Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
I have been reflecting on this passage from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians for the past week or so. I used it for a retreat with new principals in the Diocese of Cleveland last week and in a letter to my nephew on his senior retreat. Then, during this past Sunday's celebration of the Eucharist, this excerpt from St. Paul was the second reading.
I've acknowledged before how much I benefit from repetition in my learning and coming across these words in yet another context in a relatively short amount of time leads me to believe that God wants me to hear these words and take them to heart.
Moved and inspired by the Holy Spirit, these three messages emerged through my many recent touchpoints with these words from St. Paul:
First, when Paul encourages the Church at Ephesus to “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received” I am reminded of that Christ’s call has echoed throughout the ages and has come to me and you: “Follow me.” Like the first disciples - Andrew and Peter, James and John - Christ has called us to lay down our nets and follow Him. There are many ways in which we forget this call and cling to the nets of our lives - claiming our identities in our talents, abilities, status, possessions, interests instead of His love for us; growing discouraged that we’re not qualified instead of trusting that He will qualify those He has called; or just being too busy, distracted, and self-centered instead of intentional, prayerful, and focused on others.
In many ways, we have to fight to remember that Christ has called us to discipleship and that this call demands us to act like it!
Let us remember that God has called us and that He has an important part for each of us to play in His story.
Second, St. Paul reminds the Ephesians that we can live in a manner worthy of the call we have received through our humility, gentleness, patience, and love. At first glance, this could sound a bit like being passive or quiet. But, our Lord was anything but passive.
He drove out demons, He overturned tables in the temple, He healed the wounded, cured the sick, loved the outcast, challenged the religious and political leaders of His time, and selflessly allowed Himself to be sacrificed for us.
Living in a manner worthy of His call means that we must live like Him!
So, instead of gentleness in a way that might be considered weak, I interpret this part of Paul’s message to mean meek. Meek means that you have immense power and strength and that you can control both in productive, beautiful, and life-giving ways.
May each of us continue to harness our strength so that we can put it to use for God’s glory and building up His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.
Third and finally, the passage ends with a great urge for unity with God and with others. I often like to think about the difference between unity (connected together) and uniformity (all the same) prioritizing the first instead of the second. This call for unity means that we strive to stay connected to God through prayer - reading scripture, conversing with God, silently listening to Him, and offering Him our worship and praise. This will look different for you and me and every other person. The way that we unite ourselves to Him will be personal and unique to each person (again, unity not uniformity).
May we keep developing our relationships with Him and know that healthy relationships will evolve over time. In this way, let us stay anchored in our habits of prayer and remain open to new ways of uniting with Christ.
Similarly, Paul reminds Ephesus that staying united to Christ requires that we also unite with each other. Acts of service, especially to those closest to us, honor our divine heritage. Just like God - three persons in one God - we were made for each other and we thrive when we unite together. As such, be a person who connects. Do the hard work of uniting with others in your relationships as Christ did. Whether it was turning water into wine, multiplying the loaves and fish, or raising Lazarus from the dead, Christ constantly united with others in His ministry.
Do the same: invite, unite, and ignite a flame in the hearts of all who come to know you.
Let us live in a manner worthy of the call that we have received for God's glory and honor and praise.
