ORDINAND, ANGIE FOSTER’s prepared Sermon for 18.08.24
Presence: Being Seen and Known for Doing Good – Ephesians 5:15-20
The Epistle reading for this Sunday is rich with Paul’s inspiration as to how Christians should live. While out walking I was thinking about how important it is in my own life to have regular, routine spiritual practices that feed my soul and keep me centred. Part of that is regularly walking in the countryside to marvel at God’s creation and to be thankful for all the blessings we have.
Paul advises all Christians to be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit,’ and to be careful about how we live. If you really think about it, that is a tall order. Another way we might interpret Paul’s direction is that each of us are given a choice as to how we may allow the ‘Spirit’ to live in us. When we purposefully invite the Holy Spirit into our lives, then we naturally become more aware and even go so far as to develop a conscious appreciation for any efforts toward spending more of our time loving God, loving our neighbour. It is about our presence; the late Queen Elizabeth often said she had to be seen to be believed. As Christians we should be seen and be known for doing good.
We are called to be unique people of God, which means we strive to live a life of love, honesty, care that embraces and supports intentional acts of service, forgiveness, radical hospitality, compassion and unselfishness. As each of us are called to be disciples of Christ, we must continually avail ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit so that it then can work through us, ever moving us closer to walking in love, so that we may live a more gracious life.
As the chosen people of God, we are called to feed and refuel our hearts, our souls in the practicing of spiritual disciplines. These may include regular and routine habits like Bible study, daily devotions, worship, journaling, random anonymous acts of kindness, practicing simplicity, prayer and erring on the side of generosity. No matter which of the spiritual practices you might choose to adopt, fundamental to moving toward being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ is that we consistently practice those specific disciplines that specifically nourish us.
Clearly, Paul knew that being filled with the Holy Spirit was essential to living a life of faith so that love could come shining through, enough such that anyone could strive to imitate the love of God. Paul said, “make the most of the time, because the days are evil.” That conjures up a sense of urgency that resonates with many of us, even now.
Recently I have been thinking what it means to live in the moment, to live this very day in the knowledge that God will always provide ‘bread enough.’ It is a spiritual practice that I find particularly difficult to embrace. However, I have become acutely aware that none of us can control the future, nor can we manipulate or change the past. But we can rid ourselves of the habit of fretting and worrying. We can re-programme ourselves, such that when we begin to lean into the destructive behaviour of fretting, worrying, or indulging in the behavioural game of ‘what if;’ we can just ‘say no’ and repeat ‘Lord, give me this day, my daily bread. My point is simple, today is all we have and today is an opportunity for being seen and known for doing good.
So my friends, make the most of this time. Perhaps this means we should embrace living in the moment, staying in close contact with our Lord and Saviour, for the evilness of getting lost in the world’s darkness is always looming just ahead of all of us. Choosing regular and routine spiritual practices can help us work toward pushing away darkness, so that the light may shine forth on this one day we have, this one good life we are living today. The best way to combat evil is to do good.
May you draw hope and courage for living life to the fullest and following Paul’s encouragement in his letters to the early churches. Let peace, love and the grace of spiritual practices feed your heart and bless your soul and enable you to be seen and known for doing good. Amen.
