B, Pentecost 11 Proper 14 - Ephesians 4:26,31-5:2 "Anger and Forgiveness"

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger… Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 4:26,31–5:2 ESV)

There is a lot of misunderstanding about anger.  If someone was to ask me if Jesus ever showed anger in the bible or if he is ever reported as being angry, I would immediately say that on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a week before he was crucified, he was angry when he entered the temple.  After all he overturned tables and drove out those trading sacrificial animals from the temple forecourts.

A journalist with whom I once worked chipped me over Jesus’ so-called “sinfulness” when he seemingly acted in anger.  Jesus made a whip, tossed coins, and drove them out of the temple.  It seems the reporter, saw it wrong that Jesus’ zeal and consumption for his Father’s house would consume him.  Or was the journo, right?  Perhaps his understanding of sin and anger was more about his own misjudgement of anger because of his own sin.

Most people’s anger, like the journalist, is more like that of Jonah’s anger.  Jonah was so angry with God he sat down to die.  A flighty figure of a man, captured by God in the sea, in a fish, and sent to save the barbaric marauding Ninevites made Jonah so self-righteously angry, he sat down to die because God was working repentance and forgiveness through him.  Was Jesus angry in the way Jonah was angry with God?  Although Jesus compares his three days in the earth to Jonah’s three days in the fish, the comparison ends there.

Was Jesus angry?  Do you think it’s okay for Jesus to be angry?  It’s noteworthy to see the disciples remembered Jesus’ zeal would consume him.  Was Jesus so angry he could die?

Be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger.  What does that mean in the context of Jesus’ zeal at the temple?  Unlike my journalist colleague we know Jesus was without sin, this zeal was a jealous anger, but it still wasn’t a sin.

What is anger anyway?  Our society frowns on aggressive behaviour, even on the football field these days.  If argy-bargy on the paddock turns into a bit of biffo one is sent off and thrown in the sin bin.  It’s no wonder passive aggression is on the rise in all areas of life. 

Anger at its basic is a feeling and it occurs because of the fight response provoked within us.  One’s attention is heightened and focused, the heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, and the breathing becomes heavier.  You’re ready for action so you can protect your well-being from threats.  It’s a fear response where one either fights or flees to protect themselves.

Spiritually, anger makes a person narrow their focus, usually turning in on themselves.  When one is afraid, hurt, worried, in pain, or there’s a chance of these occurring, the person is stretched and stressed, threating their stability.  This stability might be a trust in themselves or in something else.  Anger comes because of a loss of stability and control.

Jesus was born with the same physical attributes as all of us.  He had the capacity to be angry like you or me.  But if his actions in the temple were because of anger they were not done from a loss of stability and control.

Jesus’ anger is not a knee jerk reaction to stop instability and to reassure himself of his position in life as is our anger.  Nor is his anger like that of Jonah who was so angry he wanted to stop and die.  Jesus was so angry with sin he didn’t lie down to die, nor did he fight or flee, instead anger propels him on the road to the cross. 

Jesus’ anger was a righteous anger.  The question goes begging, can we be angry with a righteous anger like that of Jesus?

Paul says to the Ephesians, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.”   He says be angry but don’t react in a way that is sinful.  Do not descend into darkness because you are angry!  Do not let your anger kill you; spiritually, emotionally, or physically.

The problem is our anger affects us in many ways leading us into sin.  Paul lists them in verse thirty-one.  They are bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, slander, and malice.

When a person become bitter, one can’t walk away from the issue causing anger.  It’s as if that individual becomes chained to what makes them angry or pegged to their suffering.

To best understand wrath, we do best by picturing a rush of hot air, smoke, or one’s hot breath as a release of pressure like boiling water suddenly released as the power of steam. Think of the phrase, to “get hot under the collar”, and “letting off steam”.  Wrath sees one hot even beyond the point of exploding.

Anger appears in the list of things one must put off.  But earlier we are told to be angry and not sin.  Here this is the anger that has allow us to descend into darkness and sin.  It still has the meaning of being stretched but now the stretching becomes a means to a sinful end rather than hoping in a new beginning.  Like a perished rubber band, we have no way of retaining our elasticity and we snap.

Clamour is shrieking and crying out without hope which goes on and on and destroys our hope, as well as others around us.  Think of an annoying sound, like a croaking frog, outside the window all night leaving you exhausted and unrefreshed in the morning.

Slander is straight forward.  It’s bearing false witness.  When we slander another person, we defame someone made in the image of God, and therefore slander God himself.  Slander then is the same as committing blasphemy.

Malice is badness or evil in as far as when one practises malice, they participate in things that are worthless or meaningless in the kingdom of heaven. A person who is wilfully malicious cannot stand before God who has no use for malice.

Paul tells the Ephesians to avoid these six things.  So, know that he wrote to them about departing from these things because they struggled with them.  We like the Ephesians get angry but also like them we sin and let the sun go down on our anger.

It’s here God’s word calls us to let the Holy Spirit kick in with the work of Christ’s love for us. Paul calls this being imitators of God.  Literally, this is being mimics of Jesus where we die to self, to all that angers us, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted or compassionate, and forgive.  We become like a living ventriloquist doll speaking and acting like Jesus, but our actions find their origin in the Holy Spirit and not in what we do.

The good thing in all of this is when we are confronted with our own anger, be it self-righteous or unrighteous, we are invited to lie down and die to self, knowing Jesus was so angry with sin, both self-righteous and unrighteous, he bore all God’s anger on the cross for your self-righteousness and unrighteousness, and mine too.

When Abraham Lincoln was asked why he was helping the defeated enemy in the southern states of America get back on their feet, he replied, “how can I better destroy the enemy than by making them my friends?”

What we need to understand about God’s love in Jesus Christ, moved in us by the Holy Spirit, is that he has made us his friends.  Because ever since Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden, we were his sinful angry enemies.

So, another way of saying, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Is, “Be angry but forgive; let the sun go down on your forgiveness.”

Let us pray.  We were once hostile to you heavenly Father, but you forgive us our sin and make us your friends.  Help us when we struggle with anger by letting the Holy Spirit put that anger and pride to death in Jesus’ death so we can love others with the freedom of forgiveness in Jesus’ name.  Amen

B, Pentecost 10 Proper 13 - John 6:27-29 "Hard to Do"

[Jesus answered the crowd],“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”  Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”    (John 6:27–29 ESV)

What is the hardest thing to do?  What is the most difficult thing you have ever done? 

At times the hardest thing might be something quite “everyday”! But there are occasions when life changing events test our perseverance!  It could be something silly; something that makes you laugh or your family laugh at you.  But then again, the hardest thing to do might bring you the deepest sadness or the greatest fear.  Everyone has something they find hard to do.  It’s no wonder, for the most part, we prefer to do things we find easy to do.

When Jesus is followed by the crowd, he comments on what they find easy to do.  Jesus says to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” (John 6:26 ESV)

In other words what they found easier to do was what pleased them rather than look deeper into why this pleasing thing happened in the first place.  “To seek” literally means for a Hebrew “to worship”, so this crowd of Hebrews plainly worshipped Jesus because he filled their bellies rather than seeking eternal life from our Father in heaven.

In just the same way we find it easy to seek Jesus because of our desires and wants rather than what God wants.  Why is that?  Perhaps worshipping our Father in a God-pleasing way is a hard thing to do.   I can ask myself, “Am I living my life to please God, or am I living to please me?”

Jesus goes onto say, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” (John 6:27 ESV)

Notice Jesus here refers to himself as the Son of Man on whom God the Father has set his seal.  Jesus takes the title of humility as one who serves.  And so, with these words he swings the focus from their bellies back to him as the giver of a better food than earthy bread. 

But they ask Jesus, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (John 6:28 ESV) In isolation it is a great question, but they have not really heard what Jesus has just said to them.  That he is the Son of Man who “gives” and on him the Father has stamped his seal of approval. 

From our understanding and patience, we might find Jesus’ patience and work with these people a hard thing to do. But Jesus perseveres; he continues to be the humble Son of Man, the servant of salvation! He takes their question and uses it to teach them one of the central tenets of the Gospel. Jesus answers them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:29 ESV)

And Jesus’ hard work doesn’t end here.  He continues this dialogue which is recorded in John 6.  However, not only does he continue it, he lives it!  His work is also the sacrifice on the cross by which we eat his flesh and drink his blood.  He is the true food and the true drink that gives eternal life.

So, the work of God is to believe in him whom the Father has sent!  How hard it must have been for the crowd to believe what Jesus says here in John six prior to his death, resurrection, ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost!  The hardest thing for them to do, was to believe that someone might be sent to do such a thing, let alone the Son of God himself!

Today we too are called to do the work of believing.  We might laugh at ourselves or others that we can’t do everyday commonplace things.  We might be deeply saddened at the death of love ones or in times of great trial. But to do the work of believing is surely the hardest work to do. 

It becomes apparent just how hard the work of believe is when we start to peel back the layers to why Jesus has to come to us in the first place.  The crowd demonstrated this with their misunderstanding and questions of Jesus and we continue in the same way. The Holy Spirit continues to wrestle with our Old Adam, the human spirit, turning us back to Jesus.

You see we find it easier to believe in ourselves in three different ways. We would rather trust our ability to choose and do our own work.  We find it easier to hang on to our own truths or own understanding and mental ability with all their hidden motives. And we would rather determine our own way of living.  How we seek or worship God!

The hardest thing is to believe as God would have us believe when there is a world of junk food gods out there to feast upon.  And just as the crowds of Jews found it difficult to receive what Jesus was saying, we also find it hard to stop filling our bellies with all the junk food ideas and beliefs out there today that take the focus from the eternal food God the Father want us to consume!

Believing is hard to do because it requires us to know we are sinners in our being and in our thoughts, words, and actions. This has to happen first! Then believing trusts Jesus’ death to cover our sin and our sinful being!  This means we believe Jesus is both God the Son and Son of Man; powerful enough to beat sin by being humble enough to bear our sin.  And thirdly believing receives the Holy Spirit, so we have courage over our human spirit to tell others how God has forgiven our sin and to also forgive sin.

In short believing requires you to acknowledge your weakness and be forever dependant on Jesus’ work of salvation by letting the Holy Spirit deal with your human spirit.

Our human spirits continually wrestles with the Holy Spirit to take back power to work our own forgiveness, to fashion our own self-motivated truths of deciding what is good and what is evil, and to seek or worship different gods in place of the one true Triune God.

God gives us his written word, to hear, to fashion us, and to be a mirror in which we can examine ourselves.  He gives us his word to encourage and further deepen our faith, and he gives us parents, pastors and mentors to teach and model the faith as those who have gained wisdom from God leading them in their struggle with sin.

 Finally, Jesus gives us prayer, so we can join in with him and his intercessions before our Father in heaven.  We pray in Jesus name and by the power of the Holy Spirit, acknowledging: that there is a holy God who hears us in heaven; that his kingdom is coming and we must go through the death of self and physical death to enter it; that God’s will is being done on earth despite the mess we’ve created; that he provides; that we can demand him to help us forgive others as he has forgiven us, that we still struggle with temptation; and that every day of our earthly lives we need deliverance from evil.

Doing the work of believing is the hardest and best work ever done in us. This is the work of allow God to do what he needs to do in us. 

Let us continue to allow: the Father to provide for us; for Jesus Christ to continue saving us; and the Holy Spirit to continue calling, gathering and enlightening us with all the gifts of God. Amen.

B, Pentecost 9 Proper 12 - Ephesians 3:14-21 "Rooted and grounded in Love"

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.  (Ephesians 3:14–21 ESV)

A lamb is born undersized and it struggles to live not being able to get the colostrums it badly needs to survive.  In fact it will die if left to its own devices.  At this time of year as the frigid air of winter chills our being it’s a simple picture to understand. 

But the farmer and his family step in and adopt this weak undersized lamb.  They faithfully feed it, first by extracting milk from its mother and then continuing with formula that gives the lamb strength to grow. But it is tiny in comparison to where it should be for its age and the family keep it in the warmth of their home for some time.

Similarly Paul tells the Ephesians of their inclusion into the household of God.  They have a home in God’s presence and they are now no longer strangers and aliens.  Just like the pets we adopt into our homes and give names, the Ephesians too are named and linked into the family tree of God the Father.

Think of the names you give your animals. Every year my family get a reminder letter from the veterinary surgery to bring our dog in for a health check. Even on this reminder our black dog is named not just Jett, but Jett Pukallus.  He is a member of our family.  He is included as one of us.

It’s not only the Ephesians that are named; we too are no longer strangers and aliens to God the Father. Paul stresses our oneness with God the Father, the Christ, and the Spirit.  Our heritage is one with God, we are descendants of God; your inheritance is his glory in all its richness.

But it’s the attitude of Paul that needs our focus. His attitude is similar to that of Jesus when he was on his earthly march to the cross.  Paul’s walk from his experience on the road to Damascus is the same as Jesus walking to his death. This is the attitude of humility and trust.

Paul’s life changing experience leads him to bow his knee to God the Father, his Heavenly Father and our Heavenly Father, for a reason.  And here we engage Paul’s reason as our reason as we hear and receive God’s word today.

God’s great pleasure for us is to willing receive and be filled with the fullness of God.  But first we have to be emptied and made nothing so God can love us and make us something.  Just like a lamb on death’s door, God comes and gives us life.

Now I am sure that when the lamb was found abandoned out in the paddock it had no idea what a human was in relation to its survival.  A person could be a saviour as much as a devourer. “Am I going to be fed by this approaching being or am I going to be eaten?”

At first this lamb is not going to have any knowledge of one who comes into its cold environment.  How too are we to have any clue who or what God is, or seek him unless he first comes to us?

Our Heavenly Father has indeed come to us and he roots and grounds us in love.  This is the love of Jesus’ faithful walk to the cross, commanded by God the Father for our forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.  He roots and grounds us by nursing us with this steadfast love, teaching us to receive his goodness and forgiveness as he teaches us how to receive his word.

Paul too had no way of knowing this love of God when he travelled to Damascus to persecute the church.   It was only after being rendered weak through blindness, he became receptive to God’s love and his need for forgiveness.

So he comes to the Ephesians in weakness having been loved by God.  He was rooted and grounded in love. For this reason he bows his knee to God for the Ephesians.  Paul doesn’t make a demand of the Ephesians to fill themselves with knowledge, rather he puts the focus on the work of his Christ and his Spirit. 

By his submission to God, Paul also paints a picture by his example of humility.  He encourages them through his letter to also humbly be rooted, grounded and built up in God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — as opposed to being built up in themselves or in himself.   

So what does this all mean for us in this time of the delta variant, lockdowns and uncertainty?  Since Pastor Mathew was led by the Holy Spirit to the Barossa, Covid-19 has become our reality, and now as I arrive we are still very much in the midst of it. 

It may be hard for us to see the fullness of God and the richness of his love.  In this time of severe social distancing you might be feeling out in the cold, alienated as strangers from others in the kingdom of God. 

But like Paul who couldn’t see for awhile, let God continue to lead you through these days.  Let him feed you his word of life; the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ.  This is being rooted and grounded in love.

Just as Jesus put aside his spirit and allowed himself to be led by the Holy Spirit, just as Paul was led and fed by the Holy Spirit, let the Holy Spirit continue leading you in these days.  This is being rooted and grounded in love.

The little weak lamb responds to the faithfulness of the farmer and his family.  He is fed and led and he is strengthened.  The blessings of these days are that we too realise, as individuals and as a community on this earth, we are weak and helpless in ourselves.  This too is being rooted and grounded in love.

When we have been placing our faith in so many other things we suddenly realise how undernourished we become trusting in the weakness of our human spirit.  When we are rooted and grounded in God’s love, God reveals all our false roots of love and we realise the unstable ground on which we stand.

And so we confess our sin to the Lord!  We allow ourselves the posture of submission, and bear our community, our leaders, and community carers before the Lord.  God uses you to root and ground his steadfast eternal love in a self-loving, loveless world.

We allow the light of Christ to shine in us in these days of darkness, by not demanding others to love as we love, but by loving them with the love of God’s forgiveness, so they too might be rooted, grounded and built in the faith and hope in which we live for Christ and die to the self and the world.

Jesus is the Lamb of God.  You and I are Jesus’ little lambs.

I believe it is God’s will for me to serve you on bended knee so we can serve each other and our communities on bended knees.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.     

Hello from Pastor Heath

Greeting and encouragement to hold onto the promise that the "Steadfast love of God endures forever".

His love is steadfast through God the Father who provides, through God the Son who redeems, and through God the Holy Spirit who makes us holy.

Grace Mercy and Peace

Friarpuk