"Growing Up"
Ephesians 4:1-16
Rev. Laura J. Collins
August 3, 2003
A woman who had always had a brown thumb was given a gift not long ago from her husband: a paper white narcissus bulb. Having killed every plant that ever came her way, she was determined to make this one grow. She carefully read the instructions that came with the bulb. She planted it, made sure it had the proper amount of sunlight and water and watched. And waited. Nothing happened.
"This thing is dead!" she thought. But out of sheer stubborn determination she kept taking care of the pot, where nothing was growing. One day, she noticed small green shoots growing somewhat at an angle along the edge of the pot. After a moment, she realized what she had done. She had planted the bulb upside down!
In spite of her mistake, the plant was determined to grow and had curved around until it found the light. Realizing the problem, she dug up the bulb and turned it around and started over. But now the shoot already had a good start and quickly grew into a gorgeous flower.
Most of us wouldn't be here if, like the plant, we didn't have a sincere desire to grow toward the light. But sometimes we make it harder on ourselves by facing in the wrong direction. It's not impossible to grow when youre planted upside down, but it sure is easier when you're facing the light to begin with.
There are times when I wonder if the business of the church is worth all the effort: the upkeep of a building, the politics of the denomination, the battling of egos to build community and the energy needed to run good programs. But then I remember, that in the inscrutable wisdom of God, the church has been given to us as one of the tools we have to keep us facing toward the light. The Scriptures, the sacraments, the fellowship with other followers of Christ, the calls to service, the challenge of community - all are pieces of the puzzle pointing us in the direction of God.
The folks who started the first Christian churches - Peter, Paul, and all their cohorts - knew how tricky this business of growing toward God could be. That's why we have so many letters to churches in our New Testament. The letter to the church at Ephesus addressed a congregation of Gentiles - people who were not part of the Jewish covenant. Whether or not they could be Christians at all was the first question. Wasn't Jesus a Jew? Didn't he address the people of the covenant about how to follow the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca? What could his words mean to those outside the faith?
That was a huge hurtle to cross. Much bigger than those questions which divide Christians today about who is in and who is out. The answer, of course, was everybody's in! But once crossed, then the Gentile churches themselves had to struggle with what it meant to become disciples of Jesus. In Ephesians, the breaking of barriers between Gentile and Jew is affirmed: there is one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God, Creator of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. And all have received the peace of Christ and the gifts of grace. Now it is up to us to stop wondering about the innies and the outies and figure out what it all means.
So, the letter-writer reminds us, some were given the gifts of being apostles or evangelists or teachers or prophets ... so that all of us might be equipped to be ministers. The work of ministry is the role of everyone who wants to follow Jesus. And the church, with its teachers and pastors, is here to help us do that work; to help us grow up, reach maturity in faith, and not be tossed about by every new spiritual path that blows our way. Rather, we are supposed to build up the community so that we can help each other grow up into Christ.
Grow up into Christ.
Like the bulb, we are to grow toward the light.
And to grow toward the light, it helps to be in the right place. You know those house plants that you place a bit too far from a window and the next thing you know, instead of a nicely shaped cluster of leaves, you have these long weedy-looking stems reaching out desperately trying to find a patch of sunlight?
The church isn't the only good place to be, but I certainly get reminded about what it means to face the Light when I join with you folks week after week. I get reminded by you to be thankful in the midst of illness, to admit when I need help raising my child, to hang on to hope for loved ones with mental illness; I am reminded that what I believe should shape how I use my citizenship in a democracy, that there is a big world out there in need of my compassion and my money, that whatever problems I encounter this week I can be sure of two things: one, I'm not alone and I don't need to be; two, there are lots of people and places whose problems are more serious than mine and it might do me some good to focus on them for a while.
Grow up into Christ.
The other thing I remember when I come here, when I hear the music, when I eat the bread and share the cup, is that there is Light. If you've been stuck in a dark place for a long time or closed up in some closet for a while, it's easy to forget that light exists. Back when my husband was a corporate guy who wore a tie to work and rove his large gas-guzzling vehicle from out in the burbs to the office every day (hard to imagine, isn't it??), he used to leave home before the sun was up, get to the office in the dark, sit in a windowless cubicle all day and then commute home in the dark again. Fortunately, in his earlier years he had witnessed the sun - or more accurately, in Rochester, NY, he had witnessed some cloudy skies behind which a light source apparently shone -- so he knew it existed.
Coming to church can simply remind us, the Light exists. Keep pushing through the dark soil if you have to, keep sending out your weedy tentacles if you need, because you'll find it. Whoever seeks, finds; whoever knocks, for them the door is opened.
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world."
Grow toward him.
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