"Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander..."

August 20, 2012

At the small  Episcopalian church I attend in rural Virginia, Sunday morning’s New Testament reading was from the Apostle Paul’s Letter to Ephesians (4:25-5.2).  In a political season when Christian values are being extolled (though this morning’s sermon was not political) the apostle’s clear, unambiguous expression of how we might manifest Christian values in our lives seemed a useful reminder.

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.  Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.  Let no evil come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up.  …Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.  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.