Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore, do not be associated with them, for once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly, but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.
Ephesians 5:6-14
DEVOTION
We do live in a dark world. The darkness that Paul speaks of in this passage is not the darkness that comes from ill health or disappointment, it is the darkness that comes from corruption, greed, selfishness, dishonesty. Paul wrote that we are to expose the “unfruitful works of darkness.”
Preachers often like to be melodramatic by saying we now live in the worse time in the history of the world, which is not accurate for every decade has been engulfed by dark shadows. You don’t need to look any further back than the Holocaust to know that. Though, this does not negate the fact that a dark foreboding storm cloud shadows our land today, as ISIS should be the only answer we need for that.
Yet, ISIS is rather distant from the darkness that engulfs our own lives and permeates our communities. In fact, sometimes the light shines dimly in our own church planted next to the curb on Main Street U.S.A.
In order to understand the evil that Paul is concerned about we need to place our scripture reading this morning in the context of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. Paul wrote of eight evils and eight virtues in his letter. He presented his list in the form of an antithesis. Reading the list, you will understand darkness in the world versus the light in the world.
The first is falsehood versus truth.
Second is resentment versus self-control.
Third is stealing versus generosity.
Fourth is evil speech versus edification.
Fifth is malice versus love.
Sixth is impurity versus purity.
Seventh is imprudence versus wisdom.
Eighth is debauchery versus joy.
The darkness of the world that is to be exposed is falsehood, resentment, stealing, evil speech, malice, impurity, imprudence, debauchery. We have all experienced the fog created by unsavory behavior. We have all experienced the bleakness that accompanies people who are self-centered. We have all experienced gloom when we encounter corruption. This was a part of the society that surrounded the church in Ephesus, as it surrounds us here in this time and in this place.
It is the unfruitful works of darkness that we are to expose with the light of Christ. The light is truth, self-control, generosity, edification of others, love, purity, wisdom, joy. As we are a part of a church family, the body of Christ, we know the blessings of being surrounded by children of the light. Those of us sitting in the pews of a sanctuary are good people, maybe not perfect, but good people nonetheless, who are a blessing to others and the secular community where we reside.
Paul wrote you “are” the light. That needs to be repeated: You are a light in a world of darkness. You and I, baptized Christians, are the light that shines in a dark and foreboding world.
Richie Incognito had a reputation as permanent as the myriad of tattoos on his muscular frame. He had the reputation of being the NFL’s most notorious bully. As a player for the Miami Dolphins, he caused another player to leave the game because of his harassment, as his threatening and racial text messages were too overbearing for the player on the receiving end of his diatribes. So severe was Incognito’s misbehavior that his bullying became the defining moment for a team that had a dismal 2013 season of .500, going 8-8.
It is so sad and disheartening that bullies seem to rule. They use the power of their position, their money, their status, to get their own way and make life miserable for everyone else. They are stubborn and uncompromising as they trample on the defenseless. They have a scorched earth approach to life, as long as it is not their garden that burns.
We are the light in a world of bullies. We are to expose bullies with love and generosity. We are to counteract their misdeeds with our deeds of justice and compassion. Paul wrote in our lesson, and I quote, “the fruit of our light is found in all that is good and right and true.”
Good. Right. True.