Dan Herold | Ephesians 5:8-14 | 3/19/2017
When I was a young child living at my parents home there was something that always caught my attention. It would usually only happen in the mornings because the sun had to be at just the right angle. The front door at my parents’ house has this window in it made out of beveled glass. There isn’t really anything special about the window other than the fact that if the sun hits it right parts of the window act as a prism and the light shining through makes little rainbows appear around the entryway and the stairs that go to the upper level of the house. I was always fascinated by those little rainbows that would appear and I remember trying to figure out where they came from.
When normal white light shines through a prism it is separated into the different colors that make up white light. To the human eye the light exiting the prism looks like a rainbow. It’s a cool trick that is fun to observe. The same thing can happen in nature. We know the importance of a rainbow from God’s promise to Noah, but scientifically the rainbow in the sky is made the same way as the ones I saw at my parents’ house. Instead of light shining through a glass window, though, it’s shining through drops of water and the water is acting as the prism. Through the prism normal white light is transformed into a beautiful and colorful rainbow.
Our second lesson this morning told us about a transformation that we have gone through. It’s another transformation that involves light. But, instead of changing from white light to colorful light Paul tells us about something much more serious. Paul tells us about light and dark.
Paul says in Ephesians 5,
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”
Paul is talking about what we were before and what we are now…once we were darkness, but now we are light.
Notice, Paul didn’t say that once we were in darkness or affected by darkness. At one time we were darkness. We weren’t just victims of sin we ourselves were sin—it penetrated us to the core and defined who we were. Thankfully though we have become something else! Paul says that now, we are light. Again, not affected by light or in the light—we are now light. At one time we were defined by darkness, now we are defined by light. We aren’t just people on whom the light shines, we are the light! So, if we are the light then we better act like it.
In verse 11 Paul says,
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”
As people of light we are to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. Now, again you need to pay very careful attention to the words that Paul is using to explain this principle. When you hear or read verse 11 the first time and you hear Paul, and your Lord, say,
“1 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness…”
how do you plan to accomplish that? Most likely we think, “Well, if I am to have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness then I will avoid the people who do the deeds of darkness.” But that isn’t what Paul is saying!
Then, on a daily basis, I get to deal with the issues of erectile dysfunction that is cialis rx browse over here causing the real problem. You need to be really careful with the dosage see to it that you take pharmacy cialis check over here the dose in proper way not in over or below amount or more usual than suggested for. Blood flow to the penis can be uncomfortable soft generic viagra for the woman. Sildenafil citrate can be found by the name of Kamagra, Kamagra oral jelly, Silagra, Forzest etc. so, you will get some essential guidance on safe driving laws. online generic cialis Paul never says to have nothing to do with the people who do the deeds of darkness. He says to have nothing to do with the deeds, not the people. If you enter a dark room how do you make the darkness go away? You turn on a light! You don’t make the darkness go away by saying, “Oh, it’s dark in here, I guess I’ll leave.” If you hear a strange noise in the night and you decide to go check it out, do you walk around in the dark? No! You turn on lights, you grab a flashlight, you set out to expose what is hiding in the dark.
Paul says not to take part in the deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. He says don’t take part in them, but show them for what they are. The only way to do that is to bring those deeds of darkness into contact with the light and you are the light!
Now, we all know that sounds a whole lot easier than it is…and it doesn’t even sound that easy. It’s not easy because,
“it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.”
As people of light we don’t go around exposing sin because it’s a fun or enjoyable thing for us to do. It’s shameful! Sometimes you feel uncomfortable even talking about some of the sins in which people find themselves trapped.
It’s hard for the darkness of the world to understand that. The way of the darkness is so accustomed to only doing what they find enjoyable or self-serving that they just assume that Christians like talking about other people’s sins and telling sinners what terrible people they are. But, if that’s not the case, then why do we expose sin?
We do it because if sin is buried down deep inside and kept to yourself it isn’t forgiven. In order to have our sins forgiven they need to be exposed. They need to be brought to light and there in the light Christ shines on our sins and removes them from our record. We use our light to expose sin so that sin can be confessed and forgiven. We use God’s tools—law and gospel—to be the light of the world and change darkness into light.
Now, there’s one important point we haven’t talked about yet, and that’s the matter of how we stopped being darkness and became light. It happened in a way very similar to how a rainbow is made. Once we were one thing and then something changed us into something else. Once we were darkness and someone changed us into light.
By nature we are darkness—that’s how we entered the world. From the time we were conceived in the womb we were darkness. It was through the word and and through the sacrament of Baptism that we were joined together with our Savior in his death and resurrection and that union of faith with him is the prism that transforms darkness into light. We did not become the light because we had done so many good things, or exposed so much sin. We became light through Christ who died to take away our sins.
Not only did Christ die for us, but he did the very thing that Paul instructs us to do now in Ephesians 5. Christ was the forerunner who set an example for us to follow. He did not avoid the people of darkness, but he avoided their deeds (by living a holy life) and he exposed their deeds. The thing Paul is talking about in Ephesians that he tells us to do is exactly what Christ did for us first! If it were not for Christ bringing us out of darkness into is wonderful light we would still be lost in the dark. There may be a person in your life for whom you can be that light—the light that gets flipped on in a pitch black basement and sheds beautiful wonderful light.
Make no mistake, God tells us to speak out against sin and to boldly do so. But, remember the purpose. What was the purpose for which Christ called you out of darkness. Was it to put you down and tell you what a terrible person you are? No! So don’t you dare ever do that to anyone else! You’ll be accused of that very thing when you speak out against sin, but in the end all things will be brought to the light. Know your Savior and keep him close. Remember what he has done for you and go…go and be the light he has made you to be.
Amen.