Christ Memorial Lutheran Church - Houston TX
CMLC 2024-08-25 Sermon (Traditional)
Well, howdy. Well, glad to have you all here with us this morning for worship and thank you to Kimberly for struggling through. This is always a fun part with different passages that we come across with our electionary is whenever in the past I've been an associate pastor and then would find out that my senior pastor had assigned me passages like today's a pistol and it was always one of those moments of so do you like me or are you trying to make a point at some point here. Now unfortunately I'm a senior pastor with no associate so I have nobody else to put this one on. I did think about switching over to the gospel passage but to be completely honest I'd rather we just take the time and look at it directly instead of spending so much time trying to skirt around things. Wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. Isn't this a fun one to look at and I'm going to have to admit is that there were a million different commentaries with a million different ways of trying to look at this particular passage. There were all sorts of different ones that span anywhere from women knowing their place in the world to some sort of idea that there was no word submit in the original passage and that the idea of head shift does not mean leadership and everything else in between. Whatever it was you could end up finding whatever it was you wanted this passage to say but I felt like one of the best commentaries was whenever I went and saw my big fat Greek wedding because the man is the head of the house but the woman is the neck that turns the head any way she wants. I felt like that was probably the best out of all them and they didn't even have to go back to the original Greek but a bunch. Sorry I know that's what you get these are the jokes but with it is to realize that much of what's important with this is the historical context in which we find it. It's that we are looking at a passage at a time where there isn't a discussion there isn't a debate rather is that in their society we saw families that had a man being the head of a household. It's just a historical context. Now oftentimes whenever we see Paul explaining something he wants to teach he takes the things that the people understand in their context and he is able to make a comparison to what God wants them to know and to see but it's also important to be careful in the distinction between the description and the prescription. See oftentimes what we end up seeing here is that Paul and others in scripture will oftentimes be describing something describing something that they know that they see and that they understand but to pause it to be careful that every description means that they are prescribing it or that they are ordering it for everything from then on. So we want to be careful that what we see in what Paul is writing here is not necessarily prescribing everything that has to make sense from then on but rather is saying let's see what is in front of us and let's understand what it's meant to be. Now of course there are other descriptions and other passages at different times to look at to ask whether or not the husband should be the head of the household and to be fair yes a good discussion but not actually the point of this particular passage because not only is it not really relevant to what Paul was trying to get at but also is that debate actually even helpful in our world today. When we see households and places where the husband or whoever the man of that house could be for whatever reason cannot or maybe should not be the head of that particular household is it really going to be helpful to try to argue a point in a world where we see that people struggle even to know what households even are today. So rather let's take a look at what it is that Paul is trying to make a point about and understand why it is that is so important with the various relationships that we have in our life. You see what we see in here is that Paul is not trying to just focus on one particular person but rather throughout these verses as well as the ones to follow is that he's going back and forth to demonstrate that whatever role you are in you are meant to demonstrate love and respect to the person you are interacting with. So this is not something to try to end up determining who was more important whether it was the wife or the husband but rather acknowledging that whatever life God has given you that is the life that God wants you to be able to find joy in but also to understand what it is to live the life that God has given to you. You see the thing is is that there are several relationships that are listed in the letter to the Ephesians. It doesn't just end up stopping with wives and husbands we just end up pausing because that's the verse that we have to start with. Rather is we end up seeing relationships of children with parents. We end up seeing relationships of servants to masters. We end up seeing that there's this idea that whatever relationship you're in you're meant to understand how it is that God could be blessing you and blessing the world around you through it. So if you're in a household where someone needs to be the one making the decisions and that person is the husband then how is it that the two of you can be together on things? How often is it that we end up seeing children who've decided that they're going to come up and they're going to ask one parent for what they want and when they don't get it they decide that the other parent is apparently the one that they really want to go to. And more than that is don't we do that oftentimes in whatever relationship we find ourselves. We don't like what it is that we're facing or what we're hearing so we're going to find a way that we're going to somehow try to get whatever it is that we may want. Even going beyond is to be able to see if there is someone who is a child to their parent. How many times is it not just whenever young kids want to get what they what they want that they will try to find some way to get around their parents to do so but let's be honest how often is it that adult children do the same. We don't like what advice it is that our parents have to say and so we don't want to even listen in the first place. And even though we have to make our own decisions is that it's easier just to keep them at arm's length. But then we also might see those who are servants to their masters in this case. We need to be careful because these passages can oftentimes be used completely out of context. The bondservant idea has been used in the past for things like slavery. We need to not go out of the context of what it means. A bondservant is someone who needed to work underneath someone to make income and they did not have another place to go. It was a safe space to work and to live for a set period of time and after that time they were supposed to be freed. With that is to be able to respect that whoever it is is your employer you're meant to live out what they have told you to do. Even if you're saying I don't want to, I don't feel like it, I don't like it, but now notice what Paul does with each one of these. Is it's not just to the person who is subject. It is to the person in leadership as well. And that is what is so mind blowing about Paul. Is that Paul is actually going against so much of culture by giving the other side. You are not meant to just subject them to your will. You are meant to be the one to sacrifice. And that those who are in positions of leadership are meant to be the ones who are actually supposed to go further out of their way. Yes, they're supposed to listen to you and when you make a decision they're supposed to work with you. That's because ultimately it's on you. And you have to be the one to be willing to sacrifice for those who are a part of your community. And in reality this is not exhaustive. It's also oftentimes what we end up seeing that pastors have to deal with too. And what I always find amazing is how often pastors like to go into meetings making sure that the members know that he's in charge and that this is what we're going to do and how we're moving forward. And yet they don't realize that ultimately we're the ones who are supposed to be the ones to sacrifice. See the truth is that when you are in a position of leadership it is not just privilege, it's responsibility. To be able to pause and to say how is it that I'm not doing something just because I want to get my way but rather how is it that I can be loving the people that I'm supposed to serve. Because whenever we see things like in the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church because we are members of his body. How often do we find ways to nourish and to cherish those whom we're supposed to care for. Because in reality this is about focusing on respecting our relationships under God. You see wherever we may find ourselves the goal is not to try to change our role but rather to see purpose in our role. How often do we end up being employed in some place or in some circumstance and instead of wondering how is it that I can do the best that I can hear. How well can I make this place and make this work and make this job succeed and flourish and instead just trying to figure out how do I avoid having to do this job that I was told to do. How much can I just kind of put this off until the last minute or how much can I get up away from my desk and just go make sure are there any donuts in the break room. Fortunately the donuts are only in the break room here on Sunday mornings so I'm very safe. But that idea of instead of trying to get out from our role how is it that we live it out the best that we can and that's in reality a part of what all of us are meant to do as the church as well. Each one of you has a part and a role to play in all of this. Each one of you is meant to be a part of a community to be able to live out so many different parts of what we do. We end up having our field our director of operations standing out there making sure that the fountain is working. Are there other people who are working on it? Absolutely. But at the end of the day he knows that it's on him and he cares to make sure he's there to watch over him. We have the person overseeing our outreach events making sure there are people setting up tables making sure that there is a place and a way to be able to speak to everyone. We have people in our outreach who are looking to find more opportunities to meet with all of our neighbors as we can. We have those who are teaching our Sunday school each and every week and even at the times whenever people decide that they're going to skip but they're still there because they want to live out what it is that God has given them for them to do. What are the things that God has given for you to do? But we can oftentimes spend so long instead of looking at what we can do is to try to look at others and then point out the things that they have done, the flaws that they are going through. You see in that relationship of leader and follower is that there is always attention. See there were a lot of discussions in those commentaries about that well there was a heresy happening at the time that was causing wives to think that they needed to be you know over their husbands or that there was this whole movement that was happening in that you know territory of emphasis at the time in that city and that there are all these things that are happening that are are changing the way and that the church was struggling y'all we don't need any complicated explanations. That's just life. Wherever we end up finding ourselves we end up struggling with whether or not we want to live up to that but more than that is that it's always easier to try to point to someone else and say you're the reason why this isn't working out. You're the reason why because you didn't follow my lead or because you were a terrible leader. And that's the thing with this is to realize that we cannot change what anybody else does. We cannot decide if every single person that we are supposed to lead ends up deciding that they want to be a part of working together and we cannot decide if whoever our leader is is always going to make the best and the right decisions. What is the only thing that we can actually do anything about ourselves? There have been so many times whenever we would end up hearing and the reason why I wanted to leave this passage as just focused on the wives and the husbands is of how many times that someone would point out the idea of yes but what about the fact that I'm divorced. And all of these things in here is this question of do you now blame the person who walked out because they gave up or do you blame the person who chased them away? And the reality is that spending the time trying to blame not only does no good for anyone but also ends up hurting us the most because in reality we are all sinful and flawed. And if we try to spend our time looking for reasons to point at somebody else instead of ourselves then we've missed the point because truth be told is that whatever may end up happening in those roles are we still doing what we can to bless the other person and to live out what God wants us to do in this world. Not because we want to somehow get something but because are we asking how to best love the other person because that's what the relationships do. Relationships testify to Christ and the church because no matter what that relationship may be is always asking the question of how do I love that other person and I'll be honest there are times whenever I would be sitting there with a boss that I knew had gone around and blacklisted me to other managers just specifically because he didn't want me to apply for other jobs. I've been there believe me I hear you but at the same time is still every single day to say I may be hurt I may be tired I may be frustrated but what good can I be doing in this role today because then someday the role changed and I no longer had to face that anymore. But the thing about what we see with Christ is that Christ is our head and whatever we may struggle with here on earth the deeper question is how can it be a testimony to who Christ is because that's the reality is that there are times whenever Christ is asking things of us that we may not want to hear times whenever he is saying I have put you here in this place at this time you are struggling with something that I know and I've already got in control and I already know what I plan for but I'm asking you to follow me. Christ being the head is saying I'm asking you to trust and to follow me. But this isn't because Christ is going to domineer over us and just try to manipulate and control us but rather is because he's the same one who went to give his life for us. Not just for righteousness but also as our example. So with that is that as we the church seek to show the world that Christ is our head Christ is the one to lead and to guide us is that we are then meant to do the same for others as well. Are we willing to show others that even at the times when we're frustrated and tired and concerned that we're still willing to walk alongside others and to do the best with what we have not just in our place with the church but in everything in our lives and when we have the opportunity to lead are we willing to do so the way Christ did because this world is filled with the relationships of heads and next but whichever place we may find ourselves are we doing so out of love for one another out of respect for the world in which we live and as a testimony to our Lord who is given everything to us because at the end of the day we are all meant to submit to one another. As Paul has told us as God has given to us so that we can love and serve each other the way that Christ has loved and given himself for us. May God bless us this morning and always with his word. Amen.