Text
Ephesians 4:1-5
1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, bone God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
Reflection
Paul loves his introduction as the prisoner in the Lord. I know whenever we think of prison, we think of it in negative terms as something that prohibits our freedom and in other countries it is place where human beings are dehumanized into animals. However, Paul views a prison in a positive sense, that is the being someone living a life dedicated to Christ. “It is I who no longer live but Christ Crucified. Today’s passage begins the so-called “moral” section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. The primary call is to unity. This is one of the biggest challenges of today’s church. We are struggle with unity and this reading comes at an appropriate month when we celebrate the Christian unity week. This unity is embodied in the church when her membership embraced the virtues mentioned above; humility, gentleness, patience, and love. Let these virtues with are the fruit of spirit shape our lives. Amen.
Collect
Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the
poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the
renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
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