Directions or Direction?
a sermon based on Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2
by Rev. Randy L. Quinn

Five weeks ago, the Lectionary began a series of readings from Ephesians. At that time, I made a commitment to God, to myself, and to you that I would read one chapter of Ephesians every day so that I would read the entire book every week until the end of August when this series of readings ends.

At the time, I also suggested that you could join me in this spiritual discipline. And I encouraged you to take time to read the entire book -- after all it's only 5 pages long! So far, only one person has suggested that they may have joined me in either of these disciplines.

But I want you to know that I have been reading it faithfully. Certainly, there have been times when I missed a day of reading, but for the most part, I have read it faithfully. And in doing that, I have come to recognize that there are indeed two distinct portions of this book, dividing between chapters three and four.

In the earlier chapters, this letter is more focused on God; in the latter chapters, it's focused more on our response to God.

Our text for today is a great example of that since it lists things for us to do and not to do. A whole series of things to do and not to do. And in the end, the reason is simply because of what God has done.

Paul has laid the groundwork for this argument in the first half of Ephesians where he spoke about God's love and grace. Now he asks us -- no, he encourages us -- no, he expects us to imitate God (Eph 5:1).

Paul isn't the only one who holds up such a high standard for us. Moses told the people of Israel to "follow [God's] ways" (Dt 30:16). The prophets encouraged the people to "follow the LORD" (1 Sam 12:14). Even Jesus tells us to "be perfect, therefore, as [our] heavenly father is perfect" (Mt 5:48).

Pretty high standards, if you ask me.

But God didn't ask me. God didn't ask you, either. God simply set the standard.

But how are we to reach that standard? How are we to become perfect? How can we imitate God?

Or maybe the more pertinent question is the one that our Bible Study leader at Annual Conference asked, "which God does your life imitate?"

It continues to amaze me how much we imitate our parents and our role models. At Vacation Bible School this week, I watched as a few of the young children stood up behind me or beside me and tried to imitate me as I led the rest of the children in songs.

The intentional act of imitation is simply an expression of love and devotion. It's the sincerest form of flattery. These children liked what I was doing and wanted to do it themselves. It also explains why Michael Jordan is so good at selling shoes.

But imitation isn't always an intentional act. The unintentional act of imitation comes as a result of spending many hours with someone. Their habits become a part of our lives without any intentional efforts.

While Ronda's brother Barry was here last week, for instance, I would periodically hear him say something to someone and think I was hearing their dad talk. His voice sounds so much like his dad's.

But sometimes it's other kinds of habits. I remember the first time Ronda told me that some of my habits were 'rubbing off' on my step-daughter, Tonya. Tonya wouldn't admit it at the time, but we both felt that she was unintentionally imitating me.

Ask any member of any family, and they will tell you stories or show you examples of how someone has intentionally or unintentionally imitated their parents.

Our lives simply reflect those that we spend the most time with or they reflect an intentional effort to imitate someone we value.

So the question isn't whether or not we are imitating the God we worship. It isn't whether or not we are imitating the God we love. The question is, "which God do our lives imitate?" How do you live your life? And what does that reflect about what and whom you value?

I don't know if you've seen any of them, but there are now bracelets you can buy with the letters "W.W.J.D." on them. I admire the people who wear them because I know they are trying to be intentional about following God, about imitating God. "W.W.J.D." stands for "What Would Jesus Do?" It's a simple little test for every decision made throughout the day, "what would Jesus do?" "W.W.J.D."

I know there are people who will tell me that the answer lies in following the Ten Commandments and the other rules and laws that God has given us in the Bible. They believe that the Bible is a set of directions to be read as if it were a cookbook. Maybe even some of you have found yourself thinking the same way.

Do this and do that, don't do this and don't do that.

The list we read today would be a good place to turn, I suppose. "Speak the truth" (Eph 4:25); "give up stealing", "work honestly", "share with the needy" (Eph 4:28).

But the problem with that answer is the problem faced by the people of Israel and faced by Christians in every century since the birth of the church: when we rely on a set of directions, we can easily get lost.

We begin to focus on exactly what was said (and what was not said) and we forget what it is we are supposed to be doing.

Many of you already know that on my day off I've been taking flying lessons. One of the things I've learned is that you can't learn to fly by reading a book. You need to get into a plane and experience it. The checklists are nice, and they are important, but it takes more than a checklist to get a plane into the air and back onto the ground safely.

Certainly there are rules to follow. But following the rules isn't enough. Not any more than following the Law was sufficient for the Israelites. Even if it were possible to completely comply with every law, there would still be circumstances that would require interpretation.

And after years of debate about the finer points of the Law, the 613 laws of Moses became meaningless. They spent enormous amounts of time trying to determine what the law allowed and what it didn't allow. The directions were incomplete . . . or at least they didn't answer all of the possibilities that could be thought of.

And in looking at the bark on the trees, they missed the beauty and splendor of the forest.

Jesus chided his peers when they focused on the words of the law and overlooked the meaning. How they washed their hands, he said, wasn't as important as why they washed them (Mt 15:20).

As I said, when we rely on a set of directions, we can easily get lost.

So what are we to do?

Some time ago I came across a comic in The New Yorker magazine. It depicted what was obviously a filling station on the corner of a major city. Like many filling stations, it is no longer needed for fuel, but is being used for another function. (You've seen them -- espresso stands, convenience stores, even 'quick lube' stores.) This one was called Bill & Jim: the Direction Specialists and showed two guys giving directions to motorists who were lost or looking for something but without a clue as to how to get there.

As the church, we are the true "Direction Specialists". We are called to point the way for people. But we provide direction along with the directions. One without the other is incomplete. One without the other is helpful, but not sufficient.

The last time Jim Moore came to our church, he stayed at the Neely's cabin on Samish Island. He followed me in his car when I took him out there Saturday evening; he said he'd find his way back in the morning for worship.

On the way there, I wondered how I could direct him back to the church. All the way there, I looked for landmarks to help him. But there are so many turns that I knew he'd get lost.

So instead of directions, I gave him a sense of direction. I pointed out Bayview Ridge and told him to follow the road until he got close to the ridge, then turn left until that road ended. I told him to repeat those steps until he was back at the church.

On Sunday, when he arrived, he said he was amazed. The directions I gave him didn't make sense. But the sense of direction I gave him got him here.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul gives us three chapters that address the direction of our faith. He speaks about God's grace and love. He paints a vision, a goal for all of us to attain.

In the next three chapters, Paul is giving examples of how that can be done. Here, he is giving directions.

One is not complete without the other. We need both a sense of direction and a set of directions.

We have been told to "imitate God." Paul has told us what God is like. He has given us direction. Then he gives us directions. He give us examples of what it looks like when we imitate God.

We imitate God when we forgive one another, for God has forgiven us.

We imitate God when we speak the truth, for God is truth (Jn 14:6).

We imitate God when we share with the needy, for God has shared with us, God is the source of all we have.

To some extent, these are intentional acts of imitation based on the directions we have been given.

But as we spend more and more time with God, I believe we also begin to unintentionally imitate God based on the direction we have been given.

And that is at the heart of this letter we are reading.

Thanks be to God for both the set of directions and the sense of direction we have been given.

Amen.