A sermon based upon Ephesians 5: 8-14
By Rev. Dr. Charles J. Tomlin, DMin
Flat Rock-Zion Baptist Partnership
Second Sunday in Lent-C, March 17 2019
(11-14) Sermon Series: Growing Up In Christ (Eph. 4:15)
Since the last message was so heavy, I want to ask us to begin with a story that will help us ‘step’ into the light.
Davon Huss tells how in 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Sutton hadn’t won a game in 8 weeks. The press was suggesting that he be dropped from the starting lineup. The future looked bleak, and Sutton felt terrible. Then, before a game, Dodgers manager Walter Alston tapped him on the shoulder. “I’d like to speak with you, Don,” he said.
Sutton prepared for the worst. “Don,” said Alston, “I know how the past couple of months have been for you. Everyone’s wondering whether we can make it to the play offs. You know there’s a lot of pressure. I’ve had to make a decision.” Sutton had visions of being taken off the mound. Alston continued, “If the Dodgers are going to win this year,” he said, looking Sutton in the eye, “they’re going to win with Don Sutton pitching. Come what may, you’re staying in the starting lineup. That’s all I wanted to say.”
Sutton’s losing streak lasted 2 more weeks, but because of his manager’s encouragement he felt different. Something in him was turning around. He found himself pitching the best ball of his career. In the National League pennant drive, he won 13 games out of 14.
There are all kinds of theories about how to motivate people. We can do it through guilt, fear or shame. But overall, these were not Paul’s nor Jesus’ methods. At the core, the great messengers of the gospel move and motivate us to answer God’s call through the encouraging messages of promise and hope. “You are the light of the world’ (Matt. 5:14), Jesus told his disciples at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. Here, in today’s text, the apostle Paul challenges God’s people to “live as children of light” (v. 8).
YOU ARE LIGHT!(8)
Like, Jesus, Paul takes the challenge one step further. He challenges them to ‘live as children of light’ because, he says, “…now you are light in the Lord”. That’s an interesting way to put it, isn’t it? The have been people who were ‘once in darkness’, but now, whether they are ‘light in the Lord’.
The significance here is that Paul is not only describing how they are live, but he is also describing ‘who’ they now are. This Christian way of living isn’t just something we ‘do’, but it is someone we become; who we are because of ‘whose’ we are.
In today’s church we put a lot more emphasis on ‘what’ we are supposed to be doing as Christians. We talk about serving the Lord, going on mission, and being ‘doers of the word’ and ‘not hearers only’. That is a good emphasis. Nothing wrong with that, at all. The other day I heard someone say to the Pope and the Catholic church in regard to the coverup of the sexual misbehavior of certain priests, “We’re tired of words, we want to see action!”
The Christian message is sometimes words. “Thus Says the Lord!” This is what the God of Israel says… You have heard it said, but I say to you. “Lord, you have the words of life.” The Bible is the good book, contain a lot of good, hopeful, and even saving words. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” There is nothing word with words. We heard so many bad words every day, and we come to church on Sunday to hear a positive, challenging, and hopeful ‘word’ from God.
But we also know that the saving, and most hopeful message must sometimes go beyond words. It is said that one of the great early Christians, St. Francis, answered a question put to him by one of his helpers who went with him through villages to preach the gospel. After the day was over, they had visited a person by the bedside, they had helped a farmer carry a heavy load, they had helped someone on a construction project, and they had also walked with grieving people in a funeral possession, and done a lot of other things like this. But when the day was over, the novice asked his teacher; “I thought we were going to preach the gospel.” St. Francis answered. “But we did. When you preach the gospel you go around doing good, and only sometimes do you have to use words.”
So, when we share or live the gospel, sometimes we use words, and other times we do as Jesus did, ‘we go around doing good’, but here Paul reminds us that there is another way to share and live the gospel; it is by ‘who’ we are because of ‘whose’ we are. Sometimes we live the gospel by saying, other times by doing, but here Paul reminds us that it is just as important that we live the gospel by who we are and who we have become by being ‘in the Lord’: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Eph. 5:8 NIV). Paul’s point here is that ‘who’ we are is just as important to how we live as what we do and what we say. And the key to ‘who’ we are as Christians, is ‘who’ we are ‘in the Lord’.
Mother Teresa was a catholic nun who dedicated her life to caring for some poorest of the poor. Because of her loving, merciful work, people came from all over the world to meet her and to observe and learn.
Among the groups to which she spoke was one of the sisters from many North American orders of catholic nuns. After her talk she asked if there were any questions. “Yes, I have one,” a woman sitting near the front said. “As you know, most of the orders represented here have been losing members. It seems that more and more women are leaving all the time. And yet your order is attracting thousands upon thousands. What do you do?”
Mother Teresa said, “I give them Jesus.” “Yes, I know,” said the woman, “but take habits, for example. Do your women object to wearing habits? And the rules of the order, how do you do it?” “I give them Jesus,” Mother Teresa replied. “Yes, I know Mother,” said the woman, “but can you be more specific?” “I give them Jesus,” Mother Teresa repeated again. “Mother,” said the woman, “we are all of us aware of your fine work. I want to know about something else.” Mother Teresa said sternly, “I give them Jesus. There is nothing else.”
THE FRUIT OF LIGHT (9)
And the best way to ‘give them Jesus’ is to BE Jesus, by who we are and by ‘whose’ we are. It is this same Jesus, who not only said in the gospels “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5), but he also said we, his disciples’ of any age, ‘are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).”
Who we become ‘in the Lord’ as so very important, because when we become ‘children of the light’ we show who our true parents are; the Lord who is our Father; the Son who is our Lord and brother in the flesh, and the Holy Spirit, who is Christ alive and living in and through us. Now, this is a lot to say, but what is means, Paul spells out in a little sidebar and a brief parenthesis, when he next says we ‘live as light’ when we bear the ‘fruit of the light’ which ‘consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth.’ Paul’s point is that when we are ‘light’ and become ‘children of light’ we reflect the great light of truth, righteousness, and goodness has been revealed to us from God, who is our ‘Father in heaven’.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes, in this space-age, scientific, modernized, and digitized world, it sounds a little strange to still speak of having a ‘heavenly’ father. While on the mission field, I often worked alongside Mormons and noticed how they would take special care of always addressing God as being their ‘heavenly father’. Mormons are very family oriented in their theology, and they take the idea of ‘father’ as not only describing who God is, but also ascribing who they, as Mormon men, will become, when as eternal Mormons, they will become spiritual ‘father’s and ‘mothers’ giving birth to many children and having large families on future planets that God will one day give to them, as they have been faithful parents on earth.
When we name God our ‘heavenly’ father, and name ourselves God’s children, I don’t think we have to point a ‘literal’ fatherhood of God, or put our hope in becoming heavenly fathers ourselves, but I do believe that we point to God; his truth, his goodness and his righteousness, as the source and hope for our lives. God is not only the heavenly Father, but he is also, as Israel has declared, ‘The Almighty God’ who not only created all things, but who is also over all things. Since God is our source of life, it is only when we live in him, his goodness, his goodness and his righteousness, do we align ourselves with the ‘life-source’ that continues to bring us the kind of life that ‘bears’ the kind of spiritual ‘fruit’ which brings life meaning, purpose and hope.
When Pastor Rob Peter’s from Calvary Baptist in Winston, lead some of our church leaders to help us ReFocus our ministries, he told us that among his 6,000 plus membership, one of the reoccurring questions he keeps hearing is, ‘how can I find meaning and purpose for my life.’ People are searching, looking and longing for a life that brings not just adventure or thrills, but they want to know how they can live a life that matters and means what life should mean.
Eric Butterworth once told about a college professor who had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. The students were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’s future. In every case the students wrote, “He hasn’t got a chance.” 25 years later another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He had his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved success as lawyers, doctors and businessmen. The professor was astounded about the results. The earlier study was so inaccurate. What had happened to change the futures of these young boys?
Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, “How do you account for your success?” In each case the reply came back, “There was this teacher…” That teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the elderly but still alert woman what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement. The teacher’s eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a smile. “It’s really very simple,” she said. “I loved those boys.”
That teacher saw possibilities in those boys and it turned the darkness in and around them into the light of love. God’s Redeeming love, received, and now shinning through us, is the very goodness, righteous, and truth that brings us all through and out of the darkness into God’s wonderous light. No ‘fruit of the light’ is shines brighter than the goodness, righteous, and truth of unconditional, redeeming, and life-saving love.
….MAKES EVERYTHING VISIBLE (14)
This image of God’s love as a light shining into our lives, bringing hope into a world that can become dark and dangerous, is without a doubt one of the most powerful spiritual images of hope in the Bible, and in the world. It is a primitive, understandable image based on a universal reality, because both physical and personally, we all know something about darkness and light.
But perhaps the most important part of Paul’s own experience with the ‘light’ of Christ, comes at the end, when he speaks from personal experience, how Christ’s light of love came upon him. Paul writes:
“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible-- and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: "Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Eph. 5:13-14 NIV).
Paul says the God’s light of love, that shone upon him, and exposed his own dark side, can also shine on you and expose us fully and completely to God’s transforming love. From Acts 9, when the ‘flash of light’ came upon Paul on the Damascus road, it was not a light exposing his dark side for mere condemnation, but is was God’s light of love, exposing him to the redeeming, freeing, transforming, ego-altering light of goodness, righteousness, and the truth of God’s love for all people, including those who are still living the pain of darkness.
What about you? Have you been fully exposed to the illuminating, redeeming, transforming love of Jesus Christ? As Paul says, ‘everything exposed to the light becomes visible’, and not just that, but when love surrounds you in fullness and light, love transforms you, and you too become a shining light. The light in God, through Christ, now becomes contagious, and becomes a light shining through you.,
To convince the people of Philadelphia of the advantage of street lighting, Benjamin Franklin decided to show his neighbors be placing one in front of his house. He purchased an attractive lantern, polished the glass, and placed it on an extended pole in front of his house. Each evening, he would light the wick and hang out the lantern. Before long all of his neighbors noticed the light and even those far up the street noticed the warm glow around his house. The people passing by his house were delighted because it made walking in the dark so much easier. Soon, others placed lanterns in front of their homes and eventually the city recognized the need for having well lighted streets. Light spread, and took over the whole city.
Anna Quindlen was asked to present the graduation speech at one of America's pre-eminent universities. You may have seen excerpts of it, which made the rounds of forwarded emails some time ago. Being a novelist, she admitted that she had no special expertise or insight enabling her to address that gathering of scholars. Yet, her message was poignant. Following are some excerpts:
You will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life; your particular life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.
Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make my marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and they to me. Without them there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cutout.
So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter.
Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen.
And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived. (Anna Quindlen, "Commencement Address to Villanova University," June 23, 2000).
People in this world who have lived in the confusion of darkness long enough, need a true light to lead them to spiritual, emotional and mental safety and purpose. “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead”, the baptismal song is quoted at the end of this text. That song of hope of living in the light, and becoming children of light continues for those who will allow the light of love to fill the darkness of their souls. A newer song, expressing the same hope goes:
“There is a candle in every soul,
Some brightly burning, some dark and cold
There is a Spirit who brings a fire,
Ignites a candle and makes His home
Carry your candle, run to the darkness,
Seek out the helpless, confused and torn
And hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world
Frustrated brother, see how he’s tried to
Light his own candle some other way
See now your sister, she’s been robbed and lied to
Still holds a candle without a flame
So Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn
And hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world
We are a family whose hearts are blazing
So let’s raise our candles and light up the sky
Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus
Make us a beacon in darkest times
Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the hopeless, deceived and poor
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world. Amen.
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