Saturday, May 30, 2015

Ephesians 3:14-21

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father [of our Lord Jesus Christ]15 from whom every family [or fatherhood] in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 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, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father

from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.

I pray that

according to the riches of his glory

he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being

with power through his Spirit

and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

as you are being rooted and grounded in love.

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

PRAYING FOR THE UNIMAGINABLE

What a prayer!

Have you every prayed for others using these words? There’s nothing of repentance here; no kyrie eleison. No mention of needs, healing or release. 

Here Saint Paul adores the Father and asks for his outpouring of love, strength comprehension and knowledge on fellow believers. He asks for a deepening relationship with Jesus, and empowerment by the Spirit. It’s hard to imagine what God could do in us.

Then Paul bursts forth with a doxology, a “Glory to God,” as our Rector insists we should do when we are filled with the joy of Jesus’ love in the Sunday Eucharist. Except this isn’t the Gloria we use at the beginning of the service; it is the Gloria we use just before the final blessing. 

In our services it looks like we exalt God in the first Gloria and are penitential (or at lease reverential) for the second. Why the difference? Shouldn’t shouting “Glory to God” be just as potent, if not more so, after we have experienced the sacraments in worship?

At the first Gloria we exhort the beings in heaven: “Glory to God in the highest.” At the second we exhort each other: “Glory to God…in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations.” Perhaps we’re more confident in the heavenly host, those who announced the coming of the Saviour to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks. They surely do surround the throne of God offering ceaseless praise. It’s easy to encourage something that’s already happening. But to encourage one another — that’s another matter entirely. Or is it?

Confidence in one another can only be lacking because we focus on our own shortcomings. We might wonder, “How can I encourage my fellow Christians to glorify God when I’m so deficient in my own spiritual life?”

But I think that’s exactly why Paul prefaces this Gloria with a reminder about the over-the-top accomplishments God does, things beyond our asking or imagining. The sacrifice of Jesus for the sin of the world is an over-the-top accomplishment. The grace in baptism by water and Spirit is another. The mysterious, miraculous working of the love of the Father is in us already. That’s reality. That’s encouragement. That’s amazing and worth shouting “Glory to God” about!

Not only is the power of God at work in us, but Paul says it is at work to all generations. 

I’ve just become a grandfather and it’s far more intriguing anticipating being a grandfather than a father. When becoming a parent you are filled with awe, joy… and terror. “What have we done? What will happen next?” It’s a future filled with unknowing. When you become a grandparent, the terror is gone. Oh yes, there is healthy concern, but mostly it’s joy and pride because you have enough life experience to recognize the potential for life, love, strength and goodness. The cycle of life continues with a sense of knowing all will be well.

And I’m shouting “Glory to God” because this wonderful experience of grace through the Lord Jesus extends to my children, my new grandson, and grand-generations I will never know.

Perhaps it would be fitting for us to open our eyes on Sunday morning, turn to the people siting around us and encourage fellow spirit-travellers to give God glory, because he’s in us, and in future generations, to do the unimaginable.

- Dave Sapelak