August 15, 2021 – Proper 15 (12th Sunday after Pentecost)

The letter to the Ephesians is written to a new, young church community that is trying to figure out how to live out their faith together. They are working to determine how to be distinctly different from the wider community around them, and to fit that into how they lived before they met Christ. They need to show by their words and actions that they have a new life following Jesus. 

We hear of many contrasting images used to illustrate how the Christians are called to show that their new beliefs have given them new ways of living, of following Jesus. The Ephesians are called to live as wise people, making the most of the time that they have because they live in a world that is far from God. Being wise means understanding what God’s will is for them. In Ephesus, drinking was associated directly with the worship of pagan gods and practices like temple prostitution and the exploitation of women. These Christians were not to take part in this because it was counter to the worship of God. 

Rather, the Ephesians were to dedicate themselves to that which is good. They are to be filled with the Spirit, worshiping God together to build themselves up as a community and to draw closer to God. In all things, and all times, they are to give thanks. This spiritual practice would get them to focus on what was good and hopeful in their lives and in the world around them. Perhaps they needed to remind themselves that God was present at all times in the world around them.

Our first reading from Proverbs also talks about wisdom. As a personified entity, Wisdom tells the senseless to come have their fill of food and drink. They are to become mature believers and walk with insight.

The Ephesians, seeking to follow God in a community and culture that worshipped other gods, are considering how to live out their faith in ways that keep them set apart and distinctively different from the people around them. They pursue knowledge and wisdom to be a light to the people around them.

Friends, in seeking to follow God faithfully in the everyday stuff of life, we can always ask God for the gift of wisdom. Wisdom recognizes God’s character and seeks what is good in every situation. Granted, this isn’t always easy, as life is complicated, so being able to discern the right choices means that we need to pay close attention to God. How do we, both individually and as a community, teach ourselves to recognize the goodness of God in the world around us?

In the Gospel reading, we are reminded that Jesus is the source and substance of our lives. If we are what we eat, who will we be if in a spiritual and metaphorical sense, we ‘consume’ Christ? Since God is inherently good, the bread of life is inherently good. If we pay attention to the gift of Jesus given to us here at the table each week, what sort of people will that make us? How will we be changed?