February 9, 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:

Paul speaks of such a challenge to the faith in Christ community of Ephesus with the following charge:

      “…become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

What is the “whole measure of the fullness of Christ”? I submit that simply defined, as if it were simple in fulfilling the call to live so worthily, “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” is love. Saying that simple, yet complex, word in this biblical arena, my mind, and perhaps yours, is drawn to another of Paul’s letters. There is a letter (one of four) written to the Faith in Christ Community of Corinth, which fleshes out authentic love. Today we call that pericope 1 Corinthians 13 or The Love Chapter. In it we are drawn to the springboard conclusion (13.13) “Now abide these three: faith, hope and love; the greatest of these is love.” It is a springboard conclusion for me because it launches the listeners in Corinth into the considerable manifestations of “faith, hope and love” which is worship (chapter 14) and the promise of resurrection (chapter 15.) Not to get ahead of myself, I want to get back to a root understanding which Paul desires to make known in Corinth concerning the cycle of faith maturity. According to Paul, we cannot reach maturity in our faith without a true understanding of authentic love. It is probably better to just post the entire chapter for our review and allow the rhythm of it to move us from the back of the springboard to the front where we shall take our leap of “faith, hope and love.”

“If I speak in the languages of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship of which I may bear witness to its success, but do not have love, I gain nothing. [Therefore, love is most important in all that is said and done.] Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It always perseveres. Love never fails. Know this: where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we now know in part and we prophesy in part. But when completeness comes, what is in part will disappear.  [I remember] when I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child and I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. So then, for now, we see only a reflection [of ourselves and Him] as in a mirror and that dimly. The day will come, however, when we shall see [everyone] face to face. For now, I know in part but then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And in that moment these three remain: faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love.”

I hope you can see the reflection of our pattern of spiritual maturity. It begins, and fails miserably, with the love of self. In the beginning, we are blessed with gifts, talents and abilities. We seize upon them as a means by which to promote ourselves, our place in the world and our importance to others. We would even dare (as did Adam, Eve and many who followed them in life) to forget God and presume for ourselves that the fate of the world and our place in it is in our own hands. We grow to be short-term wonders and long-term failures if we remain in our “love of self.” Another way of saying that is “we never grow up, we never mature.” The blessing of our creation is that we come “face to face” with the Creator. He manifests Himself in many ways so that we see ourselves more clearly and understand ourselves more succinctly. In these “spiritual collisions,” let’s call them intersections where our way and His way meet, we are presented with how it is, how it could be and how it will be. It remains to us which “way” we will choose. As we have discovered, regardless of our direction, we will never find a place where the Holy Other (and wholly Other) does not exist and will not cross our paths. The more we pursue the way it could be and will be from the perspective of God, the Holy Other, the more “it is” that way for us. The day will come, regardless, when we will finally and ultimately see the conclusion of our journey clearly and without doubt. Sadly, for many many, it will be a conclusion of “no doubt” that is so far from where desired to be that there will be no opportunity to get there from there. Consumed by the “self image of self-important,” their fate will be far worse than the first.

But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus as the Christ showed His disciples, and through them has shown us, “I AM the way, the truth and the life by which no one gains entry into Kingdom of Heaven.” As we strive to be more and more like Him we will see that He is more and more like who we truly thought we could be. We will put away childish thoughts, ideas and activities. Our words will no longer be banter and challenges of ego and comparison. We will speak the truth in love and allow the pain of it to be as beneficial as the joy of it. The day will come when what we see face to face is the blessing of “Well done, faithful servant; you are most welcome here.” We will have “all grown up.” The choice is yours, mine and ours. The consequences are clear. The responsibilities are serious. The opportunities are bountiful. It is that moment we should find ourselves living in to the fullest.

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.