As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”
(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
--Ephesians 4:1-15
Paul tells us to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” What does he mean by this? Well, think about our callings. Some of you are teachers…you live a life valuing education, having a heart for young people, constantly learning and growing. Some of you are in the medical field…you live a life valuing health and human life and being able to empathize with those who are suffering. Some of you are in law enforcement…you live a life obeying the law and valuing justice. We live our callings in life. And just as we live into our callings in this way, we should also live into our callings as Christians.
First Paul tells us that we should be humble. This isn’t the only or the first time that we are cautioned to live life with humility in scripture. It mentioned many, many times. One of the Psalms tell us that “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” I once heard a pastor put it this way…either live humbly or God will teach you humility. It’s not a pleasant lesson to learn the hard way.
So what does it mean to be humble? It is an absence of pride…another often mentioned trait in the Bible. It’s a trait that God abhors. Yet, it is culturally acceptable, even encouraged, to live a life full of pride today. We must be careful. We must remember that our accomplishments, our finances, our gifts, our children are all gifts from God. Live humbly.
Paul tells us to be gentle. Gentleness. It’s one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It’s a special gift that we receive as Christians. It’s one of the ways we know that we are growing in grace. What does it mean to be gentle? Be careful with your words, actions, and temperament.
Be patient. This is another of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. As we continue to grow as Christians we grow in this fruit. Again, it’s a gift. When you see your patience growing, know that you are growing in God’s grace. Paul says that this patience helps us to “bear with one another in love.” Bear with one another. Empathize with each other. Suffer together. But also…tolerate each other. Sometimes it takes a situation that we must suffer together for us to empathize with one another.
Paul says that we should be bound together through the bond of peace. We need to strive to live peaceably with one another. And why is it important that we live out our Christian calling in this way…because God has also called us to unity. He reminds us that there is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.
But God doesn’t expect us to do this on our own. He gave us the apostles…those early followers of Christ to show us the way. He gave us the prophets who have declared boldly the words that God has given them since back in Old Testament times. He gives us evangelists…those who bring people to Christ through the good news of salvation. We have received the gift of the pastors…a shepherd, one who cares for his (or her) flock. And finally, He gives us the teachers…those who teach us the scriptures, the doctrine, the theology and correct our misconceptions. These are gifts from God to lead us to maturity.
And God does expect us to mature as Christians. This isn’t the only time that Paul compares young, immature Christians to infants. But in these few verses he describes perfectly how those who are young in their faith, those who have not yet immersed themselves in God’s Word, those who have not yet fully understood and accepted the Truth…are tossed back and forth by “waves”. Tossed back and forth by our own ideas and the ideas of others. Blown around by every wind of teaching…the teachings of Buddha, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, for goodness sake…Oprah!
And immature Christians are also blown around by the cunning and craftiness of scheming people…those who purposefully make up lies and seek to get others to follow them. Did you know that L. Ron Hubbard is famously quoted for stating that the easiest way to make a million dollars would be to start his own religion. Which he did. And Scientology was born.
Young Christians, those who are seeking answers and yet not mature in their faith, are vulnerable to teachings that promise answers. We must build them up. We must be one. So how can we a unified body of Christ, a unified church, that builds itself up in love?
We must be a learning, growing church. And when I say growing, I mean growing in faith, growing in grace, and growing in service. The other kind of growth, the growth of numbers, will come on its own as those on the outside see the changes in us…individually and corporately. We need to search ourselves and discover how God has made each of us individually to be part of this one body…the body of the church.
What Spiritual gifts have you been given?
What has God given you a Heart for?
What are your Abilities?
What in your Personality type?
What life Experiences have you had that could gift you to help others?
What is your SHAPE?
God expects you, as a member of his body, to use your SHAPE to serve Him. He equips us! And sometimes He doesn’t equip us until we’ve taken those first steps into our calling. Did you know that Moses was not a good speaker? Some theologians believe he may have stuttered. Yet, when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he equipped him with the voice, words, and power to do so. Did you know that Paul was a Christian persecutor? He killed Christians…for a living! And yet Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and God equipped him to lead many, many others to Jesus. In fact, Paul wrote a large portion of our New Testament…including Ephesians.
And God has equipped you also to serve in some way. “But I don’t have time,” you might think. “My life is too busy to serve God right now.” Let me guarantee you something. There may be many things that you do not have time for right now in your life, but glorifying God is not one of them. You were MADE to glorify God.
So, how can you be part of this one body of Christ? Let me give you some ideas on how you can use your SHAPE.’
You can come to worship. Christian fellowship is an important component of following Christ. We have multiple opportunities for you to worship each week—Saturday night we worship together in a casual atmosphere using contemporary music. Sunday morning at 8:00, we offer another opportunity to worship with contemporary music. Folks, it’s important that you understand that any music that glorifies God is appropriate in church. The old hymns were once contemporary songs, too, you know. They are not scripture, they are not sacred texts, but they are beautiful and often full of theology. Both kinds of music have their own beauty. Embrace them both to the glory of God.
You can come to a small group. Small groups are different than worship…and just as important. In small groups we get to know each other and share our lives in a more significant way. Small groups can have different purposes…maybe they meet to study together, maybe they meet to taken on mission projects together, maybe they create things together (such as a quilting group) for the annual Mission Festival, maybe they meet to just be accountable to one another in their Christian walk. Small groups can meet on Sunday mornings for “Sunday School” but they don’t have to meet at that time. For example, we have a women’s group that is starting this evening at 7:00. Please come!
Maybe you feel called to lead a small group. We need leaders or teams of leaders to begin to build these within our church. Study groups can often use video series to provoke thinking while a leader is just needed to get the discussion going. This is how our “Not a Fan” study will be conducted in August and September. The Great Plains conference has lots of materials that we can borrow…for free!
I know of a small group in another community that gets together to find ways to meet the needs of their community. They have fundraisers for school supplies, special equipment needed in the church, the local food pantry, or other needs that of which they become aware. That’s all they do. Meet, talk about local needs, discuss ways to help meet those needs, develop a plan, and implement it. Margaret Mead is famously quoted as stating, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
What about teaching Sunday School to young people? We need subs. In fact, Michele Boy really needs to have a second adult in the room with her in order to meet the Safe Sanctuaries requirements. Would you be that person to come and assist her? Would you be willing fill in when needed? We have the curriculum? We have the resources? We only need you.
We need Greeters…people to welcome our members and visitors into the church before worship. All it takes it the willingness to smile, shake a hand, and hand them a bulletin. We also now have Visitor Brochures to help new people understand and follow the service.
We need Liturgists. These people need to be willing to stand up give our current announcements then read the scripture for the morning. All ages are welcome. I’ll send you the verses early enough that you can read them and practice.
Do you like to bake? Each month we need a loaf of bread to use in Holy Communion. Baked goods are also wonderful to take to shut-ins and first time visitors.
Young people, are you willing to serve as an Acolyte? Are you over 13 and interested in helping in the nursery? Are you a good reader, you could be a liturgist.
Maybe you play a musical instrument! We would love to have special music numbers so that you can use your gift to praise God. Maybe you’re retired but interested in serving as a secretary one morning a week. Maybe you enjoy technology and would like to video our messages and upload them to YouTube for us. Maybe you would be willing and able to learn to run the computer and the sound. Maybe it is the time in your life where your contribution is prayer…committed, thoughtful, frequent prayer for your church and all of those who make it up.
There are so many opportunities to be actively involved in this body of Christ that we call First United Church of Syracuse.
I realize that there are those out there who don’t want the church to interfere with their lives. That’s not how it works. And just as Paul says, I am speaking this truth to you in love. Listen to Paul’s words once more:
“…speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Prayerfully consider how you can be a supporting ligament in this body…there are many different ligaments to choose from. Together we will create and sustain a mature body that grows and builds itself up in love. Amen.
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