Ephesians 3.14-21- Writing uplifting words on the pages of your life
It is very unfortunate, but in choosing the story of the feeding of the 5000 for worship and praise this month, 2 weeks ago, and then having the story echoed in the lectionary the following week, an odd turn up that I hadn’t anticipated is that the lectionary itself felt like we hadn’t had the story enough and insists that we get to read it all over again! Third times the charm, as they say! Only this time that story is told from John’s gospel and not Mark’s, which might be likened to the biblical equivalent of watching Cecil B DeMille’s The 10 Commandments one day and following it up watching the cartoon film The Prince of Egypt, the following night- the focus and the intention in the stories is different.
But! You will be glad to hear that I will not be talking any further about that story. I feel a bit bloated with the idea of yet another 12 baskets of left over multiplied bread, and I am sure it would not hurt if we recalled instead what we heard in the message last week, and ponder something totally fresh and new this week.
So I will be looking instead at the New Testament reading we have had. And what a wonderful reading it is. It reads like a beautiful prayer that when read with intention upon the meaning of the words we have, is full of a richness that really shows how much Paul loved those he wrote to. And even more, it shows how much he would have, and therefore God does, and therefore we should, be able to love and nurture one another to the same depth of valuing care.
It’s worth taking time to read it again. So let’s do that and let’s take time over it. I often think that scripture is read in the wrong ways for our wellbeing. We treat it like a newspaper; we scan for the essentials because its long. We want it to get to the point. But sometimes its worth treating scripture like one of those really good boiled sweets you can get. The ones where the more you suck it, the more you notice the nuance and change in flavours as layers of the sweet dissolves in your mouth. Take the time to linger over some of the phrases. Let them roll around your mouth like a delicious morsel and see which flavour comes out of the text and seems pertinent to you this morning.
Here we go:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.
I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the other believers, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish so much more, more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Wow. If someone had prayed like that over me, I would feel so cared for, wouldn’t you? We have to take a little step back and ponder how anyone could get into the frame of heart to say words like these for anyone with so much sincerity and heartfelt wish.
Paul must have really felt for the people he was writing to, and wanted for them all the very best, not merely in attainment, as if there were an achievement card to fill in, but that where they were in their life of faith, they would gain, where currently there was lack.
It seems that, the people Paul wrote to were unable to know how broad the love of God was. That sounds like frictions happening, or indeed borders drawn between the haves and have-nots of some description or other. But rather than getting ratty with them, Paul in very parental mind, broods over them with words like a most committed mother’s. He wants for them to know the height the depth of God’s love, that it spills out beyond them in ways they as yet cannot see, but would entail their learning to widen their arms and embrace the have-nots that they seem to have in mind, as being one with them, following Paul’s lead.
Paul wants this for them. He genuinely wants to see them growing through the lacks that they have, and wants that with genuine affection and almost a palpable excitement that he knows they can do it. Like watching a toddler holding the edge of a sofa, and you know that despite their fear they want to let go and walk to where you are. But you also know it’s going to take many more attempts to get those wobbly feet strong enough, and that doesn’t need anger, that needs love and encouragement. And that is what Paul is doing here.
How much of this aspect of Paul would we say we truly have in our church communities today? It’s worth thinking upon because the one thing the world seems to suffer so much lack in is; individuals being seen, affirmed, and encouraged to grow into all they are meant to be. We see boundaries and expectations placed into the fabric society much more readily than we do the gift of an encouraging word for anyone. And we here too, are part of society and will inevitably be part of the same set of compulsions- its impossible to leave them at the door- and so it is worth pondering whether we can with honesty and integrity, say words with as much love, affection, and the seeking of growth and wellbeing- to one that’s sitting near to us- as Paul is doing here.
We don’t need to be a biblical scholar to achieve it, look how much feeling there is in these words when we slow down and take them as emotionally felt expressions of love.
A few weeks ago, my son Martin challenged me on the bible in some way, I forget what the question was now, but my reply was, in true vicarly fashion, that I didn’t actually know all the bible inside out. Yeah I know, shocking!
His reply to me got me thinking. He said, very pragmatically, ‘You can’t turn a bible inside out.’ And it struck me how apt the physical image of this appeared. No, you can’t: it’s very hard to turn a bible inside out, look:
And I played with this analogy a while, with our lives being like a bible, because very often out of tidiness we want to park our bibles on the shelves, stories bidden into order, to be taken down at our convenience; which is, sometimes, hardly ever. And I wondered if our church-life experience could be explained in a similar way. With everything neatly arranged and in order and the hard covers firmly shut, so that perhaps, other folk outside might know that here was a great work because it was kept so well, but maybe they wouldn’t know what was actually inside it, except for those hand-me-downs thrown out from history about a man who was ever so lovely and soft and told people to be nice to each other.
And I pondered this analogy some more and thought: perhaps our churches should be more like a bible that’s left open with the pages all rag-tag and bedraggled, some torn out of place, so that we can see part of the story enticing us to go look at other pages tucked behind. The covers beaten, by the open book being thrown about a bit, not treated with so much respect because what was inside it, the treasure inside, the beans in the pod, were more tasty than the pod itself, and we wanted them, so we dashed it about until the goodness came out.
Perhaps we are meant to live the Christian life as if we were turning the bible inside out, leaving the pages strewn all over the place, traces of goodness echoed in corners as we litter the church and the community with what we are as Christians, hopeful that as someone else, tut tut’s our untidiness behind us, they might glance at the pages of our messy Christian life and realise: we were actually living it out! We were actually making it matter, and maybe they would be intrigued to find out what was on the page they picked up and what was on the next page they hadn’t been able to see that time.
A funny little analogy, but it strikes me that as we look at Paul’s words and realise the emotional intent with which he needed to convey them to his readers, just how important it is that others around us can read the Christian story of our lives with as much ease, and see the true intent with which we live and mean things.
Where am I going with all this today? I think I am saying, make sure that what’s written on the pages of your life, are words that can uplift and heal. And make sure they are left somewhere for someone to read and not tucked away back on the shelf.