Pentecost 11, August 8, 2021

A movie is being made about your life!   Who would you choose to play YOU?

Undoubtedly you’re going to pick someone who makes you look good. And someone everyone admires and adores. You’d probably choose someone who could imitate your movements, your facial expressions, your Minnesota accent??  You’ll want someone who can embody the best of YOU!

Do you wonder whom God would choose to play him?  Several actors have at least lent their voice to the portrayal of God:  George Burns did it.   Morgan Freeman and Whoopi Goldberg gave it a try.  It’s a pretty tall order!  And no one can really do it without playing it for laughs!

Of course, the one who embodied God in human form was Jesus himself.  He didn’t just act the part of God.  He was and is God in the flesh.  In Jesus, God spoke, he loved, he took action!  But would it surprise you to know that when it comes to imitating God’s activity, voicing his message, embodying his love, he chose what we might consider to be less accomplished actors?  As in, he chose US???

Today we continue with a reading from Ephesians — Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus.  The first part of the letter is all about the gospel – the amazing news of God’s love for us in Christ.   The second part is about living a life that is worthy of that grace.  While it might sound like one part of all that is what God does – and the other part is what WE do, that is not exactly how it works.  In fact, God’s grace is a free gift.  AND the life that is responsive to that grace is also a free gift.  And all who receive this gift of grace are the ones God has chosen to represent him on the world stage.  Today Paul says, “Be imitators of God as dearly loved children.”

When we say that God chose us and loved us and made us his children it is NOT like the way one would go to the humane society and adopt a pitiful rescue dog with sad eyes.  We are not a charity project for God.  He does not look at us and think, “Oh those poor pathetic creatures!  I should really save them.”  Not at all.  He is looking for us to be his presence here – to imitate his love and give voice to his voice and do the things he was doing through his son, Jesus.  So this is not just about us being well trained obedient little pet projects of God.  This is about something much bigger.

This is clear from his ministry.  He sent out the disciples with this message to the people:  “Believe the good news.”  That was the same message Jesus went about proclaiming.  Jesus empowered his friends to heal the sick and cast out demons.  That’s what Jesus was doing.  “Love one another,” Jesus said, “as I have loved you.” He washed their feet and then said, “You should do what I have done for you.”  He told them about the amazing, surprising compassion of the Good Samaritan and then said, “Go and do likewise.”  Even his initial invitation, “Follow me,” was more about just following in his footsteps across Palestine.  It was about doing what he was doing, saying what he was saying, loving the ones he was loving.

In describing this life of grace to which we are called, Paul includes lots of encouragements about things we might do to give expression to the gifts of God.  But it’s interesting to note that Paul does not use the 10 commandments as the guide or standard for that life.

He does not say, “put away all falsehoods because that fulfills the 8^th commandment.” But because we are “members of one body.” He does not encourage thieves to give up stealing because the 7^th commandment says, “do not steal” but because honest work helps provide for the needs of others.  We forgive not because Jesus said so, but because WE have been forgiven, according to Paul.  We are kind not because we should be but because we have known the kindness of God.  We show compassion not because the commandments tell us to, but because WE have been shown compassion.

He bases all the encouragement for this life on things that reflect the one body and one spirit in Christ not on laws and rules that we tend to gravitate towards.  Paul knows the commandments were not designed to create in us the kind of life that would lead people to community with God and with one another.  In fact, what the law tends to do among those who promote it is create little self-righteous Pharisees who end up doing exactly the OPPOSITE of what Jesus did and what supports and builds up love.

God’s ultimate goal for us is not obedience and submission but love. He is calling us to a life that was revealed in the life of Christ and continues in us.  The life we have been given – this unity of body and spirit that descends on us – actually brings Jesus’ love into our lives.  All the kindness and compassion and forgiveness we have known begins to radiate from us. And that is where we begin to become the voice – the hands and feet – the face of Christ.  “Be imitators of God as dearly loved children.”  No angels have been sent to be the face of Christ.  No superhuman performers have been sent to demonstrate the power of his love.  No thundering megaphones announce his message of grace.  It’s you and me.  It’s we who are his body.

Our problem in doing this is not disobedience and selfishness. We have been freed from all that precisely so that those burdens of guilt and shame would not hinder us.  NOW our only problem is underestimating who we are – we are imitators of Christ – Martin Luther called us “little Christs!” We have been chosen to embody everything that Jesus is. That means all the little things – the simple acts of love and compassion – the ears that listen to the cares and concerns of a friend – the open mind that seeks to understand — the forgiveness we extend — the ordinary tasks that fulfill our vocation – sometimes the things that SEEM very far from having any religious or spiritual connection to God – actually play a leading role in delivering God’s deepest love to a broken world.