Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Ephesians 1:11-14

Some of the folks my age are probably lost humming Stevie Wonder to themselves, having read the title of today’s sermon, but for the rest of us, let me unpack one of the most hopeful and wonderful pieces of Paul’s theology—in Christ, we are one—one with God, one with each other, in a unity that cannot and will not fail.

The first point is that we are “signed.” Just as an artist signs a painting, God marks us as God’s own when we come into being. That message is proclaimed powerfully in the Creation story when God made all things. With each new piece of the created order, God said it was good. That was God’s signature on everything. God made it, God claimed it, and God blessed it as good. That Hebrew word, tov, means a lot more than just not being bad. It means to be infused with the very essence of God. Those ancient theologians dubbed that being made in the Image of God. If we are the Image of God, then God’s own goodness shines within us. 

Think about that—our very lives are proclamation. Our existence as creatures with nearly an unlimited imagination through which we are able to push aside the power of death in medicine, reach for the stars and actually move into them, and alter the created order to suit our needs—all of it points to our being the Image of God, proclaiming the mighty power of God in making us.

Remember that the next time you are severely irritated by another person. That irritating person is a proclamation of the Image of God. That pushes us further—Paul really, earnestly, hopes we will accept this push—to overcome what divides us, separates us, and sends us hostilely reacting to one another. God is with you and the irritant equally. We are marked.

Which leads into the second point—we are “sealed.” Many of us have sealed a patio deck or a driveway. We spent hours on a weekend laying down layers and layers of a coating we hope will protect the wood or cement beneath it. We want to seal the surface from the damage of the elements—wind, rain, sun, and ice. We want to close them off from harm. We want to ensure their durability. We want to enjoy them, hopefully, for years to come.

So God wants for each of us. The Westminster Catechism, one of the truly great catalogs of Christian theology, begins with a simple affirmation that I paraphrase—Why are human beings here? To love God and enjoy God forever. Paul takes it an astounding step further—not only is our greatest purpose to enjoy being with God; God’s particular and peculiar love is actually an expression of God’s wanting to enjoy us forever! God made us in a burst of love. God made us, not because God had to or needed to or was obligated to—but simply because the love that is God was so overabundant, it burst out making someone to love. We are an act of divine whimsy! We are the result of irrational love. There was no need for us; no reason to make us; and no rationale for unleashing us on the cosmos, yet here we are, made for love by love. Therefore, God meets us with spiritual sealant. Through grace, God adds coat to coat of love until there is nothing left but love. As we come to the font to be baptized, God washes us in grace. As we gather at the table, God washes us in grace. Our Book of Confessions, the Presbyterian compendium of faith statements, gets right repetitive on this point. Again and again, the statement is made that the sacraments—baptism and communion—are seals of God’s grace fixed upon us. Whether you meant to or not, by entering this sanctuary, you’re going to take a bath! God will flood grace over you, adding yet another protective layer on our souls, guarding us, readying us, and leading us into the world to be the servants of Christ.

Which brings us to that final thought—we are “delivered.” Now this last item is a bit tricky because it means two things—we are delivered first from all that would break us, separate us from God, and make human community impossible; but we are also delivered into the world as messengers of grace, called to share the compassion of Christ with all who need it. 

Take that first move first—we are delivered from sin (i.e., anything that separates us from God or one another). Christ entered the world and our existence to end the power of division, separation, and alienation. Christ unified us, even though we do not always act like it. We live in a world suffering all manner of divisions, from the profoundly violent of war and terrorism, to the more mundane of neighborhood and community divided by economics, bias, or simple unknowing. Hold fast to the truth of Christ, though—there is nothing in all creation that can ultimately separate us from God, not even we ourselves!

Then move to the second implication—we are sent into the world to become the ambassadors of Christ. As we experience redemption, as we come to know real and lasting hope, and as we are cleansed by grace, we are to become redeemers, prophets of hope, and gracious in our encounters with the world. Who better to proclaim the cure for the world’s illness than those who have been cured? It is exactly this mindset that makes so many “pink walks” so powerful—here are the survivors of breast cancer bodily proclaiming hope, redemption, and possibility in the face of a truly dread disease. I actually love the plethora of ribbons you can see festooned on the line of cars at the traffic light—here are little proclamations of hope and of deliverance; here is someone who cares; and here is someone called. 

So, everybody join in with Stevie Wonder—we are all signed, sealed, and delivered. God has done it all for us. God has made us all well and whole. Glory be to God!