Epistle Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16
For Sunday, August 5, 2012; Year B—Ordinary 18
I love the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles staring Steve Martin and the late John Candy. In one scene, John Candy’s character inadvertently drives his car onto the interstate going against the flow of traffic. Motorists on the other side of the highway (the side he is suppose to be on) try to warn them by yelling, “You’re going the wrong way!!!”
John Candy’s character turns to Martin, laughs them off and says, “They’re drunk, how do they know where we are going?”
How do they know where we are going?
I may be “old-school,” but I believe that Paul meant something particular when he wrote Ephesians 4:1-16. I believe that he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And I believe that, like the layout of the interstate highway system, God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit have something particular in mind for the church and the world. They (Father, Son and Spirit) know where we are going because they set the course. They communicated the directions to us through Paul. The end result was to be a unified church that is going the right way.
Going THE RIGHT way!
My postmodern sensibilities make it difficult for me to write things like “going THE RIGHT way” but I just did it. I did it because I think Paul is saying something that we should pay more attention to - something that is right.
The right way includes leading lives worthy of our calling. Who can argue with that? We are to do so with all humility and gentleness. Anyone willing to argue for pride and harshness? We are to be patient, bearing with one another in love. Anyone suppose we should embrace impatience and cutting others lose when they don’t do things our way?
We may disagree about many things within the church, but I think we can all get behind Paul’s admonition that we make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The right way also includes a common commitment to one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
Going the right way includes the exercising of particular gifts, given by the Spirit. Apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral and teaching gifts are placed within the people of the church so that the church can minister in various ways to the needs around them.
The Final Destination
As Paul continues writing, he begins to identify the final destination. If we keep going this way, all in the church will grow up and mature in their faith and knowledge of the Lord Jesus, until they measure up to His full stature. Their lives will be marked by maturity and stability, both knowing and proclaiming the truth. Paul likens this journey to the image of being knit together, with each part working properly, as the church is built up in love.
Entering on the Right Ramp
John Candy’s problem was he got confused at the very start. He got on the interstate the wrong way, which made him a danger to himself and others. What I love about the order in which Paul writes is how the first few verses serve as an entry ramp to what God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are doing in the world.
Our unity breaks down, and we fail to meet our final destination, when we forget that going God’s way begins with a call from God that we are to live into in a particular way. That particular way includes gentleness, humility and patience, bearing with one another in love, and giving ourselves fully to maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The Hardest Question
Which way are you going?
