March
18, 2012
EPHESIANS 2:1-10 NRSV
1You
were dead through the trespasses and sins
in which you once lived,
following the course of
this world,
following the ruler of the
power of the air,
the spirit that is now at
work among those who are disobedient.
All of us once lived among
them in the passions of our flesh,
following the desires of
flesh and senses,
and we were by nature
children of wrath,
like everyone else.
But God, who is rich in
mercy,
out of the great love with which
he loved us
even when we were dead
through our trespasses,
made us alive together with
Christ —
by grace you have been
saved —
and raised us up with him
and seated us with him in
the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the ages to come
he might show the
immeasurable riches of
his grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been
saved through faith,
and this is not your own
doing;
it is the gift of God —
not the result of works,
so that no one may boast.
For we are what God has
made us,
created in Christ Jesus for
good works,
which God prepared
beforehand to be our way of life.
***
In some ways Ephesians 2:1 - 10 feels like a cheat
sheet for a basic theology test. If we were to summarize the scripture reading
on a small note card it might list:
1. We as humans are innately
sinful.
2. God is merciful and loving
toward us.
3. God loves us even though we
are sinful.
4. Through Christ we are saved.
5. Our being saved is grace.
6. We have been saved once
through Christ, yet we are eternally saved.
7. We have been saved through
faith.
8. Our faith is not by our own
doing.
9. Our faith is God’s doing.
10.
God created us for good works,
and prepared our life for them.
Though points 1
- 9 are the basis for point number ten, it is point number ten that stands out
to me. 1 - 9 are theological answers to things beyond our control. We cannot
help that we are innately sinful. We cannot change that God is merciful and
loving toward us. We did nothing to deserve to be saved by Christ, nor is our faith
our own doing. In 1 – 9, I feel powerless. Then in number ten, God reminds me
of why 1 - 9 matter, because they led to number ten.
Number Ten:
“God created us for good works, and prepared our life for them.” In the
author’s beautiful language, number ten reads,
“For
we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”
I like number ten.
I imagine God creating us from the dust,
dust blown by the Holy Spirit all over our being,
unique dust for each one of us,
for a particular life in a particular time,
dust that holds the gifts of the Spirit blown into our being:
dust for care, and love, and wisdom, and song, and healing,
dust for speaking, and understanding, and listening,
dust for dancing,
dust for painting, and building, and fixing,
dust for teaching and growing,
more types of dust than our imaginations can hold.
I imagine God forming our dust in unique images of Christ,
and blessing that form for a life of good works.
That dust is
you, and me, and the person sitting next to you, and the person across the
aisle from you, and the people outside this sanctuary too, each one as God made
us, in the image of Christ, for a life prepared for good works.
I like to
imagine God’s creation part, because it allows me to imagine the life for which
God created me. That life is different than the one I am living. That life,
would be more outside, more quiet and less rushed, healthier, more active, more
prayerful, more servant like. That life I imagine for which God created me is
an ideal, but it is a good challenge, a good Lenten reflection.
If we are
honest with ourselves, we all have a-ways to go to live out the life for which
God created us. Lent is about us living in our image of Christ. Lent is about
us living our lives to do good works. Lent, is about us living as God prepared.
How did God
create you to live?
What is most
Christ-like about you?
What good works
did God prepare for your life?
None of our
answers are going to be identical. Many of them I hope are creative, and all of
them ought to be challenging. Living this way, does not come naturally. As the
beginning to Ephesians 2 tells us, “You were dead through your trespasses and
sins.” or more simply stated, Number 1. We are innately sinful. Living as God
intended does not come naturally, but it is our nature. We were made for God’s
good works. We were made in the image of Christ. There is a life prepared for
us. What does yours look like? What does ours as a community look like?
This day, as
you take a piece of bread, and you hold it, I want you to imagine, the life God
prepared for this community. This day, as you take the cup, I want you to
imagine the life God uniquely prepared for you. I ask you do this because
through this sacred ritual we are given life.
