If you're like me, you can't read this passage without hearing the words of the old hymn, "ye that labor, and are heavy laden, lean upon your dear Lord's breast, ye that labor and are heavy laden come and I will give you rest." I must admit that I have actually thought more about the song than about this particular passage, and even then sometimes I am not sure exactly what I am singing about. What is this rest Jesus is talking about? Who is he referring to as heavy laden? My instinct is to go to the stock answers of "salvation" for rest, and "sinners" for heavy laden. While in some sense that may be partially correct, I think there is something deeper going on here in these few verses. Within the span of six verses, I think Jesus is really inviting us to consider an entirely different way of living.
Before we think about the invitation offered to us, perhaps its helpful to first consider the one who is extending it. The simple fact is, most of us decide whether to accept or decline an invitation based on who is doing the offering, rather than what is being offered. How close are you to the person inviting you to attend something, or to go somewhere? Or, how important is the person inviting you? If you aren't close to them, or if you don't see them as important in some way, chances are you will take a rain-check, to put it politely. In this instance, the answer will vary for each of us on the first score. Each of us has a unique relationship with Jesus. Some would consider themselves close to Christ, while others may want to have nothing to do with Him. On the second score though, our faith tells us that Jesus importance is an absolute, irrevocable truth.
The first half of this passage is, to put it simply, the revealing of exactly how important Jesus is. Right off the bat, he revolutionizes how we think of prayer by referring to God as "my Father". It is true that Jewish prayer often referred to God as "our Father", but "my Father"? It's unprecedented. Jesus is either full of hubris, or he has a significantly more intimate relationship with God than we ever imagined was possible. The content of this private prayer, prayed so as to be overheard, shows us that in fact Jesus, the Christ, knows God on a very personal level. Jesus understands that it is the Father's good pleasure to reverse human expecations and reveal Himself to little children, while hiding Himself from the wise. Jesus is bringing more to the table here than a stuffy, intellectual knowledge of the Father. He knows more than simple facts about the nature of God. Jesus knowledge of the Father is grounded in a mutual, exclusive relationship. It's a knowledge based on experience. It's similar to knowing how someone takes their coffee, what they are allergic too, or what band they hate with a passion, but on a far deeper and more profound level. Yes, it's a knowledge born of experience, but at the same time it encompasses more than the mundane details that accentuate our life. Jesus knowledge of the Father demands that we take His invitation seriously. It demands that we at least hear Him out.
It is worth noting that when Jesus offers His invitation, he offers it to all who labor and are heavy laden. Not to the elect, the predestined, or the especially spiritual. The question is not "how good are you?" It's, "are you weary?"
Weary from what you may ask? It's a fair question. From sin? From work? From trying to please everyone? The answer doesn't come immediately, but it does come if we continue to follow Jesus journey through the pages of Matthew. In Matthew 23:4 while referring to the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus says that they "tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the peoples shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger." Peter would echo Christ's words at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 when he asks his fellow Jewish Christians, "now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?" (v. 10) Jesus invitation isn't to the sin-burdened or work-burdened, it's to the law-burdened. It's to those who live in a place of frustration because their repeated attempts at being righteous always seem to come up short. It's to those who live in a state of mental paralysis for fear that they have forgotten to follow some tennant of the law. It's to those who would receive an "A" for effort, if only effort were the rubric by which they were being graded.
Jesus invitation is to lay aside the yoke of legalism, and to learn from Him. It's not a get-out-of-jail-free card, or a free pass. It's not an excuse to never again put forth any effort. Instead, it's the spiritual equivalent of pitching in a baseball game with a huge lead. If you talk to any pitcher, they will tell you that it's always easier to pitch when you have a lead of several runs. If you are pitching from behind, in a tied ballgame, or even in a game with only a small lead, you throw each pitch with the knowledge that one mistake could make all the difference in the world. It's extremey stressful to have to perform under such conditions, and very few can do so successfully for even a short period of time, little lone all of the time. Why does it make such a big difference you may ask? Well, when we try to perform knowing that one mistake leads to failure on a larger scale, we find ourself acting with fear as our primary motivation, fear of anything and everythin that can go wrong. However, when we perform with the knowledge that our errors will not be all the defines us- and make no mistake, our errors are inevitable- we are freed to focus on the task at hand. Purpose rather than fear becomes our defining characteristic.
What we discover through this passage is that Jesus invitation is about more than salvation. Or, perhaps a better way of stating it would be to simply say that Jesus redefines what salvation actually is. Jesus death on the cross was about more than where we go when we die, it was and is about how we live from the moment we reorient ourselves to follow in the footsteps of our Master. Jesus death was about freeing us from sin and death, the yoke of the old law, and thus at the same time enabling us to accept His invitation to "learn from me." It is absolutely critical that we understand that Jesus did not say "learn about me", as if he were some figure confined to the pages of history by space and time. Instead, he said "learn from me". It's an invitation to learn what it means to forgive, to serve, and to love. It's an invitation to imagine all that is possible when instead of focusing on our failures, we focus all of our energy on loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind; and loving our neighbor as ourselves. If we truly invest our time in learning these things from Christ, instead of learning about Christ, then perhaps our communities will be defined by Christ-like disciples living out the message of Jesus in their lives, rather than over-burdened legalists striving in vain for perfection, all the while carrying around a Jesus who never leaves the pages of the Bible in their hand.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Ephesians 4:17-32: A Life of Direction rather than Directions
Direction rather than directions? What does that means? Put simply, it means that when we become Christians, when we make the conscious decision to follow Christ, our life changes direction. Too often we think of religion, and specifically Christianity, as a series of rules that we must follow. While it is true that there are things that we are to refrain from doing, there are also things that we are to do. If our life in Christ is only about what we don't do, we have missed the point entirey. In this passage, we see Paul teaching the Ephesians, and through them us, that for every thing we give up in our old lives, there is something new, something better, something life-giving that replaces it in our new lives. We see that this new way of living is not the result of following a certain set of rules, but is the natural outcome of a life spent following Christ and being filled with His Spirit.
The fact that our new life is based on a direction rather than directions is made evident in the very first verse of this passage. "You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do" Paul instructs the Ephesians. It immediately calls to memory Paul's statement just a few chapters before that "you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked" (Ephesians 2:1-2). The idea of walking, of heading in a certain direction is a theme that runs throughout the letter to the church at Ephesus. We see that a certain callousness characterizes the way that the Gentiles "walk". They "have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity." (4:19) Interestingly, this word callous literally means that they have lost the ability to sense or feel. When we attribute that state of being to the way we interact with others, we find that sensuality and impurity are the natural conclusion. In short, our lack of any ability to discern the feelings of others leads us to use them for our own sensual pleasure. The phrase "greedy to practice every kind of impurity" communicates well the fact that our own acts of sensuality are born out of a selfish desire for physical gratification, and like any other type of action motivated by greed, the ends always justify, or in this instance fail to justify, the means.
The passage continues with warnings against several types of negative behavior, but balances these warnings with instruction in the type of positive behavior that should replace this old destructive lifestyle. The first can be generalized as behavior that stems from the use of our speech. Specifically, the Ephesians are told to put away falsehood, and instead speak the truth. It is no conincidence that this teaching echoes what we find in Zechariah 8:16. Indeed, Paul is showing us that the marks of a peaceful and prosperous Zion that we find in Zechariah are the very same characteristics of the Christian community.
The second warning is against allowing our anger to carry us into sin. It is a subtle reminder of Jesus' teaching that behind serious transgressions like murder lies a heart full of anger. Anger is a reality. There will be times when anger comes over us in a wave that seems irresistable. However, we are to remember that that if we allow anger to take root, the devil has gained a foothold in our heart. Murder and violence are almost always the end result of a series of steps me take in our heart, the first of those steps being anger. When we allow our anger to define our image of someone else, we have begun the process of dehumanizing them, and made violence that much more of a reality.
The final type of behavior that is condemned is stealing. It seems pretty obvious that a violation of one of the ten commandments would be deemed a transgression to be avoided. However, the real message is not that stealing is wrong. The real message goes much deeper, challenging what motivates us to work and accumulate material possessions. The theif is told to no longer steal, but to do honest work "so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Ephesians 4:28). Why do I get the feeling that Paul is no longer talking to the ones with "sticky fingers"? I am left wondering, what is my motivation for working, for earning a living? Is it simply so I don't have to steal from others? Is it so I can have nice things? OR, is it so that I can share what I have with others? Again, our old mindsets are not only torn down, but new, life-giving, community-building ones are erected in their place.
As we near the end of the passage, we see that our actions should in some sense affirm the "Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30) Despite the lack of the reference to baptism, it's baptismal language. Together with the repetivive theme of putting off our old selves, and putting on a new self in Christ, the language reminds us of our baptismal vow. It reminds us that in our baptism we become a new creation, made in the likeness of this Jesus in whose footsteps we now walk. As we turn to look over our shoulder, we see all the things that marked our old lives; bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slandor. As we see all of those old traits and characteristics disappear over the horizon of our past, we once again gaze ahead to see that this new direction looks altogether different. As the light provided by kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness grows brighter, we are assured that we are indeed walking in the right direction. We are walking in the direction of Christ.
The fact that our new life is based on a direction rather than directions is made evident in the very first verse of this passage. "You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do" Paul instructs the Ephesians. It immediately calls to memory Paul's statement just a few chapters before that "you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked" (Ephesians 2:1-2). The idea of walking, of heading in a certain direction is a theme that runs throughout the letter to the church at Ephesus. We see that a certain callousness characterizes the way that the Gentiles "walk". They "have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity." (4:19) Interestingly, this word callous literally means that they have lost the ability to sense or feel. When we attribute that state of being to the way we interact with others, we find that sensuality and impurity are the natural conclusion. In short, our lack of any ability to discern the feelings of others leads us to use them for our own sensual pleasure. The phrase "greedy to practice every kind of impurity" communicates well the fact that our own acts of sensuality are born out of a selfish desire for physical gratification, and like any other type of action motivated by greed, the ends always justify, or in this instance fail to justify, the means.
The passage continues with warnings against several types of negative behavior, but balances these warnings with instruction in the type of positive behavior that should replace this old destructive lifestyle. The first can be generalized as behavior that stems from the use of our speech. Specifically, the Ephesians are told to put away falsehood, and instead speak the truth. It is no conincidence that this teaching echoes what we find in Zechariah 8:16. Indeed, Paul is showing us that the marks of a peaceful and prosperous Zion that we find in Zechariah are the very same characteristics of the Christian community.
The second warning is against allowing our anger to carry us into sin. It is a subtle reminder of Jesus' teaching that behind serious transgressions like murder lies a heart full of anger. Anger is a reality. There will be times when anger comes over us in a wave that seems irresistable. However, we are to remember that that if we allow anger to take root, the devil has gained a foothold in our heart. Murder and violence are almost always the end result of a series of steps me take in our heart, the first of those steps being anger. When we allow our anger to define our image of someone else, we have begun the process of dehumanizing them, and made violence that much more of a reality.
The final type of behavior that is condemned is stealing. It seems pretty obvious that a violation of one of the ten commandments would be deemed a transgression to be avoided. However, the real message is not that stealing is wrong. The real message goes much deeper, challenging what motivates us to work and accumulate material possessions. The theif is told to no longer steal, but to do honest work "so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Ephesians 4:28). Why do I get the feeling that Paul is no longer talking to the ones with "sticky fingers"? I am left wondering, what is my motivation for working, for earning a living? Is it simply so I don't have to steal from others? Is it so I can have nice things? OR, is it so that I can share what I have with others? Again, our old mindsets are not only torn down, but new, life-giving, community-building ones are erected in their place.
As we near the end of the passage, we see that our actions should in some sense affirm the "Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30) Despite the lack of the reference to baptism, it's baptismal language. Together with the repetivive theme of putting off our old selves, and putting on a new self in Christ, the language reminds us of our baptismal vow. It reminds us that in our baptism we become a new creation, made in the likeness of this Jesus in whose footsteps we now walk. As we turn to look over our shoulder, we see all the things that marked our old lives; bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slandor. As we see all of those old traits and characteristics disappear over the horizon of our past, we once again gaze ahead to see that this new direction looks altogether different. As the light provided by kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness grows brighter, we are assured that we are indeed walking in the right direction. We are walking in the direction of Christ.
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