Hello
Friends,
Welcome
back to Prepared Hearts, the online Bible study of the Wacousta Community United Methodist Church.
The
lectionary texts for this week are as follows:
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18, Psalm 149, Ephesians 1:11-23, and Luke 6:20-31.
I’ll be preaching from Ephesians.
The
text is below, followed by starter thoughts:
Ephesians 1:11-23
In Christ we have also
obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him
who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who
were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his
glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the
promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption
as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
I have heard of your faith
in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do
not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of
wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your
heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is
the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the
working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised
him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far
above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that
is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all
things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
STARTER THOUGHTS
This week we will be celebrating the
Feast of All Saints, which traditionally is the time of year that the church
celebrates the followers of Christ who have gone before us who have shaped our
faith, individually and collectively. Congregations do this in a number of
ways. They may read the names aloud of those who have passed in the last year,
light candles, toll a bell, etc. A colleague of mine shared with me that her
church used butterflies to symbolize saints and filled trees placed up by the
altar with paper butterflies in remembrance of their loved ones. Who are some
of the saints who have had an impact on your faith journey? In what ways did
they shape your walk? What are some of the rituals you have developed for
remembering them and their importance in your life?
Of course, the term “saints” doesn’t
refer simply to those who have died in Christ, it is a term that describes
anyone who proclaims Jesus as Lord. Do you think of yourself as a “saint?” Why
or why not? Are there saints in your life today who inspire and support you?
How have they helped you grow in your understanding of discipleship? Do you
think they would consider themselves “saints?”
The writer of Ephesians declares that
believers have an inheritance which is part of God’s greater cosmic plan. What
does this mean to you? Do you find it difficult to connect your daily life to
this grand plan? Why or why not?
Being the recipient of an inheritance or
inherited traits is something that most of us can relate to. What things have
you inherited in life (physical traits, skills, gifts, etc.)? Are there parts
of your inheritances that you’d rather give back?
As members of the church, we’ve inherited
a great deal from those who have gone before us, some of it good and some of it
not so great. For example, we have the blessing of Scripture, but we’ve also
inherited a church that is fractured into countless denominations and sects.
What are the good and bad things you’ve inherited in the faith? What are some
of the things you wat the next generation of Christians to inherit? What sort
of things do you hope they don’t have to inherit?
I’ve been wrestling with this text all
week, so I really look forward to your thoughts and reflections. Feel free to
email me or post here.
Peace,
Pastor Amee
One of the saints that I think of is my mom. Even though she was widowed young, she made sure that my brother, sister, and I had a good education in faith, going to parochial school through at least 6th grade. She was an amazing witness and lived out her faith. I remember at her funeral, someone told us a story about her. She worked as a loan officer for a credit union for a number of years. On at least one occasion, someone came in for a loan, and it was obvious that they were not going to get it. She got her purse and gave them the cash that she had in it. This was not a freak event, she lived a gracious and loving life, and set a good example.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, there are saints in my life who are definitely guides. One person in the Thursday night group I find to be an amazing witness. She is always finding ways to serve, but also loves to sit at His feet and listen. I am consistently amazed at all the ways she finds to serve, yet she seems to look for more. She is very knowledgeable, and loves to read and study the Word. I am blown away by her faith, and love to hear her talk about both her service and her study.
The Saturday group is filled with some awesome saints. Each has his own strengths and weaknesses, but all love our Lord, and work together to try to keep each other walking humbly with God.
As to being a part of God’s “greater cosmic plan,” I learned many years ago not to anticipate what God is doing, but to just offer Him whatever I have. This really came home to me when, about 12 years ago, I heard a story from a different perspective than mine. What I saw as an amazing story in the life of a cousin from a human perspective, he saw as an amazing story of God’s love. At 16, my cousin had his right leg amputated 4 inches above the knee, due to bone cancer. A few years later, he, my brother and I, went snow skiing in upstate New York. While we were there, there was a Nastar amateur race. Russ decided to complete, and at the end of the first heat, he was in 1st place. In the 2nd heat, he missed a gate, so he fell down, crawled back up, hit the gate, and finished the race. He finished 3rd place, overall. That was my memory – a testament to his human spirit! Many years later, I received a letter from him, and he recounted his memory of that same day. To him, Mike and I showed him the love of God. We went skiing with him, even though he only had 1 leg; we treated him the same as we had before the operation, and we accepted him as who he was. That let it sink in for me that I need to try to offer God my best always, whether I THINK I can see how He is working or not.
One of the things that I don’t like about what many of us have inherited is how so many of us insist that “our way” of worshipping is the “only way” of worshipping. Take for example, communion. Some denigrate others because they have closed communion, while some denigrate others because they have open communion. I wish we could all respect both positions – closed communion shows that this is sacred and holy, and should not be taken lightly. With closed communion, it is easy to maintain that holiness, and make certain that that those participating understand. With open communion, ALL are invited to come to Jesus. I hope that the next generation of Christians do better than we do at looking at the meaning and content of the message, and not get lost in the frame in which the message is presented.
God Bless and Keep You,
I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school from 2nd through 12th grade. One of the things I learned and has remained with me is the strong reverence for Communion and the person of Jesus. However, I love the Methodist freedom of expression. Respect for all the branches of Christ's church is so important.
ReplyDeleteMy journey on this road of faith has been filled with wonderful God loving people. My grandma L. was a very devoted Catholic right up until her death and we had some very lively conversations about faith and yes, even why being Catholic isn’t for everyone. At first she was so upset with me for “leaving the church” but she came to see my deep faith in Christ and realized I had not “left” anything I just moved into a new “home” to worship the same Lord and Savior. She challenged me to defend my faith sometimes which at the time I didn’t like but it made me so much stronger and I think I impacted her too as she was able to be more accepting of others.
ReplyDeleteMy grandma Z. still loves the Lord and draws support from her faith everyday as she is now in a nursing home. She didn’t always make it to church every Sunday but the radio was tuned to the service and us kids knew to be quiet and let grandma hear the Word of God. To this day she reads her bible and I remember many years ago when she was very sick my grandpa Z. reading the bible to her, that was the first time I had ever seen him read it and was a profound moment in my life showing me the love of a husband for his wife.
After my grandpa L.’s death I found out he had planned to be a priest at one time and yet he never really talked about his faith much, it was there for all to see in his actions in the church but didn’t share it with words. Years ago I had the privilege to work with “grandma Peggy” as we all called her, she not only wore her faith on her sleeve, she spoke it to everyone who she encountered and was a pivotal saint in my own faith journey and I think of her often. I am also blessed to have living saints that encourage me and guide me every day in “digging deeper” into what Christ has in store for me. I don’t think that anyone that is a saint ever considers themselves to be, that is what is special about them. They are human, they make mistakes and they sometimes struggle with life as we all do, but they “GET” it! They get what Christ is all about, they understand what inheritance means and they are so filled with the love of Christ they can’t contain themselves and have to share it with others like grandma Peg always did. Am I this person, boy I sure hope so! Can I grow more, can I love Christ more? Definitely and I look forward everyday to getting to know him more and more, we are a work in progress until the day we die!! And even after death we may still continue to grow to know Him, that to me would be a wonderful way to live eternally
In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
I LOVE this verse. To me it says it all as to what being a Christian is all about. We hear the truth of the gospel and KNOW we are saved through Christ because of our belief in Him. We live our lives daily with the help of the Holy Spirit who guides us (and also whispers in our ear when we don’t listen!) We inherit the promise of a life eternal, a life that will end upon this earth of dirt but will continue in the spiritual realm at the feet of Jesus. God wants us to inherit His saving grace and to bless our lives in so many ways. We just have to want it, He will not force it up on us. My grandma L. wanted it but thought she had to be this perfect Catholic to get it, I pray that through me challenging her (which neither of us really liked at the time!) she came to understand that it’s not just about the rituals, it’s about the deep abiding belief that God is calling us to receive. Don’t get me wrong I also embrace the rituals, Communion to me is so sacred and I appreciate that Catholics approach it with such reverence and priority. My prayer and hope for the future is that like Grandma L., we can come to appreciate each others faith practices and extend God’s Grace to others.
Peace.