Lord of comfort and peace, pour out Your blessings on the needs of this dear reader in anything he or she may be facing; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
We finished the first letter of the four-letter set of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. For many, hidden is the word used when trying to find them or to remember which order they appear in our Bible, someone came up with "Go, Eat Peaches and Cream" as a way to remember them. Funny how that has helped through the years. Another one that came in handy, as I'm about to go into deep sleep, Nellie, still excited about learning handbells asked if I remembered the notes of the scale and out of nowhere I said, "Every Good Boy Does Fine!" Snore. She said, "Yes, that's those are the two last ones I couldn't remember!" That's the last thing I remember from last night. However, I thought about that "reminder" about eating and thought, let's make it more relevant and powerful to the needs of the Church: Go Enthusiastically Proclaim Christ! And such will be our saying as we get to letter number two, Ephesians!
Our text comes from Galatians 1:1-2: 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This letter is considered to be the first of four prison letters written by the Apostle while imprisoned in Rome. At his own expense he rented a home near the Praetorian Guard barracks. The PGs were an elite guard force of the Roman army and some of what he writes in his letters is influenced by what he saw from his closeness to that guard. In this letter he begins by identifying himself and his work. While we may have said, I am Paul, glad to meet you or hope this finds you well; he says, "I am Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God." No doubt about Who called him and to what. An apostle, we have said, is one who like a disciple, learns from his or her Master, but an apostle goes and does and lives what she or he is taught. Paul learned the Gospel and lived it and taught it to others. Paul then addresses the reader as "saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus." Here's another one of those words we tend to shy away from. In my years of seminary at Perkins, we had an awesome traveling choir. I regret not having sung in that choir for in those days, it was a two-bus sized company of singers. What always made me chuckle was that one bus was for "saints" and the other for "sinners." What it really meant was that those who preferred a nonsmoking environment would ride in the saints bus, and those who did smoke would ride on the sinners' bus. Now, the size of the seminarians population is smaller, and to have a bus where one could smoke is unheard of and not a pleasant thought to most. But the word "saint" was one Paul used to identify those who had died to sin and risen to Christ. In other words, any person who loved the Lord and lived the life of a believer was a saint. It was not one who had been elected, after three miracles, to that status in the Roman Catholic Church as being a saint. It was and is, a position of extreme responsibility. To be called and to live as a saint does not give you the first place in line at fellowship dinners. Truly a saint would be one who helps serve or stand towards the back of the line. But Paul know his audience and addresses his letter to those who know and love the Lord.
Paul then shares a blessing or affirmation of their lives at the beginning of the letter. "Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." The One who could share that is God. The gift of undeserved love andmercy, which is grace, and peace, that which sees that all of our needs and wellbeing is taken care of, which is the true biblical blessing of "peace," is desired by Paul to those who would hear and receive the words of this letter. So, sender, Giver, and receiver are all mentioned in these two short verses.
So, are you a saint? Are you living a faithful life? Are you sharing your blessings or affirmation of life in abundance with others? If so, you're helping the cause of Christ. Rise above the feelings of fear or misery or doubt and live a life that shines the light of the Lord. You'll make a world of difference.
PRAYER: Loving God, may I be a saint today. May my life be a faithful reflection of all You have done in my life. May my word and actions be blessings and affirmations of the good of life to others. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
