11th Sunday after Pentecost

Ephesians 4:1-16

In the epistle reading, the writer instructs each of us to “lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”

Unfortunately, too often that word “worthy” prompts us to ask ourselves, “What must I do to be worthy, or more worthy?” We compare, measure and question our relative worth, mis-understanding worth as a calculation of achievement, wealth, position or power.

But that’s not what worthiness means. Worthiness means “having sufficient merit.”

In the whole of Scripture there are only a handful of verses that speak about “worth” and none that use the word “merit.” More often, the word that is used is “favor.” And can you guess what the Greek word for “favor” is?

It’s χάρις
Grace — which we define as “God’s unmerited favor.”

So, “worthiness” is having sufficient grace.

God’s grace is a gift, not something we earn or accomplish through our good works or efforts, and God’s abundant grace is sufficient – it is enough. These are promises we hear in Ephesians 2 and in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians.[i]

 So a paraphrase of Ephesians 4, verse 1 could be:
“Live out your calling according to the grace – or unmerited favor you have already received from God.”

In verse 2, the letter continues urging us to live “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.”

But again, these virtues are not achieved by our work or effort. As Martin Luther wrote when he defended his theological thinking to his fellow Augustinians in 1518 in his Heidelberg Disputation, “[One] is not righteous who does much, but [one] who without work, believes much in Christ.”[ii]

It is Christ in us that produces these inevitable fruits of “God’s Spirit working in and through our lives.” [iii] They are evidence that Christ lives in us through faith.[iv]

Episcopal priest and visiting professor at Wake Forest Divinity School, the Reverend Doctor G. Porter Taylor writes, “Humility keeps us grounded in the reality of who we are as creatures formed from the dust by God.”[v]

And, preaching on this text, Lutheran pastor Tony Durante reminds us,

if it were not for God breathing into the nostrils of Adam,
he would’ve only been dust;
if it wasn’t for Jesus Christ, when he returned from the dead, appearing in that room and breathing the Holy Spirit on his apostles, they would’ve only been dust;
if it wasn’t for Jesus Christ sending out into our lives servants of his Word, we would only be dust,
but in his resurrection, Jesus kicked up some dust![vi]

What I love about Pastor Tony’s image is that it makes room for the messiness of life in ministry and life together in community. Think about when dust gets kicked up, or stirred up: that happens when we move in spaces that have been ignored or forgotten; when we disturb things that have set unchanged or unchallenged for too long; when we dig into dry ground to add the nutrients to make good soil and plant a new harvest. Kicking up dust means moving in new ways, examining what is here now and creating and planting new ideas and ways of living life together as God’s people.

The text says that Jesus equips all the saints — not only the most articulate or educated, not only the prominent public theologians or the celebrity religious — but each and every one of us.

In examining the gifts we have been given, author and Quaker elder Parker Palmer urges us that the standard should not be effectiveness but “faithfulness" —
faithfulness to your gifts, faithfulness to your perception of the needs of the world, and faithfulness to offering your gifts to whatever needs are within your reach.” Palmer goes on to say, “The tighter we cling to the norm of effectiveness the smaller the tasks we’ll take on, because they are the only ones that get short-term results.”[vii]

Like the disciples who scoffed at the five loaves and two fishes in last week’s gospel, our vision often is too narrow, focusing only on our proven abilities, instead of trusting that God is working in our lives in new ways and equipping us for new ministry.

The epistle writer encourages us to have confidence in God’s grace, in faith, and listen to God to discern, or understand, God’s call on our lives.

Last week we reflected on one of our congregation values – outreach – and how God works through seemingly foolish ideas and against absurd odds to accomplish God’s work in the world. As we are called to service – another of our congregation values here at Ascension — let’s pay attention to questions like,
“Am I faithful to responding to the needs that I see?” and
 “Do I enter into opportunities or run away in fear?” [viii]

Jesus shows us in John’s gospel when the crowds want to make him their king and again when they cannot see him as more than a miracle worker that ministry is not about us and it’s not about what we can do; ministry is about living in relationship with God, with one another and with the world, and the relationships we forge and bear in love are our kingdom work. God delights when we use the gifts God gives us for the sake of the world.

Let us pray…
Holy God,
Thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus who gives us grace through faith,
Teach us humility, gentleness and patience, and inspire us by Your Holy Spirit to respond to your invitation to participate in your kingdom work in the world.
May your abundant love always be visible in our words and actions.
We pray in the name of Jesus,
Amen.

[i] 2 Corinthians 12:9
[ii] Martin Luther. “Heidelberg Disputation.” Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings. 59.
[iii] Sam K. Williams. Galatians. Abingdon Press. 151.
[iv] [iv] Martin Luther. “Heidelberg Disputation.” Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings. 60.
[v] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16) (Feasting on the Word: Year B volume) (Kindle Locations 10764-10765). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
[vi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6V1dwbBlxE, accessed 8/1/2018.
[vii] http://www.couragerenewal.org/living-from-the-inside-out-parker-palmers-naropa-university-commencement-address/, accessed 8/1/2018.
[viii] https://www.crossfieldsinstitute.com/from-effectiveness-to-faithfulness/, accessed 8/1/2018.