“Love that Grows and Builds Up” 2012

James 3:2-5,10 Ephesians 4:1-6, 11-16

James 3:2-5,10

2For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.

Ephesians 4:1-6, 11-16

4I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

One time, a fairly new member of the church,

a trained gardening expert and landscape enthusiast

presented the Session with a detailed master-plan

for plants and gardens, for the future landscaping

around the church building we’d just finished.

I was just out of seminary, a new and inexperienced pastor,

and I am embarrassed to admit that I let it happen ---

-- but for some reason,

some of the elders decided to pick her plan apart,

challenging her competence and every detail of

the research & drawings she had done for the church.

I will always regret that I allowed that ugly moment;

that she walked out from the Session wounded and hurt,

and would never again willingly risk exposing herself

by taking on any other tasks or projects at the church.

How many wounded workers do you suppose, sit in our church pews,

who say, I will never again take on any job at the church …

… I will never again go through a storm of hurtful and harsh

comments of another critical and complaining church member…

--- and so the church of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God,

like a jigsaw puzzle with some pieces missing,

has to do without the blessing, labor and gifts

of that person God specifically called

and uniquely equipped to serve well …

…and also that person is robbed of the joy and satisfaction

of faithful and effective service God intended for them.

How many of God’s chosen servants, workers and volunteers

have been attacked, discouraged and driven away

by the harsh criticism of a bitter vindictive tongue?

As James writes, vs. 5~8

… the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire.

The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, can be tamed, but no one can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Deadly poison? Actually, yes.

Did you know that the singer, Karen Carpenter,

whose anorexia literally starved her to death,

became obsessed with weight loss and thinness

after being referred to as,

“Richard’s chubby sister” in an magazine article.

The destructive potential and power of hurtful words.

I wish this were an area of Christian living where I could say,

“just follow my example”,

but so far, I can claim no such victory over my words.

At times, I still rant and rave with little grace or mercy,

especially against politicians and televangelists.

and I need the reminder of the truth in James, vs. 2

For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.

My experience is that on my best day, my effort and determination

in trying to eliminate all my mis-spoken words are futile.

For me, it’s a matter of curbing my critical and cynical attitude,

and that if I look for mistakes and failures in others,

then I will most surely notice and can identify them ----

-- which causes criticism and complaint to dominate my thinking,

and so that filth pollutes the flowing fountain of my words.

On the other hand,

to reverse an attitude of criticism and complaint calls for

hopeful affirmation & gratitude for that which is right…

… which requires me to consciously and deliberately

try to notice and recognize that which is good & worthy…

… so that the fountain of my thoughts will lead to speech

that then flows with kindness, gentleness and grace ---

--- as we read in Ephesians 4,1~3, 15~16

I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. … But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Christ, joined and knit together as equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

The first 3 chapters of Ephesians focus on God’s gracious love,

and how in Jesus Christ, God calls

all of humanity to walk in faithfulness with Him…

--- the rest Ephesians

describes the implications of God’s gracious love…

… first God loves us, then we recognize it, believe and respond.

One of the ways we rightly respond to God’s gracious love

is by looking for the good, worthy and hopeful in others,

and choosing to encourage and affirm our family in faith.

We’re called to build up others of the body of Christ, the Church,

as a reflection of God’s love flowing in and through each of us.

Consider the amazing potential of our words to accomplish good,

to inspire great deeds and faith, to encourage and affirm,

to bring healing, reconciliation and new life…

… for our words can be the very life blood of hope and blessings.

By his words, President John Kennedy challenged all of America,

to send a man to the moon and back home alive within a decade.

He captured the imagination of our country with his vision

when he said in his 1961 State of the Union Address:

“it will not be one man going to the moon … it will be an entire nation. For all must work to put him there.”

Consider that before that decade was over,

how well that challenge was met and was exceeded,

achieved three years before the end of the decade --

-- the power of his words that inspired and motivated our nation.

Or how by the words of his powerful speech, “I have a dream”,

Martin Luther King altered our whole nation’s trajectory…

placing a vision of racial equality before the American people,

that transformed the sort of people and nation we wanted to be.

In your own past,

who have been the teachers, coaches, mentors & encouragers;

those whose words propelled you toward excellence?

… who inspired you to rise and do your best,

to develop your skills and abilities,

to try again or be tenacious one more time?

Isn’t it often the encouraging and inspiring words of others

that can powerfully lead us to invest ourselves more fully

toward accomplishing the things most worthwhile in life?

Can you think of any talent, any skill or ability that you have,

that was not first noticed by someone else,

or was not encouraged at some point by what someone said?

On a long Friday afternoon ,

a teacher was dealing with a bored and restless class;

so she had each student write down something that

they appreciated about each student in their class.

Then over the weekend she compiled a list for each student,

and on the following Monday,

she gave each one a page of their fellow students' comments.

Several years later,

one of those students had been killed in Viet Nam,

and a lot of his teachers & classmates came to the funeral.

After the service, the parents found that teacher,

took out a worn and stained tattered piece of paper, and said:

"this was in our son's things, with him when he died".

It was the page of his fellow students' comments.

Standing nearby, another former student

took out a dog-eared list from his wallet,

another said, "Here, see, I've still got mine",

and a women told how she always carried hers in her purse,

and so it went, student after student pulled out their list…

… consider the things we keep and carry around with us …

the negative comments we hear, or the hopeful words of promise.

The power of words that can do so much damage, hurt and harm,

also have the power that can usefully bring healing and hope.

In the Ephesians, as we realize & recognize how much God loves us,

we respond by living within the context of a faith community,

where together we are called to proclaim the good news,

by living lives of faithful service, hope and joy…

… lives of love that strengthen & encourage the weak & wounded…

vs. 12-13, 15-16

… to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Christ, joined and knit together as equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

Our call and task is to be a people who affirm and encourage,

who look for opportunities where we can build others using

this gift of words to accomplish blessings and good.

For consider the choices we make,

we can help reshape a destiny by offering courage and hope.

We can be encouragers, who bring out the best in others

whose words who lift-up the discouraged, broken and wounded,

and who help those who have fallen to get back up again

by looking for opportunities to offer hope & praise.

Today as we come to the Table of God’s grace, Psalm 19:14

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.