“SOCKS AND SHOES AND THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO”
EPHESIANS 4:1-16
[4:1] I therefore, a prisoner
for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you
have been called,
[2] with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
[3] eager to maintain the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
[4] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called
to the one hope that belongs to your call—
[5] one Lord, one faith, one
baptism,
[6] one God and Father of
all, who is over all and through all and in all.
[7] But grace was given to
each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
[8] Therefore it says,
“When
he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and
he gave gifts to men.”
[9] (In saying, “He
ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower
regions, the earth?
[10] He who descended is the
one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all
things.)
[11] And he gave the
apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
[12] to equip the saints for
the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
[13] until we all attain to
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature
manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
[14] so that we may no longer
be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of
doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
[15] Rather, speaking the
truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into
Christ,
[16] from whom the whole
body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when
each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up
in love.
So, are you a sock shoe, sock
shoe person? Or are you a sock,
sock, shoe, shoe person? If you’re
confused maybe this will help. Many
years ago there was an “All In The Family” episode where Archie and Mike get
into a big argument over the best way to get dressed in the morning. It all starts
when Mike puts on a sock
and then a shoe. When Archie
sees that he can’t believe it and says, “Don’t you know that the whole world
puts on a sock and a sock and a shoe and a shoe?” Mike likes his way better though and says “I like to take
care of one foot at a time.” At
that point the two of them are off and running as they argue over which way is
the best way to get dressed in the morning. So, I have to ask. Are you a sock shoe, sock shoe
person? Or are you a sock, sock,
shoe, shoe person?
People fight over just about
everything these days. Some of the
arguments are over really important things like health care reform, gun control
laws and taxes. And some of the
arguments are over silly things like how to put your socks and shoes on in the morning.
Have you noticed though that a lot of
those arguments seem to be filled with a lot of nastiness, negativity and name
calling?
There just doesn’t
seem to be a lot of respect these days between
people who don’t see eye to eye on things. That was certainly true for the husband and wife who went to
the state fair every year. Every
year Fred said the same thing. “Edna, I sure would like to take a ride in that
there helicopter.” And every year
Edna would say, “No sir. That
helicopter ride costs $10 and $10 is $10 dollars.” So, one year Fred tried a different approach. “Edna,”
he said, “I’m 71 years old and if
I don’t take a ride in that there helicopter
this year I may never get another chance.” “I don’t care,” Edna said. “$10 is still $10.” That’s when the helicopter pilot offered them a
deal. “I’ll tell you what,” he
said, “I take you both up for free but if you say one word it will cost you
$10.” Well, Fred and Edna quickly agreed.
What they didn’t realize though
is that the helicopter pilot had trick up his sleeve. While they were up there
he did all kinds of twists and turns and upside down loops. Despite all
of his efforts though
he didn’t hear a single word from the husband and wife. When the
helicopter was back on
the ground the pilot congratulated the husband and wife. “By golly,”
he said, “I did everything
I could think of to get you to scream but you didn’t.” “Well,”
Fred replied, “I was gonna say
something when Edna fell out but $10 is $10.”
These
days when people argue you see a lot of nastiness,
negativity and name calling. Maybe
it’s a reflection of our narcissistic society. In other words “I have to be right because I am after all
superior to you.” Or maybe it’s a
reflection of the entitlement mentality that seems to be everywhere these
days. In other words “I have to be
right because if I’m not right I don’t get what I want.” Whatever
it is, it’s an attitude that really
believes I’m 100% right 100% of the time. “So why should I listen to what you have to say or give in a
little and compromise? Besides
compromise is a sign of weakness and I can’t help it if you don’t have the
brains to see that I’m right. “
Do you know anyone like
that? What do you do when someone
like that starts to argue with you?
The easiest thing you can do of course is just walk away. Another easy
thing you can do is get
down in the mud and give the person a taste of his or her own medicine. You dig
your heels in and verbally slug
it out.
Those ideas may be the
easiest thing you can do, however, you and I are disciples of the risen Christ
and as disciples of the risen Christ we haven’t been called to do what’s
easy. We’ve been called to do
what’s best and that brings us to the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians.
Now in order to make sense Paul’s
letter you need to understand that he was writing to people who weren’t seeing
eye to eye on a lot of things. That’s
because some of the Christians in Ephesus were former Jews and some of
Christians were Gentiles. So, the first thing Paul did was encourage them to
focus on the most important thing that they had in common, their faith. That’s
why Paul told them to remember that, “There is one body and one Spirit…one hope…
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all
and through all and in all.”
Paul encouraged the Ephesians
to focus on the faith they shared in common because he wanted them to remember
that even though they had their differences they were still sisters and
brothers in Christ. The same thing
is true for us today. Even though
you might not see eye to eye with someone that person is still a child of the
living God, just like you, just like me, just like us and that brings us to the
second thing Paul tells us in his Letter to the Ephesians.
It’s right there in the 2nd
verse. Paul writes these words,
“walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” and
“with all humility and gentleness, (and) patience” bear “with one another in
love…”
Humility, patience,
gentleness, love. Now I will admit that it isn’t always easy to follow his
advice here. It’s hard to be
humble when someone bombards you with all kinds of nasty comments. It’s
hard to be gentle when someone is
completely negative about things that are near and dear to you. It’s
hard to be patient when
someone starts calling you names because you don’t agree with their way of
thinking. It isn’t easy to
love someone like that but that’s exactly what we have been called to do as
disciples of the risen Christ.
Last August I shared a story
about a love that was humble, gentle and patient. Because of Hurricane Irene though only about a dozen people heard
the story. The story was about a husband and wife who shared a wonderful grace
filled moment that you may have read about in the newspaper. Everett and Betty
Potter shared that
grace filled moment out in Wayland.
They were about to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary
and they both knew that because of Everett’s failing health it might be their
last wedding anniversary. That’s
why Everett decided that there was one more thing that he wanted to do before
he died and with the help of the good people at Life Choices Hospice he was
able to make his dream come true. So,
on April 4, 2011 Everett and Betty were taken in an ambulance to the United
Methodist Church in Milford, Massachusetts. That’s the church where they originally exchanged their
marriage vows back in 1946. When
they got to the church they were both wheeled down the aisle to the front of
the sanctuary. That’s where
Everett proposed again to Betty and gave his wife the diamond ring that he
couldn’t afford the first time they got married. This past March Everett died and something tells me
that the love he and Betty shared wasn’t just until “death do us part.”
Sometimes an argument is
unavoidable. So, it’s quite likely that Everett and Betty had a few moments
over the years. You don’t
stay married for 65 years though if your arguments are nasty and negative and
full of name calling. You stay
married for 65 years when you bear with each other with a love that is humble
and patient and gentle. When you
feel an argument coming on you can do the thing that is easy or you can do the
thing that is best. The best
thing you can do is let your light shine with a love that is humble, gentle and
kind. Life is always better when
you do what is best.
By the way, I’m a sock, sock,
shoe, shoe person. How about you?
Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
August
5, 2012
