Year C 2nd Epiphany WED 2025 Walk in Love

 Year C Second Sunday after Epiphany,  WEDNESDAY, January 22, 2025

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Walk in Love”

Collect

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Ephesians 5:1-14

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be associated with them. For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly;but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

‘Sleeper, awake!

   Rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.’

Gospel Mark 4:1-20

This morning I want to look at our New Testament reading. Specifically the first two verses.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

I cannot help but think how much I love when I see Steph or me in our kids, how proud I am that the “apple did not fall far from the tree.” I know I have mentioned before that when I am tired and not thinking, I walk like my dad. He had polio as a child and had a limp.

As a young child I watched him, and I learned to walk with a limp or waddle like him. When I am thinking, I avoid it. When I am tired or not thinking, I shift into those old patterns of walking like dad. I am an imitator of my father.

St Paul urges us to be imitators of God, like beloved children do of their beloved parents.

The second verse here is one I say most every week, but here is where the NRSV that we use does not stay with the Greek. Here the NRSV says:

live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

What you normally hear me say is from the King James version, stripped of the thees and thous.

Walk in love as Christ loved us, and gave himself as an offering and sacrifice to God

And King James goes on:

For a sweetsmelling savour.

When I say that every week, it is after our passing of the peace and before we come to Christ’s table.

We come to the table, trying to fulfill the beginning of those verses, imitating God. As God was in full communion with Christ, and Christ is in full communion with us, then we can be in full communion with one another.

And how? By walking in love. And we offer ourselves, our souls and bodies, as we say in the Eucharistic prayer. We, being redeemed and made whole in Christ, can be sweet smelling savories that are worthy of being lifted up to God.

The rest of the reading gets into the details. It covers a lot of areas, most how not to walk in love.

Think about it, if before you take any step, or say any word, or do ANYTHING, what if you asked yourself, “Am I doing this in love?” Does this take me further down the path and way of love? If not, do not. If yes, then proceed. What a simple thing that would make a huge difference individually and collectively.

But walking in love is the foundation, wherever it may lead. And don’t forget, for a sweetsmelling savour.

Amen.