Ephesians 1:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 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.
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A preacher was making his rounds to his parishioners on his bicycle when he came upon a little boy trying to sell a lawn mower.
'I've been needing a lawn mower. How much do you want for it?' asked the preacher.
'I just want enough money to go out and buy me a bike,' said the little boy.
After a moment of consideration, the preacher asked, 'Will you take my bike in trade for it?'
The little boy asked if he could try it out first, and after riding the bike around a little while, 'Mister, you've got yourself a deal.'
The preacher took the mower and began to try to crank it. Pulling on the cord a few times with no response from the mower, the preacher called the little boy over,
'I can't get this mower to start.'
The little boy said, 'That's because you have to cuss at it to get it started.'
The preacher said to the little boy, 'I am a minister, and I cannot cuss. It has been so long since I have been saved, that I do not even remember how to cuss.'
The little boy looked at him happily and said, as he rode off, 'Just keep pullin' on that cord. It'll come back to ya.'
This morning I want to think with you about our reading from Ephesians. This opening paragraph in the letter of Ephesians is quite powerful and loaded. “God has blessed us in Christ with very spiritual blessing . . .” God destined us for adoption as God’s children through Jesus Christ.
These are words of comfort to us to let us know that God has a plan. God has a plan for each and every one of us and it’s a good plan. A plan of blessing. I believe our job is to live into that.
I don’t know why we have such a hard time believing that we are God’s sons and daughters. But how would our lives change if we really believed what we say week after week. You are God’s son. You are God’s daughter. I want you to turn to the person to your left and say “I’m God’s child.”
I know of a man who was a Catholic priest who belonged to a religious order that on the first day of Lent, on Ash Wednesday, would sit in his room and whip himself with a leather belt for all of his many sins. The other brothers in his religious community would do the same. He was amazed at how hard the brother next door was hitting himself and actually began to worry that he was really going to hurt himself so he peaked through a key hole only to find that he was sitting in a chair smoking a cigarette reading a book. What he heard was coming from a tape recorder.
Is this what God looks for in us? To fake things? To hit ourselves and beat ourselves up all the time because we aren’t good enough?
Not according to Ephesians. God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. We are God’s children.
I want to tell you about a spiritual breakthrough I had a few years ago. I was on a retreat at the Society of Saint John the Evangelist in Boston, Massachusetts. I shared with my spiritual director what was going on in my interior, spiritual life. After I’d talked for 30 minutes or so the room became silent and he sat there. Then his face broke out with the biggest smile and he said, “Tommy. God loves you. God loves you more than you’ll ever realize. More than anyone. God has called you to be a priest in God’s church and your calling flows out of that deep love that God has for you. Never forget that.”
I believe what this letter to the Ephesians is all about is to help us remember that. That we are deeply loved children of God and that God has blessed us with every blessing. So the next time you’re at a meeting and thinking what an idiot the person sitting across the table is – remember that they’re a child of God just as much as you are and they’re your brother or sister in Christ. If we treated everyone this way imagine what could happen in this place.
So your homework for the next month, yes I said month, is to take a post it note and put it on your bathroom mirror so every morning you see the words “I am a child of God.” But remember if you’re a child of God so is everyone else – treat them like it! Amen.
The Rev'd Thomas S. Rogers, III
Associate Rector
All Saints Episcopal Church
Frederick, Maryland
Year B // Proper 10 Sermon
Link to audio: http://www.box.net/shared/g2i7hvunq3
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