"Not Our Protestant Work Ethic!"
Sermon Presented March 26, 2006
Ephesians 2:1-10
Last week, my spiritual guide informed me that I suffer from the Protestant Work Ethic, because I tend to measure my worth by the results of what I do. If I see no positive results from my efforts, or my performance is sub-par, then I diminish my value. Because she is Catholic, this probably isn't a problem for her, but I did recognize myself in what she said! It's the way I was raised!
I thought about her words as I studied this text. Since most of you are Protestants, you may suffer the same affliction as I. Hear the text from Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. (By the way, this was probably a circular letter, as copies have been discovered with the names of other churches attached to it.) Ephesians 2:1-10 (Read text.)
The writer of this letter claims that we are saved - rescued - not because of what we do, but because of the gift of God's grace given through faith in Jesus. This is the message of the hymn Amazing Grace, and not the message of a hymn I sang as a child: Work for the Night Is Coming. The latter was written by Anna Coghill in 1854 and is set in my memory as if it were locked in a slab of concrete. Here are the words:
"Work for the night is coming, work through the morning hours.
Work while the dew is sparkling, work mid springing flowers.
Work while the day grows brighter, work through the glowing sun;
Work for the night is coming, when man's work is done."
Does this sound familiar? It's a perfect picture of the Protestant Work Ethic that was planted in my childhood psyche.
This text shows a contrast between death and life - between the gloomy state of life lived without Christ and the glories of life lived in the resurrection power - between being lost and finding salvation - between trying to work for your salvation and receiving salvation as pure gift.
The text begins by contrasting life without a relationship with Jesus with that of Jesus' followers. Paul understands that the church is a community of saved individuals. We are Christians because we have a personal relationship with Jesus and commit to follow him, and it's that vertical dimension of our faith that gives us the power for a loving horizontal relationship with people. When we don't relate to others in love as a way of life, we aren't rightly related to God.
Keep in mind that Paul is writing to new Christians - non-Jewish converts who formerly worshiped idols with all of the pagan ritual that this worship required. But even though they left a life of idolatry to follow Jesus, they're still sinners - as are we. People are self-centered by nature. We're selfish. We sin, and our acts of disobedience separate us from God. When we come to Christ as sinners who need forgiveness, our fellowship with God is renewed.
People can be trapped in sin and not know it. The text speaks of sinners being controlled by powers of the air. In first century mythology, an audience would have no trouble imagining a demonic ruler. Practices of magic were directed at harassing or warding off the influences of such powers. In our industrialized 21st century world, we don't typically describe the forces that drive people to destructive behavior as independent powers. However, people in recovery programs for addictions understand the concept of being ruled by "powers" that are stronger than they.
Christians are being saved into a deeper relationship with Jesus - now and in the future, but we don't do anything to deserve it or earn it. It's pure gift. Just as my children didn't earn the right to be my children, so we can't earn the right to be God's child and part of God's family. We will never fully understand all that salvation entails, but as we follow Jesus, our understanding grows.
Our relationship with God through Jesus is a mutual commitment. God loves and accepts us and we accept God in Jesus in a covenant relationship. In that relationship, God transforms us through our faith in Jesus. But unless we feed our spiritual lives, confess our sin and allow God to change us, our transformation will be incomplete and stagnant.
Listen to these claims made by the author of Ephesians: "God made us alive!" "God loved us, raised us up" "By grace you are saved." "We are God's workmanship." "Salvation is the gift of God, not the result of works." "We are created in Christ Jesus for good works." These words assure us that we are loved and accepted by God, and that we have a purpose.
The heart of the gospel is that God loves and accepts us. Paul tells us that God's acceptance of us should impact how we see ourselves, how we act, how we relate to God, and how we view the world. We can't earn God's acceptance or manufacture it. We can only believe it and receive it. When we are loved with a love that won't let us go, we experience salvation in a perfect relationship of love.
We conduct ourselves differently when we feel worthy and confident in the love of another. Marriage relationships are shaky when one of the partners feels insecure. When there is suspicion in a relationship, that suspicion clouds what is done and said. If we are threatened with termination of a valued relationship, we act out of fear and suspicion and not in freedom.
That's why our relationship with Jesus is so special. When we believe that we're loved unconditionally, we can respond with love. We can be open and real in the relationship rather than fearful and suspicious. When we feel guilt because of past mistakes and cannot accept God's forgiveness, God's perfect love won't be fully accomplished in us. God forgives us when we seek forgiveness, and we need to trust that knowledge.
We are in relationship with Christ because of God's grace. We don't need to perform good works to acquire the relationship, but good works are a natural outcome of the relationship. Good works become our way of life when we are in a proper relationship with Christ.
Several years ago, I found an old yellow paperback by Thomas Merton titled No Man is an Island. The original cost was $.35, so you can guess how old it is. When I read it, I found these words: "If I trust in God's grace, I must also show confidence in the natural powers he has given me, not because they are my powers but because they are God's gift." Then he goes on to say that when we believe in God's grace, we must also take into account our free will. God has graced each of us with gifts for ministry. I can't minister in the church, your neighborhood or your club as you can. However, I have the responsibility to properly use the gifts and the influence that I have been given, and you have the responsibility to do the same with your gifts.
Merton also said that sin is rooted in our failure to love. All sin is a withdrawal of love from God and others in order to love something else. So as Christians, we need to ask ourselves: Have we left our first love? Do we take time out from our busyness to minister to another in need? Is a life of good works a by-product of our Christian faith?
On one hand, this letter to the Ephesians seems to fit the addiction-recovery model. First, we see our former lives as darkness, and we recognize that darkness and repent. Second, we need help to make the journey from a way of life that is marked by death to a new life. It takes the shared power of God plus the power of other people to break the deadly patterns of the old life. God helps us to sustain the new life because God loves us, and not because of what we can do for God.
On the other hand, the writer of Ephesians sees every Christian life as preordained by God to do good works. Each Christian has a divine calling based on our God-given gifts. Ignatius of Loyola said "The love which moves me and makes me choose something has to descend from above, from the love of God."
God works in our lives, no matter what our age. We are never too old to do the good works God calls us to do, although what we do may change as we age. Too many Christians cop out of their responsibility to be Christ in their church, family and community because they believe they have done their duty and now it's someone else's turn. When we are grateful for what Christ is doing in our lives, we will respond in gratitude - thus producing good works, no matter what our age. We aren't saved because we are good or because we adhere to the Protestant work ethic, but because we recognize the need for God in our lives and choose to follow Jesus. When God leads, good works will follow. When God leads, we will be joyful in our covenant relationship with God through Jesus. When God leads, our community will be impacted to a greater degree by God's love working through us. May we be faithful to let God lead!
