Ephesians 4:1-16 The Mask

 

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.  Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.  For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.  There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.  Then we will no longer be immature like children.  We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching.  We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.  Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.  He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.  As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

I read a textbook for a sociology class many years ago which was entitled The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.  The idea is that when we humans encounter each other publicly we adopt a persona, or affect, that we think others need to see so they will accept us…because we know, or suspect they are watching us closely to see our flaws.  To rephrase that in English, we tend to wear emotional masks in public so we can hide stuff from others, because we have trouble trusting people.

Today we wear physical masks, not necessarily to protect our fragile self-images, but rather for the sake of protecting others.  We wear a mask to love our neighbor as ourselves. 

Isn’t it a pity that it takes a pandemic to bring out the Jesus-follower in us?

In the last three months I’ve heard a lot of talk about what people think is going to happen to the church, considering  the virus, and our new normal of thinking about social interaction.  One such thinker said it flat-out – the church is history.  Now, those are (what we’d call in my family) fightin’ words! 

But, what if it’s true? 

·       What if some people just don’t think the church helped enough during this pandemic?  And so the church is irrelevant, and they’re not going back.

·       What if some people think all the mask-wearing, sanitizing, and distancing is just too much bother, so they’re not going back?

·       What if some have been so easily distracted by the monuments being torn down, and the anger-filled rioting, marching, and name-calling, that they’re sure it’s the end, and so they’re going to sit back like some of the first century Christians and just wait on a hill for Jesus to come back?

·       What if some people decide with all that’s going on, and no answers in sight, that God either doesn’t care, or doesn’t exist?

·       Well, what if, what if, what if…?

Well, what does history have to say about all this?

There have been 7 major plagues in modern history[1]

1.     Smallpox killed an estimated 300 million worldwide, including 60 million in the 18^th century

2.     Spanish flu took 50-100 million in 1918-19

3.     Malaria still accounts for over 2 million deaths per year.

4.     AIDS has taken nearly 25 million since first recognized in 1981

5.     Cholera has had 8 pandemic outbreaks from 1817 accounting for hundreds of thousands dead

6.     Typhus, first recognized in 430 BC took nearly all of Napoleon’s army, and has accounted for millions of deaths, 3 million alone in 1918-22 in Russia.

7.     Black Death - in the middle of the 14^th century the pandemic of the Black Plague death spread across Europe like wildfire.  It is a bacterial blood infection that leads to septecemia, and a very painful death.  In the four years of that plague, the Black Death killed nearly half of the population of Europe, and nearly ¼ of the world’s population.  (Estimates are 75 – 200 million). 

What is one thing that can be said about the result of every one of the pandemics? The church survived

IF you go ALL the way back in history, the first pandemic was at the forbidden tree.  Adam and Eve rebelled against God and were removed from the garden, where life had been perfect and peaceful.  For the first parents the first pandemic of sin made their lives much more difficult and more toilsome than when they had it easy in God’s garden, but it did not stop them from worshipping, anymore than it will stop believers from worshipping now. 

In just my lifetime I think of the rebellion of the 1960’s with the God is Dead movement, and a strong social sweep that took millions of young people away from churches.

The church survived

And there is still a remnant of the music and worship wars where the fuss between contemporary vs. traditional worship, city vs. country, racial tensions, economic arrogance, geographical posturing, old and young, theologically rigid or flimsy…there have been challenges to church unity, doctrine, ministry, and yet…

(say it with me)

The church survived

Unbelievers will always be in rebellion against God; believers will always seek Him.

And…

The church WILL survive

So, what do we do about what we know?

There are two dimensions that need to be said:

Physical Battle Masks

We need to keep our masks on and wash our hands often, not complaining like immature children.  Now that’s not a Ten Commandments kind of list.  It is a flag over our attitudes about protecting the physical health of anyone with whom we come in contact.  It’s our way of loving our neighbor as we love our own lives.

Armed with that knowledge, that the risks of this virus are real, we need to stay alert to physically do the loving thing – be healing to our community.

Spiritual Battle Masks

We need to make decisions to take off our spiritual and emotional masks of pride and selfishness.  This means being vulnerable and available to each other.  As Paul wrote in our text for today, we need to speak truth, so the whole body heals. 

That goes for more than just the people around you here today, but even those who are without faith, and do not care.  If the church doesn’t care during a time like we are experiencing now, it will make no difference after the crisis is over.

Remember, most of the times Israel was in trouble in Scripture, it was because they failed to honor God who wanted them to be His voice to a lost world.  God took his kids to the woodshed time and again for that.  If we fail at this point, what makes us think it will be any different for us?

So, church…engage, care…BE the church…especially now because God has given us this special opportunity to cast aside our cares and go to the lost, the hurting, and the least of these our brethren!

We close with a few paraphrases from Scripture:

Be of good courage…Be strong in the Lord…Do not fear that, or they, which can kill the body…reverence and serve HE who has power over death, life, and eternity.

Our Prayer

Father God, we have gathered here to worship You, and we have looked into Your holy Word for truth.  And we have had the Truth examine us.  Where we have been found wanting, Lord help us to commit our lives and liberty to the health that the truth brings.  Where we have been found worthy, let us grow into fully mature believers who lead the way for those who need to see what being the church is about in this time of crisis.

For the glory, honor, and praise to which You alone are worthy, o Lord, we pray in the Name of the Son, cooperating with the Spirit, to honor and lift up the Majesty of the Father. 

Let it be so in each of our lives…Amen!

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation  Matthew 10:24-39©

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[1] 7 Worst Killer Plagues in History

Healthy Church; Growing Church

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,  ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  ³making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,  ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism,  ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. ⁷But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  ⁸Therefore 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?  ¹⁰He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)  ¹¹The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until 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.  ¹⁴We 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.  ¹⁵But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶from 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 4:1 - 16 (NRSV)

At Homecoming I suggested that our Baptist friend, Rick Warren is right on the mark when he said that church health is more important than church growth.  And nothing speaks to church health more than spiritually-mature members.  This is a recurrent and prevailing theme in Paul’s theology, becoming spiritually-mature. 

In our text Paul makes it clear that maturity isn’t the goal, but maturity is the strength that will allow us to accomplish the goal of a church built and operating on love.

An elderly nun ran out of gas on the seedier side of town.  She found that she didn’t have a gas can, but there was a hospital bedpan in the back seat.  So she walked to the nearest gas station, filled the bedpan and walked slowly back to her car.  As the nun carefully poured the gas into the tank two slightly inebriated atheists happened to pass by.  One of them saw what the nun was doing and poked the other:  Hey, hold on, I gotta see this; if that car starts I’m joinin’ the church!  It is always a good thing to stop and check to see if what you’re built for is what you’re running on. 

This morning I’d like for us to do that.  The church was constructed by Christ to run on love, mature love.  In our text Paul gives us four marks of a mature believer.  Let’s all check our tanks…

1. Stability

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.  Ephesians 4:14 (NRSV)

Paul knew that good people are always targets for those who want something and don’t have much of a conscience when it comes to how they achieve their goals. 

Stability in the life of a Christian is something that develops because the believer takes the time and patience to become a disciple.  And it doesn’t happen overnight, but rather over time, and with attention given to God’s Word.   Paul wrote to his young protégé Timothy:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15 (NRSV)

2. Speaking Truth in Love

But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,        Ephesians 4:15 (NRSV)

Jesus Christ is our standard for how we act.  Everywhere you look in the Scriptures Jesus told people the truth, and it was always because he loved. 

It is one maddening trait we humans have that we’d rather see a train run over a friend than take the risk that in speaking truth we might hurt feelings.  It’s true that some people are like a pit bull charging through a china shop when it comes to interpersonal relationships.  But that still does not get us off the hook about telling the truth.  Truth without love is brutality so we must be sensitive and caring when we talk to each other, but love without truth doesn’t exist! 

3. Cooperation

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 4:16 (NRSV)

A physical body is inter-dependant on the various parts.  My stomach would have a tough time digesting food and sending nutrition through the bloodstream if my hands and arms decided to go on strike.  If my eyes go on vacation I’m going to have a hard time not bumping into things.

The Body of Christ isn’t any different.  We need each other, and cooperation in Christ’s family enables us to be missional.  This is what Paul calls being “knit” together.  Chaos is brokenness; Christ, our peace heals us, knits us back together.

Why is this so vital?

All of what the apostle Paul wrote promotes the health of the Body of Christ.  And health promotes growth! 

Imagine what happens when you have stable, mature Christian believers refusing to settle for less than truth with each other, and cooperating with everything they’ve got in the mission of the church to share the love of Jesus.  Just imagine.

The church was designed to run on the fuel of love.  With the stability of truth and love cooperating we can function in our mission to this community to bring about peace, mercy and justice in the name of Christ.  We can do that together.