“An unveiling”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, January 6, 2025
Ephesians 3: 1-12 (Forward, p. 69) CEV p. 1223
Here, in today’s passage, the apostle Paul uses a word or words that might well be misunderstood in today’s English-speaking word. They are the words ‘mystery’ or mysterious’. In our common parlance, they are used to describe something that is puzzling, or is difficult or impossible to explain or understand. Often, as in the case of murder mysteries, the answer shows up at the very end, though there are often clues ‘littered’ throughout the story.
The New Testament sense of these words goes in a different direction. They speak of something ‘hidden’. Here, it speaks of something hidden from humankind, and only now revealed to the apostles and prophets, and lastly to Paul himself. And what is this mystery? It is that God, even from before time itself, had destined that Gentiles would also share in the promises of God, have access to God’s saving grace, and be given the privilege of being part of the Body of Christ. This is what this unveiled mystery is all about.
And here there is yet another privilege. Paul, by the kindness and mercy of God, had been chosen by Him to help the Gentiles hear about this good news. We see that Paul was profoundly touched by this kindness, as he mentions it repeatedly (verses 2, 7, 8). This, in itself, is something mysterious, hidden, for Paul would have never predicted it. Indeed, he considers himself ‘the least of all God’s people’, but for course, it is entirely by grace, something accessed by faith in God. That too, is an unveiling of something often hidden to most of humankind.
And so, what does this mean for us? Two things. Firstly, that God’s plan has always been that all of humankind can be heirs and recipients of God’s salvation. And secondly, that God uses frail, imperfect, fallible human beings to convey this Good News. No bystander, prior to his conversion, would have ever seen Paul as a likely prospect, but then, maybe the same might be true of us, of you and me. Thanks be to God that this is even possible. Amen.
Forward notes: “The Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Jesus Christ through the gospel” (verse 6).
“We humans like to sort, classify, and categorize. It’s one of our unique abilities, but it can also be problematic. When we think of people as somehow other than us with distinctions like insider or outsider, good or bad, and friend or enemy, we separate and divide, which is antithetical to the gospel message we are called to share.
“Jesus came as a light to all nations, bringing the love of God to everyone he met: ‘insider’ Jews and ‘outsider’ Gentiles alike. His message and welcoming manner weren’t always well received, especially by those who considered themselves set apart as God’s chosen people. I find it delightfully ironic that God chose Paul, one of the strictest of Jews, to bring the message of Jesus, their long-awaited Messiah, to the Gentiles. The good news for us all is that in Christ, there are no distinctions. We all are members of the same body; we all share in the same hope and promise. We are—all of us—God’s children.”
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