Thursday, September 22, 2022

 

Thursday, September 22, 2022


Psalm 50

Joel 1:1-14

Ephesians 5:21-33


Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.


We in the church like to talk big about “self-sacrificial love”, but I wonder if any of us truly understand what that really means. Those who vote progressive might think it means to give up our income to be redistributed through the tax system. Conservative voters might hear it as a call to serve the nation using terms like “duty”. Instead of tickling our ears by reading into the text what kind of sacrifice we would like to make, let's instead think of how much we would be willing to give up in the service of Christ.


Paul is giving specific instructions on the Christian life using the foundational argument that he has already laid out in previous chapters: Christ is the head of the body, we are the members. Christ does not just walk alongside us, or live inside us in a special room ready to spit out blessings here and there, or sit below us, ready to clean up our mess. Christ wants everything from us. The Lord God who made us wants to use us as intended. Any objection from our side is getting in the way of God's plans.


Look at Paul's instruction for married couples. Each one of the two partners must surrender themselves entirely to the other, for they are now one. “This is a great mystery, and (Paul) is now applying it to the Christ and the church”. Any trendy, modern reading of this passage that seeks to complain about outdated social norms is missing the point. How much does Christ love us, the church? How much of ourselves does God demand from us in service? If we used every language in the world put together there would not be enough superlatives ready to describe the answer to these questions. Therefore, if we truly have surrendered ourselves entirely to Jesus who loved us and gave Himself entirely for us, there is no demand too great: because it is no longer the “I”, but Christ.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, September 12, 2022

  Monday, September 12, 2022 Psalm 33 Habakkuk 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:1-14 In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction. In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point). First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first l
Read more

“Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.”

  Monday, September 11, 2023 Psalms 28; 29 1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Acts 26:19-32 Observance: Deiniol, bishop (d. 384) “ Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.” The great many blessings of being under the protection of the blood of the Lamb fill our hearts with joy and peace. To have the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sits above the flood, filling the temple of our being with the cloud of His presence is what it truly means to be human. Every day is filled with adventure; every night turns to the rest of the victor. Certainly there are chains: sometimes they are physical chains, the suffering of being a Christian among people who do not love the Lord. Sometimes they are spiritual; the attacks of the powers of the air who try to distract us from the One we love. But they always fall away. Our Rock of Ages always frees us; always brings us out of the pit of despair. A won
Read more

Monday, September 19

  Monday, September 19 Psalm 45 Nahum 1:15-2:9 Ephesians 4:17-28 ...be renewed in the spirit of your minds... It is far too easy to read some of these Pauline lists of virtues and vices and feel like we have gone back to the dark days before the Reformation. The idea that if we behave ourselves then we can call ourselves “good people” is pagan, not Christian. Paul feels very strongly about how Christians behave, he “affirms and insists” upon it. But it is because of what has already happened that we should mind our step, not because of where we are going. Christ's resurrection is many things, but one aspect relevant for Paul's teaching this morning is that it demonstrates to us the radical new reality in which we now live. We too have passed (spiritually) from death to life; therefore, we experience a “renewal of our minds”. Instead of treading water until we die, we live lives. Everything now makes sense: God has spoken, so we have logic. God made us in His im
Read more