God's Grace Grounds our Response
The Rev. Mark Sherwindt, Pastor
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Pentecost 10, August 5-6, 2006
“Therefore, I, Paul, a prisoner in the Lord, plead with you to lead a life that is worthy of the calling to which you have been called….” [Ephesians 4:1]
Last week it was three words - for this reason - words with which Paul opened Chapter Three to let us know why he was moved to offer his life in service to the gospel. This week, it is one word that is crucial: therefore. That is the word with which Paul opens Chapter Four. It is the hinge that connects the indicative of God's action with the imperative of our response. Paul spends three chapters talking about what God has done, which lead to three chapters talking about what we should do. The initiative of God's action leads to the imperative of our response. Because of who God is and what God has done, therefore we should live lives that are worthy of our calling.
This is the same pattern that is present in the Old Testament with the giving of the Law in the Book of Exodus: “I am the Lord your God, who led you out of slavery in the land of Egypt into the freedom that is yours in the promised land; therefore, you shall have no other gods before me … you shall not use my name in vain … you shall remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy….” Our response to God isn't imposed as a burden of obligation. It is invited by God's love, motivated by the gratitude that God's grace inspires. [Exodus 20: 1-17]
Last week we discovered that Chapters One and Two were the reason Paul was on his knees in Chapter Three, praying that God's grace and peace would rule our hearts, and take hold of our lives through the Spirit's power breaking down barriers and building up the body, the body of Christ, which we know as the church. Building up the church is something that Paul cannot do alone. And so, he constructs the argument of his Epistle to the Ephesians: because of the grace God has given, which Paul has described in Chapter One, because of the peace Christ has won, which Paul has described in Chapter Two, because of the Spirit's power alive within us and among us, which Paul has described in Chapter Three, “therefore, I plead with you, all of you, to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” [Ephesians 4:1]
The great thing about this section is how it works. Paul doesn't start by referencing himself, say, by appealing to the credentials of his own importance. It is not because I'm so great, or because I'm so magnetic, or because I speak with such power that listeners should therefore listen to Paul's plea urging Christians to lead a life that is worthy of the calling to which we have been called. Paul doesn't start by having the listeners reference themselves, as in thinking about of how good they have it, what a great life they've had, or how blessed they've been, and because of that, therefore Christians should lead a life worthy of our calling. No, this therefore is not rooted in us, but in God.
In truth, I may have no credentials, or I may be an awful speaker, offering little to inspire your desire to respond faithfully to God. You may think yourself not blessed any more abundantly that the next person, or not blessed much at all, but forced to endure more than your share of hardship. That is not the premise of Paul's therefore. Rather, because God is so gracious, because Christ gave himself in death to open the door to peace, because of the Spirit's power present among us, “therefore, you should lead a life that is worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another in love and making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” [Ephesians 4:1-3]
The reason and the motivation and the power for acting comes from outside ourselves - from the grace that God gives, from the peace that Christ won, from the power of the Spirit's presence. These are the reasons for Paul's falling to his knees, and these are the reasons for our following in Christ's way. Why should we lead a life worthy of our calling? We should lead lives worthy of our calling because God is so good, because Christ loves us so much, because the Spirit longs to give us more than we can ask, more even than we can imagine. And talking about what the Spirit can give, Paul tells us in the very next verse that “to each has been given gifts, grace according to the measure of Christ's gift”, who gave his all in death that we might find it all, and live.
Can't you just hear Jesus' words in John 10:10? “I have come that you might find life in all its abundance!” Or, how about Paul's rhetorical question in Romans 8:32? “Will not He who gave His Son in death, also give us all things together with him?” Yes, all things and more, beginning with the forgiveness of sins, extending all the way through everlast-ing life, and, along the way, the gifts God gives add up to whatever we need: “apostolic leadership, prophetic understanding, evangelical fervor, pastoral care, and educators to equip us for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us ultimately come to the unity of faith, to complete knowledge in the Son of God, to perfect maturity, the full measure of the stature that is ours in Christ.” [Ephesians 4:11-13]
That is some kind of goal, and also quite a journey that gets us on our way. The goal was proclaimed just verses before: “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” [Ephesians 4:5-6]; and the journey begins here: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling.” [Ephesians 4:4] The journey begins here, in the body of Christ, where we have been baptized and called, claimed and commissioned, embraced by God's grace, equipped with Christ's love, empowered through the Spirit's presence to take up the cause of the kingdom and contribute to the life of the church.
That's where Paul is leading us as we move through these chapters in Ephesians. You know God's grace, you have felt Christ's love, you have been filled with the Spirit's power: therefore, I plead with you to lead lives worthy of your calling.” Claim the gifts that are yours. Share them with your brothers and sisters in faith. Use them to contribute to the life of Christ's body, the life of the church. This is the promise we proclaim with baptism. It is this calling we seek to live each and every day.
Last night, at our Saturday Evening Service, we celebrated the Sacrament of Holy Baptism for Avery Valentina Kitzmiller. Avery is a beautiful baby girl, but I must admit that she doesn't know a thing about the grace of God. She has no knowledge of the peace of Christ. She doesn't know anything about the power of the Spirit's presence. Still, these gifts are hers. That is the pledge of the triune God in whose name we baptize. Avery has been blessed with God's gifts, and is now invited to join in our journey of learning to live the love that is in us, learning to give so freely of ourselves that others will see the goodness in these deeds done on earth and glorify our Father who reigns in heaven. The journey begins here in the life of the church. Our job, among others, is to become the light that opens Avery's eyes to all that God has given so that she might thrive.
Avery is the daughter of Nikki and Aron Kitzmiller. Nikki is the daughter of Kathie Valentine. Kathie is the daughter of Jim and Stella Smiley. Imagine that, four generation of Smiley women learning about God's grace, Christ's love, and the Spirit's presence here at Zion. The prayer we prayed with the rite of Holy Baptism really hit home when it comes to talking about the family of God that baptism creates and celebrates. “O God, the giver of life, look with kindness upon fathers and mothers everywhere. Let us ever rejoice in the gift you have given us. Make us teachers and examples of righteousness for our children's sake. Strengthen us in our baptismal faith so that we may share eternally with our children the salvation you have promised all.” [Lutheran Book of Worship, page 124]
God wants us to love life, to cherish it, and live it fully. God wants us to know that each life is precious. God seeks the death of no one, but desires that all might turn to him, that all might turn to the riches of his grace, that all might turn to embrace of his boundless love, that all might turn to the Spirit's power, and live! That's the God we know and want Avery to know. That's the world the gospel envisions, a vision that God invites us to pray for, a hope God invites us to instill in Avery. This love for life is what we want to pass along to Avery, and to all our children in this household of faith.
I understand that life's not perfect. Maybe you are thinking that you haven't been blessed as you might have wished. Maybe life has taken turns that have left you with difficult questions and lingering doubts. Maybe the church, or its leadership, or its pastor, or its people have let you down rather than working to build you up. With the therefore in our text today, Paul is saying that none of that is why we should be moved to lead lives that are worthy of our calling. It's not about the credentials we bring but the grace that God gives. It's not about the how we feel but what God in Christ has done, the life that Christ freely gave, the gifts our Lord freely gives to all who will open their hearts and their lives to the Spirit's presence and the Spirit's power. These are ours: the grace of God, the love of Christ, the Spirit's power. These gifts are ours today, tomorrow, and forever. This is the Good News. God's gifts are ours, here and now, and forever … in Jesus' name. Amen