A Ripple Can’t be Still

Col. 4:2-6                                                                        September 19, 2004

    Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.

CCI: We share grace with others through prayer and conversation.

Intro: As we have been studying Paul’s letter to the Colossians, the theme of freedom has been present every step of the way. Now, as Paul closes this letter, he wants his readers to realize that what he has to say is not just for them. Rather, their life and their freedom are to be moving outward all the time. Their lives are be like stones thrown into a pond with an ever widening ripple.

         I remember as a child going to the beach in Ocean City, NJ. My grand-parents lived 45 minutes from there and so we would go to the ocean when we visited. When I was little one of our annual activities while playing on the beach was trying to catch a wave. We would try all kind of elaborate sand traps, often we would get water in our holes, but never could we catch a wave and make it rise and fall in our buckets. However, as we grew, we began a new activity, this time in the surf. Here we would try to swim with a wave and catch it and then ride that wave into the shore. This time we were often successful in catching waves. What was the difference? That is simple, you can’t stop a wave, you can not make a ripple stand still.

         Moving out, that is what we are called to be doing. We are to be constantly going beyond, breaking new ground. The impact of our relationships is to be rippling out from us all the time. That is true in our relationship with God and in our relationships with others.

I. Relationship with God – Prayer

         Prayer, I am sure it is the most studied topic in the Church. We study why we should pray, we study how to effectively pray, we study when we can best pray. We learn how to pray the words of scripture, we learn how to pray in power, and some even try to teach how to pray in tongues. There are countless books on prayer, there are seminars to teach you to pray and there are ministries that offer you the secret of prayer. And yet, for all the knowledge we accumulate about prayer, most of us do not put it into practice.

         Heri Nouwen, a monk who devoted his life to prayer and service, wrote, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I am impressed by own spiritual insights. I probably know more about prayer, meditation, and contemplation than most Christians do. I have read many books about the Christian life, and have even written a few myself. Still, as impressed as I am, I am more impressed by the enormous abyss between my insights and my life.” I too, must say, “God be merciful to me a sinner. I, too, am impressed by the great gap between my knowledge of prayer and my practice of prayer.”

         Paul’s invitation in this passage is clear: “Devote yourself to prayer.” Paul does not particularly care what we know about prayer, his desire is that we pray. And prayer is work.

         Paul wrote, “Be alert in prayer.” In other words be looking for needs blessings and signs of grace around you. I find that when I am alert in prayer I see people and situations that drive me to pray for them right then. When I am alert in prayer I find that I pray for people I know and people with whom I may be in conflict whenever I pass their homes. On Thursday I was in St. Mary’s Hospital and as I walked to the elevator my attention was drawn to woman in her teens who clearly had been crying. I found myself lifting her up to Jesus asking Him to comfort her and to bring her peace. Be alert in prayer, be looking for those around you who need your prayer and perhaps your words of encouragement.

         And let those prayers be filled with thanksgiving. Even more importantly, be filled with thanksgiving in your prayers. Meditate on Christ’s work, not only in your life, though that is important, and not only in your church, though that is clear. But also meditate on the depth of love Jesus has poured out. Meditate on the boundless grace of God. Let gratitude for God and who God is, fill your very soul.

         Devote yourself to prayer, but the prayer can not be just about ourselves. It must not be selfish, rather Paul asks that the Colossians pray so that he would make the gospel clear to others. The goal of their prayers was “God may open a door for the word.” So, Paul asked them to pray that the ripples would keep moving outward. He wanted them to pray that the circle would become wider.

         As we grew in our relationship with God, the circle of our heart is to grow bigger.

II. And the same thing is true in our relationships with others.

         In describing our witness, Paul uses an interesting expression. He said, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace.” What does conducting our lives wisely toward outsiders look like? It is seen in speech that is filled with grace.

         Unfortunately, that is not the kind of speech that is most often seen these days. Ronald J. Kernaghan has said, “At the beginning of the 21st century, reasoned discourse [is imperiled]. Reasoned discourse is increasingly giving way to in-your-face sound bites….Hardball is the dominant metaphor for American public life. Our interchanges are confrontational, divisive, and dismissive. Truth is not something we expect to emerge from a conversation. It is something we hope to impose. Balance and fairness are casualties on evening shows as two, three, and sometimes four voices contend simultaneously for dominance. Volume and intransigence are the new civic virtues.”

         And if that was true 3 years ago, then it is more true today. FatCheck.org, a fact checking organization that is quite balanced in it’s criticism said in a recent article, “Kerry misrepresents Bush's position on Social Security. Bush cites a disputed cost estimate for Kerry's health-care plan. Kerry exaggerates the current cost of the Iraq war. Bush paints a rosy picture of job growth while failing to mention that there's been a net loss of jobs since he took office.” In addition to misrepresentations, name calling, character assassination, and pure lies, some candidates are actually being criticized for not calling names and misrepresenting truth. Seldom does a day go by that someone does not comment to me that they are really tired of the ugly nature of this campaign.

         And the course words spoken in the campaign are reflected throughout the nation. The schools are full of students who can’t speak a sentence without a vulgar expression. Threats and intimidation fill the playgrounds. A woman was just arrested for racial intimidation in Saginaw. Any day in K-Mart you can hear mothers screaming at their children and teenagers talking back to their parents. It is all around us. Even within the church name calling and dismissive conversation tear up the body of Christ. Several years ago, in a small community north of town, the police were called to break up a church business meeting because the words had so inflamed the anger of those present.

         One hot and humid day in 1999, in the middle of Kansas City, the eight-hour shift seemed especially long for the veteran bus driver. Suddenly, a young woman, apparently upset about something, let loose with a string of unforgettable, not to mention unrepeatable, words. The bus driver, looking in his overhead mirror, could sense everyone around her was embarrassed by the string of profanity.

         Still mumbling, the angry passenger began to disembark a few blocks later. As she stepped down, the bus driver calmly said, "Madam, I believe you're leaving something behind."

         She quickly turned and snapped, "Oh? And what is that?"

         "A very bad impression, Ma’am," the bus driver responded. (Zig Zigler)

         And our conversation will determine the impression we leave with the world. As Christ’s presence in our community, what is the impression we make in our daily encounters and in our conversations?

         “Salty” language traditionally refers to language that is properly punctuated with profanity and vulgarity. Just as the woman in Kansas City learned, our speech leaves ever widening ripples that affect the people around us. But Paul suggests a different kind of salty language. “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.”

         Speech seasoned with Grace. That is a wonderful flavor in our lives. Words of kindness, words of love, words of forgiveness, words of gratitude and encouragement, these are the salty words Jesus longs to hear from our lips. They too, will ripple out.

         It seems so simple, yet we often forget the salt of graceful conversation. We forget to thank, we neglect to encourage, we are too busy to listen. When there are disagreements we easily fall back into that old way of thinking. And yet our words have power. They are the ripples that flow out of a life that has been struck with the Grace of God.

         It is the conversations filled with grace that make it possible for us to deal with the challenges we face each day.

         Henry Townsend, a preacher for many years, said, “When I was four years old, I came down with a leg disease that left me bedridden, then in a wheelchair, and then in braces and on crutches for two years. I went overnight from a very active child to one with a serious disability. My doctor told my parents it was imperative they make me do things for myself and not spoil my character by doing everything for me.

         I remember an incident at church when my parents were making me go up a long flight of stairs on my crutches. I was struggling and taking a long time, but they were prodding me on. I stumbled, got redirected, and continued on one slow step after another. I'm sure it was painful to watch.

         Suddenly, from behind us I heard a woman say to her husband, "Can you believe those parents are making that child do that?"

         I don't remember what my parents said, but years later I wondered how my mother did it. One of the most caring people I know, she is also one of the most care-taking, the kind who has difficulty making the dog go outside in the rain. I can only imagine what it was like for her to let a crippled child struggle through things she could have helped with. So, years later, I asked her.

         "Emmett," she said.

         "Emmett?" I asked.

         "Yes, Emmett. Every day, when I had to do something I just could not face doing, I would call Emmett, cry my eyes out, and listen to her tell me I had to do it. She would help me through it each time. It was awful."

         Emmett was my mother's best friend, a wonderful Christian woman. What my mother had discovered was that by herself she could not do what was required of her. But with support she could. This was conversation seasoned with grace.

         The way we relate to one another in our speech will be seen by those outside the church. Our society is getting tired of dismissive, abusive and accusatory conversation. If the ripples that come from this church are different, if instead of anger and accusation and abuse and dismissing, people experience grace and encouragement and gratitude and welcome and listening we will clearly be seen to be Christ’s presence in this community. Disagreements will come, but when we are praying for an open door to share the gospel, the way we deal with those disagreements will be seasoned with grace.

         I want to challenge you today to devote yourself to prayer that God may open a door for us to the world. Then as the Spirit of God moves in your heart, let your conversation be seasoned with grace. That will require active work, but it will transform your life and the lives of the people around you.

         If you are a Christian, the ripples in your life can not be stilled, they will continue to move outward. What is the message they are carrying?