Sermon for St Edward’s Church, 18 August 2024
Readings: Ephesians 4:1-16, 25-32 & John 17:6,17-26
We are continuing in Ephesians today and we have jumped ahead to Ch 4 so I’m going to recap what’s in between. We started last week with Ch 1, looking at being adopted into God’s kingdom, children of God and the inheritance we receive. Then in Ch 2 Paul continues talking about us all being citizens of heaven together, in unity:
For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us
Ephesians 2:14
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God… Ephesians 2:19
He is talking particularly about the fact that God’s kingdom is for gentiles as well as Jews. And he continues this in Ch 3 talking about his ministry to the gentiles. And he prays for all readers
I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
Ephesians 3:16-17
And as we come into Ch 4 he talks about our calling and how we should behave and be in unity with one another. He goes on that we are all gifted for this purpose.
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until 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.
Ephesians 4: 11-13
And then the final section about lies, truth and anger.
I think this passage is a real challenge for the church – for the wider church as a whole and perhaps for us too here at St Edward’s.
Paul is so heartfelt here ‘I beg you….’, be humble, gentle, patient, bear with one another in love…
It does make you wonder what has been going on in the church in Ephesus. Sounds like some unpleasantness & unkindness. Paul reminds them ‘you are one body’ all called together by Christ in unity.
Clearly there have been some differences of opinion and Paul wants to remind them, look you are all in this together. But that is hard, right? How can we find points of unity with those we disagree with profoundly? How do we express our thoughts in humility and gentleness when we are opposite ends of a discussion?
We are seeing that in the CofE and have been for the last few years as Synod debates the prayers of love and faith, and blessings for couples in same sex relationships. Some of you may be aware, some not, of the kind of things that are being said to each other. People have strong opinions and in some cases are not willing to even discuss a different way forward.
How can we find a way to be united in our difference? Elaine shared a quote a few months back which I have shared a few times since then because it is so helpful –
Very Rev Dr Mark Oakley said: ‘God gives us diversity, the tragedy is we make division of it’.
I’ve always thought the diversity in the CofE is a good thing, after all as theologians all we are doing is interpreting the scriptures in different ways according to our own thoughts, experience and perhaps study. We are all different, we will of course not always agree.
But how can we find a way forward in unity and in love, with humility, gentleness and patience?
Paul simply reminds us of how we are united: One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God – that should be enough..
Easier said than done right?
The best thing I’ve ever heard about difference is from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, where Atticus the lawyer is trying to explain to his daughter Scout how to understand another person and he says you have to climb inside their skin and walk around in it for a while – a bit like: walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.
If we could literally put ourselves in someone else’s body we would see how they see the world, what they face each day, what negativity or what positivity. We would get an insight into their lives and perhaps in turn an insight into why they think they way they do, have their opinions etc
I heard a podcast this week about the riots that have been happening and one woman was interviewed and she had far right views. She did not sound very pleasant, she was so angry and not willing to hear anything the interviewer was asking her. But
She was simply following a narrative that had given her answers to her problems – these people are to blame, these people of colour, these people in government – blame them – it’s all their fault. Mostly untrue but itnmade her feel vindicated – and understandably angry. These people were ‘othered’ – painted as another type of person who are different to us, singled out as ‘other’ not like us. depersonalised.
Then they interviewed a guy who had been really involved in the EDL who had believed all the same things as this woman, who was really involved sharing their rhetoric. And then he had the opportunity to go to a refugee camp and he saw for himself the things he had been told about those seeking asylum were mostly not true, there were simply people, a lot of women and children, desperate for help and safety. Who through no fault of their own were having to flee for their lives. He realised he’d been fed lies and now he tries to tell people the truth.
He needed to connect with people on an every day level to see the truth. I wonder if that woman were able to sit down and chat with an asylum seeker and hear their story whether she would still be so angry…
When we find ourselves in division we need to find those points of commonality – of unity as Paul says, points of connection.
Paul goes on that we have each been given gifts, to equip each other and to build up the body of Christ. What if we could see our differences as strengths – as a way to build a church that is wide and deep, for all. Where we can truly relish and flourish in our difference.
I think that is part of what we are trying to do here at St Edward’s, curating a church family that has something for everyone, that enables people of all different shapes sizes and backgrounds to meet with God. Many of us meet with God in different ways, some of us love the tradition, a feeling of holiness, our senses being filled with sound and smell and colour. Others of us like quiet and contemplation. Some of us want to be out in creation worshipping, others want a band leading us. And much more. We are a truly diverse church family and I love that, we are really all curating an inclusive church, but that is not easy, we are all and I mean all, compromising to some extent. We are all trying new things. We are all having to let go of some things. But I have seen and heard from so many how we are learning from one another. How we have learned to appreciate things we didn’t understand, or have met with God in a way we never thought possible. We are all, mostly, showing grace and humility to one another, in love. And that is beautiful.
It is not perfect of course and I know some of us are finding new things hard and I reiterate my plea to talk to me or the wardens, we want to hear you, to connect with you and understand where we are all at.
At the end of this chapter we hear Paul talking abut anger. How easy is it to get angry when we disagree right? How easy is it to take offence? We have all done it?!
It is so easy to be angry – and sometimes that is a fire fuelled by others, by gossip, by ‘I heard this happened’ or ‘that’ was said. Or by social media. Society seems to have a culture now of having the right to be offended or angry.
But often what we hear, or even what we see, what fuels us, what fans our flames is not true or is a misrepresentation of the truth.
Paul doesn’t say don’t be angry – he says ‘be angry’… BUT
being angry isn’t necessarily bad – but what do you do with that anger? Sometimes anger can be the fuel that actually sees change,
BUT do not sin says Paul.
Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil...
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Ephasians 4:27-32
25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another.
And
Let 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
And yet I see that sense of fuelling one another even in the wider discussions in the CofE and as much as I try to have humility and be patient, it’s hard, sometimes there is choice language!
And sometimes I am not patient or kind. But I want to be. I want to understand where those who don’t support same sex blessings, or women in ministry are coming from. I want to understand why one way of worshipping is particularly important to you, what it means to you.
I have shared before but my first Easter here we planned veneration at the cross and I had never experienced it done in this way before. I really wasn’t sure it was for me personally but I knew it was important. And yet when the time came and I stood by the side of the sanctuary and saw people stepping forward to share a moment with Christ at the cross I was so moved, I just wept and couldn’t stop! We can learn from one another in our difference and as a result go deeper in our faith.
We are on church, just a few people of faith but we can have an influence. On each other, on the wider church.
Because at the end of the day I am sure that for us all our point of connection, our motivation is the same – our love of Jesus, our experience of knowing God. Our desire to worship and to know God more.
So let us seek to speak truth to one another in in peace and humility and grace, and seek to understand one another, to find those points of connection and build each other up.
Amen
No Comments