While lectionary preachers enjoy the blessings afforded by many
of the best and most recent scholarly resources, the present series from Paul’s
letter to the Ephesians has given occasion for deeper consideration regarding
the limitations of the lectionary selections. Sensing at times that arbitrary
points of demarcation have artificially limited the lections to the detriment
of Paul’s line of argument, we have included those verses that seemed
to add clarity and resolution to the exposition of Scripture. In the present
case there is once again good reason, on textual grounds, to lengthen the
lectionary text to include the whole of Ephesians 5:1-21. First, the preacher
will probably notice a repetition of worship imagery roughly at the beginning
and end of the text we have established in verses 2 and 19-20. Focusing initially
on the Hebrew liturgical language regarding the self-giving Christ who became
“a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” Paul concludes the
passage by instructing the Ephesians to communicate “with psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs” as they make music in their hearts to the Lord.
In effect, this textual inclusio leads us from an extravagant act of worship
reconciling us to God to a final admonition calling us to immerse ourselves
in a similarly extravagant life of praise. Taken as a whole, the expanded
text definitively affirms that the central, formative act of the Christian
life is worship. We don’t enter into spiritual formation by first assembling
procedural manuals or behavioral rules. We enter more deeply into the holiness
of the Jesus’ life by offering ourselves in a sanctuary for worship.
A second textual consideration also argues for the extension
of the passage to include verse 21 even though many translations will position
that verse at the beginning of a new section addressing the relationship between
husbands and wives. The concise remarks of verses 15-20 comprising the original
text chosen by the lectionary committee contain a succession of five Greek
participles (“speak,” “sing,” “make music,”
“giving thanks,” and “submit”) that conclude Paul’s
thought sequence as well as the sentence in verse 21. Because of this grammatical
evidence, some of the commentaries choose to assign and translate verse 21
as a continuation of Paul’s teaching regarding the requirements of his
command that the Ephesians “be filled with the Spirit” (see verse
18). But if the participle of verse 21 is allowed to complete the series as
suggested above, the extension of our text serves to reinforce the earlier
claim that worship is the preeminent and focal agenda for our spiritual formation.
While these structural features certainly contribute to the
interpretive possibilities available for the preacher’s consideration,
the repetition of another familiar phrase comes into view in verses 2, 8,
and 15. As we had seen in an earlier exposition in this series, Paul continues
to utilize a form of the Greek verb peripateo (“to walk”) when
encouraging the Ephesians to pay careful attention to the inherent testimony
offered up by one’s lifestyle (see 2:2, 2:10, 4:1, and 4:17 in addition
to the three verses identified in the present text). In the third of these
instances, this metaphor suggesting that the Christian life is a “walk”
or journey serves as something of a thematic heading for verses 15-20. Telling
the Ephesians in verse 15 that they should exercise considerable caution regarding
the way they “live,” Paul goes on to offer three contrasts between
antithetical lifestyles. Some of the more recent scholarship sees in these
polarizing statements a teaching style reminiscent of the wisdom tradition
of ancient Israel, a balancing between options that is heavily weighted in
favor of a path leading to effective living and shalom. If this is an accurate
reading, the preacher may wish to entertain the possibility for an exposition
of Paul’s third imperative in verse 18 (“Do not get drunk on wine,
which leads to debauchery. . . . Instead, be filled with the Spirit”)
that approaches the experience of Spirit-filled living as a faithful expression
of biblical wisdom. To put the matter simply, holiness is not merely a duty
to be fulfilled but a divinely ordained blessing woven into the very fabric
of creation. Whether or not the pulpit regularly evokes holiness as duty rather
than blessing may be subject to debate within the congregation, but let the
text offer its own voice just in case the theme itself has largely fallen
silent.
Throughout this series on Soulcraft, we have given attention
to the formulation of an authentic and compelling agenda for spiritual formation
within the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. Engaging a series of Pauline texts
featuring stunning affirmations regarding the scope of God’s redemptive
intentions, our considerations have repeatedly turned away from many of the
usual preoccupations in contemporary spirituality. With our perceptions and
desires manipulated by market forces and spiritual curiosity badly distorted
by sin, we find that we do not remember where to begin in forming anything
as significant as a Spirit-filled life. So our focus moves quickly toward
a sense of priority informed by the immediacy of our personal needs. While
there may be nothing inherently disobedient in the way we pay such careful
attention to ourselves, our present text hints that authentic spiritual formation
must enable us to take ourselves seriously without falling into self-obsession.
So as Paul shouts for attention in verse 14, we discover our real predicament
and present need. We need to recover our sense of true priority, and worship
is the way this is done.
What are we to make of Paul’s rather abrupt decision to
move from talking about a Spirit-filled life into a contemplation of psalms,
hymns, and spiritual songs as we make music in our hearts to the Lord? For
those who are musically inclined or sanguine in personality, the answer will
perhaps be self-evident. For the rest of us, Paul’s intent may remain
somewhat opaque unless we give consideration to a question arising from this
juxtaposition of concerns: How long has it been since you have been able to
hear the tune beneath the life you are living?
Knowing that some might perceive more cacophony than melody
as the dominant tune of their experience, Paul proves to be a trustworthy
voice reminding us that holiness can only be experienced in response to reality.
In terms of our present text, Paul hints that in coming once again to the
Church preoccupied and full of worry about ourselves, we may nonetheless find
ourselves fractured open in worship. For Paul this is not primarily a matter
of adopting proper technique, but rather an invitation to consecration. Our
calling is to allow ourselves to be pulled into the sacrifice of Jesus until
ours becomes a sacramental life. This is a Christian “walk” that
begins and ends in the formative rhythms and rituals of worship, a daily offering
in which we give consent to be taken, blessed, broken, and given away by our
Lord. And as he calls saints in Ephesus to become “imitators of God,”
Paul simply gives to each of us an invitation to be placed on the same altar
where Jesus himself lived and died.
Eugene Peterson has observed that since we live in a world largely
dominated by romanticism on steroids (“If it feels good, go do it”)
or arid rationalism (“We’re on our own to figure out what we need
to do”), our usual strategy is to assume full responsibility for creating
our own lives. By contrast, our text may serve to elicit a reawakening of
the congregation to an experience of transcendence that draws deeply from
vast reservoirs of Christian worship. While many congregations may resist
the development of an aggressively proselytizing stance toward unbelievers,
no preacher will want to underestimate the significance of what God can accomplish
if the Lord’s people can be taught to worship. Whatever else may be
attempted by the preacher and worship leaders in responding to this text,
the obvious and best rule of thumb may be to make no effort to explain in
worship what can first be evoked. “Be filled with the Spirit . . . speak
to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs . . . sing and make
music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for
everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(For the full manuscript
of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons.”)
No matter what we may say regarding our beliefs and convictions, it can easily be demonstrated that our most essential identity is revealed by our habitual practices. Perhaps nowhere is this affirmed more elegantly by the Apostle Paul than in the way our present text links the Spirit-filled life to an embodied practice of constant, daily worship. Reflecting on this imagery, the preacher might help the congregation think about the disciplined practice that will make it possible to hit the high notes of holiness in their actual, live performance. The contrasts Paul has noted between old life and new signal a profound key change for the disciple community. Can the sermon offer a similar emphasis, encouraging congregants to rediscover a life that truly sings rather than one fallen flat and out of tune?
