Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Imitating or Pretending? with Ben Carruthers
Can dressing up for Halloween teach us about our faith? Imagine your kids in their costumes, embodying different characters, and you're left wondering how this parallels with our own spiritual journey. This episode unravels the layers of imitation and authenticity in living a life inspired by Jesus, using personal anecdotes and the teachings from the book of Ephesians as our guide. We confront the divisions in our society, families, and workplaces, questioning whether we are merely putting on a costume of faith or truly transforming into the likeness of Christ. Through the lens of a Halloween memory, we explore how surface-level imitation can seep into our beliefs and challenge ourselves to embrace a deeper, more authentic identity that promotes unity.
Journey with us as we explore Paul's heartfelt letters to the Ephesians, revealing a blueprint for transformation that isn't just about altering our actions but aligning our very selves with God's love. By referencing Jesus' teachings from the book of Matthew, we paint a picture of what true behavioral imitation looks like—speaking truthfully, sharing generously, and loving unconditionally. A haunted house experience from our past becomes a striking metaphor for the hollowness of mere pretense, urging us to discard the mask and live with genuine compassion and kindness. Together, we reflect on how Christ's love and sacrifice can inspire a transformation that paves the way for healing and unity in our communities.
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Well, good morning, great to be with you this morning. My name is Ben Carruthers, I'm the Director of Student and Family Ministry and there are a lot of you here today. Holy buckets, this is incredible, and the energy that was in this place right when service started, man, it was incredible and I want you to remember that because I'm going to tie that back into at the end of this message. That was awesome. You probably didn't hear any of Peter's announcements because you guys were all chatting, which is fine, don't worry about it. But, yeah, just remember that energy. I think that's important. So, yeah, good morning.
Speaker 1:Like I said, my name is Ben, director of Student Family Ministry, and we are continuing our sermon series on the book of Ephesians entitled Unity in a Divided World, and entitled Unity in a Divided World Unity in a Divided World. And you know, obviously we know this is election week and I think this sermon series was picked in particular because of the talk of division and unity, or the lack thereof in this world, with this topic maybe in mind. And so this is a big week, but maybe it'd be a big week or month or year. This idea of division is something that really kind of haunts our existence. Right Division, maybe in the workplace, where you have fights going on, or divisions in the home, even with relationships in the church, in politics, it's everywhere around us. So how do we be the church in a divided world? And this morning's sermon is entitled Imitating or Pretending. Imitating or Pretending Because that last line there that Paul wrote that we are to be imitators of Jesus and there's a difference between pretending and imitating.
Speaker 1:This past Thursday, obviously, was Halloween, and Halloween's a fun holiday, nowhere near as good as Christmas. So you know, it's fine, I just might have divided the room, but it's fine, like it's fun, I like it, I enjoy it. I have four kids and my two older ones are way too cool to go trick-or-treating with Dad and they go do their own thing. So my two boys they're still young enough where they think it's pretty cool to go trick-or-treating with Dad. And this year, year, that's the three of us, so little Ezzy, he went as Bumblebee and then Arlo and myself went as Baymax. He's from Big Hero 6. In case you're wondering, I'm the big one. In case you were in any confusion in the room, that's me. And we went and it's fun, right, we put on these costumes, we go around and we pretend. Now I will tell you so. The Baymax costume has a fan with a battery pack that makes it blow up, and little kids at their schools they get to do this parade of people where they get to wear their costume. And Arlo this year forgot his power pack, so this was his costume for walking in school. Go ahead there, it is Super excited about it. I said man, you're like a used handkerchief, that's what you look like. He did not find it very funny, obviously Right, but we have this idea of imitating, what it means to imitate or pretend.
Speaker 1:We put these costumes on, we pretend, we pretend to be Bumblebee and we pretend to be Baymax and we pretend all of this stuff. And unfortunately, we pretend in the world of our faith as well. And Paul is calling us to be not pretenders of the faith, not pretenders of people who call themselves Christians or pretenders of people who follow Jesus and live a life like he did. But to imitate that, to imitate the life that Jesus lived and the love that he showed this world, and to imitate Jesus is not an easy thing. And so Paul lays out this passage for us this morning to help us give a little bit of direction, of what it means to not just pretend, to be a pretender, to pretend to follow Jesus, but to live a life that imitates his life and his love. So, as we dive into the passage this morning, will you pray with me and his love? So, as we dive into the passage this morning, will you pray with me? Heavenly Father, god, we give you thanks and praise for the ability to be here and to worship together. Lord, we pray as we dive into the passage this morning, as we have over the past few weeks, this idea of unity in a divided world. Lord, there are families in this room today that are divided. There are relationships in this room that are divided. The world around us, the space around us are divided. So, lord, help us to live out this passage as Paul puts it today, to be people who imitate the life and love of you and in doing so, hopefully bring some unity into the world, but maybe into some relationships in our own lives. In your name, we pray Amen.
Speaker 1:So Paul is writing this letter to the church in Ephesus, and I think context is really important here, right, because he's writing it and at first glance, it's one of those passages that many people in the world view Christianity as it's just a do and don't list. Right, a do and don't list that you can never live up to. Do this, don't do this, forgive love, don't be angry, don't hold malice in your heart. All of this stuff, and the world says no one can ever do, that, it's impossible. And it becomes one of those passages where Christianity becomes a check to do list at first glance. But that's not what's going on here. That's not what Paul and what the passage is all about.
Speaker 1:Just prior to that, in the prior passages or verses, paul is speaking directly to the Gentiles, right, the Gentile nation. He's talking a little bit about what this new identity looks like, and in this passage he opens up by speaking to everyone, right, jew and Gentile. Right away. He's uniting everybody. At the beginning of this passage. He opens up by speaking to everyone, right, jew and Gentile. Right away. He's uniting everybody at the beginning of this passage, and he's saying to you something new is happening, right? We talked last week and Ryan had his coat and he said the old is gone and the new is here, the old you versus the new you. And so he's speaking to all people of all nations about the new you and new as exciting as it can. Be right, you get a new car or new clothes or whatever. That's exciting. But a new life, a new perspective on the way to live, that's incredibly scary.
Speaker 1:So I've been married. I'll be 10 years in June and I got married late in life. So I was 34 when I got married and I didn't get the blessing of just an amazing wife, but I got two amazing kids in the deal as well. And I remember when we came back from our honeymoon and we started life together as a happy family, the first morning at around 6 am, two little whippersnappers came into my bedroom and came into my bed. Now I was a bachelor for a long time. Okay, I had this beautiful queen-size bed. That was all mine. I'm already sharing it with one new person. Okay, this is a new thing for me. And they come in and they're in my bed and I say guys, go out and watch cartoons. Okay, just leave the space. And I look at my wife and I say to her I said this is my sanctuary. Okay, this is my place. Like, this is not for kids. And my wife looked at me and she just laughed. We've been married 10 years now, and I don't think we've ever been in the bed without a kid, so it's a pretty neat thing. But I was a new dad. I was new. I didn't know what to do. I had no idea the rules or how to play this game as being a dad, and so I had to learn as I went. But thank God that I had people in my life who came alongside me, who modeled what it meant to be a good dad, who would pull me aside and teach me what it meant to be a dad, to be a loving husband, to love on these kids, to be a dad, to be a loving husband, to love on these kids. I needed some guidance, because this new part of my life was exactly that New.
Speaker 1:This part of scripture reminds me a lot of the Exodus you know, when the Israelites, for hundreds of years, were slaves to the Egyptians and finally God sets them free. He brings Moses in and he leads these people free. Now, for hundreds of years, they knew one set of life. Generations had passed and they only knew slavery. That's it. That's all they knew. And now God says you are free. You are free. This is completely new, and what's ironic is what do they do with that freedom. They go and build a golden calf and start worshiping. So God says my people need this freedom, but they need to know what freedom looks like Boundaries, guidance to live within this freedom. So he gives Moses the Ten Commandments, another list of to-dos and don'ts. The world look at. The world says that those Ten Commandments are just things that you're supposed to do and don't do, and check the box and all that kind of stuff. It's not that. He looks at his people who have this new life, this new experience, and have no idea what to do with it, and so he gives them these Ten Commandments and says this is freedom Live within these boundaries.
Speaker 1:This, I think, is what Paul is doing here in this passage. Prior to that we talked about your old self is gone. Your new self, jew and Gentile alike, this is something completely new. Well, what does it look like? What is this new self supposed to do, supposed to be, to be, supposed to act? And so paul goes into this passage laying it out. He lays out what exactly this new life is supposed to look like.
Speaker 1:And if you want to pop that passage up on the screen, what I'd like to do is I'd like to read this out loud. You guys can follow on the screen, but I'd like you to do is. I'd like to read this out loud. You guys can follow on the screen, but I'd like you to do this as I read it. Just be open to the words and see if there is a certain behavior or word that strikes a chord in your heart. Just be open.
Speaker 1:So Ephesians 4 25-32. Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work doing something useful with their own hands that they may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander.
Speaker 1:So I've been living in this passage for a few weeks and when I reread it over and over again, one of those behaviors kept bubbling to the surface for me, and that was anger, anger. And as an angry person, I was angry that that kept bubbling up inside of me and it made me irritated. I don't think I'm angry, but this word anger kept coming up and I'm like what's going on there? Right, if something resonates with you like that, there's something stirring inside of you. And on my way to work with the kids one morning just this past week and I have told this before but when I get behind the wheel of a car, I do become a very angry man. I think no one knows how to drive and everyone's just idiots on the road and they all need to drive like me, which is perfect.
Speaker 1:And so I'm driving and this guy behind me I can see in my rearview mirror is just cutting in and out, in and out on 169. And normally in that situation what I like to do is I like to slow down and go right in line with the person next to me so that person really understands how much I love them. But I had kids in the car and I didn't, so I moved aside and he went just blasting off and I got angry. Anger bubbled up. You know I was talking to Pete. I could feel my face get red and my anger just bubbling up and bubbling up. And then I felt great rejoice because about a half mile down 169, I saw him pull over by a cop. I'm like kids wave no, that's horrible, right, like it's horrible. But this anger kept bubbling up inside of me. So it's like what is it? I don't know that guy, maybe he was on the way to the hospital, maybe his wife was in the car and she was about to give birth. I don't know what was going on, but my immediate instinct was to be angry and upset and judgmental. There's something going on there that I need to figure out, because that's not what it looks like to imitate Jesus. I can say all I want that. You know. I love people. I love all people show love in different ways. And then the minute some guy cuts me off, I give him one finger right, want that. I love people. I love all people show love in different ways. And then the minute some guy cuts me off, I give him one finger right, like that's just not what it is.
Speaker 1:What spoke to you in that passage? What bubbled up? Because it's a good list. It's a good list of behaviors. You read this. You're like Paul, you're on a roll man. These are all good lists and do's and don'ts of behavior, but this isn't Paul speaking. Paul wrote the letter but he's not using his own words. I want to talk about just a few of them. Speak truthfully. From verse 25. Paul tells us to speak truthfully. From verse 25. Paul tells us to speak truthfully.
Speaker 1:In the book of Matthew, chapter 5, verses 33 through 37, jesus says this and don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smokescreen of pious talk, saying I'll pray for you and never doing it, or saying God be with you and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say yes and no. When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong. You see, paul wasn't just trying to play the hits or think of behaviors that we need to change. He went back to the teachings of Jesus. Verse 28 says share what you have. Again, jesus in Matthew chapter 6 says give to the needy. Matthew chapter 10, 8,. Jesus says you have been treated graciously, so live generously.
Speaker 1:Verse 31 up here says get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, bra brawling and any kind of slander, along with every form of malice. Jesus, again in matthew, chapter 5, says this I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother an idiot and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell stupid at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. Verse 29 up here. Paul writes this Speak kind to one another. Verse 32, be kind, compassionate and forgive one another. Jesus, again in Matthew, in his Sermon on the Mount, says this, and this is probably my favorite translation. It's from the message Matthew, chapter 5.
Speaker 1:You're familiar with the old written law love your friend and its unwritten companion hate your enemy. I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with a supple move of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best, the sun to warm and the rain to nourish to everyone, regardless, the good and the bad, the nice and the nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Everybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does just that.
Speaker 1:This is not paul just thinking of do and don't behaviors. He is doing exactly. What he is telling us to do is to imitate the life and teachings of Jesus. Paul goes right to the way that Jesus taught about these issues and says this is not my words, this is the Lord Jesus speaking to you, and this is how he says we should live. This is how it looks like to imitate him. He takes the life and lessons of Jesus and pours it in to his letter to the Ephesians. This is not a checklist of do's and don'ts. This is how Jesus lived and how he taught. And for us today, it is not a checklist of do's and don'ts, but rather of behaviors that we should become Becoming people who love our enemies. Becoming people who forgive, becoming people who are not filled with anger and hatred and malice. Imitating the life and teachings of Jesus. This is where transformation happens.
Speaker 1:Transformation is a really kind of hot-button word in the church. We use it all the time and I'm going to go back here and grab this real quick. If you were here last week, you may recognize this fancy coat. Ryan brought this coat out because last week we talked about to take off your old coat and put on the new one, this idea of transformation, that this is no longer who you are, but you are a new child of God, and he took it and he threw it down at the feet of the cross, because that's our old self and the new self is here. Transformation so we talk about it a lot and, yes, this is what transformation looks like, but transformation is much more deeper than that. Transformation is just looking at this list and if I was to say, yep, anger is something I deal with, alright, how am I going to do this? I'm going to talk nicer to people. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that. If I go about it on my own, about it on my own, if I go about it on the surface level, I'm going to fail, because the transformation that needs to take place is inside of me. It's about taking these characteristics and behaviors of Jesus and making them who I am, not just things that I check off a box that says I'm done with that. I'm done with that. That's the transformation piece, and it's done as Paul put it at the end of our reading today chapter 5, verse 1.
Speaker 1:This is why we have transformation. This is why we imitate God. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love. Love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragment, offering of sacrifice to God. We become transformed children of God when we realize that, while we were still angry, while we hold on to not forgiving people, when we were filled with malice, when we were everything that was on that list, christ died for you. Christ died for you Because this list is still us today. This list is still me today. But the reason why I choose to imitate Jesus with my life is because of what he has done for me, because, while I was still a sinner, jesus Christ died for me. And when we start to live that gospel message and open up our heart to receive that, that's what makes transformation take place. That's the new being.
Speaker 1:I want to close with this story and I apologize if you heard it before, but I think it's a good one and pretty relevant. So years ago when I was in high school, me and some friends we went to a county fair I think it was the state fair actually and we went to the haunted house there and you know we're standing in line and back in the day I was a pretty scared little chicken man, like I didn't want to go in this haunted house. I didn't want to get scared. That was nothing. But it was me, a friend and a bunch of girls, and in high school you're going to do whatever is possible and manly if the girls are going to come with you. So I'm like all right, let's go. My buddy was a bigger chicken than me and I had to lead in the haunted house. And so you get in there. There's a guy with a flashlight it must have been broken because he never turned it on the whole time. Like you got a flashlight man, and so we're cruising around and there's jump scares and all that kind of stuff. I remember I got there was a part where we had to go up steps and so I'm going up the steps, leading the pack, trying to be the manliest man I can be, and I turn the corner and some goblin jumps out with a mask and just goes rah, and I wish I could tell you that my response was incredibly masculine. But however, out of response, I screamed like a girl and went, ah, and I open-hand slapped the man. It's not my favorite story to tell. I wish I'd like, yeah, I just hopped into action, right? No, that's exactly what happened.
Speaker 1:And in the haunted house that was completely dark and all creepy and scary. You hear some guy on his walkie talkie be like we're shutting it down and the people behind me don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. And the guy takes me by the hand. He's like please wait here, sir. I was like what does that mean? Right, I'm like 16, 17 years old.
Speaker 1:And they turn on all the lights in the haunted house. Yeah, I know Some people oh, were you there? You must have been there. You're the guy you ruined my day. They turned all the lights on and when they did that, it was just a big empty house. Just a big empty house. Everyone took their masks off to look at the fool, leave the haunted house with his head down. It was just a big empty house.
Speaker 1:And then I walked outside and I looked up and there it was, the haunted house with all its creepy exterior inviting people in for a good time. But I had seen the inside and it was just a big empty house. See, that's the difference between pretending and imitating. It's what's inside of you that causes you to live a life for Christ. It's what's inside of you the realization that, man, while we were still sinners, while you were still angry, while you were still full of malice, even though you write things on Facebook, you shouldn't, and maybe you're holding on to something that you should be forgiving, even though that list is still us. Christ died for you and for me, and that's why we imitate, and it's in that hope that unity can happen in our lives and our relationships and in the world. Amen.
