Antidote for All that Ails You: Study Ephesians
I am teaching Ephesians this quarter. Wow. Three times in the letter Paul prays. And what does he pray for? Spiritual knowledge, depth, Christlikeness, and unity for the Ephesians. That in itself stops me in my tracks, because we usually pray for others to be healed or get a job. Nothing wrong with that, but I am not sure we pray for others to be more like Jesus, no matter what it takes (that would seem like praying for them to have trials).
Secondly, over and over Paul emphasizes unity. And this is not your "why can't everybody just get along" unity, but true unity not based on internal realities, not external or superficial appearances. Christ has broken down the wall; Christ has put to death the enmity. There is one Lord, one hope, one faith, one baptism, one Spirit, one calling, one God and Father of all.
I had to go to diversity training last week. All of us did. It wasn't the worst thing I ever sat through, and the fellow running it was fair-minded. But I walked away with the sense that, "Aren't we making more of differences than of similarities? Wouldn't we get further if we emphasized how we are alike rather than how we aren't?" Of course, there has to be a starting point.
I feel the same way in church. We spend way too much time being aware of how we are not the same. Other people at my church drive much nicer cars than me and live in better subdivisions. Others don't even have cars to drive and rent apartments. Can we get together, or just sit in separate pews, facing the preacher and then acting like the others aren't there? Are rich people more uncomfortable with poor people, or poor with rich? Why does being rich qualify a man to be a deacon more than being a hardworking janitor does another man?
The third lesson of Ephesians is that Satan has one weapon: lies and deception. I don't know what other weapon he would have. Keeping that in mind takes some of the bite out of him, but doesn't mean we can be any less on our guards. There are lots of lies around us.
Secondly, over and over Paul emphasizes unity. And this is not your "why can't everybody just get along" unity, but true unity not based on internal realities, not external or superficial appearances. Christ has broken down the wall; Christ has put to death the enmity. There is one Lord, one hope, one faith, one baptism, one Spirit, one calling, one God and Father of all.
I had to go to diversity training last week. All of us did. It wasn't the worst thing I ever sat through, and the fellow running it was fair-minded. But I walked away with the sense that, "Aren't we making more of differences than of similarities? Wouldn't we get further if we emphasized how we are alike rather than how we aren't?" Of course, there has to be a starting point.
I feel the same way in church. We spend way too much time being aware of how we are not the same. Other people at my church drive much nicer cars than me and live in better subdivisions. Others don't even have cars to drive and rent apartments. Can we get together, or just sit in separate pews, facing the preacher and then acting like the others aren't there? Are rich people more uncomfortable with poor people, or poor with rich? Why does being rich qualify a man to be a deacon more than being a hardworking janitor does another man?
The third lesson of Ephesians is that Satan has one weapon: lies and deception. I don't know what other weapon he would have. Keeping that in mind takes some of the bite out of him, but doesn't mean we can be any less on our guards. There are lots of lies around us.
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