January 23, 2000 - LESSON: Ephesians 5:21, NRSV

SERMON TITLE: Dependents

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INTRODUCTION:

1. Among the traditions of a wedding are the items which the bride carries.
   1. Something old, something new
   2. Something borrowed, something blue.
2. Jesus told many stories or parables of the kingdom of God.
1. In one he spoke of the value of the kingdom of heaven
1. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
2. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
3. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.
1. So it will be at the end of the age.
2. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
3. "Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes."
4. And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old," (Matthew 13:44-52, NRSV).

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2. What is new and what is old.
1. We need reminders of the old.
2. We need the vitality of the new.
3. In our lesson for today there is old and new.

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ, (Ephesians 5:21 NRSV).

MAIN BODY:

1. Be subject to one another?
1. Not me!
2. A commentator in the Interpreter's Bible has written:

Submitting Yourselves-The virtue of submission is not popular in modern times. The ideals of democracy have pretty well broken the hold over the minds of men which rank and degree once possessed. "All men are created free and equal." This today is dogma almost throughout the world. It accounts for the revolutionary movements which are changing our social orderings around the globe.

1. We often reflect the conclusion of the poet William Henley

IV--I. M. To R. T. HAMILTON BRUCE (1846-1899)

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

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1. How this attitude is reflected in our experience can be seen in the ways in which we relate to others.
1. In Shakespeare's play, Troilus and Cressida, Act 1, scene 3, are these lines:

Take but degree away, untune that string, And, hark what discord follows! each thing meet In mere oppugnancy: . . . . . . Then everything includes itself in power, Power into will, will into appetite.

1. We begin to use expression which express our will and appitite like:
1. We have nothing in common...
2. I can't talk to...
3. I do not understand you...
1. This is old.
1. If we are going to fully understand the meaning and purpose of "Be subject to one another, " we need to add something new.
1. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all, (Romans 12:14-18, NRSV).
2. If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 2:1-5, NRSV).
3. Mutual subjection is part of a wise, circumspect walk, i.e. mutual recognition of each other's rights and of our obligations to serve them. In some sense we are all servants, i.e we are bound to serve others...In the Christian Church we are all in a sense servants
4. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another, (Galatians 5:13-15, NRSV).
5. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many," (Matthew 20:26-28, NRSV)
6. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them, (John 13:15-16, NRSV).

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7. This view is in harmony with the humble spirit of the Gospel.
1. Pride leads us to demand rigorously from others what we fancy they owe to us; humility, to give others what Christ teaches that we owe to them.
2. The one feeling is to be discouraged, the other exercised and strengthened.
2. We are enabled to fulfill the obligation by which we learn to see and recognize one another.

In the story, The Anonymous King, as told by Edna May Olsen⁽¹⁾

In England, when cars became numerous enough to begin to pose a threat to pedestrians, someone came up with the idea of making crosswalks on which people could safely cross from one side of the street to the other. White stripes were painted on the streets, and black-and-white-striped posts topped with big orange balls (named "Belisha beacons," after the designer) were erected to mark these crosswalks for both pedestrians and drivers.

One day, soon after the first crosswalks had been completed, King George and Queen Mary noticed them as they were being driven through London. They decided to try one out.

"Pull over to the curb and park for a minute," the king ordered his chauffeur. "I want to see how these new crosswalks work."

The chauffeur stopped the car. The king, without looking to see if anything was coming, stepped onto the street and began to cross.

A car was racing down the street toward him. The driver slammed on the brakes and came to a screeching halt just inches away from the startled monarch.

"What are you doing, you crazy idiot?" yelled the driver. "Don't you know you're supposed to look both ways before crossing the road?" Then, with a grinding of gears, he sped on his way.

When the king returned to his own car, he complained to the queen, "I've never been spoken to like that before. Didn't that man know who I am?"

"I'm sure he didn't," she soothed, "or he would have been more courteous. You see, dear, most people don't expect to see the king crossing the street wearing ordinary clothes. They know you only by your pictures, in which you're clothed in robes and wearing a crown."

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1. We learn to see that we are all children of the King.
1. In Christ we are all equal.
2. We recognize what we have in common.
3. We develop the capacity to communicate.
4. We determine to relate.
2. We learn to recognize that we have many mutual experiences and difficulties.
1. We have the same concerns for self and family.
2. We have similar anxieties about life.
3. We have hopes and dreams that are equal in desire.

CONCLUSION:

1. If we learn to see and to recognize than the qualities of life, both personally and in community, can be vastly improved.
1. Welcoming the stranger, by L. Gregory Jones⁽²⁾

My wife and I were visiting some old friends, a couple in their 80s whose health had been failing.

At the time of our visit, the husband was confined to a wheelchair and was struggling with dementia. He was only intermittently able to participate in conversation, and he often had difficulty recognizing his wife. Her health was much better, though she has been showing signs of wearing down from her years of giving faithful, ongoing care to her husband.

We reflected with the wife on the countless ways in which they had shown hospitality to Duke students over the years, particularly international students. For example, they had sponsored a weekly game of badminton for international students. Every Friday night for over 30 years, the wife told us, they had gathered in the East Campus gym to play badminton. Over the years, she estimated, they had welcomed over 3,000 international students to those games. The couple had invited many of those folks to their homes for meals, and the wife told us that a surprising number of them continued to write from all over the world.

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My wife and I had heard stories about the couple leading Bible studies for German prisoners of war in England, but we had never heard the stories directly. I asked the wife to tell us about their time in England during World War 11. She told us about the Bible studies, and how moving it had been to read scripture together in the midst of war.

We also learned that their hospitality had been even more extensive than leading Bible studies. They took a portion of their rations each week and gave them to others in need, especially to the POWs. As word got around that they were offering their rations to others, townspeople began to bring food to the couple to help them get through the week. As we listened to her talk, we realized the continuities in this couple's generous, hospitable life-whether it was with German POWs and other townspeople, Duke students far from their homes, or good friends.

Even so, I was not prepared for the closing words the husband offered to us as we prepared to leave. He had not spoken much during our visit, and when he had it was often unclear whether he was really following the conversation. Yet he spoke with confidence and warmth. "Come and visit us again when you can," he said. "And, remember, if you ever need food or anything else, we will gladly offer you whatever we have on the stove or in the refrigerator. You always have a home here."

What could we say? Here was a man confined to a wheelchair, unable to get in and out of bed without assistance, only intermittently able even to recall how many children he has, nonetheless offering us hospitality, as if we were the ones in need.

Yet his offer seemed entirely natural. Hospitality had become so much a part of this couple's way of living as Christians that such gestures had become second nature. The husband literally did not need to think about what to do-his offer was an expression of what he and his wife had become through the years. They had cultivated habits of hospitality.

1. He spoke with confidence and warmth. "Come and visit us again when you can," he said. "And, remember, if you ever need food or anything else, we will gladly offer you whatever we have on the stove or in the refrigerator. You always have a home here."
1. It may not always to possible to offer the hospitality of our home.
2. It is always possible to offer the hospitality of our hearts.
1. We can do this only as we "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ," (Ephesians 5:21 NRSV).

1. Edna May Olsen is a free lance writer. This article appeared in the Signs of the Times, February 2000, p. 32

2. CHRISTIAN CENTURY Januaryl9, 2000, page 58

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