Robin Mathews-Johnson                                                                                                                          

Ephesians 6:10-20           

“Stand Up”

SUCCESS

Four women were bragging one day about their successful children.[i]  “Well you see, my son is a priest,” the first woman said.  “When he stands up and walks into a room, everyone calls him ‘Father’.”  The second woman said, “My daughter is a Bishop.  Whenever she stands up in a room, people call her ‘Your Grace’.”  The third woman said, “My son is a Cardinal.  Whenever he stands up, he’s referred to as ‘Your Eminence’.” 

The fourth woman said nothing at all until the other women urged her to confide in them.  “Well,” she said, “my son is six feet two inches tall, with extremely broad, well-muscled shoulders and wavy blonde hair.  Whenever he stands up in a room, people just say, ‘Oh my!’”

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I wonder what it really takes to be successful. 

What is success anyway from a believer’s standpoint?  Do we believe—like society does—that you have to be the best looking or the most accomplished?  Does success mean your popularity index must be on the rise for you to stay on top?  Does success mean you’re the one with the most, or the best—whatever’s? Do we have to win—at all cost?

I don’t think so.  The fact is that there are times when success from a Christian standpoint doesn’t fit the majority view. 

People say success means winner take all.  But Christians know better.  Some think that the only way to measure our accomplishments is by external standards, but we know that what’s on the inside counts, too.  Others say that the primary purpose of church is maintaining rigid standards, with no room for gray, or brown or different-ness in a black and white kind of world.  But we don’t think it’s that simple. 

For people of God, there are times when we need to go to a higher source to measure whether we’re successful or not.  And we know that the kind of success we want to stand for is not so easy to attain.

SCRIPTURE

The truth is, as the Scripture we heard from Ephesians puts it, the kind of success we strive for is more spiritual in nature, and to live that way takes hard work, and boy howdy, sometimes a lot of it. 

We have minimum spiritual requirements, which are as important as what we do physically.  “[O]ur … spiritual [selves] must be constantly nourished with a carefully balanced diet of prayer and praise, worship and work.”[ii]  As one preacher put it, “For too long our spiritual health has been ignored or taken for granted, as though it were an aspect of our lives that would simply take care of itself.”[iii]  But it doesn’t work that way.

God is strong and we have to be strong, too.  As a community of faith, we need to be prepared to do what God would have us do, and it takes practice.  We know that God’s love is available to everyone (it’s one of our bedrock beliefs), but to put it into action means we should love our neighbor as ourselves, whether it’s the neighbor across the street over there who speaks Spanish, or the neighbor right next to us in the pew that we may not always get along with.

This sermon in a sentence is that it can be a struggle to stand up for what’s right. 

From a practical perspective, the only way we can truly do what God would have us do is to stay on our feet, keep alert, and try our best to do what Jesus did—with righteousness, peace, and faith, relying on our salvation to lead us on the path of truth.   

Likewise, prayer is an important part of the mixture.  As Ephesians puts it, “Pray hard and long.  Pray for your brothers and sisters.  Keep your eyes open.  Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”[iv]

Although I’m not a jailbird like Paul was, I rely on you to pray for me, too. 

Of course, there’s prayer, and there’s prayer.  Don’t forget. “…[p]rayer is not just an excuse for giving God a long list of requests…”[v]  It’s like the six-year-old who was getting ready to go to bed.  “I’m gonna say my prayers now,” he yelled from his bedroom.  “Anyone want anything?”[vi] 

Remember, “Christians are not found in singles.  Christians grow like grapes—in clusters…. Whether [it’s] devotions, prayer breakfasts, study circles, Bible studies, we need each other to practice love, keep the faith and have hope.”[vii]

We must flex our spiritual muscles daily if we want to keep them fit and flexible.[viii]  Our faith must find words,[ix] and that’s why we come to worship.  Words of praise—whether we say ‘em or sing ‘em, need to be part of how we approach the holy. 

When we make it a priority to come here to be with other people at church, we are refreshed and strengthened, and that’s a good thing.[x]

STAND BY ME

Let me tell you a story of someone who successfully stood up for her faith.  She was a graduate student in Pittsburgh, looking for a job.[xi]  The newspaper listed an administrative position for a soup kitchen.  It looked interesting, so she called for an interview.  She wore a dark blue business suit, clipped back her hair, and carried her resume and letters of recommendation. 

Arriving a few minutes early, she saw the sign, “East End Cooperative Ministry.”  She knocked on the door and someone inside said, “It’s unlocked.”  She went in only to find a long line of people standing in front of her.  Disappointment washed over her, until she realized that it was lunchtime, and the people in line weren’t there for interviews.  They were waiting for food. 

She grew nervous as she looked at the people standing in line.  Many looked tired and worn out.  Their clothes were dirty and frayed.  When some of them looked at her she felt self-conscious about the way she was dressed.  Apparently others sensed her anxiety.  A woman in a moth-eaten sweater smiled and tried to make conversation.  “Is this your first time here?” she asked.  “Yes, it is,” came the reply.  “Don’t worry,” said the lady in the sweater, “it gets easier.”

“The scales fell from my eyes that day,” reflected the young woman.  “I went there looking for a job, and that woman thought I was there for food.  As far as she knew, the world had been as cruel to me as it had been to her.  But in the kindest way she could, she welcomed me as a fellow human being.  Standing there, she saw me as someone equally in need, which I was and still am.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the day God began to [open my heart.]” 

That young woman went on to establish her own halfway house for recovering drug addicts.  She schedules twelve-step groups, arranges for childcare, and tries to get people back on their feet. 

“What do you want?” asks Jesus.  A church could ask for more prestige, increased notoriety, or a sense of power.  But for people of faith, the answer is clear.  Stand up, stand up for Jesus.  It’s time to “see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly”[xii]…all the way to the cross, right here and now.  Amen.