The Gift of Church - November 6, 2016

• Print
• Email

Ephesians 2:19-22
Ephesians 4:1-6

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul is trying to help the folks in the church workout their differences. Much like the church in Rome, the church in Ephesus draws inboth jews and gentiles....and all the conflicts that went along with that.
A major point of disagreement revolved around circumcision—which is really a
sermon for another day. After Paul finished sorting out the role of circumcision, he
comes to this place and basically says, look, you all have a place in the church. It doesn't
matter who you are, or where you came from, or what beliefs you held to then, you're
here now, ready to follow Christ, and that makes you the church. "citizens with the

saints and members of the household of God".
One of the gifts that God gives us is the opportunity for relationships and
building connection, which in turn builds community, which is the function of thechurch....to be the place where we connect and build relationships—-where we learn to
love and be loved....despite our disagreements.
Now it can be all well and good to talk about being the church and loving one
another...until we get into the particulars of what we believe...and then sometimes we
struggle with the one who will vote for Trump or the one who will vote for Hillary...with
the one who thinks that God is always in control or the one who doubts God controls
much of anything, with the one who would leave the church if United Methodists voted
for full inclusion, and with the one who struggles to stay in a church that doesn't
already. Our debates may not be around circumcision anymore, but they are real issues
that threaten to divide us if we make our entire relationship about our differences
instead of focusing on our common ground of faith in Christ.
If you read through the book of Ephesians, you'll see that Paul doesn't order
everyone to be of one mind...though he does try and create some common ground.
Instead, he points them back to the reason their together in the first place...because they
have been offered the love and forgiveness of Jesus. And in being there together, they
stand on the foundation of the saints who have come before them...the apostles and the
prophets...the one who challenged injustices and spoke truth to power, and the ones
who shared the good news of the Gospel in new in different communities. Together,
they have the privilege of becoming the dwelling place for God.
Paul doesn't deny the differences between them, but he does sort of say, "it's not
the differences that decide us, but instead the commonality of being Jesus followers.
That's what holds us together." Guaranteed, there have been saints on both sides of the
aisle with the full range of theological beliefs. They were still saints...not because of the
specifics of what they believed, or even the super-human acts of compassion....but
because they sought to follow Christ...that's what made them saints.
In the second passage we heard today, Paul is instructing the people in what it
means to live as the church. He says, "live and act in a way worthy of those who have
been chosen for such wonderful blessings as these. 2 Be humble and gentle. Be patient
with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 3 Try
always to be led along together by the Holy Spirit and so be at peace with one another.
4 We are all parts of one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to
the same glorious future. 5 For us there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and
we all have the same God and Father who is over us all and in us all, and living
through every part of us."
They are simple instructions...be humble, be gentle, be patient, be gracious and
forgiving. Live in peace with one another. Simple, but not necessarily easy. We need to
be reminded of this, as we seek to live as the church, as we try and get along with people
who do and think differently than we do. This is our calling...not to be indifferent to
matters that shape our state and our nation, but to know that there is something far
greater that calls us to be "one body, with one spirit, with one Lord, one faith, and one
baptism."
Today, we remember the saints, we remember those who have gone before us,
who have lived a faith that we love, or admire, or seek to emulate. But beyond that, we
are called to know, that we too are known as saints...we, too, comprise the body of Christ
called church. And the way we live, the way we engage, the things we seek to do with our
lives will shape this congregation. We are not guaranteed to agree on every matter. We
are not called to be of one mind on everything political and religious. But we are called
to love one another with patience, kindness, and humility. We are called to be loved for
who we are, despite what we believe or the things we've done.