BEING WHO WE ARE
sermon based on Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2
by Rev. Rick Thompson
Who are you? You’ve likely had someone ask you, “How are
you?”, but has anyone ever asked, “Who are you?”
We could answer that question in a variety of ways. We could tell
where we go to school, or of the work that we do, or did before we
retired. We could describe our family relationships: I’m child of so
and so…parent…grandparent..sibling. We could list the hobbies we enjoy,
or our political affiliation, or the celebrities we admire, or the
athletic teams we support.
There are lots of answers each of us could give to the question,
“Who are you?”
In a sermon on that question, Peter Gomes reminds us of something
that is common to all of us who have gathered in this place. At the
core of our identity, we are Christians—or, at least, thinking about
becoming Christians. We are followers of Jesus—or considering following
Jesus. We are, as Gomes puts it, “formed by God, nourished by God’s
love, preserved by God’s mercy, open to God’s promises, expectant of
God’s future.”[i]
Another writer, Fr. Brennan Manning, puts it this way: “Who are
you? You are the one whom Jesus loves.”[ii]
We—you and I—we are the ones whom Jesus loves.
What an astounding reality! What a profound and amazing truth!
We are the ones whom Jesus loves! We are the ones for whom
he came to earth, suffered, died and rose again. We are the ones
to whom he comes in Baptism, claiming us as his own, for this life and
for all eternity. We are the ones who hear from Jesus, again and
again, as we hear God’s Word read and proclaimed, “I love you. I
forgive you. I will not abandon you. You are mine!” We are the
ones for whom Jesus comes, in, with and under the bread and wine of the
table, to be part of our lives, to renew in us the gifts of faith and
hope and love, to assure us of God’s never-failing promises. We
are the ones whom Jesus loves! We are the ones who, as we are
reminded in Ephesians today, “were marked with a seal for the day of
redemption.” And what does that mean, in plain English? It means that,
in our Baptism, we are claimed for God by the Holy Spirit, and assured
that we will one day see God face to face. That’s who we are:
we’re people who belong to God!
And let’s remember how that came about.
Maybe this story, from Fr. Walter Burghardt, will help us
appreciate the sheer wonder and grace of it all.
In the Ancient Middle East, two youths from rival Bedouin tribes
got into a fierce fight. As they tumbled to the ground, one boy pulled
out a knife, and plunged it into the other one’s chest. The wound was
fatal. The assailant fled, knowing the dead boy’s relatives would be
pursuing him, intent on avenging the death. He fled to a tent of
refuge; it was set aside as a safe place for one who had killed
unintentionally or in a fit of rage, so that he would not be killed
before his offense could be judged.
As he reached the tent of refuge, the youth flung himself at the
feet of the aged sheik, and pleaded, “I have killed in a fit of anger,
and I seek your protection.”
“If God wills,” the old man responded, “I grant it to you as long
as you remain with us.”
A few days later, the avenging relatives tracked the fugitive to
the tent of refuge. They described the offender to the sheik and asked,
“Have you seen this man? Is he here? For we will have him!”
“He is here,” the sheik replied, “but you will not have him.”
“But he has killed!” they protested, “and we, the blood relatives
of the slain boy, will stone him according to the law.”
The sheik raised his voice, “You will not, as long as he remains
with us. He has my protection. I’ve given my word.”
“But you don’t understand,” the relatives implored. “He killed
your grandson.”
The old man was silent. No one dared to speak. Then, in visible
anguish, with tears streaming down his face, the sheik stood up and
spoke ever so slowly, “My only grandson—he is dead?”
“Yes, your only grandson is dead.”
“Then,” said the old man, “then this boy will be my grandson. He
is forgiven, and he will live with us as my own.”[iii]
Can you imagine such a thing really happening? Perhaps not. It
seems beyond the human capacity to forgive such an offense. It
seems….divine.
And it is. For isn’t that exactly what God the Father has done?
When our sin—our sin—killed the only-begotten, precious, beloved
Son of God…when our sin killed Jesus…what did the Father do?
“I forgive them,” he declared. And he claimed us as his own
children, named us children of God.
That’s who we are—forgiven, beloved children of God.
And we are instructed, in the reading from Ephesians, “Be imitators
of God, as beloved children, and live in love….” And we’re given some
specific directions about what that looks like.
Now, we don’t always like to be told what to do. We don’t like to
take orders.
When our children were little, they were the same way. Often,
they’d obey without grumbling. But sometimes they wondered why: “Why do
we have to go to church all the time?” And the response would be,
“That’s what we do in our family.” “Why do I have to be nice to my
brother? Why do I have to be kind to that weird kid in my class? Why
do I have to go to school? do my homework? respect my teacher?”
“Because that’s what we do in our family.”
Ephesians is instructing us about what we do in our family, about
what we do when we are beloved children of God. We live godly lives.
We strive to do what God would do. We live authentically, as followers
of Jesus.
It’s about being who we are.
So, in God’s family, we’re told that how we speak to others is
important. We are told to put away falsehood, and to speak the truth in
love. We are told, “be angry, but do not sin. Do not let the sun go
down on your anger.”
Now that’s an interesting one, isn’t it. We’re not told not
to be angry—for anger is simply an emotional reaction to a
circumstance. But we are told to deal with anger
appropriately—and the appropriate thing is to talk it through with the
one who has angered us, face-to-face, make peace with that person, and
put it to rest.
That’s what we do in God’s family.
We are told to live lives of integrity and compassion—to be honest
in our labor and in our dealings with others, and to share our blessings
with the needy. We are told, in Christ, to put aside bitterness and
malice and wrangling with one another, for those things are of the
devil. We are warned not to offend the Spirit of God but, rather, to
let the Spirit lead and guide us.
That’s what we do in God’s family.
We are told to build up. In our speech and actions, we are to
encourage one another, speak well of one another, and so build up the
church—the body of Christ in the world. It is so easy to tear
down—certainly there’s plenty of tearing down going on in our
world—but, in Christ, we build up. We work for the good of all, so that
all may hear the word of God and know the love of Christ.
That’s what we do in God’s family.
We are told to be kind to one another, to forgive one another.
This is not easy, of course—just as it was not easy for the desert
sheik, nor was it easy for God to forgive us the terrible offense that
killed God’s Son, Jesus. No, it’s not easy to forgive. It’s not easy,
sometimes, to be kind. But in Christ, it is possible. It is
possible when we remember we are beloved children of God.
That’s what we do in God’s family.
In God’s family, we act like the children of God. Because that’s
what we are! In baptism, God has named us. In baptism, God has claimed
us. In baptism, we are sealed for eternal redemption by the Spirit of
God. In baptism, we are given our identity.
And now we live our identity. Our writer instructs us to
be who we are. Since we are God’s children, we live
as God’s children.
That’s what we do in God’s family.
And when we do, marvelous things happen. God’s love and God’s
forgiveness are shared. The church is built up. The world witnesses
the power of Christ. And God is glorified.
All this when we live as the children of God we are.
May God grant us the faith and the love and the courage to do just
that—to be who we are in Christ!
AMEN.
[i]
Peter Gomes, Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living,
“Identity Crisis,” p. 125.
[ii]
Source unknown. Frequently quoted.
[iii]
Walter Burghardt, S.J., from “Love Is a Flame of the Lord,” quoted
in Brian
Cavanaugh, T.O.R., Sower’s Seeds
That Nurture Family Values: Sixth Planting, pp.
98-9.
