For Better or Worse

Ephesians 3:1-12

This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles – for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

~ ~ ~

If I had no calendar, or if I found myself in some time warp, or somehow suddenly recovered from a bout of amnesia, and the first place I found myself was the fitness center, I would know what time of year this is, if not the actual day. You see the place gets overrun by a whole flock of new people who have bought gym memberships as a part of fulfilling a New Year’s resolution. The regulars sometimes get a little perturbed at all the neophytes, but most just accept it as a seasonal surge that abates by the end of January. Oh well, hope springs eternal!

At this year’s beginning you may have foregone the ritual of resolution making after years of experiencing failure in keeping them. Or perhaps you think you’re pretty complete and set as you are with no need or room for improvement (he said, tongue in cheek) More likely, you may remember broken resolutions in the past (which may have resulted from lack of discipline or just from an innate fear of change).

Business writer Rhonda Abrams writes that she once saw a handwritten sign taped to a tip jar in a snack shop which read, “If you fear change, leave it here.” Abrams adds, “We all fear change yet we all want change. . .at least change in our circumstances, if not our person…” We seek change in our habits, our appearance, our income.

Most of us want other people to change, including our spouses, our children, our bosses, our employers, and employees, but, oh, we have such frustration in making such change happen.

Still, some 40-45 % of American adults make one or more resolutions each year. Seventy-five percent keep them… for one week. After a month the percentage drops to 64 % and after 6 months, the percentage drops to 46% (which is higher than I would have guessed). Fret not that you cannot change others; just recall how hard it is to change yourself!

Experts say that persistence is the key. Only 40 % achieve success on their first attempt. But those who do make resolutions to change eventually succeed in changing twelve times better than those who make no resolutions, those who don’t make such resolutions may feel they have enough frustration in their lives without these “reminders.”

But it is clearly the case that Americans by their very nature are into self-improvement and seeking personal transformation. A survey of 300,000 people point to the kind of change Americans seek. The top ten most popular resolutions are:

Weight loss/get in shape
Stick to a budget
Debt reduction
Enjoy more quality time with family and friends
Find a spouse
Quit smoking
Get a better job/change careers
Learn a new skill/hobby
Volunteer/serve people
Get more organized

Do any of those strike a responsive chord in you?

One observation: of those ten resolutions, only numbers 4 and 9 really related to others. All the others pretty much centered on the individual -- on me. I would be swimming against a strong tide to suggest perhaps there should be more balance. balance between me-directed resolutions and other-directed resolutions. Still, as Rick Warren reminds us, “It’s not all about you.”

That’s our bridge to the Scripture passage, part of a letter to the church at Ephesus which Paul wrote from prison. Paul could certainly wish his circumstances would change, but it’s clear from the tone as well as the content that he will neither let imprisonment define him nor dictate his attitude or his actions. Even in those conditions he does not lose his focus. He remains resolved, resolute. He would declare the grace of Jesus Christ, a grace that broke down any barriers between humanity and God as well as any barriers between humans. The former solutions didn’t work; therefore, Paul proclaimed, if you’ll pardon the play on words, a re-solution; a new solution to the age-old problem. It’s time to re-solution.

Every effort to appease, to deserve, to earn or in any fashion by our own will ascend to God is destined to fail. It is by God’s gracious initiation, his move to us in a very human, personal way that the relationship is enabled – by grace, through forgiveness. God seeking us makes it possible. Grace is God’s gift. Those who accept it must know that the same gift is offered to all without distinction. You’re in the family with a whole lot of others who may not look, talk or share the same worldview.

That’s a big leap for people who their whole lives have been taught, who believed and acted on the notion that my group, my people, my church, my religion, my part of the country or the world, my race, my clan, my class occupy a special place, a unique category in the eyes of God.

It is human nature, powerful human nature, to get a glimpse of something as amazing as God’s grace, a grace that opens up their whole world and then to regress into old patterns and distinctions. What you’ll notice if you hang around any religion, even any Christian denomination, is that human nature intrudes on the great good news. It passes through human filters and comes out looking very similar to the tribes, factions, classes and divisions that existed previously.

Having heard this was happening in Ephesus Paul hastened to write them a letter. “I’ve got to go straighten this out,” he said, “before the New Testament church becomes just another version of the Old Testament church – God’s chosen who do not realize the expansive, inclusive nature of God’s plan.”

I’m reminded of another man’s letters from jail, the Birmingham jail. Dr. King wrote of the essential unity of all peoples: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, woven into a single garment of destiny; whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider within its bounds.” And, I add, anyone anywhere touched and claimed, responding in faith to Christ’s grace can never see another of faith as less than a brother or an outsider, less than.

Is it in us to make such a change? I think the answer is “No.” Not in us, but God can… and God will… change us with infinite patience, surpassing grace… sacrificial love. It is the only way, to realize our hope on this earth, is in God. Anyone who knows anything about Christian hope knows it is not passive. It is the salve that cures division, the acid that erodes prejudice. And it demands as well as enables us to grow; to grow in our understanding that God is always infinitely bigger than we can conceive; always greater than we can imagine with more grace than we could ever dream up or expect.

Therefore, be it resolved:

I will stop reducing God to my size… and other people to we/they categories.
I will stop re-creating God into my image…
I will cease putting God in some box…
And I will let God be God because there is really no other choice.
I will not surrender to fear and will check every impulse to regress to old attitudes or behaviors.
I will rely on grace to continue making me into the man/woman God destined and ordained me to be.
I will persevere in following this Jesus with all the faith His grace inspires until I join the Church triumphant and hear “Well done thou good and faithful servant; enter the joy of Your Master.”

AMEN

For Better or Worse

A Communion Meditation by

Dr. J. Lawrence Cuthill

January 6th, 2008

Winter Park Presbyterian