OPENING COMMENTS.
The theme for this week is living in the blessing of God.
The selected readings range from David’s delight in bringing the ark of God to Jerusalem to the story of John the Baptist’s beheading at the hand of King Herod. Our lives often feature highs and lows, joys and great grief, so we can understand that living in God’s blessing does not mean that we will never suffer.
The focus of the sermon for today is delighting in our status* as God’s dearly-loved children
* … which is as a result of our position — in Christ.
OPENING SONG
SERMONETTE
From the Transcript …
Ordinary Time: Ephesians
Through life’s changing seasons we witness countless transformations — seeds bursting forth into vibrant blooms, caterpillars emerging as butterflies, and the changing seasons painting landscapes anew. Each transformation whispers a tale of renewal, of shedding the old and embracing the new.
Yet, amidst these natural wonders, the most profound transformations occur within the human heart. It is here, in the depths of our souls, that the Spirit of God moves, shaping us into new creations, united in our devotion to Jesus and to one another.
As we journey through the second month of Ordinary Time, we are reminded that our identity is in Christ. In him, we find our truest selves, united in a bond that transcends all barriers and divisions. This truth is echoed in the words of Ephesians, which calls us to form ethnically diverse communities unified by our devotion to Jesus and to one another.
God’s vision for the new humanity is one of unity — a unity that transcends barriers of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and cultural identity. It is a vision of reconciliation and restoration, where every person is valued and embraced as a beloved child of God.
And so, Paul calls us to “Put on Your New Humanity,” to live and love like Jesus in every aspect of our lives. Through the power of the Spirit, we are equipped to stand strong against divisive forces and spiritual evil, bearing witness to the transformative power of God’s love.
As we journey through this season of Ordinary Time, may we be reminded of our call to transformation — to become new humans, clothed in the love and likeness of Christ. And in our transformation, may we reflect the beauty of God’s vision for a unified, diverse community, where all are included and cherished.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Let us, therefore, embrace our identity in Christ, united in love, and committed to building a community where all are valued and included. For in our transformation, we reflect the very heart of God’s kingdom on earth.
FIRST READING.
Ephesians 1:3-14 NKJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He [a]made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and [b]prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, [c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who[d] is the [e]guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
SPECIAL MUSIC.
SERMON.
The Context of Ephesians 1:3-14
- The book of Ephesians was written … to a mostly Gentile audience … to share the good news that they are loved by God and inheritors of God’s promises. (Ephesians 2:14, NRSVUE)
- Paul goes on to explain that living in diversity … was God’s plan all along. … but it doesn’t come easily … takes hard work. (Ephesians 4:2-3, NRSVUE)
- So Paul’s letter, which explains to the church at Ephesus about God’s plan of loving one another despite differences, starts off praising God for even thinking of such a wild, grace-filled challenge for human beings … then looks at some of the “treats” God has blessed us with in Jesus Christ
Ephesians 1:3-14 NKJV
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
- Paul pointing out all the blessings that God has given us through Jesus Christ.
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
- We were destined for adoption.
- God decided, from before “the foundation of the world,” to bless all human beings by adopting us through Jesus Christ. This blessing is not individualized, carving out just one or two “special” people, but a communal blessing for all through Jesus Christ.
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He [a]made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
- To understand how deeply we are loved, we’ve been given specific gifts that convey the grace-filled love God has for all human beings:
- Our redemption and forgiveness as a part of the richness of grace through Jesus Christ permit us to know how deeply we are loved by God. God freed us from our shame and guilt and placed us on a path of grace.
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and [b]prudence,
-
- Barclay’s Commentary, referring to the words translated “wisdom and insight,” explains that the“the two words in Greek are sophia and phronesis…
- The Greeks wrote much about these two words; if a man had both, he was perfectly equipped for life. Aristotle defined sophia as knowledge of the most precious things. Cicero defined it as knowledge of things both human and divine. Aristotle defined phronesis as the knowledge of human affairs and of the things in which planning is necessary…Cicero defined it as knowledge of the things which are to be sought and the things which are to be avoided…In other words, phronesis is the sound sense which enables men to meet and to solve the practical problems of everyday life and living.
- Barclay goes on to say that Paul is claiming that Jesus brought sophia and phronesis to us, gifting us with the ability to understand the divine while living amidst the practicalities of ordinary life.
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
- How this works is a mystery to us, one that we accept gratefully:
10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, [c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him.
- We are gathered up and held in Jesus Christ. And if Jesus Christ is the full expression of God incarnate, writes Luther Seminary theologian Karoline Lewis, then “in Christ, God is making God’s self known to the world…in a new way.” This new way is demonstrating God’s commitment to us as a treasured part of the divine family.
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
- We are given gifts that enable our understanding of God’s love for us.
- Our inheritance in Christ is shared with others who may be very different from us.
- Paul discusses the way Christ unifies all peoples. He addresses the Jews as “we” in verses 11-12, the Gentiles as “you” in verse 13, and then ends the passage by using “our” in verse 14 for all humanity.
- This unified inheritance is “sealed” by the Holy Spirit as a “pledge” or foretaste of the fullness we will know of God’s eternal presence someday.
- We read more about this inheritance by looking ahead to verse 18:
- So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints (Ephesians 1:18, NRSVUE)
- The hope we are called to, connects with this inheritance. Since the context of the book of Ephesians is living with the messiness of human difference and diversity, we might speculate that part of this hope and inheritance is realized when we learn to embrace those who are different from us. Notice that embrace means more than tolerate. It means an active, loving “yes” to the beauty of another, whether that person looks, thinks, or behaves as you do.
12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who[d] is the [e]guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
CONCLUSION.
Paul’s exuberance in today’s scripture passage should be felt. As we read the passage in its entirety one more time, let’s see if we can feel the excitement Paul is conveying for us and for all humanity.
God’s Candy Store
Ephesians 1:3-14 (NRSVUE)
Have you ever watched a kid in a candy store? How did they behave? [wait for responses] You probably noticed them, wide-eyed and pointing at some treat to show their brother or sister, only to stop and point, mouth agape, at another treat that looked delicious or interesting. Though their parents probably limited them to one treat, they would have loved to taste them all. Our scripture reading from Ephesians shows the apostle Paul with much the same attitude as a kid in a candy store. He can’t believe our good fortune: the malted milk balls of adoption, the licorice twists of inheritance, and the bubble gum seal of the Holy Spirit. Paul is so excited to tell us how we are whole in Christ and able to live a life of love now, that our scripture passage is actually one long continuous thought! Let’s read through it together, picturing Paul pointing out all the blessings that God has given us through Jesus Christ.
The Context of Ephesians 1:3-14
The book of Ephesians was written to a mostly Gentile audience to share the good news that they are loved by God and inheritors of God’s promises. Notice what Paul has written in Ephesians 2:14:
For he is our peace; in his flesh he [Jesus Christ] has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us (Ephesians 2:14, NRSVUE)
Paul goes on to explain that living in diversity was God’s plan all along. He tells them, though, that loving someone that you’ve been taught to hate or despise doesn’t come easily. Living in diversity takes hard work:
With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:2-3, NRSVUE)
So Paul’s letter, which explains to the church at Ephesus about God’s plan of loving one another despite differences, starts off with a long, lyrical sentence (verses 3-14) praising God for even thinking of such a wild, grace-filled challenge for human beings. The length of the sentence alone helps convey the urgency that Paul seems desperate to get across to his readers. This passage is a metaphorical stream of blessings, one right after the other, and Paul is that kid in the candy store running from glass case to glass case. Let’s look at some of the “treats” God has blessed us with in Jesus Christ as we take in Paul’s extravagant explanation about what Emmanuel means for us:
We were destined for adoption.
God decided, from before “the foundation of the world,” to bless all human beings by adopting us through Jesus Christ. This blessing is not individualized, carving out just one or two “special” people, but a communal blessing for all through Jesus Christ.
How this works is a mystery to us, one that we accept gratefully:
He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:9-10, NRSVUE)
We are gathered up and held in Jesus Christ. And if Jesus Christ is the full expression of God incarnate, writes Luther Seminary theologian Karoline Lewis, then “in Christ, God is making God’s self known to the world…in a new way.” This new way is demonstrating God’s commitment to us as a treasured part of the divine family.
We are given gifts that enable our understanding of God’s love for us.
To understand how deeply we are loved, we’ve been given specific gifts that convey the grace-filled love God has for all human beings:
In him [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and insight (Ephesians 1:7-8, NRSVUE)
Our redemption and forgiveness as a part of the richness of grace through Jesus Christ permit us to know how deeply we are loved by God. God freed us from our shame and guilt and placed us on a path of grace. Barclay’s Commentary, referring to the words translated “wisdom and insight,” explains that the“the two words in Greek are sophia and phronesis…
The Greeks wrote much about these two words; if a man had both, he was perfectly equipped for life. Aristotle defined sophia as knowledge of the most precious things. Cicero defined it as knowledge of things both human and divine. Aristotle defined phronesis as the knowledge of human affairs and of the things in which planning is necessary…Cicero defined it as knowledge of the things which are to be sought and the things which are to be avoided…In other words, phronesis is the sound sense which enables men to meet and to solve the practical problems of everyday life and living.
Barclay goes on to say that Paul is claiming that Jesus brought sophia and phronesis to us, gifting us with the ability to understand the divine while living amidst the practicalities of ordinary life.
Our inheritance in Christ is shared with others who may be very different from us.
Paul discusses the way Christ unifies all peoples. He addresses the Jews as “we” in verses 11-12, the Gentiles as “you” in verse 13, and then ends the passage by using “our” in verse 14 for all humanity. This unified inheritance is “sealed” by the Holy Spirit as a “pledge” or foretaste of the fullness we will know of God’s eternal presence someday.
We read more about this inheritance by looking ahead to verse 18:
So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints (Ephesians 1:18, NRSVUE)
The hope we are called to, connects with this inheritance. Since the context of the book of Ephesians is living with the messiness of human difference and diversity, we might speculate that part of this hope and inheritance is realized when we learn to embrace those who are different from us. Notice that embrace means more than tolerate. It means an active, loving “yes” to the beauty of another, whether that person looks, thinks, or behaves as you do.
Paul’s exuberance in today’s scripture passage should be felt. As we read the passage in its entirety one more time, let’s see if we can feel the excitement Paul is conveying for us and for all humanity. [Read Ephesians 1:3-14 by putting your name wherever it allows, or you may choose to have selected members of your congregation read portions of it]
Call to Action: This week, consider calling God “Abba” or “Papa” during your prayers as an expression of the intimacy we have through Jesus Christ. Include a prayer of thanksgiving for the mystery that is our adoption and ask for the love you need to be able to embrace the messiness of human differences.