"Spiritual Intoxication"

Ephesians 5:15-20



Tom Johnson, August 16, 2012

“Do not get drunk with wine,” our Scripture says, “but be filled with the Spirit.” Our text is challenging us to live in godly wisdom, making the most of every day, because the days are evil. One of our present evils is drunkenness. Paul says not to get drunk with wine. He does not say, “Don’t drink wine.” He says, “Don’t get drunk on wine.”  I don’t think he is picking on wine drinkers. Nor do I think he is providing some loophole for getting drunk on beer, whiskey, or mixed drinks.

If crystal meth, cocaine, huffing, heroin, or any other intoxicating substance were available two thousand years ago, I think these words would also apply. Perhaps the words, if written today, would read, “Do not get high on any controlled substance. Get high on God.” “Don’t live your lives under the influence of chemical compounds; live your lives under the influence of the Holy Spirit.” Getting drunk on wine is when we have gone beyond the point of enjoying the fruit of God’s creation and it’s mind-altering effects. We may argue how much of wine is too much, but in the state of Illinois, .08% blood alcohol is legal drunkenness.

Perhaps you heard the heart-breaking news a few weeks ago about the ten year old boy who was killed in a boating accident. One of my first thoughts was if it was alcohol related. Just a few days ago, further news was released about the boater who killed him; he tested positive for cocaine and well beyond the legal limit for blood alcohol. Being under the influence is dangerous because we are no longer in control. Our senses are deadened. Our judgment is impaired. We do things that, under normal circumstances, we would never do. But before we pick on drugs and alcohol too much. There are other ways we can get our kicks.

Studies show that men and women in positions of power have elevated levels of dopamine. People of power can become addicted to this chemical surge to the brain. There is a short-term euphoria to this addiction to power but the lasting effects can do permanent damage to the body, mind, and relationships. Sexual addiction is when a person gets high on their own body chemistry. Studies suggest that a person can have as much of a high as they would on drugs—or higher even if it is experienced virtually on the internet. When someone is overcome by anger and enraged, there is a surge of euphoria accompanies physical violence. It may be a factor in why people abuse other or get in involved in gang violence.

The unsettling truth about drunkenness or any addiction is the power of sin—that we become both victim and perpetrator of sin. You’ll remember the first time sin is spoken about is when God warns Cain to not be overcome by bitterness and anger. God sees the cycle of violence beginning early. He tells Cain, “Why are you angry?” “Sin is crouching behind the door and its desire is for you” (Gen 4:6,7). Sadly, anger overcomes Cain, he gets drunk with rage, and he kills his brother.

And so it is for us. Sin threatens to inebriate our good senses. A momentary surge of happiness is crouching behind the door. A fleeting sense of euphoria is lurking around the corner. A temporary escape from the troubles of this world is just a click away. But, be warned, God says, it won’t last. Its desire is for you. Before you know it, we have lost control or are addicted. We have become slaves of a substance or behavior that has taken control. We are no longer ourselves. We think, say, and do things we later regret.

I have a friend who tried crystal meth at a party three years ago. He told a group of his friends that he never felt more ecstasy in all his life. He was immediately hooked and had to have it every day. He never felt that first high again. Instead, he lost a very good job, spent months in rehab, left a trail of broken relationships, and is still picking up the pieces.

“Do not get drunk with wine,” our Scripture says, “but be filled with the Spirit.” This is the answer to the prayer we prayer as Jesus taught us, “Deliver us from evil.” He delivers us from the power of sin by the Holy Spirit. Christ lived, died, and rose again to deliver us from the guilt and condemnation of sin. But he also wants us to be free of its addictive power—and not only free from foreign substances, but also filled with holy and godly power.

“Don’t get drunk on wine…but be filled with the Spirit…singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul says we fill ourselves with the Spirit when we sing and pray. Music, along with God’s Word, can rehabilitate the soul. Our musicians and choir are the great dealers of God’s gifts and spiritual power. Public worship is crucial to our recovery from sin. Our gathering together is intoxicating. We drown our sorrows and sin in Holy Baptism. We imbibe God’s Word as it enters our ears, our hearts, and fills us with peace, wisdom, and strength. We gather around truly mind- and life-altering substance—the Body and Blood of Jesus with the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. God is eager and delighted to fill us with his Holy Spirit to empower us to live healthy and loving lives.

"I AM the Bread of Life"

John 6:35,41-51

Tom Johnson, July 29, 2012

Thirteen years ago, my family and I were in Sweden for a summer mission project. We had such a large group that we rented hotel that was only used during skiing season. We arrived at the hotel and took a quick tour before cleaning it up. When we came into the kitchen, it was shut down for the summer. The appliances were shut down and the cabinets and refrigerators were empty. There was, however, a small bowl filled with uncovered Wasa bread. Wasa bread is barley-based flatbread—a crisp, dry cracker-like bread in the shape of a rectangle. There was the Wasa bread in an uncovered bowl—in an abandoned hotel for who knows how long. One of the Swedes immediately stepped forward, grabbed a piece, and took a large and loud crunching bite. I was stunned. Those who were well acquainted with Swedish culture were not. Wasa bread is meant to last without preservatives. For centuries, Scandinavians have more easily survived the long, dark winters because of this bread. They would suspend the bread from the ceiling out of reach of livestock and pests. Since medieval times, rye grain and Wasa bread have been the staple of life.

Because of chemical preservatives and refrigeration, we may have forgotten how important growing these staple crops is. Corn and soybean are the breadbasket in the Midwest hit hard by this hot and dry summer. You’ll remember Joseph stored wheat in Egypt during the seven years of plenty. And then he sold it during the seven years of famine. They stored up wheat grain—burying the seed in the soil—and after years and even a decade it would be useful for making bread. You’ll remember God preserved the lives of the Israelites for 40 years with Manna, the bread of heaven. Some gathered a lot; some gathered a little. But everyone had plenty to eat and to sustain them on the long journey.

Many cultures have their own variety of daily bread. Russians have winter wheat. Southeast Asians have rice. Native Americans have corn. Each culture relies on their daily bread to get them through cold winters and drought. Human beings have always needed basic food to survive harsh climates and times of famine. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray for daily bread because we need this basic sustenance to support and strengthen our physical bodies. Without it we starve and die. Today, Jesus reminds us that is no different for our spiritual lives.

Jesus says, “I AM the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” “I AM the Bread of Life.” This statement is pointed and powerful. “I AM.” Jesus uses the divine name YHWH—“I AM that I AM”—the Name God first used to identify himself with Moses at the burning bush. Jesus is saying that he is God. It’s why those who heard Jesus say this take offense. They know Jesus’ family. It is hard to believe that he is both human and divine. It is difficult to imagine how he can give himself as heavenly food. It is a difficult saying: “I AM the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” It suggests that may be living our lives with unnecessary hunger. We don’t need to feel empty, needy, and weak. Jesus is the Bread of Life.

We don’t need to fill ourselves up on junk food. Other food may leave you unsatisfied and hungry only hours later. This world’s food will spoil in times of famine and heat. This world’s food will not last the cold, dark nights of the winter. The things of this world can never satisfy a hungry heart. Our spiritual stomachs are made to feast on God himself. As the French scientist and philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”

Jesus is the gift of God the Father—he is the gift from heaven—the bread from heaven to feed the world. He feeds us his Word through the word we heard earlier read so well from the lectern. He feeds us through the faithful preaching of the Gospel, the Good News. He is the Word—the very bread that feeds us. He gives himself up into death on the cross. He feeds us the forgiveness of sins that will not rot or spoil. He feeds us eternal life—by his rising from the empty tomb—sustaining us with the nutrients of his resurrection power. He feeds us himself—the Bread of Life—with His true Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper. We eat and drink with the assurance that “He strengthens and preserves us in body and soul to life everlasting.” “I AM the Bread of Life,” Jesus says, “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” “Taste and see that the Lord is good!”

“Far more than we ask or imagine”

Ephesians 3:14-21

Tom Johnson, July 29, 2012

Albert Einstein was once asked how his mind worked in an interview published in 1929. “What is your thought process? How do you come up with such brilliant theories that explain the mysteries of the universe?” the interviewer asked. Einstein said, “I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” He imagined a world where time, space, the speed of light and energy all interacted in a way which challenged Newtonian physics. His imagination explored and discovered before there was any data or proof for his theories. He imagined a world where time slowed down as speed increased. They were able to test it with atomic clocks on supersonic aircraft and he was right. He imagined a world where gravity did not pull on objects but where large celestial bodies such as the sun bent space itself. They were able to observe light from stars change their position at a total eclipse of the sun. Imagination is more important than knowledge because without it, there would be few new discoveries. There would be far less innovation.

Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, imagined a world in outer space where women took leadership roles along with men. He imagined interracial marriage. He imagined multinational partnerships in space. He imagined little communication devices that flipped open where people could talk to each other without wires. He imagined handheld computers that could pinpoint your exact location. This was over forty years ago. Fiction has become reality. What gives automobiles, technology, and any business an edge is not static knowledge but innovation. Innovation begins in creative minds where improvements, advances, and new ground is broken in the imagination.

Our reading from Paul’s letter Ephesians is a prayer—a prayer to strengthen and exceed our imaginations. Paul prays a beautiful prayer. His prayer sets the bar high—so high that you might say it is unattainable: “I bow my knees before the Father,” he prays, “…that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power…that Christ may dwell in your hearts…that you may have the power to comprehend…what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…[by the power of God who] is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.”

Paul wants us to get out of the doldrums of religion that can be easily explained and understood. He wants us to grow in our Christian faith by a prophetic imagination. You’ll remember from previous weeks from the same letter, Paul has already challenged our imaginations—to imagine God loving us and choosing us before he even created the universe, time, and space—to imagine a people who longer build walls of hostility that divide but a God who is building us all up together.

This is not a New Age or Disneyworld imagination where we create our own realities and realize our dreams. Living our lives by a prophetic imagination is living our lives in light of God’s reality—to begin to understand that which is beyond human understanding—the breadth, length, height, and depth of the love of God through his Son, Jesus Christ. It is a truth that is too enormous to fit into our little brains—“far more than we can ask or imagine.” That is what makes Christianity exciting. It is what makes it stimulating. It is what makes it inexhaustible as a source of inspiration and strength. It is not something that we can master, fit into our finite minds, but takes us on a wonderful journey of discovery.

We live in a world that often is very different from the world God is making. This is a broken, sinful, and temporal reality. The Kingdom of God is the one that is eternal and more “real” than the limited confines of our existence. Life is depressing, boring, and without hope if we only accept and believe in the things we can know with absolute knowledge, see, hear, smell, taste or touch. In a world of violence, revenge, and bigotry, the Gospel invites us into a world of forgiveness, reconciliation, and equality. In a world of disease and death, God challenges us to imagine a world where death and the devil is no more.

When we accept God’s invitation and challenge—to have his prophetic imagination—to discovery a reality that we have never asked for or even imagined—our lives are set to an entirely new and exciting trajectory. We embark on a journey with better questions, humble spirits, and peace and joy which the world cannot give. And ultimately, God is leading us toward what the prophet Isaiah called “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9; Isa 64:4). We have far more forgiveness and life than we could ever ask or imagine. We have a heavenly Father who loves us more than we could ever ask or imagine. And the Kingdom he is building, which we are becoming a part of day by day, delivers far more peace and joy than we could ever ask or imagine.