Ephesians is a letter that may or may
not have been written by Paul, to a church or churches that may or
may not have been located in Ephesus. Unlike the letters to the
Corinthians or Galatians, there is no single event or crisis that is
the reason or motive for writing the letter. It would appear that,
more than anything, it is a letter to a new community (or
communities) of believers, serving as a type of catechism.
Remember that this letter is structured
like a funnel. It begins with the vast cosmic purposes of the
eternal God, through the working of Jesus Christ his Son and the Holy
Spirit, as a fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, established in
the body and mission of the Church, being accomplished through the
workings of you, the individual members of that body.
Whereas last week we had to play catch
up and fill in a lot of gaps, we have no such issues today since
today's reading comes immediately after last week's. We move
directly from your role in the Church whose mission is to reconcile
people to each other and God, break down dividing barriers, and being
grounded in love, to a discussion of what that life looks like.
Last week I came across the idea that
this letter served as a catechism for new believers. If that's true,
the topics and format make much more sense, I think. How do you
teach Christianity to new believers? Begin with God and move down to
individual spirituality. The new believers are being instructed and
re-socialized into God's mission and family. This letter guides them
from their baptism into the life of a full-fledged Christian.
So . . . God – Christ – Covenant –
Church – You. As members of this one, holy, catholic, and
apostolic Church, how are we to live? This is what today's section
of the letter deals with – how are we to live as Christians in the
body of the Church?
First, remember that you have been
called to this life by God. In answering that call, Paul begs us to
lead a life worthy of that call. Live with humility, gentleness, and
patience. Make every effort to maintain unity and bonds of peace.
We have been called by God to become
members of this household, the Church. We have been adopted into the
family and marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. And when that
happens, we are reminded that there is one body and one Spirit, one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all – which is
still part of our baptismal rite. Through these acts, we have been
called, baptized, and sealed into the family.
But we all know that families are
interesting places. Families are bound in love, but they are also
the source of some of our greatest battles. If we want the family to
survive, we must bear with each other, support each other, have
patience with each other, forgive each other.
The same is true for the Church. If we
are to survive, we must live differently than the world around us.
We must learn to be humble, gentle, and patient. We must love and
forgive. We must do this as a reflection of how God behaves toward
us. We and the Church are the reflection of God on earth. Since you
are most likely how people see God, I beg you to live a life worthy
of your calling.
After begging us to live worthy lives,
Paul then goes on to talk about the varieties of gifts found in the
Church. Some are apostles, some prophets, evangelists, pastors, and
teachers. And all of these are to use their gifts to equip the
saints (you) for the work of ministry and to build up the body of
Christ in unity and maturity.
All of us have gifts. The body of
Christ, the Church, is not dependent on one person. The priest is
not the be-all and end-all of the Church. We all have gifts to use
for the building up of the body. We all rely on each other. I rely
on Bob and Katharine and Lou and Bruce and many others. People rely
on me. And it is only through our interdependence, it is only
through our mutual love, humility, patience, and forgiveness, that we
will build up our particular body and the Church as a whole.
As we build each other up, we mature as
Christians (or we should). We learn sound doctrine. We learn to
speak truth in love. We grow in Christ, being grounded and rooted in
love. And we represent the Church, Christ, and God in a manner
worthy of our calling.
Ephesians is a catechetical funnel –
it is a letter designed to teach/instruct new believers in the
Christian life. It is saying that this new life has a different
foundation than your old life, and here is what that entails.
That funnel begins with the wide
opening of the vastness of the cosmological and eternal God. It
moves to the plan of the Covenant being fulfilled in Christ. It
draws together and unifies people who otherwise have no commonality
in the body of the Church. It roots us and grounds us in Christ so
that we may proclaim the breadth, length, height, and depth of that
love. And it reminds us of how we are to live together in this new
faith, this body of believers we call the Church.
As we ourselves work to become a
beloved community, may we see the vast eternal plan of God reflected
in our own lives and in this body. May we bear with one another in
love. May we use our gifts to build up. And may we grow into Christ
in every way so that we reflect the love of God to the world around
us.
Amen.
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