Wisdom

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him…Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”  — James 1:5;3:13-18

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption…”  — 1 Corinthians 1:27-30  

When describing government by consensus, Bishop Adler would refer to a time when St. Michael’s was facing a financial crisis. The Rector’s Council met and discussed the situation, then went to prayer. The Bishop then polled the council, beginning with the youngest. Each of the young men said that they should borrow the money to alleviate the situation. But when Bp. Adler polled the two eldest members, each said that if they borrowed money “it would grieve the heart of God.” Bp. Adler asked the younger ones why they had counseled to borrow, and each said that it was the only way they could see to solve the issue. They were looking at the problem and applying worldly wisdom. The elders were seeking the wisdom of God. They didn’t borrow, and the following Sunday there was a check for $10,000 in the plate.

St. James said, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Wisdom comes from above, and God is generous with His gifts. We need only ask, seek, and we will find (Matthew 7:7). James goes on to say that “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” He contrasts the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God. Godly wisdom results in morally upright behavior: “By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” But the one who relies on his own wisdom fosters strife and discord: “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

The Old Testament authors personified wisdom. For example, in Proverbs 1:20, Solomon says, “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares…” We can see the close connection between this person of wisdom and the Person of the Holy Spirit. For it is the Spirit who gives us the Wisdom of God. At the birth of Jesus, God’s wisdom became incarnate, and made that wisdom readily available to all who are in Christ. St. Paul says, “you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God.” And in his prayer for the Church at Ephesus, Paul prays, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him…” (1:17). 

Wisdom has been described as the conjunction of knowledge and experience. And there are many worldly wise men and women whose experience in the temporal world, and their knowledge of things earthly, have propelled them along the way. Most have acquired worldly wealth and stature, often coupled with heartbreak. What we are seeking is the knowledge of God and His Word, His will, and His ways, and to experience the power and presence of His Son through the Spirit in our lives that we may walk in His wisdom. That is why the Psalmist prayed, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long” (Psalm 25:4-5).

For the walls of the Temple to stand we must practice the gift of wisdom for the building up of the Body. Yes, God does give wisdom to us individually, but that wisdom will be confirmed by the Body. We are called to work and to stand together as one in Him. God will not give to one member of the Body a word of wisdom that contradicts the consensus of the whole Body. When Bp. Adler heard the young elders of the church tell him something that he had not heard from the Lord, he knew something was amiss. After confirmation from the eldest members that they were to wait on the Lord, he knew he had heard the Word of the Lord. The Body was built up. Stand fast in the wisdom of God, and He will lead us in His truth.

Self-control

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”  — 2 Timothy 1:7  

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”  — Proverbs 25:28  

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”  — 2 Peter 1:5-7  

Solomon writes, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls” (Proverbs 25:28). For the walls to stand in the New Jerusalem, the living stones must be capable of controlling their self-will. They must practice self-control. Paul tells young Timothy that self-control is a gift of God that has been conveyed to him by the sacrament of the “laying on of my hands”.  But it is also a decision that we must make. We must desire to submit our will to the will of God, to learn to want what God wants. The spirit that Paul says is conveyed is a spirit “of power and love and self-control.” Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that is at work in all who are walking in Christ (Ephesians 5:8; Galatians 5:23).

The Greek word for self-control derives from the word for power. To have self-control is to have the inward spiritual strength, the power of God over selfish desires. If we are honest, we will admit that most of us lack self-control over our appetites. We want what we want, when we want it. So, a man (or woman) without self-control will be caught in these selfish desires. But for the walls of the Temple of God to stand, the living stones must be able to work closely with the other stones in the wall. We are to do “nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). And Paul takes this one step further, noting that we cannot exercise the power of self-control without the grace of our Lord Jesus. God gives the grace, but we must desire to receive that grace, and be willing to change. He adds, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5).  We must choose, by grace, to deny our worldly desires, and seek the mind of Christ. St. Peter explains it this way:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (2 Peter 1:3-7)

We must make every effort to receive “all things that pertain to life and godliness.”

St. Peter’s word in the quote above is essentially a summary statement of the virtues we are called to pursue this week. We are to put on the new self, the one being renewed in knowledge after the image of Christ (Colossians 3:10). We must desire to be transformed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Then we can pursue justice, practice self-control, and persevere in God’s will and the wisdom of God.

Justice

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”  — Isaiah 1:16-17 

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”  —Luke 11:42 

“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”  —James 1:25-27

Many years ago, a man came to my office to complain that he was offended that I had allowed a gay man to take communion. He said, “According to the Bible that man should be stoned to death.” I replied, “I agree. I think, though, that you should let him stone you to death first.” He sputtered, “What, why? What are you talking about?” I said, “According to the Bible you should be stoned to death because you are living in adultery.” Again the sputtering reply, coupled with indignation. “I am not!” “Are you divorced and remarried?” He nodded. “Jesus said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.” (Mark 10:11). I continued, “And the Bible says that the adulterer should be put to death” (Leviticus 20:10). He left my office shaking his head. Heaven help us if we get the justice we deserve! “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

It is because of Jesus and His work on the Cross that we can be justified and made right with God. Jesus showed far more care for the outcast, and reaching out with compassion to help those most often overlooked, than He did for legal retribution. Take for example the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). The law said she deserved death. Jesus forgave her. In His earthly ministry, Jesus pursued justice. He physically and spiritually rescued those in need. He healed lepers, raised the son of a widow, restored sight to the blind, and fed multitudes of hungry followers. Our call is to fully embrace the cause of Christ. The end goal of biblical justice is seeing lives reconciled to God and eternally transformed.

But when and how do we “act justly” (Micah 6:8), or “give justice to the weak and the fatherless, maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute” (Psalm 82:3)? The learning is in the doing. In Mark 9:39-41, Jesus said, “no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” And St. James said in the quote above, “the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” We learn by doing, and we will be blessed in our doing. James concludes his thought with this exhortation: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” The command is simple: we are to reach out to the least, the lost, and the lonely. We are to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).

Do we ignore the Word, and turn a blind eye to those who disobey the Scriptures? Not at all. We show the love of Christ to them. We treat them with the fruit of the Spirit. We display God’s mercy for “Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). 

Transformation

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”   — Romans 12:1-2  

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”  — Philippians 3:20-21  

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  — 2 Corinthians 3:18  

It is easy to become convinced that any transformation into a “new self” will take place after death. We are told that we will receive a new body when we are resurrected with Christ. But St. Paul says, in the passage quoted above from 2 Corinthians, that we “are being transformed…from one degree of glory to another”. This is not some future event; it is a constant process taking place in the here and now, for those who are in Christ. And Paul tells the Church at Rome that we are to present our bodies “as a living sacrifice”. Again, that is something that is happening in the moment. This transformation that God wants to work in us must be done in the present because it is not about us—it’s about the Body, it’s about the building of a New Jerusalem! The world is literally dying to know Christ. When we pray “Thy Kingdom come”, God says, okay, let me transform you now into the likeness of My Son. We can no more bring about this transformation in our own power than a caterpillar can will himself to become a butterfly. “For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” We “present ourselves” to God, and we are “transformed by Him” into the likeness of His Son.

In recent events, particularly here in the United States, we have seen much of the Church adapting to the culture and compromising matters of the faith for utilitarian and political ends. But the transformation to which Paul points begins with our decision to “not be conformed to this world”. The Scottish theologian, John Knox, said “One must not live appropriately to the present age, but must live as though the new age had already come. To do this involves a complete reorientation which only the Spirit can bring about. He does this by ‘renewing our mind’—i.e., by giving a new life and power to our mind.” We must decide that we want what Christ wants for us, for His Church, and for the conversion of those outside the walls.  The author, Gerald R. Cragg, said, “There is no greater weakness in the Christianity of our day than the fact that so many church members accept without question the dominant intellectual and social atmosphere of the age. The corrosives of secularism have eaten away the imprint of grace. We ought to live in the new age with the power of a risen life; instead we are content to conform to conventions which our society dictates.” That type of wall will not stand!

As noted, we cannot transform ourselves into the image of Christ, but we must be willing to allow God to work His transformation in us. And we must guard our minds and our hearts against the incipient efforts of the world to impose its agenda on our lives. “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Yes, it is good for us to be “informed” about what is going on in the world, but it is extremely important that we do not allow ourselves to be “conformed” to the image of the world. We need to carefully filter what we listen to, and guard our hearts from becoming obedient to the voices of this world. As citizens of the New Jerusalem we are to be obedient to the One who rules that Kingdom. Paul says of Christ, in Colossians 2:9-10, “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” Jesus is the “head of all rule and authority”. To Him we must listen. To Him we must submit. And in Him we will be transformed “to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

Putting on the New Self

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”  — 2 Corinthians 4:8-9,16  

“…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”  — Ephesians 4:22-24  

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practicesand have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”  — Colossians 3:9-10  

“We do not lose heart.” It has been a difficult year. “We have been afflicted in every way.” But in Christ we are “not crushed”! So, we do not lose heart. God is remaking us in His image. We are to “put off the old self, which belongs to our former manner of life…and be renewed in the spirit of our minds”. We need to change the way we think. We need the mind of Christ. Our perspective on the world, on the Church, on life in general must be transformed by the wisdom from above. Then we can “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God”.  But as St. Paul tells the Church at Corinth, “our inner self is being renewed day by day!” This transformation into the likeness of Christ is a work in progress. We may get impatient when we do not immediately see the fruits of our labors, but God is at work in us as long as we persevere in our efforts to walk in His way. That is why St. Paul exhorted the Church at Philippi to “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13). We must work at letting God do His work in us.

God has dismantled His Church, and is building a New Temple for our worship of Him. And this work can only be completed when those who are in Christ allow Him to transform our inner nature. Our way of thinking, and seeing, and acting must be brought in line with Christ. The virtues we will examine this week are a challenge to us to see the world around us not with the eyes of our “old self”, but with our mind’s eye transformed to see with the eyes of Christ. It is a challenge to practice the wisdom from above, and to practice self-control and justice toward others both inside and outside the walls of the Temple. But these finishing touches, as it were, are a necessary part of the excellence Christ is pursuing in making us into a Holy Temple (Ephesians 2:21). 

The work of building the Temple is not easy, and we can expect to be afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and even struck down because of our affiliation with Christ. But in Christ we can stand fast and persevere to see His triumph in us who are His Body, the Church. “We do not lose heart.” And we learn Christ. We learn to desire what He desires. We learn to yield our will to His. We learn a new way of living and ministering that is truly like Christ, because it is Christ who is at work in us. We put on the New Self. We put on Christ. 

Confess

We have been given the challenge this week of becoming holy. Though it may seem an impossible task, it is not. In the power and grace of God, and the working of His Holy Spirit, all things are possible in Him. So, let us pause and ask the Lord for His cleansing and purifying of our life that we may be remade in the image of Christ. And let us take a moment for self-examination of our lives in light of the virtues we have studied this week. 

In this troubling year past have we been “giving thanks always and for everything” as Paul commanded the Church at Ephesus (5:20)? Of have we looked around and wondered why others are not having the difficulties that we are having and taken offense? When we pray, are we making our petitions and supplications to the Lord with thanksgiving or with grumbles about the difficulty of our circumstances? The process of becoming holy is an on-going work: God at work in us to purify us and make us holy in the image of Christ. Have we cooperated with Him?

In the self-examination in St. Augustine’s Prayer Book, we are asked if we are dissatisfied with our place in God’s order of creation. Are we willing to accept our place in the wall of the Temple? Or do we look jealously at the gifts and talents of others? Are we loving our neighbor as Jesus loved us? Jesus was willing to die for us when we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). Can we not be bothered to make simple sacrifices for those unlovable ones around us? Are we quick to defend ourselves when we are wronged, or are we willing to accept the challenge stated by St. Paul in Colossians 3:13? “… as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Jesus was willing to die to forgive us. Can we not die to self and ask for the grace of God to forgive another for the wrongs done to us?

Are we holding on to a false image of the Gospel and of Christ, or are we allowing the Holy Spirit to bring His fire and purify us, to burn away the things that do not belong in His Temple? Are we letting the Bridegroom clothe us, the Bride of Christ,“with fine linen, bright and pure”?

Having examined our lives in the light of these virtues, let us confess our sins and shortcomings and ask God for the grace to transform us into the image of His Son.

Heavenly Father, your Word commands us to, “be holy as You are holy”: we pray, therefore, that You would send your Holy Spirit into our lives to carry out a life-transforming work in each member of your Body. May we, by your grace, say as Paul did, “my old self has died and been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” We ask that You would continue to root out anything that is counter to what You desire for your Church, and we pray that You would increasingly transform us into the image and likeness of the Christ. Give us we pray, the desire and grace to become a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto You, to Your praise and glory. This we ask in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Beauty/Loveliness

“Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” (Peter is speaking of women here, but this applicable to all who make up the Bride of Christ)  — 1 Peter 3:4

“I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.”  — Song of Solomon 1:5  

Laura Krauss Calenberg is a fashion model. She is often seen on the runways of Europe and  often graces the covers of magazines. She is famous, beautiful, and rich. She was also utterly miserable walking the runways of the modeling world.  She had met the Lord as a teenager, but over time she bought the lie of the world which described beauty and happiness as outward trappings. Then she hit bottom. She returned to the Lord and is now a witness to the modeling world. She says, “What is beauty? It is not physical appearance. It’s what’s found inside, what’s in your heart…Knowing God personally brings beauty, because knowing He loves you and accepts you brings security and self-esteem to your life. That enables you to be free to accept and love yourself and your shortcomings.” She rededicated her life to the Lord, and found true beauty in Him.

I am often teased because I greet women as the beautiful and talented, or men as the handsome and talented. We have been conditioned to believe beauty is on the surface. That is simply not true. When I look at one who is in Christ, I see Christ in them. I see Christ, the perfection of beauty, made manifest in them. Our beauty is not found in what we put on, or what we acquire, or how physically attractive we are. Beauty is found, for both men and women, in who we are in Christ Jesus. Christ alone makes us beautiful in God’s sight.

The passage from Song of Solomon above is one of Bishop Jones’ favorites. On his Aslan Roars site he said the following:

We have enough battles to fight in the Christian life without fighting the windmills of a false identity. Knowing who we are in Christ is imperative in our journey. It is true, that darkness does dwell in my flesh, but it is also true that I have a new heart that longs for God’s presence and God’s will. As a matter of fact, my heart is fashioned to be a dwelling place for the presence of Christ in the person of The Holy Spirit…The Hebrew word “lovely” in verse 5, means “to be fitting, to be a right fit, something comfortable and inviting.” It carries the idea of “Home.” God created you and me to be a Dwelling Place for Him.

We are all fighting windmills right now. But we need to know that when God looks at us, He sees the depth of beauty within us. As Solomon says later in his song (4:9), “You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes…”

But it is not only imperative that we recognize that we are found beautiful in the eyes of the Lord. In our covenant with Christ we are to “seek and serve Christ in all persons”, and to “respect the dignity of every human being”. Mother Teresa lived that covenant vow. She said that she saw Jesus in every man, woman, or child she met, and she treated them accordingly. To her, all the broken people whom she served were “Jesus in His distressing disguise”.

The prophet Isaiah said of Jesus in the fourth Servant Song (53:2), “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” But the majesty and glory of God was found in Him. When we are in Christ, that same majesty and glory can be found in us. It is a process to be remade in His image. But it begins with accepting who we are in Christ Jesus. May our hearts, as the bishop said, be “fashioned to be a dwelling place for the presence of Christ in the person of The Holy Spirit”.

Purity

“He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.”  — Proverbs 22:11  

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”  — 1 Timothy 4:12  

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the tradition in the West is that a bride wears white at her wedding because “white has long been associated with purity and virtue.” We are the Bride of Christ. We are called to present ourselves pure and holy to the Lord. As St. John tells us in the Revelation (19:8), the Bride of Christ makes herself ready, and “it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”. And St. Paul tells the Church at Corinth, “I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure bride to her one husband” (2 Corinthians 11:2). But alas, the Bride has shown herself to be less than pure. One of the greatest threats to the walls of the Church is syncretism. When we blend non-Christian ideas with the Christian faith, the faith becomes impure. The walls of the Temple that God is rebuilding must be pure and undefiled. We must be different from the world, not tempted to bring the things of this world into the Temple.

The problem of syncretism has been profoundly displayed in recent events here in America. Stanley Hauerwas, Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke University, in an article entitled “The End of American Protestantism”, said

America is a synthesis of evangelical Protestantism, republican political ideology and commonsense moral reasoning. Americans were able to synthesize these antithetical traditions by making their faith in God indistinguishable from their loyalty to a country that insured them that they had the right to choose which god they would or would not believe in…Protestantism came to the land we now call American to make America Protestant…But in the process the church in America became American.

What we have seen is an obscuring of the Gospel by focusing on single issues which are important but not the totality of the Gospel. When we become so singularly focused we lose sight of the greater picture of what the Church is and begin to allow unrighteous behavior to infiltrate the walls of the Temple. Instead of creating pure bricks, the end result of this incipient syncretism is a false gospel that becomes a stumbling block. Ed Stetzer, Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, said, “When anything is added to the message of the Gospel, the uniqueness and sufficiency of Christ is compromised and another gospel can be created that is, well, actually not the gospel.” (Christianity Today, July 15, 2014).

The process of becoming holy requires us to allow the Holy Spirit to bring His fire and purify us, to burn away the things that do not belong. As was noted in the first paragraph above, the Bride of Christ makes herself ready by clothing “herself with fine linen, bright and pure”. The solution to ridding our lives of the impurities brought about by syncretism is not adhering to a singular theological litmus test. St. John tells us that “the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints” (Revelation 19:8). We are called to be Christlike in our behavior as well as our theology. Again St. John says, “…we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).

It’s about relationship. As the bricks of the wall, we must be in right relationship with the Cornerstone, living in covenant with Him. We are to “seek and serve Christ in all persons…and respect the dignity of every human being.” But the purity we seek is not simply about having a right theology or dealing morally with one another. It is about being intimately wed to the Bridegroom. Then, He will clothe us, His Bride, in “fine linen, bright and pure”.

Forgiveness

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another…Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  — Ephesians 4:25-32  

“If one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”  — Colossians 3:13  

Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, knew the power of forgiveness. Once, a friend brought up a cruel deed someone had done to Clara. Barton claimed she did not remember the deed done. Insistent, her friend exclaimed, “Don’t you remember the wrong that was done to you?” “No,” Barton answered, “I distinctly remember forgetting that.” This is the intent of St. Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians in the quote above. He says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” We cannot hold onto these wrongs. We must “…forgive one another as God in Christ forgave [us].” If He hold onto the wrongs done to us, it doesn’t hurt the other person, it is a burden that we will continue to carry, keeping us separated from the other members of the Body of Christ. The walls we are building for the New Jerusalem are not walls of separation from each other. These walls are built to separate the virtues of Christ from “all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander”. Impurities must be kept outside the walls.

Jesus told the crowd gathered for the sermon on the mount, “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). We set the example for how God should forgive us! When we hold onto unforgiveness of another, we are keeping that brokenness within ourselves. The sin is not retained by the other, but by us. And that dividing wall of hostility is once again raised, separating the members of the Body one from another.

In the 40+ years that I have been in parish ministry I have often found it helpful to apologize for things that I have never done. It certainly does me no harm to say, “Please forgive me”, when to protest my innocence would only lead to an argument. The goal of forgiveness is not to set the record straight, it is to heal the brokenness of the relationship. The walls of the Temple will not stand if the bricks cannot reside one with the other. It is not enough to say, “I’m sorry” when someone confronts you with a wrong you have done to them. Saying “I’m sorry” maintains your control of the situation. It is far more efficacious to ask for forgiveness. When we say, “Please forgive me” we give to the other the control of the situation. We give them the power to say, “I forgive you”, or to reject your apology. Seldom in my experience do people simply reject out of hand a request for forgiveness. Requesting the grace of forgiveness from the other leads to reconciliation and healing in the relationship.

The challenge was stated by St. Paul in the Colossians passage above: “… as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Jesus was willing to die to forgive us. Can we not die to ourselves and ask for the grace of God to forgive one another for the wrongs done to us?

Thankfulness

“…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  — 1 Thessalonians 5:18  

“…let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful…And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  — Colossians 3:14-17  

“…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  — Philippians 4:6  

“…be filled with the Spirit,addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”  — Ephesians 5:18-21  

“Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea,” said Corrie. Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsie were sent to a Nazi concentration camp during World War II for hiding a Jewish family in their home. They were able to smuggle a Bible into the camp and had just read the Thessalonians passage quoted above. “‘Give thanks in all circumstances,” Betsie corrected. “It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.” So they stood between the stacks of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. A few weeks later Betsie said, “Well, I’ve found out. The supervisor wouldn’t step through the door and neither would the guards. And you know why?” Betsie could not keep the triumph from her voice as she exclaimed, “Because of the fleas! That’s what the supervisor said: ‘That place is crawling with fleas!’”

In this troubling year past, have we been “giving thanks always and for everything” as Paul commanded the Church at Ephesus? It is difficult in the midst of a crisis to see the bounty of God, just as Corrie couldn’t at first see the blessing of the fleas. But as Paul reminded the Ephesians, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:3-4). Becoming “holy and blameless” is a process. We may not see the fullness of His blessings in the moment, but in our learning how to live a life of holiness we are called to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” The temptation is to make our supplications to the Lord with grumbling about our circumstances. But “in everything…with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Giving thanks to God in difficult situations is contrary to the way of the world. Paul says, in the Colossians passage quoted above that “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” That’s different! We can only do that if we are “filled with the Spirit”. D.L. Moody wrote that “Before we pray that God would fill us, I believe we ought to pray Him to empty us.” That is the purifying process. To be remade in the image of Christ our fallen human nature must first be removed. We must be emptied of ourselves, our worldly ways, and open ourselves to be filled “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”