Sermons for the Month
The Lotus Effect
DATE: August 13, 2000
SERVICE: Pentecost IX
TEXT: Ephesians 4:25-5:2“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
The lotus blossom. With its almond-shaped petals of dazzling whiteness, the lotus is a flower of catch-your-breath beauty, and is revered throughout the world. It is the national flower of India, a sacred flower in Hinduism and it figures prominently in the lore and practice of Buddhism. No surprise, then, that the lotus also pops up as a corporate symbol and is used to name a variety of commercial products. Lotus is the name of a car, a perfume, a spreadsheet application, a corporation. It is the design motif of a striking temple in New Delhi. It is a position in yoga meditation techniques. The lotus is also a well-recognized metaphor for spiritual growth. Here's why. The lotus begins life as seed buried in the mud of a pond. It begins its growth in muddy, dirty water, shooting a tuber up to and through pond scum until its green, round leaves spread out on the surface. The stem of the flower rises another 10-12 inches above the water where the blossom with its pure white petals open, provides a stark, but beautiful contrast to the muddy environment in which it thrives. Not hard to spot the spiritual link here. But few have bothered to ask the question, let alone sought an answer, as to how the lotus blossom is able to keep its petals so blindingly white. No one, that is, until Wilhelm Barthlott of the University of Bonn began an extensive study of the epidermal surfaces of more than 10,000 plants, including the lotus. He found an apparent contradiction: Smooth leaf surfaces were usually the dirtiest, and rough leaf surfaces tended to be cleaner. Normally, we associate smoothness with beauty, roughness with - well, not so beautiful. Hans Christian von Baeyer, chancellor professor of physics at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, commenting on this paradox, explains: "The label of my wife's New Improved Body Wash proclaims, 'Revitalize your skin with delightful fresh peach renewal cleanser. Washes away roughness and replenishes moisture for soft, smooth skin.' What is said to be washed away is roughness, not dirt, and the skin afterward is called smooth, not clean." The cleanest - and roughest - of all in Barthlott's research was the lotus petal. We'd say the petal has the texture of velvet. Yet, when placed under an electron microscope at a magnification of 1,200, the micromorphology of the plant skin reveals a textured, pointy surface somewhat resembling the surface of a board with a forest of nails protruding from underneath. Stay with the image of the nails for a moment. Think of a small piece of paper floating down upon such a board. It might rest on the board of nails, but it won't adhere, and should a ball of water roll down the surface of the nails it would sweep the paper away. Oversimplified, this is how the petals of the lotus stay perpetually clean even in the dirtiest of environments. Dust particles may fall on its surface, but the morning dew, or a few drops of rain, wash them away without even wetting the petal itself! The lotus blossom is morphologically programmed to be self-cleaning. How important is self-cleaning? It's so important that a company has now produced a self-cleaning litter box for our cat. It is the hottest selling device on the cat owners "must have" list. We will only buy stoves and ovens if they have a self-cleaning function. You can get self-cleaning garlic presses now, as well as toilet systems, water filters, water heaters, gutter guards, steam irons, countertop juicers and kitchen exhaust fans. That's why when Dr. Barthlott announced his research a couple of years ago, the corporate world sat up and took notice. Last year, a "self-cleaning" exterior house paint was introduced under the brand name "Lotusan." Models have been made of bowls and platters that are rough to the touch but repel moisture and dirt. The most lucrative application of this lotus biotech development may be the possibility of a self-cleaning paint for automobiles, making washing cars a thing of the past. Now suppose we apply a soultech version of the biotech lotus morphology to our spiritual lives. This is precisely what the apostle Paul suggests in his letter to the Ephesians. In the verses immediately preceding today's text, he alludes to the dirty and muddy nature of the cultural water in which we live. Those in the world, he says, do not have this ability to be morally self-cleaning. They live "in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding." They live in "ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity" (4:17-19). La vida loca. Of course, Paul has a remedy. It involves the adoption of a radical new morphology in which Christians "put away [their] former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and [are instead] renewed in the spirit of [their] minds, [clothed] with the new self, created according to the likeness of God" (4:22-24). The apostle makes it clear that the purpose of the self-cleaning function is to restore us to the pristine image of God himself. Let's see if it works. Paul's proposal provides not a scientific, but a spiritual methodology to roughen the texture of our moral and spiritual epidermis so that the filth rolls off, unable to adhere and thereby alter the Christian's appearance. He offers 10 "pointy" ideas. Think of our board with the nails. Ten spikes to spirituality. Here they are: 1. Deal in honesty. We are to stop lying and tell the truth (v. 25). Paul links this to our new spirit natures as members of the same body. We would no more lie to one another than we would slap ourselves in the face. A lie hurts both the one lied to and the one who lies. 2. Get angry at injustice. It's permissible to express anger within limits (v. 26). Ethics without passion is Stoicism, not Christianity. Jesus himself astonished people with his anger, reminding us not to let the dirt of injustice stay on our petals. But the anger of the Christian should not lapse into self-indulgence and should be directed against those parties and institutions who perpetuate injustice. 3. Be civil in disagreements. "Do not let the sun go down on your anger," the apostle says (v. 26). The word "anger" that Paul uses appears only here in the New Testament. It is better translated "provocation" and reinforces the justifiable anger one may have on occasion. Righteous anger is provoked, yet even it must be dismissed before the day's end, i.e., turned over to God. Such a practice is a reminder that we are merely instruments in these battles and need not be personally antagonistic or hateful. 4. Thwart evil wherever it is. Don't make room for the Devil (v. 27). When the Devil knocks, don't answer. 5. Be gainfully employed. Idle hands are the Devil's workshop. "Thieves must give up stealing" and get a job (v. 28). Paul here warns Christians not to return to their former way of life. In Christianity as in Buddhism, there is such a thing as "Right Livelihood." Stealing is not one of them. 6. Recognize the power of words to affirm and encourage. Christians are not trash talkers but treasure talkers. That is, their words affirm and build up others (v. 29). 7. Value spiritual life. Don't grieve the Holy Spirit (v. 30). This highly anthropopathic expression reminds us that by nurturing our spiritual lives (telling the truth, expressing righteous anger, encouraging others), we can bring joy rather than sorrow to the Holy Spirit, who mediates the presence of Jesus Christ to us. 8. Avoid hate speech: bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, slander, malice. Here is yet another reminder of the power of words and passion to injure others. Dr. Laura, while not changing her viewpoints, admitted recently that her words have caused pain. In school, jocks tease the nerds, and the geeks plot revenge. Gossip and slander rip at the fabric of our communal life. Such lowbrow conversation has no place in the life of a Christian. 9. Remember the importance of neighborly kindness. Be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving (v. 32). These contrast starkly with the behavior mentioned in verse 31: kindness rather than wrath and anger; tenderheartedness rather than bitterness and wrangling; forgiveness rather than malice. 10. Regard love as the ultimate virtue governing our behavior (5.2). Love is the hyper-reality in which the lotus Christian lives. Love is the dew on the petal. Enough said. The application of these points creates in us a soultech "self-cleaning" function that sanctifies, beautifies and sanitizes our souls. Paul returns to the theme he expressed in 4:24. When we assume the lotus position, we begin to bear the likeness of God. In 5:1, at the end of this discussion of self-cleaning spiritual morphology, he refers to it again. Only now, he says, can we be "imitators of God." Lotus Christians may live in the mud. But we are not of the mud. Like the lotus blossom itself, we are always above the mud. Not of, but above - the mud. AMEN