Ephesians 5

Paul quickly goes from chapter 2 (2: 8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.") to this: 5: 5 "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person - such a person is an idolater - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."

Well which is it? Are we saved by grace or are we saved because we aren't immoral, impure, or greedy? Paul needs to make up his mind.

Have you made up your mind? Do you know why you're saved? Is it because you're a good person or because of God's grace?

I think we all know the right words to say, but do we really believe it?

Is it possible to really believe that God loves us so much that it doesn't matter how immoral, impure, or greedy we are that we are still forgiven?

Grace is is easy to understand but impossible to comprehend because God is so much better at loving than we are.

Ephesians 4

Verses 4-6 "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Sometimes I forget that was actually a time when Christians agreed and all journeyed together on the same mission. That was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Paul is calling for unity in this chapter, calling for the Ephesians to remember that there one sole purpose and mission for their community.

I wish Paul would write the same letter to the Lutherans and every other Christian church in the world. Christians have divided and split thousands of times over the most trivial of matters. (Although some matters are not trivial.)

I recently heard that another Lutheran denomination is going to break their partnership with ELCA in worldwide missions because of a decision they disagree with. Apparently we are no longer worthy to spread the good news with. (Not to say that the ELCA is perfect, we are far from it, but come on, it's not about us.)

It is sad when politics and theology overshadow what's important. We all share one hope in one Lord, Jesus the Christ. That's all we need.

Can't that be enough?

Obviously not.

I can't believe God left the church in human hands. We need the Spirit to guide us now more than ever.

Ephesians 3

Verse 1 "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles..."

Verse 7 "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace..."

The language Paul uses leave no doubt to what his purpose in life is. He considers himself a prisoner and a slave to Jesus. He must do all that Jesus tells him to do, no matter what trouble it may cause him.

A prisoner and a slave.

I think that we have misunderstood what it means to be a disciple, what it means to be a Christian.

I think that we have taken the stance that God is our servant and should do all that we ask. But the truth is God answers no one.

But God serves everyone, because service comes from love.

Want to act like God? Want to imitate Jesus? Don't tell someone what to do but tell them how much you love them. Don't point out their faults but ask how you can help. Don't think anyone serves you but serve everyone.

Be a prisoner of love.

Ephesians 2

Verse 8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

Much of Luther's theology came from Ephesians. Especially this chapter.

A few years ago I had a conversation with an Amish man about this verse and how it compared to the book of James, which states "faith without workes is dead."

Paul seems to be arguing that salvation has nothing to do with our actions, but James argues that we can't claim to be faithful without doing good works.

I think they are both right. We are saved by God's grace. Period.

But if we claim to believe that Jesus is the Messiah then we should act like we have read the bible and at least attempt to live like Jesus wants us to.

We do good works not to earn God's love, but because God first loved us. We follow the Ten Commandments not because they are a set of rules we must follow but because it is a privilege to be God's children and that is how God's children behave.

We love because we have been loved.

Ephesians 1

Verse 5 "He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Christ Jesus, in accordance with with his pleasure and will..."

Martin Luther argued that we are justified by grace through faith and that no one can earn their own salvation. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit, it is not a decision we make. Therefore our salvation is fully dependent on God... nothing we can do.

John Calvin took it a step further and argued that people are predestined by God as to whether they will be saved or not; God decides before we were born who goes to hell and who goes to heaven. This text supports his claim.

But I have a problem with predestination. I can't imagine God condemns anyone before they are born; how can God not give them a chance and be loving?

Instead, I think God wants each and every person ever created to seek a relationship with him, to be open to the possibilities of faith. Yet God gives us all the freedom to deny him.

If we are condemned, it's our choice not God's.

Actually it is God's choice. But I think he gives us what we want.

If we want heaven we can have it.

If we want hell we can have that too.

God's love is in the freedom of choice.

Ruth 4

Boaz talks to the other relative who has a claim to Ruth but he is not interested. So Boaz does what any good man would do... he buys Elimelek's property. He buys his land and the women are thrown in, so Ruth is now his wife.





If you're reading along, did you read verse 7? "Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This is was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel."





They must have had a lot of sandals. Imagine if you had to give a sandal everytime you bought something on eBay.





So he gives his sandal and gets a wife. Sandals are so much cheaper than rings!





Then they have a son, Obed, who goes on to be David's grandfather, and a descendent of Joseph, Jesus' father.





I wonder if David ever asked how his great grandparents met? Then again he did steal Bathsheba, so maybe he wasn't the romantic type.





So what does this all mean? What's the point of this story?





Be careful where you get drunk, you might lose a sandal.

Ruth 3

The story takes an interesting turn. Naomi talks Ruth into taking advantage of a drunk Boaz, so that she might have a home.

Ruth waits until Boaz is drunk and lies down to sleep, then she lies next to him and uncovers his feet, which is often another word for genitalia in the Old Testament. Did Ruth uncover his... you know what, or was it really his feet? I don't know, but either way it was a marriage proposal from Ruth to Boaz. A proposal to a drunk man. This whole scene was orchestrated by a scheming mother in-law. It reminds me of a Shrek movie, as long as it was really his feet.

Boaz praises her for not going after a younger man but can not agree to taker as his wife yet. There is another man that has a legal right to her first, someone who is a closer relative to her dead husband. If he wants to have Ruth has his wife, Boaz can't do anything about it.

What happened to love?

What kind of a story is this?

This marriage would have been one of dependence, not romance. She needs him and he agrees to care for her.

I'm so glad marriages today are of two equals. I'm so glad we have stories of how we fell in love and had butterflies in our stomachs.

But I'm glad that we have a God we can depend on. A God who doesn't have to be drunk to take care of us.

A God whose feet were uncovered and nailed to a cross.