Sermons for the Month

Wise Adjustments
DATE: August 20th, 2006
SERVICE: 11th Sunday after Pentecost
TEXT: Ephesians 5:15-20
“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

Today our month-long focus on chapters 4, 5 and 6 of Ephesians continues, with input from the book Adventures in Missing the Point being thrown in for good measure. I will not subject you to a "Finkmania" review as I did last week; instead I'll just note that in today's reading from Ephesians Paul offers more insight on the process in which we all are engaged - gaining maturity as Christians.
We have talked about the fact that if we are to achieve that goal we must be imitators of Jesus who are a transforming force in the world. In today's text Paul writes that that to do so we must be wise, we must live wise. But, what are the components of wise living?
Well, Paul says, make good use of the time you have been given; seek to understand God's will; be filled with the Spirit. In other words, be aware of the Spirit's power and presence at work within you.
A good way to do that, he continues, is to, "sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:19-20) What does that sound like? Well, it sounds like worship to me. We can conclude, then, that worshipping God with other people is a way to live wise.
Sometimes, though, we may miss the point concerning worship. Listen to this quote from the book I mentioned, "…in the worship service, leaders (song leader, pastor, choir, organist, etc…) are the prompters, the congregation members are the performers, and God is the audience. However, in most church services, unfortunately, God is relegated to prompter, the service leaders function as performers, and the congregation is the audience." (1)
Think about that, if the congregation members are the performers, then the focus is not on what we "get" out of the service, but on we do. In worship we strive to grasp who God is, what God does, how God interacts with, and transforms, us. And, we express thanks and praise for all that.
That fits with what I learned in seminary, that the liturgy in a traditional service is the "work of the people", which accounts for the call and response nature of it. But, how often does worship end up being about something other than who God is, what God does, how God interacts with, and transforms, us and on expressing thanks and praise?
I'll pick on myself first; how often do I focus on wanting my sermon to be (what's that nasty word) entertaining? How often do I worry about capturing your attention and being creative? And, how often is it true that you, the worshippers, see yourselves as the "audience" who are here to be entertained, to feel good, to "get something out of the service for the week" and, of course, to do it all in an hour or less. Is the focus on God, on praise, and on giving thanks, or on us?
I have a story to tell you that I debated about sharing. But, it's so illustrative of how we can miss the point that I decided to tell it. I do not often get to attend worship as a person in the pew rather than a leader, but I did so on a recent vacation. Unfortunately, the experience was marred by the two women sitting behind me who evidently had lost track of their role as "performers" in worship. They definitely put themselves in the audience role, and evidently as the critics of the performance.
As the service began they complained the each other about the interim pastor who, evidently, falls short of their expectations. When he did not appear at the usual time in the usual place to begin the service there were snide comments that, "he's probably late."
That day was a VBS service, and therefore not the usual order of service. Words from VBS songs were being projected onto screens in the front of the sanctuary, but evidently the print or the format was different than usual. So, for every song there was a clearly audible debate going on behind me concerning what was on the screen. Let's just say that the tone was not one of true inquiry because they longed to participate.
Then, during Communion there was a discussion about the lack of stained glass in this new sanctuary and how, when the sun shown brightly, "tacky" window covering had to be put up in certain areas to keep the glare from blinding musicians. "And I offered to pay for stained glass," I heard. It was at this point that I turned to my friend, also a pastor, and whispered, "If these two aren't careful they'll end up in a sermon!" (Please forgive me, Lord.)
Let's just say that during worship my heart and mind were not focused on God, or on my role as a "performer", a "participant" in praising God. That's an extreme example, at least I hope it is, but it reminds us of how easy it is to get off track, to miss the point, as we strive to live wise.
That's a concept that appeals to me - to live wise. So, I began to consider what, besides putting worship in its right perspective, are ways to do so. In my quest to address that question I came across an article titled, "Spiritual Intelligence" in which the author lists seven "pillars" of spiritual wisdom which are surprisingly uncomplicated. They are:

Have a Christ-influenced self-concept. We should see ourselves as God's beloved, and that will result not in arrogance, but in courage and confidence as we approach life.

Have a Christ-influenced concept of other people, which results in a radical respect for the dignity of every person.

Live a life of stewardship in which we acknowledge that all things are God's, and our responsibility is to see that what God has granted to us is shared for the common good. Security is found in faith, not in "stuff".

Develop a balance between contemplation and action, remembering that overly busy people become spiritually depleted. Take time each day for oneness with self and with God.

Develop a paschal attitude about life. The word paschal often is used in reference to Passover or Easter; it has to do with the concept of passage. So, to have a paschal attitude means that we grasp that all of life is about life, death and resurrection, over and over again, until the final experience of death releases us into eternal life. Thinking of life in this way puts the challenges we face into perspective.

Live the way of forgiveness, so that anger and hostility do not build up in our lives to toxic levels, and we are relieved of that burden.

Find groundedness in God, meaning that we constantly sense that God is with us. This results in peace, comfort and also a challenge to live the way of life taught by Jesus.

And so, with number seven, we end up back where we started. Imitating Jesus is the key to Christian maturity, to living wise, to being a person of spiritual intelligence. That's because Jesus is the embodiment of maturity, of wisdom and of spiritual intelligence.
"Be careful how you live," Paul advises, "not as unwise people but as wise." Today we've touched on a number of way to acquire wisdom - including adjusting

our focus in worship,

the way we view ourselves and other people,

how we use our time and possessions,

our acceptance of the passages of life,

and our willingness to forgive.

But it's our desire to imitate Jesus that really makes a difference, and that, in the end, has the power to transform.

AMEN
(1) Adventures in Missing the Point, Brain D. Mclaren and Tony Campolo, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI., 2003, pg. 239.
(2) "Spiritual Intelligence", Patrick Brennan, program #4417, www.30goodminutes.org.