Proper 14B 2018 Ephesians 4:25-5:2. and that is what I intend to do. In that regard, at least, nothing has changed in the last 13 years.

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1 Proper 14B 2018 Ephesians 4:25-5:2 The first time I stood in this pulpit, May 29th, 2005, I began by saying to you, You have not come here today to hear about David Danner. You came to hear the Gospel preached, for that is why I was hired, and that is what I intend to do. In that regard, at least, nothing has changed in the last 13 years. I was called to All Angels to preach the Gospel, and that is what I will do today. Although I will start my sabbatical in about an hour which signals a new stage of life certainly for Wafa and me, but also for All Angels, it is not quite time for farewells. That will come when we return on November 4 th to celebrate our time together. Today Wafa and I simply want to say thank-you for all your support, your kind words, and best wishes as we prepare to head north. I ll save the rest of my fire for November. Now, may the words of my lips If I asked you to complete the phrase, I am. (blank) you might choose to do so in terms of your relationships. I am a wife a husband a grandmother; I am the son of Olive and Edward the father of Peter and John. You might choose to answer the question in terms of ethnicity. I am German Irish Italian all three. You might say, I am a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker. In other words, you might define yourself in terms of the work you do or used to do. Or your political affiliation, a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. Finally, and most importantly, you might define yourself in spiritual terms. You might say, "I am a Christian." But by voicing that one simple phrase, you have said a great deal. So, what does it mean to say, I am a Christian? In our second reading for today, St. Paul says that if we are a Christian, then we must behave in a manner different from other people. We must aside put our old nature and take on a new nature. We are a child of God, renewed in the Spirit. And that's just the beginning; the Scriptures offer many other ways to understand who we are as Christians. We are the elect of God, God's own people, a royal priesthood and ambassadors in this world for the Lord Jesus Christ. We are God s chosen ones. We belong to the Good Shepherd; we are the sheep of his pasture. What are we as Christians? We are heirs to a rich and ancient tradition of faith. We are heirs to the faith of Abraham and Moses, Sarah and Ruth; Joshua, David, Daniel

2 2 and Isaiah - heirs to the faith of John the Baptist, Martha, Mary and Paul. We have inherited the faith of Augustine and Luther, Hooker, Schweitzer, and King. In other words, we are part of a great cloud of witnesses. As Christians, we are spiritual descendants of a tradition which reaches back into the distant past. We are also children of a promise which stretches forward into everlasting life. We have every confidence that the fate of our soul, and the fate of all the earth, lies in God's hands. We cannot be shaken or dissuaded from our hope in the future because we believe that God will have the final word. As a Christian, we are already a citizen of God's kingdom, working and praying for the day when God's will "is done on earth as it is in heaven." We hunger and thirst for righteousness. We are a spiritual soldier in the struggle for justice and peace. We offer ourselves in service to the lonely and bereaved, to the poor and the oppressed. Our life is a living witness to the power of love, a monument to the enduring meaning of truth, compassion, mercy and faith. And finally, as Christians, we are people who live by faith, believing that the greater things in life are those we cannot see. We are redeemed and released from every vanity and fear; we are ever growing in God s amazing grace. In fact, as Jesus said, we are becoming perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect. I'll bet your reaction is the same as mine: Excuse me, this does sound wonderful, but it is a bit overwhelming a new nature? An ambassador for Christ? Redeemed and renewed? Perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect? How can I do that? How can I become all of those things that you say I am supposed to be?" Let me try to answer that question by first saying what NOT to do, or at least telling you what I have not found helpful. There are many people out there who attempt to market Christianity. Oh, sure some of them are sincere, but for many the label Christian is nothing but a hook to reel you in. What am I talking about? Businesses and individuals that promote themselves as Christian : you can find ads for Christian chiropractors, Christian yoga, Christian roofers, not to mention the plethora of ads by politicians who manage to work the word Christian into their campaign ads. The 8 th chapter of the Book of Acts speaks at some length about a character named Simon Magnus who tried to use Christianity to turn a profit. Be wary

3 3 of Christian commerce. Even in this marketplace culture of ours which thinks that everything is for sale, true faith in God is one thing which cannot be bought in any store for any price. I would also be wary of anyone who talks too much about their faith. Some people figure that if they talk incessantly about Christianity to whomever will listen or in many cases, not listen; if they praise the Lord day and night and let everybody know how much they love the Lord and how much the Lord is doing for them - if they talk about their faith all the time like this, they figure that God will reward their efforts. But, of course, talk by itself does not add depth to one s faith. Rather Jesus tells us not to be like those people who "heap up empty phrases, who think that they will be heard for their many words and elsewhere he says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. St. John adds this piece of advice, "Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and in truth". Let s look again at what St. Paul is urging us to do in today s second reading, "Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and therefore live in love as Christ loved us..." Imitation is the means God gives us to become more Christ-like. It makes perfect sense, because after all, how do children learn? By imitating what they see in their parents, their older siblings and other people. No matter how old we are, we still learn and grow in faith by imitating God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm sure every parent has looked at their children and seen themselves staring back at them, for better or for worse. The way they walk, their facial expressions, the way they talk, the phrases they use, sometimes it is startling to see what your children do, and you realize that they got this way by imitating you! We see this vividly whenever we watch a Little League baseball game. Watch the way the kids tug their caps, the way they throw the ball around the infield after an out, the way they rub dirt on their hands, even the way they spit. They are trying to act like big leaguers! They are imitating the mannerisms of the big-time ballplayers whom they see on TV or at the ballpark. That's how kids learn - that's how all of us learn - by imitating what we see. What happens when we keep doing something over and over again? We become what we do. Alcoholics who are just beginning the path to recovery often feel very much at sea. After years of insane

4 4 living, things don t seem to make a lot of sense. For that reason, sponsors strongly caution the newly sober person, Don t think; thinking will only get you into trouble. Instead just do. Take one day at a time; go to meetings; avoid that first drink. Do that, day, after day, after day, and you will become that sober person you want to be. Undoubtedly you remember the actor Yul Brenner. He played many roles in his life, but he was most famous for the leading role in the stage production of The King and I. When he first started playing the king, he wore lots of makeup and altered his mannerisms to fit himself to the part. But as the years went by and he performed the role hundreds, even thousands of times, he stopped wearing makeup and changing his mannerisms. Brenner became the part he was playing! He was the king in The King and I. As we do things over and over again, we can become what we imitate. This happens, not just in the life of the stage, but also in the life of the spirit. "Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us." Keep playing your role in life, imitating Christ, as you continue to become the Christian person God has already called you to be. I want to conclude with a few comments about the context in which today s reading from Ephesians was written. Paul, as we know, founded many churches. Before he would move on to the next city, he saw to it that there was strong leadership in place and that they were functioning well as a community. Then he would write follow-up letters of advice to them, what we now know as his epistles. That, however, is now coming to an end. Paul is in prison in Rome awaiting execution. And so, he tells the church in Ephesus the basics of Christianity that they must hold onto. As I depart, I want to leave that same advice with you: Be concerned for your neighbor and not just for yourself. Do not return evil for evil, but forgive those who hurt you. Be generous toward others, seeking to serve rather than be served. Do not store up riches on earth, but store up treasures in heaven. As you pass through this world, be sure to sow seeds of kindness and love, never rejoicing in the wrong, but always in the right. Live each day in grace with gratitude, asking yourself in every situation, "What would Jesus do here?" and then imitate him as best you can. Be an ambassador for Christ, a representative of his word and his way. Be an instrument of his peace. Let people see Christ's

5 5 light in you, "that they may give glory to God who is in heaven". What are you? What are we? We are Christians looking to imitate our Lord. We are Christians looking to become more fully what God has called us to be.