The text this morning is from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the fifth chapter:
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true)…Thus far the text.
Dear friends in Christ,
In Paul’s letter this morning, we see an encouragement to be imitators of God, walking in love, as Christ has loved us. This is a good and faithful word from God, as it continues to show us in God’s Word how we all, by faith in Jesus Christ, are actually given the smell of fragrant sacrifices and offerings in Christ by being washed in His blood.
Paul writes this letter from his prison in Rome, which even more enhances the admonition. Paul, in chains, is still arguing for his people, his readers, to be righteous, even despite the hardships that are in their lives, usually ones of great trial and tribulation. Think about the time in which Paul met his hearers: the first-century world, devoid of modern amenities, no showers, no a/c, no wonderful body soap or body wash.
Now, if you’ve never smelled a bunch of people who haven’t showered for days, or do not take care of themselves, you may not understand this. But think of 30 sweaty boys after a Boy Scout camping trip coming home to a wonderfully clean home in the fall, which smells of pumpkin spice. Their fragrance is one which will assault you.
Or, as when I was in Russia one summer, think of a subway car, crammed to the full during rush hour, with everyone holding on to a bar above their heads. Russians do not usually use deodorant, so the fragrance of so many Russians put together in one place is also quite assaulting.
Or, when I mowed the lawn yesterday, getting dusty and sweaty for three hours. When I winterized my machines, got the garage and house ready for winter, by the time I was done, I was ready to sit and smoke my pipe for a little while. By the time I was finished, I smelled awful. I needed a shower really even before I walked into the home, especially with a pregnant wife. I needed to be clean, I needed to smell better, I needed my funk to be washed down the drain.
Our natural funk is not very nice. If this can happen even for us, the funk of the first-century must have been quite shocking as well at times. Yes, you all get used to it, but imagine you were a time-traveller. It would be… interesting, to be sure.
But here, Paul encourages us to imitate Christ, whose fragrant offering of perfect obedience was pleasing to His Father. Think of this church, packed to the brim with Easter lilies. Now, you may have allergies, like I do, and have to take an extra dose of Claritin in the morning before you come Easter Day, but the smell of that Sunday is undeniably wonderful, reminding us of our Lord and this fragrant offering that was offered up to God, our Father.
And this is what Paul says to imitate. We need to imitate the righteous funk of Jesus. But, we are smelly people. We smell of unrighteousness. We are people who are sexually immoral. We are covetous. We are filthy men and women, talking crudely, inappropriately, making that disgusting joke we know our family would find funny, yet would never tell to the pastor, much less to Christ. We are sinners, deep into the funk of sin, not wearing the fragrant myrrh and frankincense our Lord was given both at His birth into this world, and that He was slathered with in His death by faithful women.
The fragrance of smelly people is disgusting to God, because He knows that we are sinners, absent any righteousness that gives Him joy and glory. We have fallen short of the glory of God, and there is not one righteous, not even one. Our works are filthy rags before God, rags that smell of body odor, uncleanliness, and unrighteousness. We cannot offer to God anything of our own hands that smells anything like the sacrifice of Christ.
Unless, of course, you have been washed in the waters of baptism. There, your uncleanliness was washed away. There you receive, not, as I needed yesterday, as a washing of dirt from the body, but an appeal before God for a good conscience, a clean conscience, a righteous conscience. There in baptism, you receive this good conscience, a cleansing of the soul, a washing in the blood of Christ, which is rich and perfect in every way, and there you are covered with the funk of Christ. There, in baptism, you smell like Jesus.
Without Christ, all our works are as filthy rags. But in Christ, our works are done in His name, in His way, worked through us by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of loving and serving our neighbor. And when we do this, when we are in His blood, all our works are counted righteous, not so that we may boast in ourselves, but that we boast in Christ. Christ has loved and served our neighbor through us, and there He cannot and will not find fault, for He counts our works perfect on His account.
And there, these perfected works rise up into the nostrils of God so that He receives them and blesses them. Think of the smell of an autumn fire, or of a steak on the grill, or the first smell of rain after a harsh summer. Those smells, as beautiful as they may be to us, are nowhere near as pleasing to us as are righteous works in the nostrils of God the Father.
Without Christ, these works become spoiled as soured milk, as month-old garbage, as rotten eggs, as old vomit. Without Christ, the works of our hands are nothing but the smell of Satan and sulfur and He spews them out of His mouth as quickly as we would gag. But, in Christ, with Christ, because we have been washed by His blood, because we have eaten and drank His body and blood, because we hear the forgiveness of sins proclaimed to us in the voice of Christ Himself, these works are greater than any smell we could come up with.
In Christ, we leave behind the sin and grasp on to the righteousness of Christ. We depend not on our own understanding, our own reason, our own works. We do not wish these to ascend to our Father. But in Christ, we look to His works, His Spirit, His love toward us, and these are offered for us.
Should we leave behind the sin of this world and walk as children of the light? Yes, of course. We should leave behind those who would offer us empty platitudes, you’re okay, you’re not as bad as you think, you’re doing alright, your works are good. We should leave that behind, for with words and preachers like that the wrath of God comes upon those sons of disobedience.
But, again, in Christ, we leave those behind and listen to our Lord’s words, and we love and serve our neighbors. Even today, as we honor those who serve this congregation and the Church throughout the world in the LWML, we see that they have set an example of what service to the neighbor looks like, and even what it looks like to leave behind the works of the world. It isn’t to say that the only way we serve the Church well is through the LWML, or through any churchly organization, but that we look to these saints of the Church as we look to all saints of the Church, as good examples of what is seemly to God and what pleases Him.
Every act of obedience to God’s Law in loving Him and loving and serving our neighbor is an act of faith. Every word and work rises up to God and is pleasing to Him in Christ Jesus. It is not because we are good, it is not because we are sinless, but it is because Christ is good and sinless and He has washed us. In Christ, we find what is right and true. In Christ, we walk, not aimlessly, but towards the end of this sin-filled life, and we wish to bring all of God’s children, all of humanity, with us toward the final day when we shall be resurrected from the grave and do works of righteousness toward each other forever.
In Christ, we have this promise, for we can believe the one who prophesied that He would die, and in three days be resurrected from the grave by the Father through the Holy Spirit. And so He was. And when He promises that we shall be made like Him, when He promises He is returning to make us new, to make us alive in Him, to give to everlasting life, we may believe Him, and so we do.
So, in ourselves, we are funky. We are sinful. But, in Christ, we are beautiful and sinless, we are fragrant offerings to God. We smell good in Christ, despite our intentions and our evil works. You are Christ’s, and He has washed you clean, so that you may work as His people, depending only and ever on Him to do good works through you. You are Christ’s, and you smell fantastically like Him. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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