PREPARING THE WAY
“Intentional Living”
Ephesians 5:15-20
August 18, 2024
Prayer
Ephesians 5:15-20:
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,
making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
So do not be foolish, but (seek to) understand the will of the Lord.
Do not get drunk with wine, for that is (against your wholeness and well-being);
(Instead) be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Be careful how you live.
Make the most of your time.
Seek understanding of God’s will.
Be filled with the Spirit.
Give thanks at all times.
The following story is told by M. Scott Peck in his book, The Different Drum.
There was once an old monastery which had fallen upon hard times.
Once it had been a great order with many branch houses full of the faithful,
but over the centuries it had declined to the extent that there were only five monks left;
and all of them were over seventy years of age.
Clearly it was a dying order.
But deep in the woods near the monastery was a little hut
that a rabbi from a nearby town occasionally used for a hermitage.
It occurred to the abbot one such time to visit the little hut
and ask the rabbi if by some possible chance he could offer any advice
that might save the monastery.
The rabbi welcomed the abbot at his hut,
and the two old men commiserated over the spiritual condition of the people.
They wept together, read parts of the Torah, and quietly spoke of deep things.
When the time came for the abbot to leave, he embraced his old friend, the rabbi,
and then asked if he might have any piece of advice
that would help save the monastery.
“No, I am sorry,” the rabbi responded. “I have no advice to give.
The only thing I can tell you is that the Messiah is one of you.”
The abbot returned to the monastery. He shared the strange message
with his fellow monks, explaining that he really did not know what the rabbi meant.
In the days and weeks and months that followed,
the old monks pondered the words of the rabbi.
They wondered whether there was any possible significance to his words.
Could he possibly have meant that one of the monks here at the monastery
is the Messiah? Do you suppose he meant the abbot?
Yes, if he meant anyone, then surely Father Abbot,
for he has been our leader for more than a generation.
Or perhaps he meant Brother Thomas. Certainly Brother Thomas is a holy man.
Everyone knows that.
Certainly he could not have meant Brother Elred.
Elred gets ornery at times, but come to think of it,
even though he is a thorn in people’s sides, Elred is virtually always right.
Maybe the rabbi meant Brother Elred.
Certainly he did not mean Brother Phillip. Phillip is so passive, so quiet.
But then, almost mysteriously, Phillip has a gift for somehow always being there
when you need him. He just magically appears by your side.
Of course the rabbi didn’t mean me. He couldn’t have possibly meant me.
I’m just an ordinary person. But what if he did?
Suppose I am the Messiah? O God, not me.
I couldn’t be that much for You, could I?
As the monks contemplated the matter, they began to treat each other
with extraordinary kindness and respect on the off chance
that one of them might be the Messiah.
And on the off, off chance that each monk himself might be the Messiah,
they began to treat themselves, even their own bodies, with extraordinary respect.
Because the forest in which the monastery was situated was so beautiful,
it so happened that people still occasionally came to visit the monastery.
They came to picnic or wander along its paths and sometimes
to go into the dilapidated chapel to meditate.
As they did so, without even being conscious of it,
they sensed the extraordinary behavior that surrounded the five old monks,
the behavior that seemed to radiate from them
and permeate the atmosphere of the place.
There was something strangely attractive, even compelling, about the place.
Hardly knowing why, people began to come back to the monastery more frequently
to picnic and play and pray in the old chapel. They began to bring their friends
to show them this special place, and their friends brought more friends.
Then it happened that some of the younger men who came to visit the monastery
started to talk more and more with the old monks.
After a while one asked if he could join them, then another, and later another.
Within a few years the monastery had once again become a thriving order,
and thanks to the rabbi’s special gift,
it became a vibrant center of light and hope and loving kindness in its community.
Be careful then how you live.
Make the most of your time.
Seek an understanding of God’s will.
Be filled with the Spirit, singing spiritual songs and hymns.
Give thanks at all times.
It has been said that gratitude is the heart of spirituality.
A simple spiritual practice to deepen one’s spiritual journey and open one’s heart to God
is to begin each day considering five things for which you are grateful.
You may be grateful for your family.
You may be grateful for the smell of fresh coffee.
You may be grateful that you have important work to do,
or perhaps for the paycheck that comes from work.
Or you may be grateful for the simple ability to get out of bed
and stand and walk one more day, which is not to be taken for granted.
Especially if you have found yourself struggling lately with fear,
or sadness, or hopelessness, stop. Stop whatever you are doing
and jot down a list of 5 things for which you are grateful.
Be filled with the Spirit, singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs.
As our chancel choir well knows, music is gift for the soul.
Songs and hymns and spiritual songs lift us to a new and broad place,
a place of hope and joy and wonder.
Pay attention to the music you ingest and that you sing each day.
Just like the varieties of foods we may enjoy, some of which are healthy,
some unhealthy, different forms of music will affect our souls in different ways.
Seek an understanding of God’s will.
I recently participated in a continuing education experience
focused upon Contemplative Spirituality.
The idea is that the spiritual depth of the pastor can bear good fruit over time
for his or her congregation. I am making no promises, but I am making an effort.
Contemplative spirituality is about seeking to abide in God’s presence,
seeking to discern God’s will, seeking to simply enjoy and be affected deeply
by an awareness of the “luminous vastness” of the Divine.
We practiced Centering prayer a number of times, which is similar to meditation.
We explored the use of icons for focusing attention.
We talked about the importance of Sabbath keeping.
We were engaged by a presentation on African spirituality.
Michael Battle of South Africa reminded us of “Ubuntu”,
the philosophy which emphasizes the interconnectedness of individuals,
and our interconnectedness with our surrounding social and physical worlds.
“Ubuntu” is sometimes translated as “I am because we are”,
which is quite different from the Western philosophy of “I think; therefore I am.”
(wikipedia.com)
We are one with all humanity; we are one with all creation.
Consider the experience that astronauts have from space, when they gaze back upon
the earth, their shared home, this small, yet wondrous compilation of space dust
on which we live.
Make the most of your time.
I will never forget the feeling of hopelessness on that widow’s face.
It was one of my first funerals when suddenly, at the ripe age of 32,
I was no longer an associate pastor but THE pastor.
The woman and her husband had both worked hard for years in blue collar jobs.
They had made extensive plans and saved wisely for retirement.
Within months of retirement, they bought the long-dreamed-about RV,
a recreational vehicle, with plans to visit as many national parks as possible.
One month prior to retirement, in his mid-60’s, the husband died of a massive stroke.
The sparkling new RV rested alongside the driveway when I pulled up to the house.
The woman was bereft.
So many plans they had made. So many experiences they had yet to share.
None of us knows how much time we will have on this good earth.
The biblical author urges us to make the most of our time.
Make the most of your days, your limited days to live and love, to breathe and serve,
to sing and laugh and dance and play.
And do so care-fully. Be careful how you live.
Be intentional each day.
Consider with wisdom your daily habits, what you do, where you go,
what you watch, how you eat, how you treat others, and how you care
for this one limited and fallible body that has been entrusted to you.
The author of the letter to the Church in Ephesus wrote that getting drunk –
not just have a glass of wine with dinner or enjoying a beer during a ball game,
but drunkenness, excessive indulgence, is “a-sozo”, meaning “against your salvation”.
Salvation does not first have to do with getting to heaven one day.
Salvation has to do with one’s spiritual and mental health and wholeness here and now.
Salvation has to do with one’s sense of well-being and shalom,
discovering peace in whatever circumstances we may face.
There is no doubt that substance abuse of various forms is a detriment
to our wholeness and well-being, and a detriment to nurturing a healthy community.
As you may be aware, during the pandemic, a number of otherwise social drinkers
became over-indulgent with alcohol, causing many tragic problems and divisions
in far too many families.
Friends, be intentional about how you live.
Make the most of your time.
Seek an understanding of God’s will.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Instead of the excessive use of substances,
or technology, or whatever may lead you to harm,
sing songs and hymns and spiritual songs, with each other,
making melody in your hearts.
And give thanks to God at all times and for everything.
As did the old monks in the Scott Peck story,
treat one other with extraordinary kindness and respect.
You just might be “entertaining angels unaware”, as the Scripture says.
And with the realization that each of us might ourselves truly embody
the love and grace of God, let us treat ourselves, even our own bodies,
with extraordinary love and respect.
The health and vitality and witness of your family and this community of faith
depends upon it. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, so be it, Amen.
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church, Decatur, Georgia
