Meditation on Ephesians 4:1-7,
11-13
For the First Sunday in Lent:
March 9, 2014
***
I
therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the
calling to which you have been called, 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. There is one body and one Spirit,
just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in
all.
But each of us was given grace according
to the measure of Christ’s gift. The gifts he gave were that some would be
apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip
the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until
all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
***
I had the pleasure of visiting our
“preconfirmation class” last Sunday to talk about the creeds or confessions of
our Church. I will be visiting the class once a month throughout the school year
to try to get to know the 9 or so youth in grades 7 through 9 better and help
prepare them for confirmation, when they will write their own statements of
faith with the help of their mentors. I
hope also to help prepare them for after confirmation, when they are full,
active members. And later on, when they become, Lord willing, the next
generation of leaders in our church.
So last Sunday, I talked with the
students about what a “creed” is and how each creed was written as Christianity
grew, especially in the 4th century, to encompass people living hundreds
and thousands of miles apart, across land and sea, in many nations, climates,
and cultures. Distance and differences led to the Church wrestling with certain
faith questions. Christians struggled to agree on what was “orthodox”—or “right
belief”— so that the Church, finally a legal religion in the Roman Empire,
could be united, a witness to the world of the One Body of Christ, filled and
made alive by One Spirit.
And yet, every Church council concluded
with the drafting of a list of beliefs that were banned and people who were
cursed, and the writing of a new set of beliefs—and the Church becoming more
divided and fragmented. Those who clung to beliefs branded “heresy” or
dangerously wrong were excommunicated. And some who were forced out of the
Church began their own church or religious group. And this has happened, over
and over in Christian history. And it is still happening today, perhaps not so much with excommunication and curses, but with dissatisfied churches leaving denominations to join with another group or to start something new on their own.
Christians do not always value diversity or creativity in the Church,
despite the Bible’s teachings. In I Cor. 12, Paul explains that the Body of
Christ, though One, is made up of many members, each possessing different
gifts. Each is necessary for the health and function of the whole Body. In I
Cor. 12:4-6, Paul says, “There are a variety of gifts, but the same
Spirit distributes them. There are different
kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working,
but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” In Romans 12:6,
Paul teaches that God, in His grace, has given us differing gifts for doing
certain things well—and if we have been given a gift, we should be using it to
serve the Lord.
***
In our Epistle reading today, we are again reading Paul’s teachings about
the diversity of spiritual gifts and those who receive them, but the necessary
unity of the Body of Christ as it seeks to obey the Lord. Paul rebukes the
church at Ephesus for its divisiveness and inability to get along with each
other. Paul says, “I beg you to lead
a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Be gentle and patient. Bear with one another in love.
Paul doesn’t advise the church to sit back and wait for the Lord to fix them
or change the people who are behaving badly. And he doesn’t advise the church
to split—or kick out the angry or divisive people. He makes it clear that although unity is a
divine gift, the responsibility for unity belongs to the entire congregation. For
every Christian to be living a life worthy of the calling, everyone in the church
must pursue and cultivate unity and loving relationships.
Basically, Paul tells the church, “This is going to take some
work!” He says, “Make every effort to
maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace!” To help the church understand
his message of unity, he uses the word “one” seven times!
“There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, just as you were called to the ONE
hope of your calling, ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism.” He concludes with a
kind of Trinitarian creedal statement that may have been used during baptism.
“ONE God and Father of All, who is above all and through all (Jesus) and in all
(the Holy Spirit).”
***
Last Sunday, when I met with the youth, I hoped to empower them to make every effort to make the church what
they want it to be. To be the Church God is calling them to be! When I see
them, I don’t worry if they might be like some of the young people in the past
that did not continue to attend church after they were confirmed. I see our
youth today and I praise God and think, “Here is the future of the Church.”
I began my discussion of creeds by saying, “This is YOUR church. If you
don’t like something about it, then change it.” I told them that I wanted them
to be happy and comfortable in the church, and if they weren’t, I wanted to know
so we could try to do something about it. As the apostle Paul teaches, unity is
a divine gift that we have to work at; we have to be patient and cultivate
unity in our loving relationships with ALL the generations.
I am impressed with the diversity of our youth. Though many of them have
grown up in the same church and community, each has a unique personality and family
history. They have different interests and passions, varying academic strengths
and social experiences, and they possess a variety of spiritual gifts—some yet
to be discovered. And all that are in
need of developing and maturation.
And that’s our job as a church, sisters and brothers! To raise up
children in the faith and help them discover and develop their gifts so they may
use them to serve the Lord. It is also
our job to show the children and youth what it means to live a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called. To
be patient and kind, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to live in unity—to be a witness to the ONE Body
of Christ and the ONE Spirit that empowers and transforms us into the people
God can use to build His Kingdom.
With today’s baptism of Noah John, we are again making a commitment to
the Lord to nurture a child and his parents in the faith—from this day forward.
Through the cleansing waters of baptism, the Spirit claims us as God’s own and
unites us with Christ’s Body. We rejoice
as we welcome Noah into our flock and into the Church in every time and
place. We are reminded of our own
baptisms, how we are still sinners in need of God’s grace. And that we belong
to God and to each other, connected as
one Body by one Spirit, and the one hope of our calling.
“One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
One God and Father of all,
who is above all and through all and in all.”
Let us pray.
Holy One, we thank you for claiming us as
your own—for making us your children by the work of Jesus on the cross for our
sakes. Thank you for your grace that covers our sins. Please forgive us when we
haven’t always obeyed your call to pursue unity or when we may have looked the
other way instead of addressing divisiveness, when we haven’t made every effort
to maintain unity in the Spirit in the bond of peace. Help us to never forget
to pursue a life worthy of our calling, though it may be hard work and may
require us to change. Help us to be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Lead us to forgive quickly, as you forgive all with hearts of repentance. Make
us truly one in faith, One Body, led by your Spirit. And we pray for the
children and youth of our church and community. Give them your spiritual gifts
for your work in this world. Draw the children nearer to your heart. And give
us wisdom and creativity to develop the gifts in our youth and to encourage
them to use them for your glory. In Christ we pray. Amen.
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