Saturday, May 5, 2018

Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Us

A scene comes to mind. It is near the end of the first century. A respected elder stands in the middle of a house lit only by candles. He holds a letter sent to a few Christian congregations in eastern Turkey. People fall silent as he reads to the group standing three deep around a bare-wood table, others sitting on the floor.

“God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing … he chose us before the world was made … he destined us to be his children.”

Us … even this the word blesses and brings joy. All these blessings, these graces, this immortal divine love is for us.

There is no ego, no hoarding in this scene. There is no room for boasting or exclusion. The words spoken and the truth they convey create a community of shared blessing where none can say that they have something others do not have.

They are joined in the mystery of grace. In the darkness of an Ephesian evening, the light in their hearts is much brighter than the candle light.

For they know: God’s eternal plan is to shower such divine love on all creation. And they feel it already there in the darkness.

This is why we gather, 20 centuries later. To hear, to feel and to know the mystery of the love that chooses us.

Pr. David L. Miller