February 4, 2024

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“So, Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4.11-13)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

In these three verses (11-13) we are able to see how Paul is directing the members of the Body of Christ, the global Church, to include themselves in the Great Commission which Jesus gave to His disciples on Mount Tabor. In the “Gospel of the Church,” the Book of the Acts of the Apostles written by Luke, Paul makes his argument about being appointed to the office of apostle. There were those among the disciples who would have argued the point because Saul of Tarsus was not one of the Twelve or Seventy-Two who were commissioned during Jesus’ earthly ministry for service to the Kingdom of God. Of course, all those who had been healed and reconciled to God by Jesus as the Christ were commissioned to go and tell no one, go and show yourselves to the priests, return home and share this good news but most emphatically “go and sin no more.” I doubt very seriously that the word of transformation which happened in their lives was kept a secret. But, in sharing this good news of the gospel of Jesus would create some difficulty with those who still would not believe. Regardless, the word was given and the word was shared. The hope was revealed and the hope was revealed. But, while it was possible that the very youthful Saul of Tarsus who was studying in Jerusalem during the years of Jesus’ ministry, we do not ever hear of his acknowledgment of such. If there was, then it most likely would have been to the contrary and with bitterness reflecting that of the Temple leadership, especially the house of the Chief High Priest and those among the Pharisees who saw Jesus as a threat to the culture and climate.

So, when Saul of Tarsus is met on the Damascus Road by the Resurrected Jesus who is the Christ, his transformation was unique to all others who had come to confess their sins and profess their belief that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God through whom faith in Him alone was the way, the truth and the life for all people. His apostleship was unique. Whether he needed the titular recognition or not matters little to the ministry of faith which he professed. Because of his dual citizenship, his ministry to the Gentiles whether they were Roman or otherwise was a critical element to fulfilling the Great Commission. It was critical because it included the “rest of the world” beyond Israel into the full measure and stature of Christ. He who ascended to the highest heights in order that the whole universe would be filled with the good news had done so as well on earth. His ministry to all people without distinction unraveled the very fabric of what Judaism had become. The arguments in Jerusalem as to whether Gentile converts should be circumcised and obey dietary laws was a part of the whole dynamic of the Church becoming the Church. Was it a Church of Jewish Christians, Christian Jews or others was an ongoing dialectic fostered first between Peter and Paul and later by Judaizers and Gentile Christian missionaries. Sadly, a similar argument continues today as if ethnicity or one’s faith background was critical to being a follower of Christ. Worse, the corruption of what it means to be a follower of Christ so that it allows “sin and the lie” to be tolerated without confession in their profession of faith lowers the stature and measure of the Body and thus of the way the world sees Christ.

The challenge which Paul presented to the faith in Christ community in Ephesus remains purposeful in today’s communities of faith in Christ regardless of their location in the world. That challenge is living by faith and allowing that faith to be manifested in the works which declare the glory of God and lead others to receiving the saving grace which can be theirs in Jesus the Christ. The is the life lived worthily to which we are called not by our birth but by our second birth. Paul, the former Saul of Tarsus, is the evidence of that reality. Nicodemus heard the challenge. Many Samaritans and displaced Jews throughout the Diaspora heard it as well. And we hear it ourselves today. We are included in the mission of faith, hope and love because of the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ. It is the singular hope that all nations and all peoples may come to know this life as their very own and join in the body of believers manifesting the presence of Christ in fullness until He comes again.

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.