"For Us and For Our Salvation" Ephesians 1:1-14
Ephesians is particularly pertinent for the church today because in it the author deals broadly- across denominational lines, you might say- and briefly and richly with Christian identity.
In today's passage the letter writer, and scholars debate whether Paul or rather a follower of Paul, penned this epistle...nevertheless- we hear today a strong proclamation about Christian identity, for then and very much for now.
First: our God is a God of blessings; good gifts surround us day by day, hour by hour, minute by mine. Don't neglect to enjoy the blessings, church!
There is a memorable passage in the novel, The Color Purple, which is on one of my bookshelves who knows where, maybe in Wichita for all I know. In the passage the main character, Celie, is strolling with her audacious grrrrlfriend, Shug, who casually remarks about the field of wildflowers, something like: "I think that God gave us all this beauty to walk thru. Here we are, discussing the nature of God, but all around us is the evidence- all these glorious purple wildflowers, spread before our feet with no purpose other than just being delightful. I think God gets ticked off when we fail to appreciate the color purple."
And I'd like to point to an abundant blessing that God has blessed Good Shepherd with- at last count almost 60 children in our Vacation Bible School . And enough volunteers to attend them...and enough space to house them...and enough donations to supply them with arts materials...and enough food to feed them. You might use this as a loaves and fishes parable- or an illustration of God's blessing of manna for the Israelites as they travelled though the desert for those 40 years. God's economy is always superabundance, beyond mere sufficiency- as if purple wildflowers or dozens of children don't convince us of God's multiple blessings.
An adage advises us to count our blessings, but frankly if we took that literally, "count your blessings", we'd be so busy and preoccupied that we could do nothing else- not even if we lived to be 100- because God has blessed us so abundantly, so amazingly.
Blessings from God, our Creator, and most especially thru our relationship with Jesus, where by we, as Christians, are adopted into God's family, even though we are Gentiles, not Jews. This letter to the Ephesians, remember, is a circular letter that is shared and passed along from church to church. These churches are gatherings, we suppose, of Gentile Christians, who apparently need to be reminded of their adoption as honorary Jews, elected to the ancient covenant through the blood of Jesus.
This may seem a bit odd to us, gathered here today, but then it was a burning question: what is the relationship of the Gentile Christians to the Jewish traditions? To be a Christian, must we first become Jews? Must we obey ritual law, circumcision, dietary laws, ritual baths, celebrate Passover? No, it does not. However, we do find that Jewish rituals, for instance Passover and ritual baths, are foundational for the Christian rituals of communion and baptism.
No, as Gentile Christians we're not obligated to first become practicing Jews- so therefore, are we free to abandon our Jewish roots? Shall we throw out the Old Testament? Shall we replace God the creator with Jesus the Christ and be done with the Ancient of Days, of Great Jehovah?
No. not at all; rather we are abundantly free and included as Gentiles by God's overarching plan- we are forever kindred with Jews and honor the Old Testament revelations.
During certain historical periods after the early church, Christians have lost track of God's gracious, over-arching plan, made plain in the Bible, that Jews are promised they will become a blessing to the nations, that is, the Gentiles. Recently, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks these things, there has been an upsurge in radical white terrorist, neo-Nazi type groups, in the United States . You can track them on the internet. The recent murder of a museum guard at the U.S. National Holocaust Museum is one illustration.
What are we as Christians to say to this? According to Ephesians, Jews are kin and because of Jesus' ministry we Gentiles are adopted into God's overarching plan for redemption. When we hear or see manifestations of anti-Semitism we are, as Christians, honor-bound to speak up, to object. "That's my brother! That's my sister! Whatever is done to those is done also to Jesus, our Messiah!"
In Ephesians the grand opening proclamation we hear is that our God is a blessed and blessing God. We hear that as Gentiles, we are adopted into God's plan for universal salvation, through our adoption as honorary Jews. (And yes, this does mean that Christians ought never join a country club or any other organization which excludes Jews.)
Our conclusion, as we follow the letter, is highlighted in the completion of today's text: our baptism is the first installment on God's ultimate plan for us: a praising and glorious life. This is what God plans for me, Ginger Taylor- a praising and glorious life. And for you...and you...and you...everyone of you. Praise and glory! And nothing is in your way, nothing! All obstacles are removed. The future is signed, sealed, delivered by your baptism. Any baptism- a dunking or a sprinkling, adult or infant. There is no reason, no none whatsoever, that you cannot claim that life of praise and glory, our promise and our inheritance as part of the great family of God. Why not start today living the life that God blesses you to enjoy, that Jesus serves to you in communion, for free, that the Holy Spirit delivers to you, to us, beloved of God. Why not? Name it and claim it, church.
Our praising and glorious lives are a gift- every day, every hour, every minute and do not forget- NOT EVER! This is the message to you from a letter written 2,000 years ago- pass it on! Invite people to join you as you enjoy your praising and glorious life.
And let the people say, "Amen."
