Reflections on "Sharers in the Promise" Ephesians 3: 1-12; Matthew 2: 13-20

We were ordaining and installing ruling elders and deacons in worship, so I began looking at the texts with that in mind.  My first thought was a simple sermon with two points - the Matthew passage as a reminder that the world into which Christ comes is not perfect and the Ephesians passage to discuss the role of the church in responding to what we discover in the world. somehow, my study of this passage in Ephesians did not lead to an easy sermon.  If I preached it again, i would begin with the third point and the image of Paul praying, and then work out the rest of the sermon from that vantage point.

Perhaps working with Paul's letter was a bit more challenging since I'd preached on narrative texts for all of Advent.  Preaching Paul's letters has a very different feel than preaching narrative texts (at least for me!).

“sharers in the Promise”  SAPC, January 7, 2018; Ephesians 3: 1-12; Matthew 2: 13-20

Ephesians 3: 1-12  This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— ²for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, ³and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, ⁴a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. ⁵In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: ⁶that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ⁷Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. ⁸Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, ⁹and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; ¹⁰so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹²in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

Introduction:  as you may remember, we spent Advent and Christmas telling and reflecting on stories. We finished last week with the wise men traveling to find baby Jesus with their gifts and Brandi’s sermon on the gift of love.   

Wise men make a great story; we finished the Christmas cycle on the high notes of gift-giving and love. We finish the Christmas cycle on a high note.

Typically, we skip over what’s next and move into the new year.

But the Christmas story as told in Matthew has a few more verses.  Verses that move from the joyous exchange of gifts to King Herod lashing out in fear and anger to bring fear and death to God’s people and cause Mary, Joseph and Jesus to flee to Egypt.

the joy of Christ’s birth met with the harsh reality of the world.

We live in this world with its hope and promise as seen in the gifts and love people share and also its fear and anger we see lived out.  

If I asked you to write down three clear examples of the love of God in your life and three examples of fear and anger in our world, I imagine you could do both rather easily.

Even as we see glimpses of heaven in our midst, we also recognize the complete transformation of our world into the kingdom of heaven is not quite complete!

this the world in which we live; that was the world in which the Ephesians lived.

Into that reality, Paul writes the church in Ephesus a letter.

 the portion of the letter we read this morning describes how Paul sees the church’s role in this hopeful, but broken world.

Let’s look at a couple of points Paul makes.

Move 1:  The church binds us together as sharers in the promise.

a.  Paul understands his faith in Christ to be an extension of his Jewish faith.

1.  A radical departure perhaps, but still his faith in Christ is connected to the God of Abraham, whom he already knew.

2.  But Paul celebrates that this faith in Christ is not limited to those of the Jewish tradition, but extends to all people including the Gentiles.

3.  their common ground is their faith in jesus Christ.

b.  that is who we are as the church.

1.  Our common ground is not our nationality, or our political views, or our family pedigree — our common ground is Jesus Christ.

2.  As you look around the pews (go ahead and do that), notice the people around you - some look different than what you see when you look in the mirror; yes, that person who posted that crazy comment on FB is sitting right behind you; 

3.  But, we are bound together in Christ Jesus and the promise he sets before us.

Move 2:  Paul also reminds the Ephesians and us that we have a particular task as the church — we are called to make known the wisdom of God.

a.  What we do as our part of the body of Christ matters because the world is looking for answers, looking for hope, looking for God to be revealed.

1.  On this Sunday when we ordain and install ruling elders and deacons, we lift up the leadership of our church.

2.  In some ways, it reeks of structure and process, and administration (we are Presbyterian, after all).

b. But the tasks before us are not administrative tasks — the tasks before us are to be a witness in the world to who God is.

1.  the vision the ruling elders set before us ought to be a vision that invites the world to recognize the living God through the actions of St. Andrew.

2.  the pastoral care the deacons live out in our congregation and community ought to reveal the love of Christ. 

3.  The ruling elders and deacons are being called to lead this congregation so that the love of Christ stands against the King Herods who continue to try and impose their anger and fear.

Move 3: A final thought — Paul’s comments to the Ephesians that we read this morning are a brief excursion as Paul tells the Ephesians that he is praying for them.

a.  Look at vs. 1.

1. paul writes, “This is the reason that I paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles -“

2. then, a dash; he is about to go off subject with his comments about the church.

3. then, vs. 14 begins, “for this reason,” which draws us back to what Paul was starting to do in vs. 1.

4. That is, “for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name…”

5. Paul is praying for the Ephesians.

b.  Paul can dare to proclaim the Ephesians are sharers in the promise, Paul can dare to call the church to reveal God’s wisdom to the world, because Paul prays for them.

1. the power of prayer to guide and sustain us.

2.  As we ordain and install our ruling elders and deacons, notice that one of the questions they are asked is:  Will you pray for and seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?

3. at the heart of their commitment to serve this  God through this congregation is their willingness to pray for you.

4.  Likewise, the congregation will promise to pray for those being ordained and installed.

Conclusion:  As you see those being ordained kneeling before us while we pray over them, remember Paul on his knees praying for the Ephesians, and be reminded of the tasks to which God calls us, tasks that can only be accomplished by the power of prayer.