppose to give me a message, Sue?" We suddenly realizewe've messed up and we feel trapped. We're looking for a way out.So we make excuses.
Another reason we lie is for attention--the old Boy Who CriedWolf Story. A couple of weeks ago at camp a young girl, jealousof a cabinmate who was receiving more attention, suddenly begancrying at lunch. She told those at her table that her mother hadjust called to say her baby kitten had died. Boy if that isn't arecipe for instant compassion! Turned out, of course, that when Icalled home, her mother was as shocked as I. "Kitten,"she said, "we don't have any kittens."
Whether it is a kitten or whether we adults are using someother kind of exaggerative speech, we often stretch the truth inorder to win the attention of those around us.
Personally I think a greater problem is the way we lie toourselves. Remember the great test in life is answering thequestion, "Are you who you represent yourself to be?"Can we be honest with ourselves? Do we know our blind spots, ourweaknesses, our hang-ups? Or are we trying to present ourselvesto the world as someone who has no blemishes. Authenticity is theproduct of truthful living. And most of us have a long way to go.
2. By putting off resentment and putting on righteous anger v.26
Paul warns us about anger that is selfish. Long standing angeror bitterness does a lot of us in. Several years ago on avacation, my family and I were playing Scruples. It is a game inwhich players read off scenarios and then predict how one anotherwould react. Sometimes it gets heated. For example, my brotherJeff drew a card which read: "You are having a back yardparty and realize you don't have enough chairs. Your neighbor hasplenty so you borrow several. One of your guests breaks aborrowed chair. Do you tell your neighbor what happened or do youreturn it quietly. "
Jeff said he would explain what happened and offer to pay forthe damage. Well, suddenly, my brother Steve erupts, "No youwouldn't. You wouldn't! You'd put it back and pretend you didn'tknow about it, just like you did with my hockey skates when I waseight."
It turned out Steve had been holding a grudge against hisbrother for twenty four years! Paul says don't let the sun godown on your anger! Get it out there. Talk about what isbothering you.
We usually get angry when we feel we've been wronged. A frienddoesn't remember our name and we become incensed. Our childrendon't make the decisions we wish for them and we take itpersonally. Last week I was in the Eddie Bauer store and theclerk seemed a little put out that I asked for help. I gotoffended. Then I came home and passed along my frustration toMary Beth! Mary Beth suggested that perhaps the clerk had had aday like she had had . . . one too many complaints.
We get angry when the appropriate response should be toforgive. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
When Paul is talking about righteous anger he is reallytalking about issues of justice. He is talking about the way wereact when others are wronged. When was the last time you wereangry for an injustice against someone other than yourself?
3. By putting off stealing and putting on generosity v. 28
Most of you are familiar with Hugo's novel later made into theBroadway production, Les Miserables. Isn't this the story of JeanVal Jean? A criminal no longer, he lives his life working for thebetterment of others. Javert, his nemesis, is finally forced toconfront the evidence that Jean is a changed man after heencounters so many of the people he has helped.
Isn't this interesting? Paul says that evidence of a changedlife is not that one no longer steals, but that he beginsspending his own money to help others. We are to move fromselfish hoarding to generous giving, after Christ's example.
This is an easy one to shrug off. "Oh, I'm nothief," we say, "I don't have a problem withstealing." But for many of us this may translate into time.While we may not be thieves of money, most of us play tricks withtime. We steal time from our families to work. We steal time fromour spouses to spend time with our children. We borrow time fromour children to spend it at work so we'll be able to afford tospend time with them later. Paul says to stop the games. Beginspending your time and money generously on those who actuallyneed it. Boy, this hits me hard!
4. By putting off dirty talk and putting on up buildingconversation v. 29
Here again Paul says it is not enough to stop saying badhurtful things, one must begin to offer the kind of encouragementthat builds others up.
He is really saying that we should take an interest in others.As Dale Carnegie wrote long ago, we should worry more about beinginterested than being interesting. The small, the picky, thenasty . . . that is the old nature. The new nature has us lookingfor something to compliment in each person we meet. Put downscome so easy. We need to work at the positives. Encourage.Encourage. Encourage. Especially with children. Children don'tneed for us to berate them --their friends will do plenty ofthat-- what they need from us is theI-Believe-In-You-You-Can-Do-It spirit. That, says Paul is whatwill build others up. Be lavish with encouragement.
5. By putting off violence and putting on kindness v. 31
Finally, Paul adds this to his list of dos and don'ts. Work atridding your life of anger. Dump the resentment and the rage. Beready to forgive.
Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline has thisto say:
"Be ready to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get our own way. The obsession to demand that things go the way we want them to go is one of the greatest bondages in human society today. People will spend weeks, months, even years in a perpetual stew because some little thing did not go as they wished. They will fuss and fume. They will get mad about it. They will act as if their very life hangs on the issue. They may even get an ulcer over it.
Frankly, most things in life are not nearly as important as we think they are. Our lives will not come to an end if this or that does not happen.
So how about it? Are you noticing the changes in your life?Can you see your faith maturing as you feed upon the bread? Areyou putting on the new nature of Christ?
Amen.
