Nancy Myer
August 11, 2024
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Prayer for Illumination
Holy Spirit,
pass among and within your gathered people,
opening minds to increase understanding,
opening hearts to bind us together in your love.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. 26Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and do not make room for the devil. 28Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29Let 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. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 51Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Sermon
I read a story once about gate A-4 at the Albuquerque Airport Terminal. The author, Naomi Shihab Nye, had just learned that her flight was delayed by four hours. And upon hearing that announcement for herself, she heard the following over the loud speaker: “If anyone in the vicinity of Gate A-4 understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately.” Gate A-4 was her own gate, and Naomi happened to know Arabic, so she headed straight there. It was there she encountered an older woman in full traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, similar to what her own grandma wore. This woman was clearly in distress. The flight attendant said to Naomi, “Help, Talk to her. What is her problem? We told her the flight was going to be late and she did this.” Naomi bent down and began speaking to the woman in Arabic. Even though her words may not have been crystal clear, the woman stopped crying upon hearing language that was familiar to her. She thought her flight had been cancelled and needed to be in El Paso the next day for medical care. Naomi assured her that she would indeed get there and would just be a bit later than planned. Together they called her son who would be picking her up at the airport, called her other sons just for the heck of it, and called Naomi’s dad so he and the woman could speak in Arabic together for a while. Two hours passed with all of the people they called… the woman was laughing a lot; they were sharing stories. This turned out to be about so much more than the planes that arrived and departed at that gate throughout the day; it was more about the lives which intersected, the stories that were intertwined, the love that was shared.
I thought of this story when I read today’s text from Ephesians. It seems to me that this particular lectionary selection has bookends, of sorts. The author of Ephesians starts by saying we are to speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are all members of one another. Did you hear that? For we are all members of one another. We belong to each other. The author goes on to give us a whole list of things we should do and not do… be angry but do not sin, let no evil talk come out of your mouth, put away bitterness, be kind to one another. And then the author wraps up this section with three words that contain only a handful of letters but are packed with big, big meaning: Live in love. The author invites us to be imitators of God and to live in love, as Christ loved us. Period.
Beloved children of God, we are members of one another. Like it or not, we are friends, we are family, we are next of kin in Christ. And our calling of how to live that out is a big one. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. Let only what is useful for building up come out of your mouth. Speak words that give grace to those who hear.
It feels easy enough to use kind words and actions and not to harbor anger against those around us. Now you and I both know there can be healthy anger – anger against injustice, for example – but the author here is talking about anger against one another, anger that is held onto unnecessarily or over time. It feels easy enough, at first, to avoid that anger and to focus on kindness.
And yet… When have you had an argument with a spouse or family member during which you said something you later regretted? How many times this week have you watched the news, had a conversation about politics, and said something aloud – or thought it in your head – that wasn’t the most kind? Think about a time when you’ve driven in traffic and not-so-nicely wished out loud that the car in front of you would pick up the pace a little bit. Or wondered to yourself at the grocery store how the cashier could possibly miss the fact that you are in a giant hurry and about to be late. The author of Ephesians says, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up.” The author does not say “let only a little bit of evil talk come out.” And though the author only explicitly talks about words and doesn’t mention thoughts, it seems to me the two go hand in hand, and probably both are implied.
We are members of one another. Every language, every level of education, every color of skin, every sexuality and gender identity, every culture, every political association, every social class, every, every, every. All are welcome. We choose welcome. We belong to each other. We are called to care for each other as family.
Our guest preacher last week, the Rev. Dr. Amantha Barbee, talked about unity. And in her conversation with us about unity, she said, “We have to know that it’s not just about us. We live in community. We are the body of Christ. What I do badly affects you. What you do badly affects me.” And so it is that all that I do affects you and vice versa. If we are members of one another, yes, what we do badly affects the other. And yes, what we do well affects the other, too. And here we have our call, the call that rises perhaps above all the rest. Live in love, as Christ loved us.
Remember the woman at Albuquerque Airport Gate A-4? Here is a woman who was far from home, one who didn’t speak English. Unable to understand what was going on around her, she may have felt like airport employees had chosen to leave her high and dry. She clearly was worried at first, as she was crumpled on the floor, likely concluding that everybody around her had or would desert her.
Once Naomi found her and spent some time with her, and the tears turned to laughter, this woman who had previously been distressed eventually pulled out a bag of homemade mamool cookies and was offering them to all of the women at the gate, every single one of whom accepted them. Naomi described it by saying, “It was like a sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the mom from California, the lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same powdered sugar. And smiling. There is no better cookie.” The airline began offering juice, and two little girls were passing them out. They, too, were covered in powdered sugar. “We are members of one another.”
Naomi writes, “I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and I thought, This is the world I want to live in. The shared world. Not a single person in that gate—once the crying of confusion stopped—seemed apprehensive about any other person. They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women, too. This can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost.”
I like to think about the powdered sugar at the airport as little specks of love, getting brushed on everybody. Powdered sugar is a little bit like glitter. You may or may not know this about me, but I really, really dislike glitter. The thing I don’t like about it is how it gets stuck to you and won’t come off. Powdered sugar is much the same (although also much more preferable in my opinion). You know how it is. The dust fills the air and settles everywhere. And if you get it on your clothes, well, you might as well throw them in the wash, because that sugar isn’t coming off any other way. So they’re eating the cookies, the powdered sugar is getting absolutely everywhere… and so is laughter, love, and community. You can almost hear the joy if you really stop and think about it.
So no, friends, not everything is lost. The author of Ephesians started with speaking the truth, for we are members of one another. Then gave that whole list of other things and ended with a big THEREFORE. Therefore, be imitators of God. So first off, speak the truth. And here’s how you do it – by avoiding this and by doing that. THEREFORE, be imitators of God, and live in love. The therefore seems like an “in conclusion,” sort of like saying, “okay, now we’re getting to what matters.” Therefore, be imitators of God, and LIVE IN LOVE. And if we have the bookends, the idea that we are members of one another, and members who are doing all they can to live in love… that stuff in the middle? The parts about anger and wrath and unkind words and bitterness? If we are choosing every single day – every single moment – to live in love, that other stuff falls away more easily. We can choose love – and live love – over all of that. And if we live every moment in love and as if we belong to one another… and if we are sharing love as freely and as easily as cookies with weary travelers… well, every single one of us is going to be completely covered in powdered sugar. And oh the joy it will be!
Now I know that I’m making this sound like we can snap our fingers and have world peace, and trust me, I know full well that it’s not that simple. But we’ve got to take the next step. And if we can take the next step together with a family of faith on whom we can lean when the going gets tough, the potholes and roadblocks that come our way – and they will come our way – might be weathered a bit more easily.
We’ve got to start living like we belong to one another. We belong to the neighbor who thinks like us and to the neighbor who doesn’t. We belong to the ones on “our end” of the political spectrum and to the ones on the “other end.” We belong to the ones who share our faith and to the ones who don’t. We belong to the ones who look like us and the ones who don’t, to the ones who are our age, and to all the ones older and younger. And all of those folks belong to us, too. We all belong to God and to each other. And when we know that we are members of one another and when we act like it, anything is possible – with God and with this team.
There will always be things on which we cannot seem to find equal ground, topics on which we may not agree. But I think love is one thing we can agree on. We can and will look to “live in love” in every moment of every day… when we are angry, frustrated, hesitant, doubtful, resilient, hopeful, grace-filled, sad, worn down, feeling uplifted, and the list goes on… And so I have an invitation for you. As we enter this new week, as we make our way through the days leading up to the election, as we continue to figure out how to make our way in this world, let’s start each day with a prayer. “Dear God, remind me today that we are members of one another. Help me to live in love.” If we can start each day with that in mind, and return to it during the day as needed, we will find ourselves sharing love broadly with all we meet, and we will be well on our way to being imitators of God.