"Here's what I want you to do. I want you to get out there and walk-better yet, run!-on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want any of you strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline-not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, bout outwardly and inwardly. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness. But that doesn't mean you should all look and speak and act the same." Ephesians 4(selected verses) The Message
In our worship over the last several weeks we have been reading from the apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians. We have been using the wonderful paraphrase of Eugene Peterson in The Message. I love the way he has made words many of us have read for so many years, sometimes to the point of not hearing them, come alive in new ways. I also love the way his words invite those new to the scriptures into the words by using language that is more approachable.
Paul's letter to these ancient people was meant to heal the rifts that happen when what we say we believe and how we behave don't match up. Ever had that experience? Ever been in a situation with someone who claims to believe deeply in something but whose behavior doesn't seem to quite add up? Ever been that person? I certainly have been.
This man who loved Jesus and tried with all his might to follow the Way of this one who showed him the face of God, reminds us that we are all traveling the same road….the road of life. He urges us to remember that, as creations of the Holy One, this journey is not meant to be traveled alone but together. Not only is it safer it is also more fun. When troubles come, it means we can reach out and grab someone's hand. When there is dancing to be done, it means we have a partner or even a circle of people to join us.
Staying together also means we are confronted with all the differences that are implanted in our DNA….another gift. It means that along the path there will be those who see the world differently, often very differently, from the way we do. This can be a challenge or a gift depending on our 'humility and discipline'. It will mean we don't always get to be right or have the final say. But it does mean we are still held by that eternal Oneness, even when we refuse to recognize it or flat out deny it.
It seems our culture spends a significant amount of energy in trying to find ways that divide and pit humanity against one another. There are probably many people who have much to gain from this way of living. But in the end, I believe, it will always fail. Instead, what will always prevail, is the slow walking, one foot in front of the other, of humans stepping out each day, on the path of love and kindness, compassion and justice, reaching out for the hand of our fellow travelers. What does, in some eternal way, matter is that we stay together, celebrating our differences, looking for the ways those very ways we are unique bring us to the creative moments we need for the healing of the world.
The path opens before us all this day. There is no time for sitting on our hands. The world beckons. There is work to be done. It will be an adventure if we remember to stay together.
Have a blessed weekend……………….