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Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2

Sermon ~ August 13, 2006

Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2 “The Language Of Grace”

In high school, the choir in which I was sang performed “South Pacific,” the Broadway musical set during the days of World War II. Reading today’s scripture brought to mind the song that the island’s grand matron, Bloody Mary, sang to her daughter, Leia, and her newfound friend, Lt. Cable:
Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true?
 

It’s a simple sort of song, the kind that musicals use to give relief to the audience after some particularly tense scene or complicated musical number. Mary is singing it as a bit of a love song so that her daughter and this fine young officer might just fall in love. The words are superficial, but pleasing to the ear. She goes on to sing:
Talk about the moon floatin' in the skyLookin' at a lily on the lake;
Talk about a bird learnin' how to fly.
Makin' all the music he can make.
 

It conjures up the imagery of the beautiful southern pacific island, the famous Bali Hai. There are several ironies at work in this song, however, and they are not lost on the audience. The “happy talk” Bloody Mary sings about cannot happen between her daughter and the lieutenant because they do not speak the same language, verbally at least.
 

But even more powerful is that this simple song about “happy talk” is set against the much larger backdrop of a world at war, and a world besieged by racial inequality, both of which will fracture this tropical paradise forever. No matter how hard nor how lovely Mary sings, the ominous clouds of war and persistent racism are starting to thunder and pour on her island.
 

Today’s section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (and we remember that this was most likely a general letter to many new churches) talks a lot about talk. It concentrates in this passage on the power of language and the importance of communication to a healthy faith. You may remember last week’s text emphasized the unity of the Body of Christ and the importance of “promoting the general welfare” of the people of God. Today, Paul is giving some specifics about how to live as an upstanding Christian in community with one another. One of the most useful ways of maintaining the unity of the body is through sound communication.
 

Now, several writers to whom I referred in preparation of my sermon advised against letting this scripture fall into moralizing. Anytime Paul, or any other Biblical writer for that matter, writes a list of “do’s and don’t’s,” we seem to want to wrap it up nicely and hand it to someone else as if it were there’s to deal with and not our’s. That’s what moralizing is: simplifying rules so much that they become a weapon to hurt or hinder someone else and avoiding those very rules yourself.
 

What are some of the rules Paul sets forth?
• Put away falsehood,
• Speak the truth to your neighbor,
• Be angry, but do not sin,
• Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,
• Don’t steal,
• Work honestly,
• Share with those in need,
• Let no evil talk come out of your mouth.
 

Now, the text goes on to give more general instructions, and I’ll get to that in a second. I want to look at the fact that many of the items in Paul’s list has to do with communication, talking, and if we were to be in the business of lecturing others, we might boil these phrases down to “talk happy!” This would, however, be unfair and short-sighted.
 

What Paul is, in fact, saying is pretty revolutionary, especially for many of us who grew up in the Church Of The Holy Niceness. That is, we can (and sometimes really should) be angry. After all, the church is ultimately a human institution, though focused on a divine purpose. Paul says it outright, “Be Angry.” In Greek it reads “orgizo!” Yes, be angry, BUT do not sin.
 

Jesus was angry, and he had anger directed at him. Whether at those who would desecrate the temple by unscrupulously selling items for the burnt offering, or at Peter for not listening so well, Jesus got hopping mad. When Jesus gets angry, though, we like to call it “righteous indignation,” but it’s anger nonetheless. Many of you have seen the beautiful painting, the “laughing Christ.” How wonderfully powerful it would be to have a portrait of the “angry Christ.” Hmmmm... Sounds heretical, doesn’t it? Jesus got angry, but did not let it lead him to sin.
 

We do get angry, we Christians. No doubt about it. But all too often we let it lead us lock-stock-and barrel to sin! In the church it seems we either share syrupy niceties in front of folks and then talk ferociously about them in the parking lot OR we blow up at people after having let it build up week after week. Both are sinful ways of communicating. Paul invites us to a new way: Express our anger honestly and appropriately, in the proper place and setting, to the person or persons truly responsible, in the measure befitting the circumstance.
 

And his admonition to “not let the sun go down on your anger” is great advice. I give it all the time. One day, I’ll actually take it for myself! It’s not original to Paul. Apparently a number of other thinkers and writers of the time were using the phrase, but it’s great advice no matter from whom it comes. Get your business taken care of as soon as possible, because like a good investment, if you let your anger set overnight it’ll get interest, and more. We humans have the knack of obsessing about our anger, holding it in and mulling it over until it’s larger than life. What was a slight offense on Tuesday becomes an indignation on Wednesday and a moral outrage on Thursday. “I’ll sleep on it” might work for buying a car, but not for our anger.
One of the problems with holding on to our anger overnight, is that it gives us time to do other things with our anger, and the premier example is to gossip. Rather than doing the right but hard thing of confronting someone with our anger, we find it much more pleasurable to take the passive/aggressive route and spread misinformation to others in our network, and beyond. Paul says, “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.” Gossip tears down the Body of Christ and spreads shame and heartache, not grace.
 

Our Jewish sisters and brothers tell a story about the power of gossip. One day a man brought to the rabbi his neighbor and charged him with spreading gossip. Upon questioning, the man admitted that he had told a few people some less-than-accurate information about his neighbor. “You’ve ruined my reputation,” the victim charged. “I’m sorry,” said the man “I take back my words and then all will be well.” “You can’t take back your words,” the victim cried. “Of course I can,” the man responded.
 

The rabbi saw that the man who gossiped did not understand the extent of the damage done. “If you wish to truly right this wrong, then come to the village square tomorrow with your feather pillow.” The man was perplexed, but realized he would get off pretty easy if all he had to give up was his feather pillow.
 

The next day the man arrived at the village square with his pillow. The rabbi handed him some shears and instructed him to cut open the pillow, which he did. Then the rabbi asked him to shake the pillow until all the feathers were out, which he also did. As the breeze passed through the square, some feathers fell to the ground, others were lifted to the sky and over the rooftops.
 

After a while, the rabbi looked at the gossip and said, “Now, bring back every single feather to me.” The man looked at him as if he were crazy. “I cannot catch all these feathers, some are gone on the breeze forever, others are caught in nooks and crannies I could never reach nor find. It would be impossible to gather them all.”
 

The rabbi agreed. “Impossible, like trying to take back the words from the rumor you spread. Who knows how far it has spread and where it will fasten next?” Understanding the effect of his actions at last, the man returned to the victim’s house truly apologetic. He never spoke harmful words of another again.
 

Our words have power to heal and to hurt. Paul concludes this lesson on words with a gentle and yet powerful reminder of the effect of our actions, not just on others, but on God’s very self. He writes, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.” Do not grieve the Holy Spirit! What we do and say has a profound effect on God, no doubt about it. This should give us the willpower to watch our words with great care and ample humility.
 

After telling us the negative things to “put away,” Paul invites us to instead “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” To balance the moments of anger, when we communicate clearly, appropriately, and honestly about what irks us, we are called upon to likewise share those moments of joy, happiness, peace, and satisfaction. Too often we make the work of life, or the work of the church, all confrontation and no grace. We need to make sure to not let the sun go down on our gratitude as well!

And this brings me back to Bloody Mary and her daughter, Leia. I hope when I described them before you did not hear judgement in my voice. Yes, her “happy talk” was simplistic and ironic, but not inappropriate. Bloody Mary was a character, but she was not unaware of the growing danger of the world around her. The language of love that she was nurturing between her daughter and the officer was a wise woman’s way of trying to ensure her daughter’s safety and well-being in the face of a world falling apart. In fact, Leia and Lt. Cable spoke the same language, the language of love and affection and hope, and they spoke it loud and clear. The “happy talk” allowed them to have a brief glimpse of joy and love, even though the violence of war and fear based on race would ultimately tear them apart.
 

Sometimes the language of grace is direct, startling, open, honest communication about the things that are not right in the world. It may even be words of challenge and anger. Sometimes the language of grace is softer, tenderhearted, loving, and kind. It should likewise be direct, clear, and open.
Like tropical flowers along the seashore, so should our Language of Grace be: “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Amen.
Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) ~ Cleveland, Ohio






Rev. Allen V. Harris
 

Copyright 2006 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096