A Sermon preached on
Sunday, August 12, at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Ephesians 4:25-5:2;
John 6:35, 41-51
Once again, God delivers. We are celebrating a
Baptism this morning, of Hannah Lore Klöckner. The readings we heard this
morning are not specially chosen for baptisms, and yet they fit perfectly, at
least one does. Which one do I mean? Absalom’s death in 2 Samuel, putting away
falsehood in Ephesians, or Jesus’ bread of life sermon in John? I’m thinking of Ephesians,
but the other two also have something to say to the occasion. If we blend out
all the gruesome details of Absalom’s defeat by the army of his father, then
one thing remains: the unconditional love of a parent for their child. I just
hope that Hannah does not get up to quite so much mischief as Absalom did. And
the passage from John’s gospel is all about the Eucharist, the second great
sacrament. Baptism brings us into relationship with God through Jesus. The Eucharist
sustains and grows that relationship. To receive Jesus, the bread of life, helps
us become like him.
But it is the passage from Paul’s Letter to
the Ephesians that I want to focus on. This is Paul teaching them, and us, what
it means to be a baptized person. According to Paul, in verse 24, so just
before the section we heard earlier, in Baptism we “clothe ourselves with the
new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and
holiness.” And what we heard this morning is what that new self should do or
not do. These are the rules for anyone and everyone who calls themselves “Christian.”
They are not about that person’s individual relationship with God. They are all
about our relationship with one another.
We started our service this morning with the special
baptismal acclamation, also taken from this chapter of Ephesians, that there is
one Body and one Spirit; one hope in God's call to us; one Lord, one Faith, one
Baptism; one God and Father of all. All of Paul’s advice is focused on the one
body. Anything that builds up the body, the community of all believers, is
good. Anything that threatens or impairs that body is bad.
Paul begins by highlighting the importance of
speaking the truth. We belong to one another, we owe the truth – always tempered
by love – to one another. Lies and deceit are like poison for the body of Christ. Our message is always good news, not fake news.
Then he turns to dealing with anger and we
heard that lovely phrase “do not let the sun go down on your anger.” (Eph.
4:26) When we discussed this passage at our Bible study on Wednesday, one
member of the group said that this had always been something she and her
husband practice, always to make up after an argument and before the day is over.
And they have been married for a long time, so it works! It is necessary too
within the Christian community. We will disagree, often passionately, and may
even get angry in the course of an argument. Paul actually says, “be angry.” He
knows we can’t avoid it at times. Jesus demonstrated righteous anger too – just
ask the Temple traders! But when we are angry, we are often driven to say and
do things that we regret. We must put them away before they grow and take on a
life of their own. That is what Paul means by, “but do not sin.”
In Mark’s gospel, when Jesus is being attacked
for not strictly adhering to the dietary rules, he famously says, “there is
nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come
out are what defile.” (Mark 7:15) And he goes on to explain, “for it is from
within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come,” (7:21) deceit, envy, and
slander. I hear echoes of this in Paul’s teaching: “Let no evil talk come out
of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up …. so that your words
may give grace to those who hear.” (Eph. 4:29) We build up with words of praise
and thanks, and we build up with words of constructive criticism.
We must simply always behave as those on who have
been marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, as I will do to Hannah later in the
Baptismal ceremony. This mark indicates who we belong to – God in Christ – and is
a constant reminder to behave in a manner appropriate to that calling.
After all the negatives, don’t do this and don’t
do that, Paul finishes off with some positive statements about being a baptized
Christian: “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as
God in Christ has forgiven you.” (4:32) Kindness and mutual forgiveness are the
very essence of Christian community, in fact according to the theologian Tom
Wright in his commentary on this passage “kindness is one of the purest forms
of the imitation of God.“[1]
And that is Paul’s final piece of advice. In all you do, imitate God as you
have experienced God in Jesus. In Paul’s words, “live in love, as Christ loved
us.” (5:2)
We want Hannah to speak the truth, to be angry
when it is justified, but to still stay in relationship, to speak only what is
useful for building up others, what we call the good news, to practice kindness
and forgiveness, and to live in love. How will she learn these things? I’m sure
she has been listening very attentively to all I have said this morning, but
that will not be enough. She will learn through imitation. And that is where
you all come in. First and foremost, the parents and godparents who will promise,
“by your prayers and witness to help this child to grow into the full stature
of Christ.” But not just. Everyone here will promise to do all in your power to
support Hannah in her life in Christ. If we want Hannah to behave as one marked
as Christ’s own forever, and if we want to bring others to Christ, then we have
to show her and them the way. Christianity is about practice, about putting
faith into action. The Baptismal service and the promises we will shortly say together
in the Baptismal Covenant are just that: first they describe what we believe
in, and then they cover the actions that must result from our faith and as we
follow Paul’s call to be imitators of God and God’s beloved children.
Amen.
