Living in the Spirit
August 9, 2018
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:25-5:2
So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. –Ephesians 4:25-32
We seem to be living in a world practicing the philosophy of “all’s fair in love and war”*. Illustrated the best today in politics. One of the facets of first-century Christianity that was so very important was staying true to the ways of Christ. Ephesians emphasizes that in the above scripture. Our behavior is the world’s most prominent example of Christ. When we lie, we intimate that Christ also cannot be believed. When we spew hatred, we do it in the name of Christ who is love incarnate.
When I read today’s scripture that phrase all’s fair in love and war flashed in my mind. As I researched its source I found its first use in the novel* cited below. The article noted that the idea was much older. Miguel de Cervantes made the comparison in 1604 in Don Quixote when he wrote, “Love and war are all one . . . It is lawful to use sleights and stratagems to . . . attain the wished end.”** I am a devoted fan of the musical Man of La Mancha and The Impossible Dream is one of my all-time favorite songs. I was an idealistic college student when I first heard it in the 60’s and while I have become more pragmatic in my aging, it still remains true to me today. I prefer the privilege of being on Christ’s quest than anything else in this world.
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far***
Prayer: Love Incarnate, draw all forever into the rightness of your quest. Amen.
*From the novel Frank Fairlegh: Scenes from the Life of a Private Pupil by Frank Smedley.
**https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/literature/who-said-alls-fair-in-love-and-war-and-where
From “The Impossible Dream” from MAN OF LA MANCHA (1972)music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion see at http://www.reelclassics.com/Actors/O’Toole/impossibledream-lyrics.htm