January 6, 2024

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4.1-6)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

And as we are to be those who pursue the truth, then we ought to be able to see (as follows from yesterday’s reflection) that authentic righteousness has always been the goal, objective, purpose, theme and calling of all our lives. What the lesson of “the Fall” in the Garden of Eden can easily teach us is “that in this world we must decide for ourselves if we truly want to be righteous or not and what our definition of righteousness is going to be.” Was that asking too much of Adam and Eve who were essentially created in the form of God’s imagination from the substance of the earth (red clay or red earth, some say…thus Adam or Adamah) and then “inspired” by the ruach of God (the breath of God or His Holy Spirit)? If they possessed the Holy Spirit then they would have been able to discern the difference between the “righteousness of God” and the “righteousness of Satan the fallen Lucifer.” What? They didn’t have enough information to make an informed decision? Of course they had enough information. They had 1) identity conferred on them by God; 2) purpose and meaning ascribed by God; 3) they had a support system created by God and 4) the simple tool for fulfilling the three aforementioned possessions. What was, and is, that simple tool? The very thing most people of the world hate of themselves but love for others: obedience.

Now, before you start running away and screaming as many of the world do, remember that as mighty ones of God our obedience is based on trust. That obedience which the “enemy” desires is based in fear: fear of others and fear of being without. Do you see that paradigm working in the Garden? Even with the urging of the Holy Spirit, which I would say at this point was to be embodied in the person of Adam to whom God had commanded “do not eat of the fruit of that tree,” Eve went ahead and gave in to the invitation of fear. The fear of others was directed toward God whom Satan said was trying to “hoodwink” her (including Adam as a hoodwinker since he was the representative of God in that moment). The fear of going without was embodied in the forbidden fruit that appeared far better than all the others to eat. Think more along this line as the serpent is depicted as “wise, cunning, inviting, beautiful” with an appearance far surpassing all other serpents in the Garden. Of course, Satan was because in Heaven Lucifer was the worship leader of the Heavenly Hosts and adorned with instruments and jewels and diadems. It only seems to reason that such “beauty” which was the proverbial “sheep’s clothing” to the wolf which lurked beneath. That wolf serpent had surrendered a heart of gold for coal or lead or worse the dross which is left when gold is purified. Interesting to me that after Adam and Eve discovered the error of their chosen way and then confessed under duress their sin, God covered them with sheep’s clothing. What made it different from that of the proverbial “sheep clothing” used by the wolf named Satan is this. The sheepskin used by Satan was from the sheep of the earth who pastured in God’s creation. That which God used was from a royal flock and represented both sheep and Shepherd- the Lamb of God. So, one was “righteous” and one was “unrighteous.” I don’t suppose you have a problem discerning which is which, do you?

All of that to help lead into the reflection on the next part of Paul’s teaching to the Christ community of faith in Ephesus: be completely humble and gentle. Aren’t these the characteristics of a lamb or a sheep? Yes, there are others but these describe the foundation of their nature and character and represent the image of righteousness. I look forward to sharing more on this with you tomorrow. See you then, shalom.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit spoke us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.