St. James Lutheran Church
St. James Lutheran Church
1380 North Waukegan Road (847)234-4859
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
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Sermon Archive - July 30, 2000
Pentecost VII

Pastor Danielson

Ephesians 3:14-21
 
Early in the week, I elected to prepare a sermon on our "Epistle Lesson,"
rather than the "Gospel Lesson," because I have never prepared a sermon on
this text from The Letter to the Ephesians---and, I may not have another
chance. Secondly, I have prepared at least a dozen sermons on our Gospel
Lesson and I was convinced that I had little more to say about "The Feeding
of the 5,000."  However, after making this decision, I discovered that I had
even less to say about Paul's Epistle!  I needed help and Thursday evening's
worshipers willingly gave me that help with their solicited comments during
and after the service.
 
Our text from the 3rd chapter of Ephesians is rather obscure in spite of its
beauty and majesty. It's only notoriety seems to be a debate among biblical
scholars concerning whether the letter, written by Paul from a prison cell,
was written specifically to the church in Ephesus, or as an epistle to be
distributed to churches throughout Asia Minor. While there may be debate
about the letter's intended audience, there is no debating the thoughtfulness
or the poetic power of what Paul is saying or, I should say, praying.
 
Paul does not want any person in the church to "lose heart" over his
suffering; and, as persecution and imprisonment become distinct possibilities
for all Christians, he is concerned about the faith and vitality of the
entire Christian community. In this particular passage, Paul suggests that
something larger than meets the eye is unfolding; namely, the "universality,"
the "all inclusiveness" of God's love.  Paul begins by saying:
 
        "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom
    every family in heaven and on earth takes its name."
 
That sentence alone should catch your eye and ear.
 
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom
    every family in heaven and on earth takes its name."
 
No longer should Jews or Gentiles struggle over who is included in the
kingdom, for it is not their struggle. It is no longer an "us vs. them"
proposition, but an all-inclusive "we." According to Paul, God the Father
names every family of the earth! Furthermore, those included as part of the
family of God, are not even limited to humanity; "heavenly beings" are
included as well.
 
Issues of imprisonment and even suffering are, therefore, inconsequential
compared to the universality and timelessness of the love we receive from the
God we are permitted to call "Father."
 
Listen again to the prayer Paul actually prays:
 
"I pray that, according to the riches of his glory,
he may grant that you may be strengthened in your own
inner being with power through his Spirit,
 
And, (I pray) Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith,
as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
 
 And, I pray, that you may have the power to comprehend,
with all the saints, what is the breadth and length
and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
 
Now to him who, by the power at work within us,
is able to accomplish abundantly
far more than all we can ask or imagine,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations,
forever and ever. Amen.
 
As we can plainly see, the prayer has three petitions---all having to do with
strengthening the faith of the community.
 
The first petition Paul directs to God---praying that God will strengthen the
"inner being" of the believer with power through the Spirit (v. 16) and
suggesting that those who have such faith do not need to be afraid.
 
The second petition calls upon Christ to dwell, through faith, in the
believer's heart (v. 17). And yet, the believer is not merely a passive
recipient; the one who would be so grounded, must have the faith to accept
and believe that Christ can do this; that Christ can dwell in ones heart.
 
The third petition focuses on the members of the church. Paul prays that the
believer can "comprehend" the full richness of God as made known in the love
of Christ, even though (Paul's says) the love of Christ "surpasses knowledge"
(vv. 18-19).
 
There is no contradiction here---between "comprehending" and "knowing." For
instance, one can comprehend the sun's rising without precise scientific
knowledge of why or how it rises. So it is with faith.  One can comprehend
one's experience of grace, even if the knowledge of the "hows" and "whys" of
grace are beyond understanding.
 
All that matters to Paul is that, when the inner mind and heart are opened,
and the faith of the believer enlarged, one can catch a vision of God's
Spirit, moving throughout all of creation, and become caught-up in that
vision!
 
The prayer concludes with praise to God. Even though Paul has invited the
reader into a larger, universal view of God's purposes, he is quick to point
out that God is far grander than anything a human can imagine or ask for.
Hence, the believer stands before the Almighty---in awe instead of fear---in
praise rather than complaint---in wonder, not cynicism---in faith, not
futility.
 
What more could one say---in Paul's generation or, for that matter, in any
generation? This passage is an awesome description of God's grand design;
setting all the tiny, insignificant concerns of human beings smack dab in the
bright and beautiful light of God's redemptive plan in Christ! 
 
At the beginning of this message, I said that I had received some help from
Thursday evening worshipers.  One in particular, who wouldn't want to be
identified, summed it all up with this statement.  "Tony, Paul was simply
asking God to fill the hearts of his Christian friends with the same Spirit
that, by the grace of God, had given Paul so much faith and hope!"  There you
have it from one of your St. James friends.  I could have said that in the
beginning and saved myself ten minutes of time and energy.  AMEN.

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