Humble and Gentle
Today I want to plunge into the second lesson given to us by St. Paul as he writes to his parish at Ephesus.
It is a marvellous letter and has been rightly called a "Hymn to unity”. This letter calls the Ephesians and us back to the"dignity of our vocation” which to be unified.
The first verse tells us that Paul is in prison. I imagine him as an elderly chap in dim light with grizzled beard, grey hair, twinkling eyes with fading eye sight. I see him stooped over his writing equipment, scrawling in a gloomy prison to the people he cares about.
Paul’s heart is resolute and he finds himself in a bit of a bind. He knows what needs to be said. He’s just got to find the right words to say it.
Some critical issues need to be aired. Paul needs to say them firmly, confidently, yet graciously, so that his very important message will take root in the lives of the people of Ephesus.
He has to tick them off a bit because they are not at one with each other. It seems that troubles and disunity have been growing and these weeds must be plucked out from peoples hearts and replaced with the fruits of the spirit.
He begins.
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient.”
So there is a call for
Humility, gentleness and patience. Get these right my dear Ephesians and you are well on the way to unity.
Next …
‘Bearing with one another in love’.
When we read the word ‘love’ we usually think of the chocolates, roses and champagne love, but that is not what Paul has in mind at all.
The word love that Paul uses is agape love, a self-sacrificial love that works for the benefit of the loved one. So the word that Paul uses ‘agape’ is never for the benefit of ourselves. Agape love, Christian love, must always be about the other person and what is going to be best for them.
Paul points out that when we speak the truth to each other with this agape love, then everyone is built up and we become mature, solid people for Church and for the world.
Speaking truth in love is not always easy. Often it comes out all wrong, but not to speak the truth in love, is far worse and can eat away at the body of church and most of all ourselves.
Paul continues to scribble away. He writes about the unity of the Trinity but you have to look fairly closely. It happens in verses 4 - 6
“There is one body, one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father.”
Further, Paul uses the word “one” no fewer than seven times. His Ephesian listeners and readers know that seven was the perfect number.
Paul sallies on. He reminds his beloved Ephesians that everyone has a God given job to do and no one job is more important than the other.
“So Christ himself, gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,”
I find it remarkable that in an age and a culture where communication has never been easier, somehow disunity still triumphs.
As one person put it.
“Today we are "used to breathing the air of conflict". Every day, in the media, we hear about conflicts and wars "one after the other", "without peace, without unity”. Agreements made to stop conflicts are ignored, thus the arms race and preparation for war and destruction go ahead.
Even world institutions created with the best of intentions for peace and unity, fail to come to an agreement because of a veto here and an interest there ... While they are struggling to arrive at peace agreements, children have no food, no school, no education and hospitals because the war has destroyed everything.
The author continues with a way forward.
“Christians open your hearts and make peace in the world taking the path of the “three little things” - "humility, gentleness and patience". Paul's advice is “bear with one another in love".
The advice of Jesus is to settle the matter and make peace at the beginning, which calls for humility, gentleness and patience. One can build peace throughout the world with these little things, which are the attitudes of Jesus who is humble, meek and forgives everything.” End of quote.
When we are not at peace with ourselves and with each other we are like Paul. We are in prison with our sight dimmed, our relationships compromised. The world is quite right to call out our disunity and hypocrisy.
We cannot hope to achieve unity and be released from our solitary confinement, unless we know gentleness, patience, forbearance and practice these in our own lives. Only then we can successfully engage with others. Humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance. When these begin to flourish then peace and unity will be the fruit we offer to each other, to our community and to the world.