The Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.
Ephesians 4:17—5:2
Walk in Jesus’ Love
Proper [14] B, Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, 09 August 2009
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
To the saints who are… faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:1b-2) Amen.
17Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20But that is not the way you learned Christ!—21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and give no opportunity to the devil. 28Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
In the late 1920’s a couple married and moved into the husband’s old family home. It was a clapboard house with a hall down the middle. In the ‘30s they decided to tear down the old house and build another to be their home for the rest of their lives.
Much to the young bride’s dismay, many of the materials of the old house were reused in the new house. They used old facings and doors, and many other pieces of the finishing lumber. Everywhere she looked, she saw that old house—old doors that wouldn’t shut properly, crown molding split and riddled with nail holes, unfinished window trimming. It was a source of grief to her. All her life she longed for a new house.
Sometimes, recycling is not the best idea. It wasn’t when it came to the new “old” house. And recycling is spiritually deadly in the life of a Christian.
Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
The Christian life is often called a “walk.” We walk in love—Jesus’ love—because of His love for us first, shown in His life, death, and resurrection. We walk in love—Jesus’ love—because of His love for us delivered in Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, Holy Scripture, and Holy Communion. We walk, but the focus is always off of us and on to Jesus and His completed work for you.
Why isn’t the focus on us and what we do? Jesus takes sin seriously. If it wasn’t a mortal enemy, then why did Jesus have to die? If sin was just something minor, a cosmetic defect, then Jesus could have remained in heaven, and would just wait for us to clean up our act and build our own stairway to heaven. Sin is something serious. The focus isn’t on us or on our actions, because we cannot get rid of sin! Listen to the words St. Paul used to describe the manner of life of those outside of Christ: Futility. Darkened. Alienated. Ignorance. Hardness of heart. Callous. Impurity. The “old self.” Deceitful. Falsehood. Anger. Sin. Opportunity for the Devil. Thief. Corrupting talk. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Not a pretty list.
Dealing with sin is not a matter of training, discipline, or education. If you train a sinner, you get a trained sinner. Discipline a sinner and the result is a disciplined sinner. Educate a sinner, and you get an educated sinner. A sinner forgiven in Christ is still a sinner, but that sinner is now also a saint. Training, discipline, and education cannot accomplish that! Only Jesus’ love can! Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
We forgive because we have already been forgiven. Sometimes, forgiving others is hard. It really is. But then we remember that God has forgiven each of us for all of our sins. If God can forgive all of our sins, and He has forgiven the person who sinned against us, certainly we can forgive.
Yet, even with this business of forgiving others, we get into trouble when we focus so much on our actions—our forgiving of the other person. Forgiving means forgetting—or at least, daily choosing not to remember. That takes work. You have the Holy Spirit abiding within you. And you forgive with the overflowing cup of forgiveness with which you have already been forgiven.
Christians walk in love. We abide in the love of Jesus. We also live out and share the love of Jesus. It’s who we are. It’s what we have been given to do. But always, always, we abide in the love of Jesus.
While Jesus is an example—the best there is, for we are called to be imitators of God—that is not Jesus’ primary purpose. Most important is this: Christ loved you and gave Himself up for you. We love because we have been loved. We love as we have been loved.
1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Jeff had just accepted a teaching position at a Junior High in Seattle. The family had endured month’s of Jeff’s driving to and from work before the family could relocated from their previous home.
As winter struggled toward spring in 1992, Jeff & Kristi heard the devastating news: “Your baby boy has cancer. Michael needs a bone-marrow transplant.: The good news was that Michael’s six-year-old sister, Amy, was a perfect match for the transplant. But Jeff’s insurance company wouldn’t pay for it. A tiny clause in the contract coldly stated that Jeff had to be on the job for at least a year before they could cover a transplant. He have been teaching in the new job for only six months.
By March, Michael’s need for a transplant became urgent. If he couldn’t receive the new marrow soon, his illness would progress quickly, and he would die. The family needed to raise an impossible sum of $200,000 by May.
Joe, a fellow teacher, told his class about the situation. Dameon, a seventh-grade boy who walked with a limp and struggled in special education classes, heard about Michael, and made a visit to Jeff’s house.
“Don’t make a big deal out of this…if your baby’s in trouble, I want to help out.” Dameon, the kid others teased, reached out his hand and stuffed 12 five-dollar bills into the hand of a teacher who had made a difference in his life. It was the boy’s savings.
Word got out about “Dameon’s Gift.” Some kids organized a walk-a-thon. Others contacted a local newspaper. Others held a car wash. “Teenagers,” Jeff says, “are pre-adults in limbo-land, waiting around for something important to do.” Michael became important.
The kids’ wave of compassion poured out across Seattle. One week after the first gift, Michael’s fund grew to $16,000. A man walked into the bank with a check for ten thousand dollars. By late May, area TV stations picked up the story. The response from the news stories was overwhelming.
Michael’s parents received another boost in hope when the hospital moved the transplant back two weeks.
Four weeks after Dameon’s $60 gift, the fund totaled over $220,000. Michael got the marrow transplant. He lived. Dameon, the boy who gave so another could live, learned of Jesus Christ and believed in Him after becoming so close to Michael’s family. Having struggled for years with physical problems of his own, Dameon died from complications after he got an infection in his legs.
Dameon, the unlikely hero, gave his all to save the live of another. And in the process, he received the gift of life everlasting. Michael lives on to tell Dameon’s story, and in so doing, tells Jesus’ story.
1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Amen.
Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Ephesians 6:23) Amen.
