Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.            

Message

“…For we are all members of one body … do not let the sun go down on your anger … share with the needy … may your words give grace to those who hear … do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God … be kind to one another … be imitators of God … and live in love.”

In my New Revised Version of the Bible these verses are organized beneath the phrase, “Rules for the New Life.”  In the message, a Bible written in a more contemporary language, the verses are organized beneath the phrase, “The Old Way Has to Go.”  And in the New International Version they are organized beneath the title, “Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ.”  Each title is fitting in its own way.  The writer of Ephesians offers eight separate instructions on how to live to this very new Christian community.  And it’s not just anything, but a very special community comprised of Jews and Gentiles.  As I first read the verses I immediately thought of the Ten Commandments.  I reflected upon the Exodus commandments and the Ephesians rules and wondered about the similarities and the differences.  Three of the Ten Commandments are directed at individuals and the community and how they relate to God: “You shall have no other gods before me … You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God … Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”  The remaining commandments inform its followers how to treat others in their families or in their neighborhoods:  “Honor your father and mother …You shall not commit adultery or murder … You shall not steal or give false testimony against your neighbor … You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

More than a thousand years separate the offering of these keys to living.  Major and Minor Prophets shared visions, they shared dreams, they even made threats to those in their communities.  Wars were fought, lives were lost, geography burned, and yes, Jesus was born, he chose his disciples and ministered to the multitudes.  And finally he was punished and assassinated.  Christianity in some form or another has been established by this time late in the First Century.

So let’s revisit these titles in the three versions of today’s text:  “The Old Way Has to Go,” “Rules for a New Life” and “Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ.”  “The Old Way Has to Go” seems pretty clear cut:  old behaviors seem to not be welcome any more; people need to find a way to come together, to stop judging and feeling superior to one another, to speak to one another in truth and in love.  Rules: people in general are not real fond of rules and even more so Congregationalists really despise the rules; we push against the system.  Some people cling to rules as life itself depends upon