April 11, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Find out what pleases the Lord. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. ” (Ephesians 5.10; 21)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Why would “submitting ourselves to one another out of reverence for Christ” please God? To help wrap my mind around this, apart from the answer “Because God said so to us through Paul,” I focus my attention on two words: one another. If they do not sound an awareness alarm in your head and heart, then let me offer another passage of scripture which reflects Jesus’ teaching. On the night of Preparation for Passover, Jesus gathered His disciples and those closest to them to celebrate the Seder. It was a time of remembering when the Spirit of Death moved across the face of Egypt and took the life of the first born males whose doorways were not painted with the blood of the sacrificial lamb. We know that Moses had warned Pharaoh that the curse, plague, which would expose the full wrath of God was at his command. Whatever Pharaoh had determined to happen to the Hebrews in captivity, the Israelites, would be turned upon the Egyptians themselves. Of course, Pharaoh had no intention of listening to anything Moses, and thus God, had to say. Pharaoh had been duly warned by Moses’ prophetic utterance. It is unclear as to whether Moses knew it at the time of Pharaoh’s utterance but he did in short order. Because of this knowledge, he was able to receive the instructions of God which would bring protection upon the House of Israel. It should deepen our connection with what happened to Jesus on that night. After dismissing Judas of Kerioth to complete the task he had accepted himself (thus by his word death was brought over the land of true Israel), Jesus completed the feast and began to prepare the remaining disciples for what was ahead. They were given the prophetic word not just for the next twenty-four and seventy-two hours. They were given words for the rest of their lives as men, as disciples and as apostles. In the midst of His teaching that night, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you: love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples.“

“One another.” Love and submission are connected by these two words within the Christian community of faith. It was not a general command concerning the Shema, nor its undoing. Within the Shema we are made aware “Hear, o Israel, the Lord our God is One; love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and your neighbor as you yourself are loved [by God.]” “Neighbor” did not simply mean the person next door who is a part of your faith community. “Neighbor” was the stranger and foreigner in the land where you live. They may well be living next to you. They may be living in the general vicinity. Jesus reiterated this when He told the story of “The Good Samaritan.” It was the Samaritan who acted as the good neighbor though he himself was not loved by the Scribe, the Priest or the Levite. We unloved by them unless he was a man of property and thus of advantage to their own situation. Jesus had also included the challenge “to love your enemies.” It was a tough word to hear for those who were living under Roman rule and Temple authority corruption. The Messianic Hope was like a flower ready to bloom bursting with the desire to show life and vitality. The people could see that things couldn’t go on the way they were. They needed desperately a Savior to come into their world. Jesus was that Savior. But, He did not arm Himself with soldiers and weapons to command against the army of Rome nor the guards of the Temple. He fitted Himself much in the manner Paul would describe in what is for us the next chapter of Ephesians: the full armor of God. In a brief moment of believing in the divine authority of Jesus, James and John asked for “hellfire” to be called down on cities not willing to show hospitality to Jesus and His band of merry men. It was no small task for small communities to accommodate what was more likely a group of nomads numbering 120. It was obvious that there was little love for the enemy or the neighbor. Those truths were indicative of the little love the disciples had for themselves. I would dare say it was indicative of how much they loved God as they sought more for themselves than for others the company of Jesus. But, isn’t that true even today as we command God to do and to provide instead of trusting in His doing and in His provision?

So, Jesus taught them to take His command personally: love one another. We can easily hear it said as well: submit to one another. The compatibility of these two phrases, these two teachings, are indicative of the them of Jesus’ ministry: righteousness. Far more than living a perfect life and sinning not against others and God, righteousness was the means of creating “balance” in life. Other cultures, philosophies and religions speak of “being in balance.” They are not far from the truth. But, in those ideologies the real balance is of one’s self with the hope that such influence would be shared by others. Rarely was it elevated to a divine status but to the essence of its teacher whom they would emulate. Not so with Jesus. He was never far from the essence of righteousness which maintained the balance of love and submission to God, neighbor, self, enemy and “one another.” If we were to trace the breakdown within the disciples’ community, we would find it at the point of “loving one another and being submissive to one another.” How many times are we presented with their pedantic arguments about who was the greatest among them and who would hold special privileges in the Messianic Kingdom on earth. And, as in the case of James and John and their mother, who would be elevated to sit on either side of the Judgment Seat of God. How many times did we see how much love was lost between them? How did Jesus seek to counter this? He gave them the new command “Love one another” and He exampled it by “washing their feet.” On the one hand Jesus submitted Himself to God in love. On the other hand Jesus submitted Himself to “his others” by washing their feet as a servant and not a master of the house.

We would do well to seek such a balance in our own lives as demonstrations of our desire to be “the righteousness of God.” Jesus died for our sins that we might live in His righteousness, His love, His favor, His blessing, His community, His faith, His hope. It certainly did not mean total perfection but rather living balanced lives with our passions under control by the command to love/submit to one another. Such submission pleased and pleases God. He responds to it with favor and promise. Isn’t this the joy of our lives we should pursue and practice?

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 brought 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.